Where did Paul find leaders for his new churches? How did he instruct and develop them? What processes took place to stabilize the churches and institute their new leadership? This book carves a fresh trail in leadership studies by looking at leadership development from a group-dynamic, social identity perspective. Paul engages the cultural leadership patterns of his key local leaders, publicly affirming, correcting, and improving those patterns to conform to a Christlike pattern of sacrificial service. Paul's own life and ministry offer a motivational and authoritative model for his followers, because he embodies the leadership style he teaches. As a practical theologian avant la lettre, Paul contextualizes key theological themes to strengthen community and leadership formation, and equips his church leaders as entrepreneurs of Christian identity. A careful comparison of the Corinthian and Ephesian churches demonstrates a similar overall pattern of development. This study engages Pauline scholarship on church office in depth and offers alternative readings of five Pauline epistles, generating new insights to enrich dogmatic and practical theological reflection. In a society where many churches reflect on their missional calling, such input from the NT for contemporary Christian leadership formation is direly needed.

**Winner of the 2012 Fredric M. Jablin Doctoral Dissertation Award** Where did Paul find leaders for his new churches? How did he instruct and develop them? What processes took place to stabilize the churches and institute their new leadership? This book carves a fresh trail in leadership studies by looking at leadership development from a group-dynamic, social identity perspective. Paul engages the cultural leadership patterns of his key local leaders, publicly affirming, correcting, and improving those patterns to conform to a Christlike pattern of sacrificial service. Paul's own life and ministry offer a motivational and authoritative model for his followers, because he embodies the leadership style he teaches. As a practical theologian avant la lettre, Paul contextualizes key theological themes to strengthen community and leadership formation, and equips his church leaders as entrepreneurs of Christian identity. A careful comparison of the Corinthian and Ephesian churches demonstrates a similar overall pattern of development. This study engages Pauline scholarship on church office in depth and offers alternative readings of five Pauline epistles, generating new insights to enrich dogmatic and practical theological reflection. In a society where many churches reflect on their missional calling, such input from the NT for contemporary Christian leadership formation is direly needed.

In Ordained Ministry in Free Church Perspective Jan Martijn Abrahamse offers a methodologically innovative way to understand ordained ministry in terms of covenantal theology by returning to the life and thought of the English Separatist Robert Browne (c. 1550-1633).

When Paul heard that a Christ-follower in Corinth was in an incestuous relationship with his stepmother, the apostle insisted the man be removed immediately from the congregation. This dramatic response is surprising, as Paul responds to other serious situations with much less vehemence. Why did Paul react to the immoral man with such urgency and severity? Using socio-cultural tools, this study explains the importance of group identity and witness for Paul’s ecclesiology. The argument lays a foundation for contemporary readers to appraise contexts where an expulsive response to sin might be appropriate.

Combining the insights of many leading New Testament scholars writing on the use of social identity theory this new reference work provides a comprehensive handbook to the construction of social identity in the New Testament. Part one examines key methodological issues and the ways in which scholars have viewed and studied social identity, including different theoretical approaches, and core areas or topics which may be used in the study of social identity, such as food, social memory, and ancient media culture. Part two presents worked examples and in-depth textual studies covering core passages from each of the New Testament books, as they relate to the construction of social identity. Adopting a case-study approach, in line with sociological methods the volume builds a picture of how identity was structured in the earliest Christ-movement. Contributors include; Philip Esler, Warren Carter, Paul Middleton, Rafael Rodriquez, and Robert Brawley.

While books on famous and infamous Pentecostal leaders abound, the corpus of research on Pentecostal leadership is sparse. This is unfortunate, as strong and innovative leadership has been instrumental for the exceptional growth of the movement--and for countless examples of abusive behaviors in Pentecostal congregations. To promote effective leadership while avoiding the destructive effects of autocratic leaders, it is necessary to better understand the dynamics of leadership within Pentecostalism. This is the purpose of the book, and Truls Akerlund fills a gap in the present knowledge on Pentecostal leadership--first by discussing the extant literature on the topic and then by exploring the meaning of such leadership through a phenomenological analysis of the experiences of pastors in Pentecostal congregations. The author describes a general structure of Pentecostal leadership with essential characteristics of the phenomenon, locates Pentecostal leadership within the broader streams of organizational and religious leadership research, and points out crucial discussions and implications to be addressed in Pentecostal organizations.