Leadership DM803
Leadership and the Missio Dei
D.Min. RTS-Charlotte
July 25-29, 2011
John R. Sittema, D. Min., Professor
Course Summary:
Unlike many contemporary evangelical studies of “leadership”, this one-week seminar will focus
not on spiritual character traits, techniques or methodologies. Instead, participants will wrestle
with the Biblical missio dei, the missional shape of the church it demands, and the role of a servant
leader within the mission of God.
Course Description:
Through a combination of pre-course readings, classroom presentations, seminar discussions, and
an integrated paper, students will:
 Engage the Biblical Missio Dei with a holistic (Reformed) missional understanding of the
nature and calling of the church, and the role of servant/leaders within it
 Grapple with the Biblical leader/servant paradox
 Exegete the Biblically-assigned offices of elder and deacon over against the shifting views of
office in pre-reformation Rome, the Reformation, and the most recent century.
 Develop a Biblical understanding of gospel strategy within a post-Christian context
 Engage a Biblical understanding of power and authority.
 Demonstrate peer leadership competence by engaging fully in discussions of several leading
missional leaders.
 Demonstrate strategic servant-leadership by developing a plan for his/her own ministry
from a missional perspective
Course Readings:
The following must be read completely prior to the course. Each student will be expected to engage
and evaluate the arguments of each book during the seminar discussions, and reflect mature
reflection of that engagement in the content of the final course paper.
Dan B. Allender, Leading With a Limp (Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press, 2006). 206 pp.
Michael W. Goheen, As the Father Has Sent Me, I Am Sending You: J.E. Lesslie Newbigin’s Missionary
Ecclesiology (Zoetermeer, Nederland: Uitgeverij Boekencentrum, 2000 (available on line in pdf
format at http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/1947080/inhoud.htm). (Pp. 115-199,
228-409).
James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in
the Late Modern World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010). 345 pages.
Tim Keller, “The missional church”(pdf)
___, “New Global Ministry” (pdf)
___, “The centrality of the gospel” (pdf)
___, “Redeemer Vision Paper #1: The Gospel as Key to Change” (Word document)
___, “Redeemer Vision Paper #5: Ministry Balance” (Word document)
___, “Redeemer Vision Paper #6: Christians and Culture” (Word document)
___, “Redeemer Vision Paper #7: Money and Christian Worldview” (Word document)
(All the Keller articles have been sent to the Seminary, and should be available when you register).
David Kilcullen, “Twenty Eight Articles: Fundamentals of a Company Led Counterinsurgency” (11
pages, pdf).
Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis, Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls (New York:
Portfolio Group, 2007). 392 pp.
Craig Van Gelder, ed., Confident Witness—Changing World: Rediscovering the Gospel in North
America (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans’ Publishing Co., 1999. (Articles by Mouw, Hall, Brownson,
Inouye, Huegli, total: 64 pages.
Paul Weston, compiler, Lesslie Newbigin, Missionary Theologian: a reader (Grand Rapids: Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006. (Pp. 17-65, 81-157, 185-264)
Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative (Downer’s
Grove: IVP Academic, 2006), 535 pp.
Course Paper:
Paper of 15 pages is due October 31, 2011 at the D. Min. office of RTS-Charlotte.
Assignment: Based on the course readings and material, prepare a paper in which you:

Fully exegete your current ministry situation (exhibiting diagnostic awareness of the
cultural setting, spiritual climate, available resources, and other mission-relevant data,
including past strategies), and

develop a missional ministry plan that engages all the Biblical, theological, and strategic
materials encountered in the course, clearly defines the mission, exhibits stewardship of the
resources God has entrusted to your ministry (including yourself), deals with obstacles you
must overcome in the implementation of the plan, and describes your role as servant-leader
in the pursuit of the plan.