Abstract:
This dissertation explores the theological and practical discourses of
missional leadership. Theologically, the research reinterprets various frames of
the Bible's viewpoint of the cultural mandate. Namely, the research understands
that the terms "biblical worldview," "biblical theology," and "redemptive history,"
refer to the Bible's explanation of the triune God's firm will, which is that by His
missional leadership, He redeems all of the corrupted world. The triune God's
missional leadership also devolved to humans, who were made in the image of
God, as a part of His redemption plan.
This dissertation also examines the practical discourse of missional
leadership by first exploring contemporary theories behind the practice. The
research compares and contrasts the attributes, features, and principles
between missional leadership and contemporary general leadership. In
contemporary general leadership, leaders tend to interact with members in a
horizontal exchange. Missional leadership, however, deals with the vertical
relationship between God and the leader, in addition to the horizontal exchange
between the leader and members. This dissertation's main focus is the missional
leadership of elder Hwang, a Korean American missionary who has been
working in Cambodia for 17 years, as an example for practical discourse.
Through the qualitative research of Hwang's biographical narrative, the study
evaluates the ways Hwang used both the instruments of contemporary general
leadership and the demanded features of missional leadership.
The intention of the research is to explore the principles, features, and
effectiveness of sustainable missional leadership in an intercultural, global
society of the postmodern era. This dissertation shows that the triune God's
missional leadership plants, nurtures, and uses His people to be leaders who work to restore all the corrupted creatures of this world. Missional leadership
helps to fulfill us as the image of God, for both those who receive and deliver the
gospel.
