Abstract
Building upon the foundation he laid in his doctoral dissertation at Columbia International University, Emanuel Prinz self-published Movement Catalysts: Profile of an Apostolic Leader in August of 2022. Prinz bases his book on data about church planting movements (CPMs) gleaned by Dr David Garrison while he was at the International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention, but he specifically focuses on the various characteristics and best practices of those movements’ leaders. His research produces a qualitative snapshot of the catalytic leader most common within documented CPMs.
Although much has been written and discussed in missiological circles regarding CPMs, Prinz notes that relatively little attention has been given to the leadership makeup within those movements. Labeling such leadership as apostolic, his primary thesis is that “the person of the apostolic leader is the key element that determines whether or not a movement launches, not the method he or she employs” (Prinz, 2022, p. 5). Prinz analyzes those leaders’ common characteristics and best practices to craft a profile for successful missional leadership. In eight chapters, Prinz outlines his research methodology, presents a brief literature review, offers the results from the data collected, and summarizes the findings with implications and conclusions.
In chapter 1, Prinz relates his rationale for the study and establishes some benchmarks. He defines his research scope within the IMB's empirical documentation of 45 CPMs among 33 ethnic groups in fourteen countries. He also shows some biblical understanding of the apostolic leader as a catalyst in those movements. This establishes a foundation for his argument that the catalyst is the most critical factor in facilitating a CPM.
Chapter 2 reviews secular and Christian literature on leadership theory and CPMs. The net result identifies 41 traits that describe an apostolic leader. However, he notes minimal consensus within the literature reviewed. Therefore, Prinz chooses to include only those traits which “have the comparatively largest amount of agreement among authors” (Prinz, 2022, p. 36). He justifies his omissions as irrelevant to the study. He also assigns a connected appendix to discuss counter ideas as rival explanations.
Chapter 3 reveals the teaming data, which Prinz also illustrates in his appendices. Examining the ministry approaches of Disciple-Making Movements, Training for Trainers, Insider Movements, and C5 contextualization, he describes the team makeup of those in catalytic leadership in CPMs, with the great majority having only one or two members on a leadership team. He describes the varying roles consigned to team members within those different approaches.
In chapter 4, Prinz identifies traits and competencies in effective movement catalysts using the raw data self-reported by those in leadership. Eleven of those are present in all catalysts, and an additional 23 characteristics and competencies are exhibited within at least 80%. From these qualities, Prinz writes chapter 5 to describe how 27 traits result in measurable leadership practices.
The last three chapters are devoted to interpretation, discussion, and application. In chapter 6, Prinz cites the research data from IMB to answer potential objections to his use of CPM reports to establish leadership traits and practices. He writes chapter 7 to suggest that the empirical evidence should mandate a shift from the missiological discussion about CPMs toward a discussion of leadership development. In chapter 8, he presents an apostolic leadership model with a personality profile and competency rubric for potential future catalysts of CPMs. Prinz believes such a model can be helpful in both recruitment and training.
Prinz's thesis that the common factor for success within CPMs is the character and behavioral makeup of their catalysts or apostolic leaders is significant. Whereas much has been discussed regarding the phenomenon of CPMs and their implications for mission board strategies, Prinz's perspective is a new voice at the missiological roundtable. The idea that leadership plays a vital role in facilitating the rapid reproduction of house and cell churches has been discussed. Still, Prinz's research may be the first to cross-tabulate quantitative data from actual CPM statistics to produce a list of leadership qualities and behaviors.
His most robust case is made in chapters 4 and 5 to identify quantifiable characteristics present in mission leadership when a CPM is documented. This is an undeniably well-documented presentation of correlation. However, Prinz's argument for causality is weak, as he fails to show that the characteristics identified contribute to the CPM.
Prinz's book reads much like a doctoral dissertation, so there may not have been many alterations from his work at Columbia to produce the current publication. Nonetheless, his presentation is replete with a quantitative study, including timelines, Delphi flowcharts, and frequency tables. The data are presented straightforwardly with little explanation of the mathematics behind the statistical analysis. As such, he holds the reader's attention to argue his case for a model conducive to the recruitment and training of catalytic leaders in missions. The data are derived from IMB annual statistics, and he concedes that these studies are yet but a first step toward understanding missional leadership. Still, Prinz is original in his approach to leadership development in using the information garnered to create a profile of an apostolic leader.
Overall, Prinz’s book is a welcomed addition to the missiological roundtable. His unique approach to studying CPMs from the vantage point of the leader is innovative and daring. One major strength of this work is the interdisciplinary merger of fields. Prinz brings missiology and statistical analysis to the same table as leadership theory. Although the three fields are unique in and of themselves, the narrative triple Venn diagram that the author draws creates an essential dialogue about leadership and missions with numerical validation. Yet another strength that has missiological implications is his premise that mission leadership can be singularly crafted for CPMs. The idea that specific characteristics in CPM leadership expose a prototype or model for a catalytic leader might alter the recruitment methods or placement decisions a mission board takes for greater effectiveness. That very strength can also become a clear stumbling block in both academia and mission practices, however, as research into leadership as the prime causality of a missiological phenomenon has yet to be finalized. The thought that specific behaviors are present as best practices among those same leaders may be enough to warrant a paradigm shift in training methodologies. Still, whether those behaviors will automatically produce the same results each time is a lingering question. Perhaps further research is justified to clarify the weaker pieces that Prinz acknowledges, but his work in this book initiates a future conversation that could change how church planting is done.
