Leadership Studies Commons^™

A Qualitative Descriptive Study: What South Carolina Church Leaders Believe About Congregational Active Shooter Preparation, Charles David Watts Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to establish a baseline of understanding what experiences South Carolina Southern Baptist church leaders have in active shooter training and what they believe about preparing, training, and equipping congregations for an active shooter incident in their house of worship. This researcher examined how church leaders prepare, train, and equip congregations for security threats like active shooter incidents. This study fills a gap in the existing literature, adding to the research by Auten (2021), Rainer (2017), and the FBI (2016). This researcher examined how churches prepare for security threats like active shooter incidents. …

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

The Power Of Spiritual Leadership In The Rite Of Christian Initiation Of Adults, Stefanie Mingari

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Executive Summary Faith and spirituality are becoming increasingly sought-after anchors in mounting challenges in the contemporary world. The need for effective leadership, spiritual guidance, and mentorship have become more pivotal. Evidence also suggests that spiritual leadership values and practices are related to leadership effectiveness and encompass the behaviors needed to motivate oneself, satisfy spiritual well-being, and positively influence others within that organization. However, more research has yet to explore how spirituality affects leadership behavior and action in faith-based programs such as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). This study explored the lived experiences of RCIA leaders and participants …

Pastoral Leadership Of Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors In Sub-Saharan Africa And Congregational Giving During 2020-2021: A Grounded Theory Study, Eric Jean-Bruno Aniel Barbe

Dissertations

Problem

The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical model that describes how the behavioral strategies of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) pastors in Sub-Saharan Africa may have positively influenced congregational giving during the years 2020-2021 of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

A qualitative grounded theory research design was used (Corbin & Strauss, 2015). In-depth interviews were conducted to collect data from a purposive sample of SDA pastoral leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa. The collected data were analyzed using an iterative process consisting of open, axial, and selective coding, thereby facilitating the construction of subcategories and a core category. This analytical process …

The Processes, Events And Characteristics Associated With The Leadership Emergence Of New Believers In The Contemporary Movement Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In The United States, Cleveland Hobdy Iii

Dissertations

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is confronting an unsettling reality in the 21st century. A considerable body of literature has highlighted an escalating attrition rate, with the 'Ministry journal reporting in April 2019 that almost 50% of new converts eventually abandon their commitment (Thomas, 2019). Other data collected by the World Church through its Office of Research include statistics and archive information that confirm the losses (Knott, 2016; Trimm, 2023). After all the baptisms, membership transfers, professions of faith, and accessions, the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church is netting one new member per church per year. Since 1965, roughly 4 out …

Desarrollo, Implementacion Y Evaluacion De Un Seminario De Liberazgo Para Lideres De La Iglesia Central De Cojupeque, El Salvador, Alvaro Rafael Linero Vargas

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in the ministry of all believers, and at its base, the local church is not only led by pastors but also by members who take on leadership roles. In order for these members to excel in their ministries, their training and education must be intentional. The Central Cojutepeque Seventh-day Adventist Church of the Paracentral El Salvador Conference did not have an intentional leadership instruction program that can help said leaders assist in the leading of the church.

Methodology

This project is a research initiative in the field of practical theology. It was applied within …

An Internal And External Contextual Autoethnography Of A Single Mother's Experience As It Intersects With Misogyny, Patriarchy, And Hegemonic Masculinity, Heidi Sampson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation is a contextual autoethnography of my lived experience with stigmatization, stereotypes, and institutional obstructions as a divorced single mother who previously experienced intimate partner violence and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The purpose of the study is to shed light on the complexity of the single motherhood experience, both internally and externally. From 2009 to 2019, the institutions I accessed for assistance as a single mother and those I interacted with for my children, my job, my health, and even within the church were unnecessarily burdensome financially, physically, and emotionally. This dissertation takes a contextual look at …

Feminized Servanthood, Gendered Scapegoating, And The Disappearance Of Gen-X/Millennial Protestant Clergy Women, Lynn Horan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In today’s mainline Protestant churches, young women clergy navigate a precarious leadership space. While women’s ordination is well-established in American Protestantism (Burnett, 2017), Gen-X/Millennial clergy women find themselves at the crosshairs of conflicting gender narratives and unsustainable expectations of what it means to be both a woman and an ordained pastoral leader. Through the use of feminist constructivist grounded theory methodology, this study explored the lived experiences of Gen-X/Millennial clergy women who have left active ministry or a specific pastoral position due to concerns over their own interpersonal boundaries and psychological safety. Through dimensional analysis of in-depth interviews with 20 …

