Search

Discipleship is not, and has never been, one specific thing, at one specific time, or place. Rather, it has a rich, but also often unflattering, history. That history is fool of ups, downs, rights, wrongs, twists, and turns. Discipleship in the Church can be viewed in two parts; The early Church through the Nineteenth Century being Part I (8). The explosion of Discipleship teachings and tactics that began in the Twentieth Century, and continues to the present, being Part II (9). Discipleship informs some believers to engage socially and politically yet encourages many believers to stay away from those circles.

The purpose of this case study was to explore the effects that a leadership mentoring plan had on the development of emerging leaders within the ministry of the International Ministry Network of Churches (IMNC). This study also sought to determine future leadership readiness regarding succession. This church fellowship currently does not have an established mentorship program in place, and without a successful plan for preparing new leaders for the future of the IMNC, the organization's growth and perpetuity can be potentially impacted negatively. The research was conducted by surveying senior local church leaders within the IMNC to assess their current practices and present an optional mentoring plan. The researcher also presented examples of mentoring leaders and the process of succession expressed by biblical leaders throughout history.

The United States and Confederate Navies saw the most action and glory in the first days of the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864. It is therefore not surprising that historians paint the opening scenes of the battle with naval accounts such as Admiral David Glasgow Farragut shouting, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” as he sails into Mobile Bay. They mention little about the Army. In contrast, historians record little about the U.S. Navy’s role in the following three weeks while the Army laid siege to Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan. However, both services played critical and interdependent roles throughout the entire battle. It was a joint operation, and this jointness influenced Union victory. To be sure, at Mobile Bay, the selected regiments of the XIII Corps and the West Gulf Blockading Squadron overmatched the Confederates in logistics, economic strength, manpower, and equipment, but the Federals brought something more to the fight. They arrived with three years of joint experience and proficiency. No other force in the Union could boast as much. To appreciate the full effectiveness of this Union force, this study views the Battle of Mobile Bay not as a stand-alone event, but as a “point” along a storyline and a culmination of three years of Federal joint fighting. This methodology shows that President Abraham Lincoln, General Ulysses S. Grant, and Secretary Gideon Welles could not have chosen a better team to show up at the mouth of Mobile Bay on August 3, 1864.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an employee’s perceived level of their leader’s religiosity moderates the relationship between an employee’s level of religiosity and job satisfaction. The participants in this research study were recruited through the utilization of a snowball sampling method, primarily leveraging Liberty University’s doctoral student email list and social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Participants in the study were required to be 18 and older and had been employed under their current leader for a minimum of one year. The total sample size was N=65. The researcher used a quantitative self-reporting survey approach to data collection using the Huber and Huber (2012) Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS-15) survey to measure a leader's level of religiosity as perceived by the employee and an employee's level of religiosity. The Spector (1985) Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) was used to measure an employee's level of job satisfaction. The data collected from the online CRS-15 and JSS surveys was analyzed employing a correlation research design using linear regression with moderation analysis. The results did not show a significant moderating effect on an employee’s perceived level of their leader’s religiosity. Still, they did find that employees who perceived their leader to have a high level of religiosity reported higher levels of job satisfaction. Furthermore, this study is the first to investigate an employee’s perceived level of their leader’s religiosity and the effect it has on employee job satisfaction.

Ethnic and economic diversity can be experienced in the local church. There is a biblical undertone in the Scriptures that shows Jesus, the apostles, and Old Testament themes that point to Revelation 7 for the reality of it. This reality can be lived on earth while Christians practice for heaven. While 95 percent of the churches around America remain homogeneous, with intentionality, adequate training, and a willingness to engage in difficult conversations, historically Reformed churches can also experience ethnic and economic diversity within their congregations. Although many churches do not feel the capabilities to become multiethnic and economically diverse, by participating in the PRIME Diversity Action Plan, churches can be trained and walked with in achieving that goal. This DMIN action research project’s purpose is to develop and deploy the PRIME Diversity Action Plan to implement the value of intentionally pursuing and becoming a multiethnic and economically diverse church. Using the diversity plan, new core values will generate a multiethnic and economically diverse church, resembling Revelation 7 and Philippians 2. The PRIME Diversity Action Plan was implemented to gather qualitative data from elders, deacons, leaders, and ethnic minorities attending the same church in order to train, equip, and empower the leadership and pastor to move into church diversity. The results revealed participants grew in their ethnic and economic awareness, their desire to pursue, and their willingness to help cultivate a value for ethnic and economic diversity in the Reformed church.

