Examining the Factors Affecting the Discipline of Pastors’ Children in the Context of Church Mission: A Case of Tigania West Sub-County, Meru County

Abstract

Discipline whether of children or adults has a lot of impact in any society. Peace, unity and prosperity of any society is dependent on the discipline of its people. Peace, unity and prosperity of a family or a church or any other institution is also dependent on discipline. Discipline as important as it is, is at times affected to the detriment of the society by some factors. Globally, continentally, nationally and locally there have been reported issues pertaining to discipline of pastors’ children. Discipline of pastors’ children has an effect on the performance of the pastor. Pastors with discipline children are less stressed while pastors with indisciplined children are stressed emotionally and spiritually impacting negatively on their effectiveness in mission. While many studies have been done on the behaviour of pastors' children and the stresses they are subjected to, little has been done regarding factors affecting their discipline and their impact on the church mission. This study, therefore, sought to examine the factors affecting the discipline among pastors' children in the context of church mission in Tigania West Sub-county, Meru County, Kenya. The study had the following objectives; to assess the parenting factors affecting discipline among pastors’ children in the context of church mission in Tigania West Sub-county, to establish the societal factors affecting discipline among pastors’ children in the context of church mission in Tigania West Sub-county , to evaluate the cultural factors affecting discipline among pastors’ children in the context of church mission in Tigania West Sub-county , and to examine the church factors affecting discipline among pastors’ children in the context of church mission in Tigania West Sub-county . Qualitative research approach was used in this study. The target population was 431 people. That is 52, pastors, 191 elders and 188 pastor’s children who were all from 51 Pentecostal church in Tigania West, Meru county. Purposive sampling was used in this study.25 respondents were engaged in this study as follows: 10 Pastors, 10 Pastor’s children and 5 Elders. Open ended questionnaires and interview schedules were used as research instruments. Thematic narrative analysis of data was adopted in this study. The study established that parenting, societal and cultural factors are the main factors affecting the discipline of pastors’ children in Tigania West Sub- county, Meru county. Church factors affected the discipline of children minimally. The study recommended that Pentecostal churches in Tigania West Sub-county, Meru County should have structures in place that ensure pastors are not over burdened with church work at the expense of their families, Churches should initiate programmes that train pastors' children on their roles and on how to face and address challenges posed by their peers, the congregants and the cultural practices that impact discipline negatively. The study recommended that church managements engage counselling professionals who would occasionally provide one-on-one counseling sessions to the pastors' children and always keep in touch with them for their mental and physical wellbeing. The study also recommends that pastors should have training on parenting because it is a challenge to some. Church leaders should be trained on how to handle and encourage a pastor who has children with discipline issues. The study recommended that further study should be done among the female clergy as this study covered only male clergy in regard to the factors affecting the discipline of pastors’ children in the context of church mission in Tigania West Sub-county. Further research should also be carried to establish the impact of pastors’ education to parenting and how pastor’s education impacts discipline.