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Cannon Chapel

Candler School of Theology

 

 

LARC - Leadership and Administration Resource Center

 

CONGREGATIONAL STUDIES AND LEADERSHIP

Welcome to the resource center for teaching courses on congregations.

I mean that: I’m talking about courses that address congregations AS congregations -- continuing communities of faith in a place.

Most of the literature focuses on growth, evangelism, mission, action – things congregations should be doing. My approach is grounded in understanding congregations as they are: small cultures that evolve over time, in constant interaction with their natural and built environment and the changing human communities of which they are part.

Leadership of congregations grows out of empathetic knowledge of that culture, its strengths, values, and gifts, as the basic resource for new directions in ministry and mission in a particular place.

Here you will find book references, articles (for download where possible), writing assignments, and the syllabus I use (and revise) regularly in teaching.

This page is organized around major topical areas in my course in congregational studies, with links to course materials.

 

Course Information

In recent years a fresh critical perspective on the life and mission of Christian congregations has been emerging through innovative studies drawing on methods from ethnography, cultural geography, sociology, and theology. This perspective views the congregation as a small culture with its own story, identity, and purpose developed in continuing interaction with its natural and human environment. The more deeply pastors and lay leaders learn this culture, the more effective they can be in developing ministry and mission that grows out of and extends the living traditions of a congregation in a particular place.

This course will introduce basic perspectives and research methods on “congregations in place:” local church congregations in connection with their natural and built environments, their surrounding human communities, their histories, and their continuing challenges in ministry and mission. Students will undertake a limited field study with a partner congregation, including observation and description of the natural and built environment, community relationships, and congregational activities. Students will write a series of short papers bringing together the results of field research with the perspectives of course texts. Each student will make a class presentation on his or her findings.

The comprehensive goal of this course is to enrich our understanding and constructive use of cultural perspectives in leadership. We will explore leadership as a cluster of practices for helping a congregation strengthen a shared vision for its ministries and develop organizational means for working toward that vision. We will consider the nature of leadership as a practice of making connections among nature, land, and human community, past, present, and future. We will assess the applications of congregational analysis for entry into a congregation as a new pastor or program leader, as well as in strategic planning of a congregation’s ministries for its wider neighborhood.

 

Historical & Social Perspectives on Congregations

 

Nature, Ecology, & Faith

 

Architecture & Design

 

Congregations as Communities & Institutions

 

Preserving Historic Religious Buildings

 

Leading Congregations

 

Other Readings

 

Online Resources

BUILDING AND SITE PRESERVATION

CONGREGATIONAL STUDIES

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP & ADMINISTRATION

 

Download Entire Course

 

Contact Information

Dr. Thomas E. Frank
Professor of Religious Leadership and Administration
Candler School of Theology
Emory University
Atlanta, GA 30322
thomas.frank@emory.edu
404.727.6325