The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto correlational study was to determine if a relationship exists between followers’ perceptions of toxic leadership and servant leadership as they relate to organizational culture and behavioral trust as measured by the Toxic Leadership Scale (TLS), the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SL-7), the Organizational Culture Scale (OCS), and the Behavioral Trust Inventory (BTI). Toxic leadership was evaluated through the framework of Padilla et al.’s (2007) toxic triangle and Thoroughgood et al.’s (2012) susceptible circle of followers of toxic leaders. Exploring the theoretical context of toxic leadership, this project studied the effects of toxic leadership on the relationship between leaders and followers’ perceptions of their leaders. This quantitative research employed descriptive surveys to determine relationships between followers’ perceptions of toxic leadership and servant leadership as they relate to organizational culture and propensity for behavioral trust. The combined survey was conducted through Prolific. Prolific identified participants who had working relationships with leaders. Participants with experience serving under toxic and servant leaders described and or rated their most recent toxic or servant church leader. Two streams of data resulted from this design. Examination of the data consisted of correlation and regression analyses. Toxic leadership and servant leadership measurements served as the independent variables. Organizational culture elements and propensity for behavioral trust served as the dependent variables under examination.

Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge (MNTC) is an addiction treatment center. The reason for this qualitative case study was to discover why clients of substance use disorder treatment programs believe that they can graduate from their program when 50% of those who start the same long-term program drop out. This case study focused on graduates from MNTC in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This study discovered the graduates' common attributes that may improve MNTC treatment center programs, which could decrease the number of people who walk away from addiction recovery programs prematurely and increase the number of those who graduate. According to MNTC records and the literature, 50% of clients in long-term recovery programs at MNTC drop out and must start over in the program before they graduate. This case study documented graduates' opinions on why they successfully completed the long-term program for the Minneapolis, Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge (MNTC). The definition of an MNTC graduate was graduating from the program and not having a relapse for one year. The theory guiding this study was Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, which proposes that an individual's decision whether to engage in any specific behavior, such as drug or alcohol use, is predicated by their intention to engage in that behavior. Likewise, Ajzen’s theory can explain a person’s intention to stop substance use as a conscious behavior, which this study collected information to understand. The academic community—mainly those interested in addiction treatment and recovery programs—played a crucial role in this research, as their expertise and insights significantly contributed to understanding and improving addiction recovery programs.

There is a need for effective Christian leadership among Ghanaian immigrant churches (GIC) in Maryland. This qualitative grounded theory study aimed to discover what Christian leadership models the GIC are experiencing and generate an effective leadership model that is biblical and Ghanaian for the GIC in Maryland. This study used purposive sampling to include five Ghanaian churches in Maryland. A variety of denominations of GIC were included. Study participants were pastors, church leaders, and members from participating GIC. Three qualitative research instruments that were used for this study were interviews, observation, and focus groups. Pastors, church leaders, and church members were picked from each church. The data was collected and analyzed through open, focus, and theoretical coding to generate a leadership model for GIC in Maryland. The analysis revealed five leadership models, three Ghanaian cultural influences, three Western cultural influences, four biblical principles, four leadership characteristics and practices, and two effective leadership models: visionary and steward leadership.

This thesis project is dedicated to creating comprehensive documentation for developing and managing multiple learning centers in various Chinese churches in NYC. It is a strategic initiative for the future growth and expansion of the Creator’s Voice Learning Center, and it also builds up a collaborative effort with churches to encourage gospel outreach in NYC Chinese communities. The CV Learning Center has been a pillar of success in NYC Chinatown for over twenty years as a beacon of hope in gospel outreach. However, CV needs assistance to launch its ministry ideology on multiple sites. The project employed two pilot testing programs at different locations in NYC Chinatown Chinese churches, helping CV to draft an outline for comprehensive documentation based on exploratory research and survey data from questionnaires and interviews. There are three areas of emphasis in creating documents: the church, the community, and the center, with a focus on preparation, operation, and evaluation. The researcher has also interviewed experienced center directors from four different learning centers. This thesis study discovers the necessity of restructuring the corporation and recruiting more center directors while creating documentation for operations for developing and managing multiple centers. The results of this study concluded that if CV creates the documentation needed, then the leadership of the learning center will feel empowered to grow the outreach program in multiple NYC Chinese churches, sparking a new era of gospel outreach.

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences an individual encounters on their journey to becoming a superintendent at a school district in New York. The theory used in this study was the push-pull model (PPM) by E. G. Ravenstein and the push-pull mooring model by E. S. Lee and later B. Moon, to study the lived experiences of those who have become school district superintendents. The PPM was used to determine what themes are present in an individual’s journey to the superintendency that pulls them to the position, pushes them away, or causes them to remain in the position. Qualitative data were collected from 10 participants who held the superintendent position or are currently employed as a school district superintendent in suburban communities across New York. Qualitative data were gathered from participants through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and focus group sessions. Data were coded and categorized into three themes: professional relationships and skills, motivations and goals, and career development. Delve software was used to analyze data. Results indicated that most superintendents followed a traditional role, starting as an educator and moving through administrative-level positions before attaining a superintendent role. Some pushes were participants feeling they would be a better option for the district than current or future candidates. Others were seeking stability and professionalism within their districts. The pulls to superintendency were predominantly around doing the best for students in their own way. Participants explained that their time in upper administrative roles prepared them as best as possible for a superintendent’s position.

