Exploring Leadership in a Changing Church

The present phenomenological study investigated the experience of leaders and leadership among active Lutheran clergy serving congregations in the Eastern Synod of the ELCIC in a time of change. Eleven rostered leaders of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) were interviewed individually using a semi-structured interviews addressing leadership and changes in the church to facilitate the conversation. Participants also completed a participant questionnaire in advance of the semi-structured interview to make sure the sample was diverse in gender, years of ordination and geographical context of ministry. Participants were able to articulate what values and requirements needed to be in place to work collaboratively with colleagues as well as the influence of change especially a global pandemic, impacting their desire to work collaboratively with others. Given the information ascertained in this study more research within the wider ELCIC would give valuable insights to the influence of collaborative leadership during a time of change in the church.