Leadership Studies Commons^™

An Abhidharmic Theory Of Welfare, Javier S. Hidalgo

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Do Buddhist philosophical commitments support a particular theory of well-being? Most authors who have examined this question argue that Buddhist ideas are compatible with multiple theories of well-being. In this paper, I contend that one tradition of Buddhist philosophy—Abhidharma—does imply a specific theory of welfare. In particular, Abhidharma supports hedonism. Most Ābhidharmikas claim that only property-particulars called dharmas ultimately exist and I argue that an Abhidharmic theory of well-being should only refer to these properties. Yet the only dharmas that could plausibly be intrinsically good are phenomenal properties that are good in virtue of how they feel. Thus, the only …

Complete Spring Issue

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

Shared Oversight: Equipping Elders To Shepherd The Flock, Eric Michael Hartman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Leadership structures vary greatly across various faith traditions, but how much flexibility is biblically warranted? Far from being silent, the Bible is descriptive and prescriptive with regard to a plurality of leadership within a congregation. These elders, also called overseers, are to shepherd the flock (Acts 20:17, 28). The problem is that there is often lack training to that end. This study constructed a process for training elders and/or potential elders within a congregation to better understand the nature of plurality and parity of those tasked with caring for God’s people. The four training sessions covered the following: (1) The …

Church Revitalization: Fashioning Church For Growth, Willie Lee Wormack

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis research project is an approach to resolve the issues of the critically declined and dying Friendship Baptist Church whose membership cannot support a viable ministry. Friendship Baptist Church exists with minimal infrastructure at 38503 Mosstown Road, Dade City, Florida, in the rural Lacoochee, Florida area. Friendship Baptist Church needs a visionary plan with leadership and team support directed to assist with church development and growth. The case study approach will implement exploration on the meanings and beliefs of Christianity for the church in the church’s social setting. Investigations about cultural associations of faith with the church is engaged …

Defining Revitalization As The Initial Step In The Revitalization Process, Bradley Kent Childres

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The revitalization of churches that are either plateaued or declining is a daunting task for any pastor. The idea for this thesis project arose when this researcher engaged in his first revitalization program as a Senior Pastor. This researcher noticed that many people in the church were confused about what revitalization meant which led to confusion and mistrust in the revitalization process. This is when this researcher observed the need to define what revitalization means. As challenging as church revitalization is, pastors can make this process easier by knowing the first step to take in a revitalization program. This thesis …

Exploring The Cultural Intelligence (Cq) Experiences Of Ethiopian Immigrant Church Leaders And Church Families: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Worku Tegegn Wolderufael

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological research was to explore the cultural intelligence (CQ) of the Ethiopian Evangelical immigrant church leaders’ and families’ experiences in the Washington metropolitan area, including the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. In this study, nineteen participants were sampled to gather data. The data was collected through questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and focus groups. Following this, the data was analyzed through the transcendental phenomenological analysis. Through these analyses, the investigation presented the lived experiences of immigrant church leaders and church families. It described how the immigrant church leaders dealt with cultural conflicts through cultural intelligence to lead …

The Examination Of Grit In Southern Baptist Lead Pastors In Alabama, Kyle Bradley Hodges

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand the attribute of grit in current Sothern Baptist Convention (SBC) lead pastors in Alabama. Having first been coined as a separate attribute in 2007, there was much still to learn about grit and its qualities. This study attempted to research the impact of grit in Christian ministry. Grit was coined by Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly (2007) and is defined as the perseverance and passion for long term goals and the attainment of those goals. In this mixed-method study, grit was examined in lead pastors of SBC churches in Alabama …

Reflections On “To Study The Self Is To Forget The Self’: Zen Lessons On Ego And Leadership In Higher Education”, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

Stuart Lachs kindly wrote a response to my conference paper, “To study the self is to forget the self’: Zen lessons on ego and leadership in higher education” (Fagan, 2020), which led to a highly fruitful correspondence and an expansion on my thinking related to Zen, ego, and Zen practice in America today. Conversations with fellow practitioners and follow-up readings have also continued to shape my thinking. This response paper summarizes my reflections.

