Supervising Gifted People: A Consideration of the Fivefold Gifts in the Effective Supervision of Missionaries

ABSTRACT SUPERVISING GIFTED PEOPLE: A CONSIDERATION OF THE FIVEFOLD GIFTS IN THE EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION OF MISSIONARIES Donald Stanley Meador, Th.M. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2017 Supervisor: Dr. M. David Sills God gifted to the church certain people with specific ministry functions in order to develop a complete and healthy church. These gifts are ministry functions that the apostle Paul presented in Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:28. This thesis proposes a conceptual framework loosely based on these five ministry functions and examines effective supervision of cross-cultural missionaries in light of them. Chapter 1 outlines foundational presuppositions to aid in understanding the ministry functions in a missions context. Chapter 2 describes six ministry functions common to the missionary task. The visionary strategist, church encourager, evangelist, pastoral caregiver, and teacher are examined as equipping functions. The administrator is examined as a function that facilitates the equipping functions. Chapter 3 addresses effective missionary supervision. The role of the missionary, current trends in missionary supervisor training, and effective missionary supervision are examined. Mentoring and spiritual direction are featured as functions of biblical supervision. Chapter 4 concludes this thesis summarizing five keys to effective missionary supervision.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Meador, Donald Stanley

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Sills, M. David

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10392/5467

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.sbts.edu:10392/5467