Pastoral Leadership in a Cross-Cultural, Multicultural, Conflict-Driven Congregation: A Filipino Case Study

Pastoral Leadership in a Cross-Cultural, Multicultural, Conflict-Driven Congregation: A Filipino Case Study Christ Redeemer was a Cross-Cultural, Multicultural church where the majority of the members were Filipinos. The church experienced way too many conflicts that distracted everyone in the congregation from the real calling to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”[1] The ethos of Christ Redeemer seemed to be driven by conflict, regardless of whether the leadership provided came from a Filipino or a non-Filipino pastor. The congregation fed conflict upon conflict, creating a cycle of tension with little engagement in critical issues in the life of the church. It was very common for Filipinos at Christ Redeemer to hold grudges originating from said conflicts. This project will attempt to address the questions, “Why is there so much conflict at Christ Redeemer, and why do they occur so often?” and “How might the findings in this project help non-Filipino, as well as Filipino pastoral leaders provide leadership to a church congregation with a majority membership of Filipinos in the religious context of a United Methodist Church in the United States?” This project will provide non-Filipino, as well as Filipino pastoral leaders with a deeper level of understanding of the Filipino Culture that can enhance their ministry with Filipinos by having insight into the dynamics amongst Filipinos in their relationship with people from their own Culture, as well as Filipinos in their relationship with people beyond their own Culture. Furthermore, this project will demonstrate for pastoral leaders in a Cross-Cultural, Multicultural context working with a Filipino population that being in solidarity with the people as they seek to serve God together is more effective than attempting to resolve their conflicts. That is because there is no set of rules to approach conflict with Filipinos that will work best and, very often, “letting them be” to sort out their own personal and relational conflicts ...