A leader behavior profile analysis of senior pastors in growing Southern Baptist churches

Abstract

Churches are struggling with issues of leadership. There is a need to explore and understand how leadership is used in the local church. Senior pastors are in a position to have a positive impact on the growth of the church, and the maturity of the followers.

This research design analyzed the leader behavior characteristics of senior pastors in growing Southern Baptist churches. The analysis was done by comparing and contrasting the self-perceived leader behavior characteristics of the senior pastors with leader behavior characteristics as perceived by the paid ministerial support staff.

The research begins by exploring the research problem, research purpose, delimitations, research questions, terminology, procedural overview, and the research assumptions.

An examination of the precedent literature includes a close inspection of biblical examples of leadership, including how leadership differed from the Old and New Testaments. The review of the literature also includes a brief analysis of secular leadership models and development.

The methodological design details how the research is organized. Included in the methodological design section is a restatement of the research questions, an overview of the research design, a brief review of the instrumentation, and a procedural review.

Chapters 4 and 5 found that senior pastors of growing Southern Baptist churches are scored within the normative range on the Leader Behavior Analysis II with regard to Situational Leadership flexibility and effectiveness. In addition, senior pastors of growing Southern Baptist churches typically scored high in relational Situational Leadership behavior.