Rev. Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D. and Rev. Kang-San Tan, D.Min. Ph.D. The British Baptist Missionary Society (BMS World Mission) holds a treasured place in the history of the modern mission movement. It was William Carey, often called the father of modern missions, who catalyzed the work with his famous An Enquiry into the Obligation […]
Polycentric Leadership for Kingdom Movements (Part I)
Joseph W. Handley, Jr. Abstract One of the simplest definitions for a Kingdom Movement is that proposed by David Garrison in looking at Church Planting Movements: “a rapid multiplication of indigenous churches planting churches that sweeps through a people group or population segment” (Garrison 2004, 21). Over the years, the terminology has changed but in essence Garrison’s definition captures […]
Polycentrism as the New Leadership Paradigm
SIX COMMON THEMES FOR A TRINITARIAN APPROACH TO LEADING MISSIONS By Joseph W. Handley, Jr. Polycentric—Why? And, what’s that?1 As the world grapples with ongoing tensions, polarities, and ever-growing challenges, I am convinced that we need a new approach to leadership. It was this concern that compelled me to study global leadership and see if […]
Leading Polycentrically in Mission
Joseph W. Handley, Jr. POLYCENTRICISM AND MISSION As the world struggles with mounting tensions, I am convinced that we need a new approach to leadership. This year, in particular, these issues leaped in front of us as a global pandemic hit our world, the economy faltered, and political tensions rose in areas we all thought […]
A3 (formerly Asian Access)
Case Study: A non-profit mission organization in Japan becomes a global leader development movement THE CORE–NETWORK–CLOUD MOVEMENT MODEL INTRODUCTION Over the past eight years I have been researching various aspects of leadership to gain a deeper understanding of how to lead mission movements within the globalized ecosystem in which we now live. This article presents […]
Discussing Polycentric Leadership
Asia Leadership Development Network recently interviewed Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D. about polycentric leadership for its Unleash podcast. Here’s the video from that episode, and it’s a great introduction to PCL…
A Leadership Model for a Polarized World
Introducing Polycentric Leadership The past thirteen months have been one of the most disruptive seasons in my lifetime. A global pandemic, one of the worst economies of the century, and a divisive political environment were all contributors. We have faced lock downs, loss of incomes and jobs, and the disease itself—as we still do at […]
Leading Mission Movements
Published in Evangelical Missions Quarterly; used by permission from Missio Nexus by Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D. Over the past eight years I have been researching various aspects of leadership to gain a deeper understanding of how to lead mission movements within the globalized ecosystem in which we now live. This article presents a new theory […]
Thoughts on Charisma
How important is ‘charisma’ to leadership? I posed this particular question to two national leaders from different countries in South Asia recently. I want to share some of their reflections here. The first leader responded… Joe, before I answer the question I thought it would be good to look at the dictionary definition of the term Charisma. […]
Diverse Trait
Polycentric Leadership leverages diverse leaders and styles. Leaders who value and recognize DIVERSITY are able to work across regions, networks, and cultures. The diversity of leadership gifts described in Ephesians 4 is paramount. For diversity to be fully employed within a polycentric leadership model, it must represent every facet of diversity represented within a network, movement or […]