Chieftaincy In A Lappa: Portraiture Leadership Of Black Women, Lynne E, Washington

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The dissertation examined African American women with chieftaincy titles in Yoruba culture and how they exercised their leadership in both Yorubaland and America. It explored their leadership, authority, and training. The presence of African American women with chieftaincy titles is increasing in the American landscape. The methodology was qualitative using narrative inquiry and portraiture from Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot and Jessica Hoffman Davis (1997) with five African American women. My research included observations in Nigerian, pre-Osun festival, the Osun festival, and post-Osun festival. Observations also included three women Nigerian Chiefs. The research questions answered their qualifications to lead, their sense of knowing …

Leadership And Emergent Faith Communities In Canada: A Phenomenological Study, Anne Anderson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study is to explore how participants within emergent faith communities in Canada experience leadership. Through a phenomenological approach, members from five emergent faith communities across Canada have been interviewed in a semi-structured format. Emerging themes of transformational leadership, community along with belonging, and possible future areas of research will be discussed.

The Need For A Spiritual Reboot In The Youth Of Great Commission Church, Jean Max B St Louis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The decline of the youth attendance is evident in many Protestant churches. This research paper examined forty-three young believers from three Haitian Baptist churches, respectively, located in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. These data results help develop a suitable spiritual program that includes the six key influencing factors for spiritual growth: discipleship, mentoring, parental influence, church attendance, personal devotion, and ministerial involvement. This spiritual program was tested on a small group of young people from Great Commission Church in Queens. This research uses a mixed-method methodology, which is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data. The …

A Correlational Study: Second-Chair Leaders' Level 5 Leadership Score And Church Growth Among Southern Baptist Megachurches, Martin Benjamin Lovvorn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As the church strives to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges and navigate tumultuous times to fulfill its Great Commission, church leaders must strive to understand the type of leadership required to best accomplish their kingdom work. In researching the type of pastoral leadership that will most effectively build the church of Jesus Christ and advance his kingdom, much work has been dedicated to examining the leadership styles and influence of senior or lead pastors. However, few studies have explored the influence of second-chair pastoral leaders (SCPLs). This study is the first to quantitatively examine whether SCPLs who demonstrate the personal humility …

Engaging The Church Body Of First Baptist Church Of Baldwyn Through A Ministry Placement Process, Jonathan Haley Uhrig

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Churches often struggle with finding enough volunteers to staff their ministries fully. The church staff and a small percentage of its membership usually does most of the ministry. Instead of pleading for more volunteers and putting pressure on those already serving to add additional ministries, churches can equip their current membership to serve in the church as they are gifted. When someone comes to Christ, God gives them at least one spiritual gift. Believers also have ministry passions and talents that can be leveraged for building and growing the church. Churches can help their members discover their spiritual gifts and …

A Model For Biblical Worldview Development In Non-Denominational Christian Young Adults: A Dissertation-In-Praxis, Calvin Perry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The ideas of worldview and worldview development have not been around long but have been a matter of interest and understanding in the non-denominational area of Christianity, along with the field of scholarly research. Organizational theories play a major role in the development of all individuals. The purpose of this dissertation-in-praxis study was to test and apply a theoretical model for biblical worldview development among non-denominational Christians, ages 24-29. A qualitative method was employed using an applied research design following a deductive research approach. A worldview model was created to help understand the worldview perspective of participants. In qualitative research, …

Exploring The Biblical And Theological Foundations Of Security Decisions By Church Leaders, John M. Tuohy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological multi-case study explored the practical, ethical, theological, and biblical foundations of decisions regarding an active security strategy at church gatherings by a cross-section of mainline and nondenominational churches. For the purposes of this study, an active security strategy was defined as a formal plan for site security based on the use of security personnel. This definition included any combination of volunteer personnel, contracted private security personnel, or sworn police officers acting in an official or off-duty capacity while providing security for the gathered congregation. The theory of shepherd leadership, as defined by Laniak (2006), and which related …

Intergenerational Factors That Contribute To Millennial Church Engagement, Parker Sanderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Millennial church attendance has declined since the beginning of the new millennium. Intergenerational ambivalence has been known to contribute to this phenomenon. Through this action research, the researcher sought to determine what intergenerational factors have led to millennials’ continued or discontinued attendance within churches. A phenomenological qualitative approach centered around interviews for this study was used to determine these intergenerational factors. The sample was taken from a 1,100-member church in a major Texas metropolitan area. The goal was to help church leaders decrease relational distancing and reduce ambivalent factors to increase millennial engagement in this local congregation.

