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Professor Emeritus,
School of Theology & Ministry,
Vanguard University
Roger Heuser holds a PhD in Religious Studies from New York University and is professor emeritus in the School of Theology and Ministry at Vanguard University, where he has served since 1983. He has held key leadership roles including dean of the graduate school, director of the graduate programme in religion, chair of the division of religion, and co-director of the Judkins Institute for Leadership Studies.
With extensive experience in academic administration and teaching at both graduate and undergraduate levels, Prof Roger has served in roles such as dean of the graduate school, director of the graduate programme in religion, chair of the division of religion, and co-director of the Judkins Institute for Leadership Studies.
His vocational background includes 12 years of pastoral ministry, complementing his academic training in theology, spirituality, and the social sciences. Prof Roger’s interdisciplinary approach to leadership focuses on Christian spirituality and its application within churches, nonprofits, and organisational contexts. He was also instrumental in launching Vanguard’s MA in leadership studies programme, which continues to emphasise spiritually grounded leadership development.
Leadership is a complex phenomenon that cannot be easily defined as a single concept. Still, it is often understood as a set of social processes that influence people towards common goals—an approach that I will follow in this study. Drawing from general leadership theory and research on Pentecostal leadership, I will emphasise the interaction between leaders, followers, and the spiritual dimension, leading to a constructivist perspective on leader-follower relationships. The article will first address leadership in various settings, emphasising the need to contextualise leadership in different cultures, but also keeping an analytical distance to avoid dominating discourses that break with Christian perspectives. Second, I will discuss the complexity in Pentecostal leadership, especially the collaboration between divine and human interventions, the dialectic connection between agency and structure, and the ambivalence and tension between leaders and followers in ecclesial settings. Finally, I will highlight the constructive relations between leaders and followers. While leaders hold a formal position, leadership is also a social phenomenon effective only if it makes sense to church members, implying that the leader’s task is not to create everything from scratch but to build relationships and draw from the resources and spirituality present within the congregation.
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