Table Of ContentPASTORAL LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES IN ECUMENICAL RELATIONSHIPS
IN JAMAICA:
A CASE STUDY OF CHURCH OF GOD OF PROPHECY’S PASTORS
IN ST. CATHERINE EAST, JAMAICA
A THESIS-PROJECT
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY IN GLOBAL PENTECOSTALISM
BY
JUNIOR R. HEADLAM
MAY 2018
Copyright © 2018 by Junior R. Headlam. All Rights. Reserved.
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATUONS vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix
ABSRACT x
Chapter
1. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING 1
Ecumenism 1
The Genesis of the Church of God (of Prophecy) 2
The Exclusive Church of God of Prophecy 3
The Church of God of Prophecy Shows Signs of Change 5
The Church of God of Prophecy, Jamaica, Context 7
Jamaica’s Complex Religious Landscape 10
The Church of God of Prophecy and Affiliated Groups in Jamaica 14
From Anglicanism to Pentecostalism 17
The Church of God of Prophecy, Jamaica, St. Catherine East Context 19
Why the Question of Ecumenical Relationships? 24
Conclusion 25
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 27
Introduction 27
The History of Pentecostalism and Ecumenism 28
Further Criticisms of Pentecostals 34
iii
Issues Affecting Pentecostal Ecumenism 35
Doctrinal Challenges to Pentecostal Ecumenical Relationship 38
The Future for Ecumenism 48
Conclusion 51
3. BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS 53
Introduction 53
Ecumenism: Old Testament Perspectives 54
The Effect of Disunity in Mission 59
The Prayer for Unity 62
A Divided Church Cannot Unite a Divided World 67
Toward a Culture of Ecumenism 73
Conclusion 77
4. PROJECT DESIGN 79
Population 80
Quantitative and Quantitative Research Methodology 82
Presentation of Data and Analysis 83
Responses to Questionnaires 83
Open-Ended Questionnaire 94
Qualitative Study—Focus Group 98
Conclusion 102
5. OUTCOMES 104
Is Ecumenism Being Promoted by the Church of God of Prophecy? 106
Beyond Rallies and Crusades 108
iv
Bi-vocational Pastors and the COGOP 112
Belief Must Impact Action 113
COGOP Ecumenical Introspection 116
Conclusion 118
Recommendations 121
Appendix
A. QUESTIONNAIRE 127
B. FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS 129
C. INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENT 130
BIBLIOGRAPHY 132
VITA 137
v
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1: Percentage Response to Question 1 84
Figure 2: Percentage Response to Question 2 85
Figure 3: Percentage Response to Question 3 86
Figure 4: Percentage Response to Question 4 87
Figure 5: Percentage Response to Question 5 88
Figure 6: Percentage Response to Question 6 89
Figure 7: Percentage Response to Question 7 90
Figure 8: Percentage Response to Question 8 91
Figure 9: Percentage Response to Question 9 92
Figure 10: Percentage Response to Question 10 93
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The thought of completing a doctoral degree given my enormous responsibilities
was a daunting one at first when I contemplated enrollment into the Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry program. My immediate family, consisting of
Patricia, my wife of twenty one years, and our son, Nahshon, has truly been my stay
during this time. With my many trips away from home, and even being absent while at
home, my family has demonstrated great support, and for this I am eternally grateful to
them.
My local church family, the Old Harbour Road Church of God of Prophecy,
Jamaica, has demonstrated genuine care for me during this time as well. They too had to
put up with my regular absence from church and reduced pastoral service from time to
time. However, their prayerful moral and financial support has contributed to my
accomplishment; consequently, I credit the accomplishment of my degree to my church
family, without whom completing it would have been made much more a challenge. I
also thank the Center for Biblical Leadership (CBL) for the sponsorships over the period
of my study.
I must also mention the support of my friends and associates who have
contributed to my accomplishment in different ways: Winston and Heidi Leith and
Hyacinth Campbell, my immediate study companions; also, Rev. Richard Beckford for
assisting with pre-reading and editing and Linda Triemstra for her professional services
rendered.
vii
Thanks to Dr. Hector Ortiz and Dr. Eldin Villafane for their unwavering support,
guidance, and encouragement throughout the program. Their belief in me has propelled
me forward, even when at times it seems impossible.
viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CARICOM Caribbean Community & Common Market
CBI Caribbean Basin Initiative
CCJ Caribbean Court of Justice
CGP Church of God of Prophecy
COGOP Church of God of Prophecy
CPMA Church of Prophecy Markers Association
JAFGC Jamaica Association of Full Gospel Churches
JUGC Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches
NAE National Association of Evangelicals
PCCNA Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America
PFNA Pentecostal Fellowship of North America
ix
ABSTRACT
As of 2018, I have spent the last nineteen years serving as pastor in the Church of
God of Prophecy (COGOP); I have been a member since 1983 and have served in various
other capacities in the church. My years of service and experience have given me a
vantage point to observe many of the challenges and opportunities facing the
denomination. However, as my knowledge and experience increase, I sense a greater
need, not only to see and talk but also to act.
One of the areas of challenge I have observed is the church’s historically weak
ecumenical relationships. Many of the pastors with whom I serve in Jamaica demonstrate
a chronic unwillingness to engage in meaningful ecumenical relationships. This is also
the ethos of the national church, which, although it has existed on the Island (Jamaica) for
more than nine decades and has more than three hundred congregations, is relatively
unknown nationally. This is partly because the church has refused to be meaningfully
involved in ecumenical relationships over the years.
I therefore consider ecumenism an important subject to investigate. This is so as
the church is continually left out of important events and dialogues while other churches
are consistently consulted by the Jamaican government. My intention therefore is to
examine the possible cause or causes for this kind of low engagement by the church and
to determine what steps the church must take to leverage its latent strength in Jamaica. As
the parish overseer for the church in St. Catherine East, I will use this cohort of pastors as
a sample for this research. However, my hope is that the research may also benefit the
larger Christian community.
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