A Crisis Response and Recovery Leadership Model for Theological Education Leaders

Crises are problematic, unforeseen, and difficult situations that affect and threaten the overall performance and delivery of services of an educational institution. Theological education institutions exist as formal training institutions studying about God and His Word for the purpose of transforming people to serve effectively for the ministries of the church; and like other schools they operate within a structured system around their purpose and mission led by their leaders. Employing the qualitative descriptive phenomenological research design, eleven (11) theological education leaders participated in the study through in-depth interviews. Thorough inquiries were directed towards the crisis experiences, response and recovery approaches, along with the significant leadership qualities of theological education leaders. The study revealed that theological education leaders have experienced financial crisis, pandemic crisis, leadership crisis, faculty and staff issues and student challenges. This study has revealed that a spiritual-strategic dual approach was adopted in response to crises where spiritual leadership was the fundamental action. Further moving towards crisis planning as organizational response which includes consultation, research and benchmarking, taking actions and addressing concerns aligned with their purpose, implemented through proper communication and collaboration. Significant leadership qualities such as spiritual integrity, character strength, relational skills and management skills and abilities were proven instrumental to theological education leaders as they dealt with crises. Anchoring from the findings of the study, the S. H. I. P. (Spiritual Depth, Heart, Innovation, People) Crisis Response and Recovery Leadership Model was developed to aid theological education leaders in dealing with crises.