Improving Diversity And Inclusion Increasing Multiethnic Presence Within Religious Organizations, Marquita Nicole Davie

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The program is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within a religious organization by increasing the participation of individuals from various ethnic backgrounds. The validity of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s statement regarding the most segregated time in Christian America being Sunday mornings will be evaluated through observation, exploration, and scholarly articles. The Fort Leonard Wood Protestant Women of the Chapel will serve as a framework for program design and implementation. The program serves to boost the presence of multiethnic members and leaders by 10% and 5%, respectively. This program will adhere to a logic model that will include five …

The Impact Of Preaching The Image Of God As Disability-Inclusive, Laurie E. Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to Howard (2010), the North American Mission Board (NAMB) considers the disabled community in America to be unreached by the church. Hardwick (2021) also writes, “The disability community is the most unique community, the largest minority group in the world” (p. 12). This quantitative descriptive research study explored the frequency of preaching the biblical principle imago Dei, found in Genesis 1:27, in a way that includes the disabled, and how this preaching may impact disability-inclusivity in the church. The Word of God states, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them” …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Lack Of Baptist Church Participation In Seminole County, Florida, Ismael Melendez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study explores the reasons for a lack of participation in in-person Baptist churches and the rise of participation in online Baptist churches in Seminole County, Florida. The theory guiding this study was Martin Heidegger’s hermeneutical framework which focuses on the commonality of experiences. Heidegger believed that to arrive at the essence of a phenomenon a researcher must go through the revisionary process of what Heidegger termed the Hermeneutic Circle. The principal research question in this study explored existing relationship(s) between in-person and online Baptist church leaders and how such relationship(s) contributed to a lack of church participation. The …

The Word Made Digital: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence To Increase Bible Engagement, Henry Lee Jackson Iii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this descriptive study was to understand whether a relationship exists between an individual's behavioral intention to use a Bible-based chatbot that leverages AI to create human-like engagement with Scripture and the constructs of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, perceived enjoyment, and perceived risk, controlling for gender, age, and experience among registered users of the Inductive Bible Study App. Data was collected through an online survey and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), multi-group analysis (MGA), and homogeneity-of-slopes analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). While this quantitative descriptive study validated the correlation between each of the four reflective …

Pastoral Leadership As A Perceived Factor Of Changing Church Membership In South Carolina: A Phenomenological Study, Bobby L. Dukes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The role of a pastor comprises many duties and responsibilities within the church; some have led to chaos. Clinton et al. (2005), states many churches are mired in a significant leadership crisis (p. 10). Pastors are called to lead people in spiritual growth, with the end goal of parishioners living a mature spiritual life for the sake of Christ, not the contrary. The enormity of pastoral leadership has a lasting effect. Kristin Tabb (2017) claims that relatively minor church hurts leave people with a burned-out feeling during service, while the more serious wounds leave parishioners soul-scarred and physically sick at …

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Exploring Leadership Efficacy: Understanding The Impact Of Shame In Christian Leaders, Matthew James Williamson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the Christian leader’s experience of shame within organizations and its impact on their leadership efficacy. For this study, shame is defined as a deep sense of internal, negative pressure that typically elicits a subconscious desire to suppress or deflect. Since every organizational leadership role has a degree of accountability, emotional risk is potentially present in all negotiable interactions. This paper investigated the social/cultural encouragement of shame and potential avoidance of shame when emotional risk and failure are perceived. Brené Brown’s (2006) Shame Resilience Theory inspired this study. This theory is aligned with the purpose of …

A Companion Guide For The Discipleship To Missional Community (D2mc) Program, Jedidiah T. Maschke

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This Doctor of Ministry (DMin.) Major Applied Project (MAP) offers a companion guide for the discipleship training program called D2MC (Discipleship to Missional Community) taught by PLI, a leadership development organization that works primarily with the LCMS. The D2MC program is based on the training pioneered by Mike Breen through 3DM. The companion guide shows how the methods and practices taught by PLI are soundly based in Scripture and confessional Lutheran theology and offers some personal insights and devotional thoughts. The companion guide was distributed and field tested with volunteer participants through and with the approval of PLI. Participants in …