Contextual Leadership Within Chin Immigrant Churches In The United States, Bawi Bik Thawng

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This research explores the leadership practices of Chin immigrant congregations in the United States, focusing on how they can develop a more effective leadership practice in dealing with the new context of the new land. It attempts to answer the question: What kind of leadership practice will help Chin immigrant leaders apply adaptive leadership theory for implementing contextual oriented leadership theory for the church? The initial motivation for this research arose out of the researcher’s interest in the perception of Chin immigrant congregations on the issue of leadership. A qualitative case study research method was employed in this research.

The …

Perceived Effectiveness Of A Mentoring Program For Training Adventist Chinese Evangelists, Terry Man-Yuen Tsui

Dissertations

Problem

The fact that evangelism in the Unorganized Territories of the Chinese Union Mission was done mainly as personal evangelism and that public evangelism was limited to a one-day seed sowing meeting had led to a serious need for equipping pastors in effective public evangelism methods. It required a model of public evangelism, which is adaptable to the local Chinese culture, and a mentoring program that accompanies evangelists, who were still developing their skills in public evangelism.

Method

This study used a parallel mixed methods design to measure the perceived effectiveness of selected methods in the mentoring program. This design …

Religious Racial Socialization: The Approach Of A Black Pastor At An Historic Black Baptist Church In Orange County, California, Shandell S. Maxwell

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This case study explored and developed the religious racial socialization (RRS) approach of a Black Baptist pastor in Orange County, California. The aim was to assess how the pastor’s direct messages about race influenced and transformed members’ racial and social views and actions and examined the message alignment between what the pastor said and what church members and the leadership team heard. This study took a multimethod exploratory approach, examining multiple sources of data gathered from a Likert scale members’ survey, leadership team interviews, and archival materials. To support triangulation of the data, a word query and emergent thematic analysis …

Womanists Leading White People In Intergroup Dialogue To End Anti-Black Racism: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, Tawana Angela Davis

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Womanism is a term curated by Alice Walker (2004) that centers Black women’s lived experiences, past and present, encouraging Black women to no longer look to others for their liberation (Floyd-Thomas, 2006). Soul 2 Soul Sister’s Facing Racism program is facilitated by Womanist instructors, who work with groups of mostly white people to address anti-Black racism. This qualitative study explored the experiences of white participants who took part in this program, Facing Racism, which holds Womanism as its central guiding principle. Although pre- and post-surveys were routinely conducted over the years about participants’ experiences with Facing Racism, this study sought …

Shifting Paradigms: Using Action Research To Redefine Engagement In Faith Formation In Unitarian Universalism, Amy Huntereece

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The issues that this research addressed were the changes related to engagement in religious education (RE) in the Unitarian Universalist (UU) church in the past several decades. To address this problem, the purpose of this research was to innovatively problem-solve with other religious professionals and consider how to redefine engagement to support families in their faith formation. The research aims to answer the question: How could UU RE professionals more effectively engage families in faith formation opportunities designed to meet the desired outcomes of RE parents/caregivers? To gather data, interviews with seven Millennial and Generation X parents/caregivers from the Baja …

Formulating A Communal Covenant For The Elders And Ministers Of South Fork Church Of Christ, Drew Baker

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the lack of a communal covenant for the elders and ministers of South Fork Church of Christ. The purpose of the project was to formulate a covenant that would promote the spiritual discernment and leadership of the elders and ministers. For the theological framework, I relied upon Mark’s portrait of Jesus. I looked at Jesus’s lived example as well as his teachings to discern values and practices that defined his leadership and should therefore be normative for Christian leaders. These values and practices were analyzed according to three relational categories—relationship with God, with each other, and with …

Complete Fall Issue

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

Dissertation Notices, H. L. Penna, H. Parker, E. C. Scott, C. J. Danquah, D. R. Williams, C. O. Agbarakwe

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

From Ideology To Implementation: Moving One Church Staff From An Aspirational Mindset Of Developing Leaders To An Actionable Movement Of Leadership Development, Trevor Blake Hislop

