<p>As a Specialized Interim Minister (SIM) I walked with a congregation in transition using a model of accompaniment based on the Emmaus Road story (Luke 24:13-35). To help the congregation tell their individual and collective stories, to come to terms with the past, and to open up space for discovery, healing, and change, I drew upon a variety of embodied, participatory methodologies. My project provides examples and explores the effectiveness of the participatory methodologies used in the areas of worship, with the leaders, in symplaysiums, and through the congregation's project of building and walking a labyrinth.</p><p>Action research formed the basis of the doctor in ministry project as I accompanied the congregation as both a participant and reflective observer. Six months following the conclusion of the interim period, I returned to collect data from the congregation through a questionnaire and individual interviews. The responses and my analysis seek to answer the question: Did the participatory methodologies used in worship, with leaders, in the symplaysiums, and in building the labyrinth open up space for discovery, healing, and change at Haven Shores Community Church?</p>...

<p>As the church has moved into a new century, today's pastors have needed to ask themselves: If our ministries are going to be effective in this 21 st century context, what should those ministries look like? In other words, what shape should pastoral ministry take today? It's a necessary question to ask when pastors want to do more than simply 'do their jobs' (which traditionally includes preaching, teaching, pastoral care, administration, and, more recently, leadership) and thereby 'run' the church, but instead want those pastoral activities to make an increasingly transformative difference in people's lives. The fundamental issue in this project, in other words, is that of ascertaining what sort of shape pastoral ministry needs to take that will most likely lead to significant spiritual impact. The premise in this document is that effective pastoral ministry generally will not happen in church settings where a pastor does most of his or her work in isolation from the other members of a congregation, and where the congregation in turn sees the pastor's work as disconnected from what they are called to do. Instead, transformative pastoral ministry will happen within a congregational web, where pastors work collaboratively with members of the church, enlisting the power of relationships, maximizing the use of the spiritual gifts of each member, and harnessing the spiritual energy that is unleashed by the creation of ministry teams....

This dissertation offers an interview tool to help congregational leaders identify, draw out, and nurture Eph. 4:11 Equipping Leaders in order to prepare Christians for works of service (Eph. 4:12). This interview tool is ...