Leland Harder

Leland Harder was a pastor, seminary professor, and sociologist, who combined all of these areas to make significant contributions to the church during his lifetime ministry. From 1958-1983 he taught at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary inElkhart, Indiana in the area of practical theology and he directed field education.

In the 1970s Harder and J. Howard Kauffman conducted sociological research of Mennonite church members and published the findings in the book Anabaptists Four Centuries Later: A Profile of Five Mennonite and Brethren in Christ Denominations. Other books that Harder wrote or edited include Sources of Swiss Anabaptism, The Pastor-People Partnership: The Call and Recall of Pastors from a Believers' Church Perspective, Nurturing Faith, and The Concept of Discipleship in Christian Education. Harder died in 2013 at the age of 86.