Leadership Formation in Ministerial Education-part 3: a Comparison of Transformational Effect in Three Selected Programs

Part 1 of this study1 sought to establish frames of reference for measuring success in pastoral ministry and to evaluate the relationship between leadership practices and those criteria. The purpose was twofold: to discover correlations between leadership practices and success in pastoral ministry, and to move toward evaluating effectiveness of leadership formation in graduate theological education. The study demonstrated a strong correlation between success in pastoral ministry and a pastor's leadership practices. We concluded that "using superior leadership practices enables pastors to be more successful in their ministry."* Given the correlation between leadership practices and pastoral success, the formation of key leadership practices that prepare a person for success in ministry is an appropriate goal of graduate theological education. The second stage of research measured the effect of graduate theological education on the leadership practices of persons in pastoral ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist church.' No significant variation was found between pastors with a graduate theological education and those with only an undergraduate degree. In the research process, a valuable benchmark for Seventh-day Adventist pastors in North America was formed. The purpose of this third research stage is to investigate potential correlations between three selected programs in graduate theological education, offering increased emphasis on leadership development and actual leadership formation among their graduates in pastoral ministry.