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to a recent article on “The Paradox of Leadership” from Harvard University, there are more than 15,000 books in print on the topic of leadership, and the number of works written about leadership in the past decade is greater than the total number of works ever written. So, if leadership is so highly valued in our culture today, then why is there a decline in leadership development in the church? Additionally, there are a growing number of churches that have detailed programs for leadership development; however, few churches are producing new leaders. Church at Viera in Viera, Florida, embraces …

Original Free Will Baptist Clergy Role Stress: A Definition And Its Emotional Consequences, Dustin R. Bannister

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The role of a clergyperson is often understood as one that creates a connection between the human and the divine, faith and God. However, such a vast role is typically executed in specific ways, such as leading Bible studies, visiting the sick, leading worship, and the act of preaching. At times, such a role demands even more nuanced behaviors based upon the context, population, and time. As this study posited, the problem is that such a multiplicity of clergy expectations inevitably create role stress, as understood through the constructs of role ambiguity and role conflict. In particular, how one might …

A Field Theory Guided Quantitative Study Into Environmental Forces Impacting Christian Leadership And Instrument Development, Leonard Scott Momeny

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to determine and then evaluate perceptions of Christian seminary students with recent ministry related leadership experience on the environmental factors and forces, both internal and external, that either enable or constrain the efforts of the modern Christian leader. Christian leadership study, much like general leadership study tends to focus directly upon the leader, thus ignoring the potential impact of environmental variables upon resultant leadership. For this knowledge gap to be properly investigated a new instrument, based upon work by Dr. David Dockery, was developed, refined, and utilized to investigate the perception of …

A Mixed-Method Study: Executive Pastors And The Performance Of Fast-Growing Churches, Donald Wouter Bosch

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Based on available literature, little systematic investigation has explicitly considered the extent to which investing in church management, including hiring executive pastors, affects church performance. The purpose of this exploratory sequential mixed-methods study is to assess phenomenological and correlational data from one hundred of the fastest-growing churches in the United States, as ranked by LifeWay Research (2018) for calendar years 2017-2018 and draw available conclusions on church executive leadership capacity versus performance. Phenomenological data was used to qualitatively examine the executive management functions at these churches and analyze how each determined its need for such expertise based on leadership team …

The Relationship Between Pastoral Servant Leadership And Congregational Spiritual Formation In U. S. Churches, Rich J. Sironen

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this correlational study was to determine if a relationship exists between pastoral servant leadership and congregational spiritual formation in Protestant churches located in the United States of America. The context of this study was to assess possible relationships between pastoral servant leadership and congregational spiritual formation. The population of churches used for this study was comprised of Protestant churches located within the United States of America. The methodological research design for this study was a quantitative non-exploratory correlational approach, which is used to "describe and measure the degree of association (or relationship) between two or more variables …

Following The Guide: A Wilderness Theology Of Youth Ministry, Rachel M. Weisz

Honors Projects

Scripture offers readers a unique characterization of wilderness spaces and provides us with a great deal of information about what to expect. This discussion traces various scriptural narratives of encounter with God in the wilderness, offering the reader a model for what a wilderness experience of God may entail, and then turns to more current conversation about wilderness youth ministry. The project traces current research of fields that are tangentially related to wilderness youth ministry including wilderness therapy, outdoor adventure education, and camp ministry, and seeks to highlight the ways that they can enhance, alter, and confirm various practices within …

Adolescent Spiritual Formation: Practical Theology As A Filter For Youth Ministry, Jeremy Smith

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

There seems to be a disconnect between the practice and scholars of youth ministry. Historically, the practice of youth ministry has been overly concerned with method, creating multiple approaches, each with its own inherent shortcomings. Responding to this overemphasis on method, scholars of youth ministry have argued for a more theological framework, assuming that the problem lies within a lack of theological education among youth ministry practitioners. In 2001 youth ministry scholarship made a case to place the field of youth ministry under the discipline of practical theology in hopes of grounding the practice of youth ministry in theology. Over …

Cultivating Virtue: Developing A Guiding Document For Youth Ministry At Cookeville First United Methodist Church, Adam Daniels

