dissertation

23
my final draft. In this way, I hope to have arrived at descriptions and interpretations
that have been intersubjectively shared, or at least tested, to a sufficiently large degree.
I trust that following the seven steps described here has provided enough validity.
Still, my descriptions, interpretations, and proposals may in the eyes of some readers
be much improved upon. I do not see this as a problem. On the contrary, a hermeneutical
methodology implies that different perspectives on the same themes are to be expected.
In addition, applications of complexity theory – which in my opinion deserve to be
taken seriously, albeit with caution 99 – suggest that it is by conversing about our different
interpretations that important new meanings may come to the fore. 100 Complexity
theorizing also alerts us to the “dynamism of our environments and the lack of certainty
and assuredness of our methods. It advocates a certain level of tentativeness concerning
our findings and conclusions and humility regarding our discoveries, in the knowledge
that something new, something yet unknown is just around the corner, still to emerge.”
101
Moreover, I realize that my approach has a limited scope, in the sense that it is primarily
focused on discourses and concepts. An in-depth analysis of how leadership and leader
education within the Emerging-Missional milieu actually works in practice, is not
provided. It is true that in human communities, theoretical ideals often do not correspond
with practices. I tried to deal with this reality by incorporating insights from several
ethnographic studies on emerging or missional churches, or studies on institutes
that aim to train missional leaders.
A final choice of strategic importance that I made and that should be mentioned here
was not to dwell extentensively on cultural differences between, for example, the United
States of America and the Netherlands. This is because this thesis does not deal with
specific ‘models’ of church – or church leadership – that grew on American (or on Australian,
British, etc.) soil and that should now be transplanted to another country. Our
interest – as, indeed, that of the EMC as such – lies in discovering certain principles that
are relevant for any cultural context. For example, we will see EMC authors pointing
out that an important task for leaders is to take careful notice of characteristics of and
changes in the specific socio-cultural context that they find themselves in. We agree
that this is an important task – not just in English speaking countries, but also in the
Netherlands, and elsewhere.
99
On this topic see chapter 6.
100
According to Scott Page, heterogeneity, or differences, in backgrounds, perspectives, heuristics and mental
models among members of a social system are the most likely way to generate innovative solutions to challenging
problems. Scott Page, The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools,
and Societies (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007).
101
Irene E. Karpiak, “Chaos and Complexity: A Framework for Understanding Social Workers at Midlife,”
in Vincent A. Anfara, Jr., and Norma T. Metz, eds., Theoretical Frameworks in Qualitative Research (London:
Sage, 2006), 106.