Christian leadership in a Malawian context : a practical theological evaluation of African Bible College

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Notwithstanding that many prominent, influential and highly effective Christian leaders over thispast century are making a difference throughout Africa, a serious leadership crisis still looms.There is no doubt that Christianity has spread throughout Africa, reaching many remote areaswithin the continent. Still the depth to that Christianity remains elusive. Practical theologianshave discovered various patterns of leadership abuse, immorality, and heresy throughout Africa.As alarming as these patterns may be, in a positive way they are encouraging many Africans toseek alternative models of leadership. Thus, Africa has now become a place ready to implementeffective or authentic leadership models.The purpose of this dissertation is to determine, in a practical theological way, whether AfricanBible College in Malawi is producing graduates that can be described as authentic Christianleaders. As a way of determining this, the researcher will be 1) investigating the growing(Christian) leadership crisis within sub-Saharan Africa, 2) analyzing various Christianleadership models within the field, 3) conducting empirical research on the African BibleCollege (ABC) and ABC graduates, 4) exploring normative perceptions of Christian leadershipand 5) developing a revised praxis for ABC to help it become an even more effective institutionfor producing authentic Christian leaders.Authentic leadership in particular emphasizes the 'genuineness, 'realness, and 'transparencyof people in leadership positions. It requires a leader to be open, honest, and accountable toothers. They must earn the respect and trust of their followers. People today are becoming moreskeptical of their leaders. They have grown weary and impatient with typical overbearing,power-hungry, and dishonest leadership personalities. They want to see their leaders actuallypracticing what they are preaching, living lives of integrity, and truly living out their Christianfaith in a God honoring and practical manner. This is why authentic leadership theory hasbecome prominent and widely accepted within the past decade. The theory will be useful foranalyzing the leadership of ABC graduates.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University