A pastor as a transformational leader is mandated with the responsibility of encouraging, inspiring, and motivating the followers. This is aimed at creating change that would help in growing and shaping the future of the church. In his scholarly study, Bolsinger observed that “the leader in Christendom was charged with offering a vision and mission for faithfulness” (2021, p. 37). The Christendom leaders held the chief role of bringing people back to God, instilling the church values, and sharing the vision of life. The recovering of leadership in the apostolic church encompasses leading people to become missionaries, witnesses of God, and manifesting God’s doing to the world. To achieve leadership in apostolic churches, transformational leaders have to be developed. This paper, therefore, will critically analyze the transformational leadership model while evaluating the loopholes of the model.
The changing world has necessitated the generation and application of the transformational leadership model in governing the church. The need for growth as leaders and followers to accomplish the mission they were sent to fulfill in the world, is what forms the principal drive towards fulfilling the quest for transformational leadership. Bolsinger (2021) concede that “transformational leadership leads to changes in the leaders and followers as they have made up their minds to live out the God’s mission in the changing world” (p. 43). The transformational leadership model constitutes three components according to Bolsinger (2021), these include, “the technical competence component, the relational congruence, and adaptive capacity components” (p. 43). The three components are aimed at helping the church leader to bring about transformation leadership.
The model begins at the technical competence component which asserts that before the leader adopts managerial skills, he or she must first find ways for the followers to have trust and believe in them. The relational congruence is built upon the first stage of technical competence. According to Bolsinger (2021), “leadership must earn the credibility that comes from competently handling basic management skills” (p. 44). Consequently, in this component, once the followers have trusted and believed in the leader, this leader should increase credibility through acts of demonstrated character, wariness, and commitment. The last step through which transformational leadership is achieved is the adaptive capacity. Bolsinger, (2021) avers, “Adaptive capacity is a leader’s ability to help his or her community grow, face their biggest challenges and thrive” (p. 44). This component of the model showcases the leader’s ability to help his or her followers to overcome challenges through shifting values, habits, and demeanors. The leaders at this stage are called upon to develop their commitment to personal transformation before and when leading change.
Dealing with transformational leadership can be hard and have its shortcomings affecting the leaders and followers in the church. Transformational leadership in the new apostolic church is the pushing factor for achieving missionary objectives in the church. Bolsinger (2021) concedes that “Transformational leadership is a skill set that can be learned….it is not a role or position” (p. 42). Therefore, to be a transformational leader, one must adapt to the way of being and not just assume the role or position of the type of leadership. This is as the post-Christendom context needs one to adapt to the new ways of thinking, behaving, and functioning away from the old methods of preaching, conducting pastoral care, and running the church meetings.
Transformational leadership requires motivation to accomplish change in leaders and their followers. However, the scholarly study fails to explain where leaders and followers are likely to draw external motivation from while maintaining internal motivation to learn. Bolsinger (2021) says, “Today, preaching is not leadership but serves leadership” (p. 40). Therefore, the church apart from leading also encompasses preaching however, the model doesn’t explain what ways would the leaders adopt to prevent disruption of routine. Church leaders as key influencers and initiators of transformational leadership skills and practices are bound to manipulate the followers into becoming too reliant on what the leaders think and feel. Therefore, the leaders are called upon to instill Christian values in themselves so be more honest and have integrity in what they are doing.
Reference
BOLSINGER, T., 2021. CANOEING THE MOUNTAIN (EXPANDED EDITION). [S… READHOWYOUWANT]. Web.