Effective Leader Development Within A Church-Planting Organization For A Changing And Chaotic World, Jeremy Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A challenge in cross-cultural church planting is developing leaders. Cross-cultural church-planting organizations like Latin American Mission (LAM; pseudonym) that lack a leadership development strategy struggle to form lasting leaders, sending missionaries with Biblical training but not leader development training. Additionally, developing leaders in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment creates specific challenges that missionaries must address. The purpose of this qualitative, Delphi method study was to investigate the leadership development perceptions and experiences among existing LAM missionaries in the regions of Latin America (Colombia, Cuba, Mexico City, Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador) to provide suggestions for improving effective leadership …

Worship Leadership From The Beginning: A Comparative Study Of Exodus 15:1-21 And Judges 5, Vivian Ann Petties

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Although many excellent books, commentaries, and journal articles have been written on worship leadership, no framework for worship leadership has been developed based upon Exodus 15:1-21 or Judges 5. The purpose of previous research has not been to discover principles of leadership, praise, and worship, or composition of music for use in ministry nor to develop a consensus about the roles played by the males and females in these texts. To develop a proposal for filling this lacuna, the present thesis will study Exodus 15:1-21 and (comparatively) Judges 5. This qualitative study will employ the exegetical methods of socio-rhetorical analysis …

A Phenomenological Examination Of Church Leaders' Perceived Impact Of Executive Coaching On Organizational Culture, Jerrell Stokley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The trajectory of the seminary training curriculum has evolved pedagogically at projecting adequate church leadership education and hands-on development. However, empirical research reveals that the seminary struggles with preparing generations of church leaders for modern church responsibilities including executive leadership, tactical performance, administration, and church organizational culture (Crowson, 2021; Costin, 2008). Hicks (2012), as cited by Smith (2017) states, “Recent studies have begun to explore the need for management training for pastors” (p. 2). Graduates as well as current church leaders report feeling ill-equipped for the increasing duties for today’s church culture. This qualitative, phenomenological study evaluated mid-to-senior level Christian …

The Development Of The Holistic Pastoral Wellbeing Assessment: A Mixed Methods Study, Timothy Captain

Dissertations

Some pastors are clearly in crisis. Research has indicated that clergy struggle to cope with the stressors of their profession. While pastoral work is overtly spiritual in nature, day-to-day tasks include interactions with God, themselves, congregants, and the world at large. Without multi-dimensional tools to consider their wellbeing, specifically assessments that reflect their worldview and role, pastors may remain unaware of dangerously low levels of wellbeing until they reach a place of crisis. Therefore, in this mixed methods study, the Holistic Pastoral Wellbeing Assessment (HPWA) was developed and tested to offer a validated, useful tool for pastors and those who …

Recovering A Missional Ecclesiology: A Framework For Reviving Congregational Mission Within The Baptist Union Of Victoria, Gayle Hill

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This project is an intervention to develop a theological and theoretical framework

that will become the foundation for a future curriculum for recovering a missional ecclesiology for the pastors of the Baptist Union of Victoria (BUV). Despite mission being central to the overall vision of the BUV, declining numbers, the post-COVID context in Victoria, and an overarching post-Christian and pluralistic context have significantly challenged the centrality and functioning of mission across our denomination. The impetus of this project was the observation that our churches were floundering rather than flourishing in the missional space. Many chronic and acute provocations were …

Cultivating Reproductive Small Group Leaders Within Southwest Church, Springboro, Ohio, Roger D. Hendricks

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This project was designed to address an ongoing challenge within the Southwest Church (SWC) in Springboro, Ohio. The specific challenge that SWC leaders have faced throughout the twenty-five-year history of the church is to continually increase the number of small group options within a growing congregation. Small groups have been identified as the primary vehicle for SWC members to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. This congregational emphasis has led to the good dilemma of having more individuals willing to participate than lead weekly small groups. In the past few years, SWC leaders have identified the need for the …

Missional Renewal In A Large And Established Suburban Western Church, Michael Stevens

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses the topic of missional renewal at Clovercrest Baptist Church (CBC), specifically focusing on participating in the mission of God through simple, memorable, and reproducible missional practices. The identified problem is a lack of process or framework for enhancing participation in God’s mission and churchwide missional renewal at CBC, a large suburban Western church. The purpose of this project intervention is to develop a resource guide of missional practices that facilitate participation in the mission of God at CBC towards missional renewal. This intervention is guided by the theological foundation that God is a God of mission. He …