Program

Doctor of Ministry

Year Approved

2019

First Advisor

McIntosh, Tim

Abstract

This research study addressed the challenge of developing leaders in the midst of the recent refugee crisis in Europe, historic waves of immigration, and ongoing global migration of diaspora peoples. Migration has led to unprecedented diversity in leadership as leaders from the Global South are relocating North and West. Each person carries preconceived cultural notions of how leaders should function and interact. Church and mission leaders must be equipped to navigate this complex cultural environment in order for multicultural teams to work effectively. The researcher based the theology of multicultural leadership in the Trinity where Father, Son, and Spirit expressed unity within diversity, differentiation without division, relational love with mutual self-emptying, and missional sending. Implications for multicultural ministry included a commitment to limiting dominant cultural influence, creating a unifying culture, sharing authority and making decisions together, and releasing others to lead and accomplish mission. The next phase of the study surveyed several streams of research, including anthropology, business, management, and missiology. The study also examined current models of servant leadership, transformational leadership, and global leadership within cross-cultural contexts. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory and House’s GLOBE Study were incorporated into understanding of leadership in multicultural contexts. These cultural dimensions became the basis of the Standardized Interview Questions used in the case studies. Finally, the researcher selected three multicultural ministries in Hungary, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Nineteen individuals were interviewed and represented nine of the ten major cultural clusters described in the GLOBE study. The findings of the theological research and case studies were synthesized into a proposal for training European, migrant, and missional leaders in multicultural leadership. The study was designed for implementation and training others in Europe to cross boundaries and create a kingdom culture that exhibits reconciliation, humility, and shalom in a broken world.

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

Document Type

Doctoral thesis

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