Chapter 6 Congregational leadership through imitation and persuasive speech as critical drivers for transforming congregations and society Joseph Pali & Eugene Baron 1 6.1 Introduction Churches in South Africa have been battling to capture the heart of its adherents. The contribution of this book, A battle for the heart. How (not) to transform church and society (2020), calls for scrutiny on the instru- ments that congregation leaders use and could use to transform the lives of its adherents. The main research question in this chapter is: How can an imitation of personal example and persuasive speech of a leader in a congregation contribute to the transformation of church and society? This chapter addresses the focus of the book on two conceptual levels, in terms of how the ‘heart’ is and can be captured and transformed through imitation and persuasive speech of a leader. Leadership that is practised from a good heart has more impact than leadership controlled by programmes and intellectual aptitude. According to Anthony (2019:5), the word ‘heart’ appears over one thousand times in the Bible, of which eight hundred and fifty references to ‘heart’ are found in the Old Testament. The word ‘heart’ is the most important and common an- thropomorphic term in Scripture. It can be used metaphorically, spiritual- ly or as a real organ of a living being. Anthony (2019:4, 16) makes a re- markable comment when he argues that God’s heart, as a model of the good heart, focuses on the well-being of humanity. We realise this when God grieves in his heart when we sin and rejoices in his heart when we repent and praise him. In contrast, a human being’s heart is rarely focused on God; it tends to deviate from the will of God. Jeremiah 17:9 mentions that the 1 Dr. K.J. Pali, Department of Practical and Missional Theology, University of the Free State. E-mail:palikj@ufs.ac.za & Dr. E. Baron, Department of Practical and Missional Theology, University of the Free State. E-mail:barone@ufs.ac.za