Ecclesial identification beyond late modern individualism? : : a case study of life strategies in growing late modern churches / / by Karl Inge Tangen.

• Superior document: Global Pentecostal and Charismatic studies, v. 10
• Author: Tangen, Karl Inge.
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Language: English
• Series: Global Pentecostal and Charismatic studies ; v. 10.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (405 p.)
• Notes: Revision of the author's thesis (doctoral)--Norwegian School of Theology, 2009.

Why do some late modern churches grow, counter to the trend in Western Europe? Why do people identify with such churches – and does identification lead to morally transforming commitments beyond late modern consumerism? This case study investigates these questions based on ‘real life’ or empirical research, which include both the level of individual life strategies and organisational practice in two growing European churches. This innovative and interdisciplinary study draws on recent findings in theology, moral philosophy, sociology and organisational psychology. Its findings may prove useful not only for scholars in these disciplines, it may also enrich the reflection of practitioners who seek to perform the difficult art of transformational leadership in a late modern context.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introducing the Quest: Why and How to Read This Study -- Theory: Consulting the Wise -- Contexts – Churches, Cities and Nations -- Persons – Stories From Copenhagen -- Persons – Stories From London -- Organisational Foci – Why Do People Identify? -- Organisational Foci and Individual Integration -- Are Transformational Commitments Formed? -- Towards a Typology of Ecclesial Life Strategies -- Summary and Conclusions -- Rethinking Transformational Leadership and Participation -- Appendix A: Epistomological Issues: Theology, Critical Realism and the Social Sciences -- Appendix B: Methods and Material -- Bibliography and References -- Index.