Date of Award

Fall 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

College

Barnett College of Ministry & Theology

Department

Department of Christian Ministries and Religion

Primary Advisor

Dr. Josh Mayo

Second Advisor

Dr. Charlie Dawes

Third Advisor

Dr. Jeremy Sims

Abstract

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock” (Acts 20:28) is both a warning and an invitation. It insists that the pastor's inner life and the congregation's shared life cannot be pulled apart without doing damage to both. This dissertation grows out of that conviction and out of years of pastoral ministry in Pentecostal churches where the pressure to perform often overwhelms the slow work of being formed. It asks a simple but searching question: How do Assemblies of God pastors serving congregations under 500 in attendance understand the connection between their own spiritual health and the spiritual health of the people they lead? In response, the project develops a values-based model of mutual formation built around five interwoven values: The Cross, Mystery, Eclecticism, Community, and Revolution. These values emerge from Scripture, the wisdom of the historic church, and contemporary voices in spiritual theology, and they are tested in conversation with real pastors in real churches rather than in abstraction. A quantitative survey instrument, shaped by these five values, was administered to Assemblies of God pastors in the United States, and their responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analyses to explore how they perceive and prioritize pastoral and congregational health. The results paint a hopeful yet sobering picture. Pastors in this study largely describe themselves and their churches as spiritually healthy, and they consistently identify Community as the most reliable sign and support of that health. At the same time, meaningful gaps appear between the values pastors say they want for their churches and the practices they actually inhabit in their own lives, especially around the costly work of the Cross and the surrendered posture of Mystery. This dissertation proposes a practical rhythm of life for pastors and v congregations shaped by the five values, offering a way to reconnect formation and function so that both shepherd and flock can respond more faithfully to the Spirit’s work. In the end, the hope is that Acts 20:28 will sound less like a threat and more like an invitation into a shared life of cruciform, Spirit-empowered transformation.

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