the Implementation (or Contextually Relevant Intervention); and Follow-up (or Post- Intervention).
The personnel for this project required a project director/seminar instructor (i.e., the lead pastor), an administrative assistant (to the project director/seminar instructor), a sound engineer, a video operator, a hospitality coordinator for meals, a facility manager, and a parking lot attendant/security guard.
Phase 1: Preparation Period Preliminary Research and
Planning Phase
Approximately three months prior to submitting chapter 1 of the initial proposal, in the fall of 2016, I submitted a formal request to proceed with a revised research and chapter submission schedule. Shane Parker, Director of the SBTS Professional Doctoral Studies Program granted permission to proceed with essential
preliminary research and logistical preparation, pending the approval of the proposal between January and March of 2017.
Thus, preliminary research and preparation for the project and its related intervention were strategically commenced in October 2016, pending the approval of the project proposal. The preliminary preparation included a limited but strategic literature review for chapters 2 and 3, considerable ideation for priority topics and formative
strategic planning, and for the selection of textbooks for the intervention. Preparation also included identifying the most appropriate leaders at MCWC to invite to participate in the project’s intervention, and the development of a tentative schedule to conduct the
intervention. In November 2016, based on succinct discussions with fellow senior staff pastors, deliberations with oversight pastors, and known areas of weakness in and among leaders serving in various areas of the church, I identified the primary focus of the project and invited a targeted group of leaders to attend and participate in the intervention.
Having determined the leaders who would be invited to participate, I also informally announced and introduced the research project interest to the members of the Leadership and Management Council of MCWC.
The MCWC Leadership and Management Council is composed of multi-tiered leaders who are influential in every aspect of the fulfillment of the ministry vision, congregational life, administrative management, and community investment of MCWC.
Because of the composition of this echelon of leaders, as a part of MCWC’s leadership crisis intervention training, only twenty-four members of the Council were invited to participate in the project. Participation was voluntary but select leaders were targeted because of their potential influence with regard to salvaging the vision and mission of MCWC. As the senior pastor, one of my primary roles and responsibilities entails the timely and healthy development, training, and oversight of the members of the MCWC Leadership and Management Council with a view to their wholistic personal
In anticipation of the approval of this proposal, I requested their attendance at a customized intervention that entailed six weekly Leadership Seminar Intensives (LSI).
This special intervention was eventually held weekly on consecutive Saturdays, September 9, 16, 23, 30, October 7, and 14. The LSI encompassed essential instruction and training deemed pivotal to the restoration of MCWC’s overall leadership relationships and mission- critical areas of the church’s current vision thrust. Also, during the pending approval period of the proposal (January to March 2017), I continued to remind and update the Leadership and Management Council members of the forthcoming special instructional and training intervention aspect of this doctoral ministry research project. These reminders were crucial to the select leaders’ attendance and related success of the intervention, given the erratic schedules of several of the key leaders who had been invited.
This six-part specialized leadership weekly LSI as created and conducted in keeping with the overall ministry research project’s purpose and goals stated in chapter 1.
More specifically, seven correlated intervention goals were pursued and achieved after crafting and conducting the LSI.
Correlated Intervention Sub-Goals
The primary goals for the intervention (in tandem with the doctoral project purpose and goals) were as follows:
First, and foremost, the intervention was created to be a reliable and replicable means and tool that would help the senior pastor and the various members of the Council accurately identify and relevantly address the perceived awareness of essential leadership competency strengths on both individual and team levels.
Second, the intervention included time for me (as senior pastor/project director/seminar instructor/facilitator) to interface and communicate in depth with each Council member about the accuracy of their perceptions and any differences that surfaced.
Third, it was a chief aim to ascertain a realistic sense of the Council members’
awareness of personal and team limitations and weaknesses, as well.
Fourth, based on the findings, I gained and disseminated a more
comprehensive picture of MCWC’s prevalent personal and team leadership health.
Fifth was beginning a dialogue about the creation of a contextually-sensitive curriculum and a related reputable process for launching contextually-relevant and transformative improvement initiatives in the future.
Sixth was the identification, presentation, discussion, debate (when necessary) and establishment of the qualitative differences and the theological posture the Council regarding the biblical, pluralistic, and secular perspectives on strength-based leadership and the common competency strengths every leader needs.
Finally, this seminar was created and presented with the hope that it would help everyone on the Council gain the initial knowledge and skill needed to use this assessment tool and begin strategically thinking about improving weaknesses and leveraging strengths such that each team member could jointly facilitate healthier (close- knit) leadership relationships and accomplish vital team and congregational vision and mission goals through the process recommended by Trent and Cox.1 Every intervention goal was reasonably accomplished, with the exception of establishing a comprehensive contextually effective curriculum.
In February 2017, approximately seven months prior to the desired date for the intervention to be launched and conducted, I unofficially informed the select MCWC Leadership Management Council members in greater detail about the doctoral ministry research project and the related forthcoming intervention. Brief announcement reminders were sent via electronic mail and also publicly during regularly held monthly Leadership and Management Council sessions in November 2016, and January through June 2017.
1John Trent and Rodney Cox, Leading from Your Strengths: Building Close-Knit Ministry
After receiving official approval of the proposal and the revised research and chapter submission schedule (shortly after the winter session in January 2017), more detailed information was presented to the Council members who were invited to participate in the special LSI. In April 2017, approximately six months prior to the preferred launch date (September 9, 2017). Leaders were asked to arrange their schedules so that they could participate in this vital intervention.
One month prior to the launch of the intervention (August 2017), official letters of announcement and invitation to participate in this intervention were sent via electronic mail to all prospective participating members of the MCWC Leadership and Management Council.