The Seventh Day Adventist Pastor in a multicultural congregation: Coventry Central's expectations of their Pastor

[摘要] Thisthesisaimsto ascertaintheexpectationsthatthreedifferentculturalgroupsintheCoventryCentral Seventh-Day Adventist Church (S.D.A.) in Radford have of their Pastor.The S.D.A. church in Britain in general and Coventry in particular have experienced changes in their social composition over recent years, as migrants from variouscountries have madethe churchmore raciallyand culturally diverse.This investigationaims to explore whether these diverse cultural groups have varying expectations of the way their Pastor functions in his role and relationship with them, using questionnaires directed at the three largest groups in Coventry Central: Zimbabwean,Filipino and 'White' English. From the replies I attempt to discern what attitudes, practices and expectationsshapethese different group'sfeelings and perspectiveson worship,preachingand the cultural norms of the church. BeforeconductingtheresearchI thoughtthatthesegroupswouldhavethesameattitudestowardsand expectations of the Pastor. However,the research has revealed that although these different cultural groups share a powerful common identity and uniformity in doctrinal beliefs; the product of the global S.D.A. Church's training and teachingprogrammes.Deeperanalysisand reflection,however,revealthat there is a complex interplay between doctrinal beliefs, practices and the social context in which they are worked out. In the end I cametotheconclusionthatwhilsttheS.D.A.Churchhascommonteachingandeducationalmaterialfor ministers and congregations across the world, it is the interpretation of those beliefs and norms that means that ministers have to be sensitive to the variety of cultures in a specific context.In the end all Christian ministry is contextualized and that affects the way a Pastor has to operate.

[发布机构] University:University of Birmingham;Department:School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion

[关键词] B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion;BL Religion