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to produce a guiding document of virtues that represented the type of Christ-like character qualities desired in youth at Cookeville First United Methodist Church. The six virtues chosen in the document represent a comprehensive vision for character growth over the course of students’ time in the program. To provide a theological foundation for this project, I examined the idea that virtue has a narrative shape where words find their meaning in a story. For our purposes, this story is generally stated as the story of Jesus at first but is then seen as best …

Why Practice Philosophy As A Way Of Life?, Javier S. Hidalgo

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This essay explains why there are good reasons to practice philosophy as a way of life. The argument begins with the assumption that we should live well but that our understanding of how to live well can be mistaken. Philosophical reason and reflection can help correct these mistakes. Nonetheless, the evidence suggests that philosophical reasoning often fails to change our dispositions and behavior. Drawing on the work of Pierre Hadot, the essay claims that spiritual exercises and communal engagement mitigate the factors that prevent us from living in accordance with our conceptions of the good life. So, many of us …

Megachurches Can Have Mega Problems - Insights From Toxic Leadership In Modern Megachurches, Brandon Billings

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

The Christian megachurch is a relatively recent phenomenon, championing new ideals and theological practices for faith communities around the world. Megachurches, by definition, are Christian churches that consist of over a thousand attendees. Most megachurches are independent from a denomination – a characteristic that brings a multitude of advantages as well as challenges. One specific challenge for megachurches is the problem of potential abuse by pastors that are characterized by toxic and destructive leadership. In recent years, many Christians, as well as non-Christians, have been shocked by the number of megachurch pastors revealed as bullies, narcissists, or sexual assailants. Although …

Smooth Transitions: An Examination Of Succession Planning And Leadership Continuity Among Directors And Associate Directors Of The Potomac Conference Corporation Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Fred-Richard T. Warfield

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Far too many organizations fall short of the strategic task of succession planning. The absence of satisfactory solutions in this area stifles the ability of an organization to achieve its mission and vision. Lack of planning in this area also contributes to a negative impact on overall morale, staff performance, and effectiveness as these turnovers ensue. The purpose of this thesis project is to explore the perceived absence of intentional succession planning and leadership transitioning among director and associate director-level leadership positions within the Potomac Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists. In this project, surveys and one-on-one interviews are conducted among …

Lay Leader Development And The Model Of Christ: Intentional Small Group Organization For Multiplying Groups At Green Acres Baptist Church, Michael Wayne Gossett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a strategic process for leader development utilizing small groups at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas. The development of lay leaders will determine the efforts of starting and sustaining small groups and ministry efforts in the local church. The structure of groups and the strategy to develop leaders should be a replicable system formulated within biblical parameters. The biblical research is concentrated toward the methods practiced by Jesus with his disciples. Biblical discipleship is examined for the purpose of assessing adequate organization that cultivate leader development and group multiplication. Effective small …

A Multi-Case Qualitative Study Of Servant Leadership In The Appalachian Mountains Of Southwestern Virginia, Deidra Kaye Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a need for capable leaders within churches to provide interconnected stability for economically challenged regions. The purpose of this multi-case study research was to understand and assess the exposure to the Ken Blanchard servant-leadership model on Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) church congregations located in the three-county area of Buchanan, Tazewell, and Russell in the rural Appalachian Mountains (RAM) region of Southwestern Virginia (SWVA) and select outcome assessment criteria. At this stage of the research, servant-leadership was generally defined as a leader who works for the common good and attempts to empower others in ways that strengthen and transform …

Comparison Of Perceptions Of Single Mothers And Christian Leaders Through Transformational Change, Brienne Denise Robertson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the transformational change process of single mothers from their perspective, and to then assess the influence of Christian leaders in this transformational change process from the leaders’ perspective, with respect to the single mother’s family stability: spiritually, emotionally, financially and generationally. The two theories working simultaneously in this study was the transformational leadership theory and transformational learning theory. The implementation of these two theories could spark an authentic life-long change in the single mother. Understanding the role of transformational leadership in Christian leaders then becomes necessary to guide single mothers …