Pastors and ministry leaders share the important responsibilities of church growth and revitalization. This research focused on overcoming decline and moving towards a season of strength and multiplication. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore church growth and revitalization within Southern Baptist churches in coastal North Carolina. The theory guiding this study was Rainer's (2020) central thesis about revived churches, which suggests that churches must adapt to cultural shifts and actively engage with the changing world. The study sought to gain insights into the perspectives and mindsets of full-time pastors and ministry leaders regarding numerical expansion, spiritual awakening, leadership, digital technologies, the Holy Spirit, and their lived experiences regarding church health. This study aimed to enhance the understanding of experiences within the wider community by complementing the existing research conducted on the general population. This research emphasized the significance of maintaining a healthy church by supplementing the current investigations with research on a more local context. A qualitative research design utilizing phenomenological methods was used to achieve this. The research involved interviews with a selected sample of pastors and ministry leaders. Qualitative data analysis was conducted on the collected data to obtain insights into the lived experiences of pastors and ministry leaders regarding how they sustain a healthy and revitalized church.

This quantitative study was designed to examine whether relationships exist between personality type and religiosity, with leadership and organizational commitment. The connection between these variables has not been previously explored. The purpose of researching these variables was to enhance the field's knowledge surrounding the employee selection process as well as human resources development practices for organizations of all types and in all cultures. Study participants provided information on personality, religiosity, and employment and the data was evaluated to see if a statistically significant relationship existed. The study found statistically significant evidence to support that individuals with religion in their lives have a greater propensity towards leadership (R2 = .089, F(1, 64) = 6.236, p < .015). The exploration of personality data with the other variables, while interesting, found no statistically significant relationships. The discoveries in this study may prove valuable in the fulfillment of the Great Commission and may provide helpful insights into the employee selection process as well as understanding turnover intentions.

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of diversity and ethical principles in educational leadership for teachers, administrators, and classified licensed professionals within minority school districts. Downton’s (2016) theory on transformational leadership guided this study's theoretical framework for the research and ensuing findings. This research was created to answer the following central question: What are the perceived effects of diversity and ethical principles on teachers, administrators, and classified licensed professionals within minority school districts? Three sub-questions were used to understand the experiences of diversity and ethical principles in educational leadership within minority school districts. The qualitative methodology was used to capture and comprehend participants' lived experiences in underserved school districts. An underserved school district in a southeast county served as the site from which participants were selected. The study included 11 participants from underserved school districts. Data was collected from interviews, focus groups, and protocol writings. Data analysis transpired through transcribing and coding of salient keywords, with the codes becoming themes. Three themes were identified from data analysis: (a) The need for transformational leadership, (b) the impact of diversity, and (c) the lack of workforce development. Results indicated that transformational leadership contributed to minority student success. All participants agreed that the lack of diversity and the lack of workforce development and training significantly affected their ability to meet the need for minority educational success in underserved school districts.

The purpose of this action research project is to design, execute, and evaluate a small group instructional framework that cultivates a missional culture focused on communal discipleship at MVMNT Church, a local church in the Association of Related Churches network, while also addressing a gap in scholarship surrounding the interrelation of discipleship and the missional church. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study leveraged inductive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with survey data to validate the lack of discipleship activity at MVMNT Church and moderate-to-low comprehension of topics related to mission, discipleship, and leadership in the church. This project recommended and directed an intervention consisting of an instructional program that targeted seven members of MVMNT Church in formal and informal church leadership to cultivate an environment for learning, knowledge-sharing, and mutual edification in discipleship to address the problem. Longitudinal analysis of survey data collected post-intervention demonstrates the success of the instructional framework in improving comprehension of these topics and the effective catalysis of discipleship. This project proposes an instructional framework bridging the gap between mission and discipleship scholarship, with the potential to improve missional discipleship cultures in many other similar church environments. The project processed the generalizability and transferability of this research and areas warranting more in-depth study.

Within this study, the logic was to understand the natural development of cultural Christlike character traits among youth pastors who serve in the 6th-12th grade youth ministry loneliness environment. The sample population comprised between 22 church pastors within the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The sample included participants with different experience levels in pastoral and bi-vocational pastoral ministries. The guiding rationale was that the pastor's cultural Christlike character should be a positive factor in their ministry in the loneliness environment of the youth they serve. The sample covered the geographical settings within rural, suburban, and city environments. A purposive sampling method of participants was used in this study. Henceforth, this qualitative phenomenological study aimed to understand the cultural Christlike character development among youth pastors who serve in the 6th-12th grade youth ministry loneliness environment. At this research stage, the cultural Christlike character development was generally defined as intentional communication and actions set forth within the framework of the nine traits described in Gal. 5:22-23. The theories guiding this study were the cultural intelligence theory proposed by Livermore and ANG (2015) and the authentic leadership theory by Bennis (2009). They effectively identify the critical importance of cultural implications in pastoral leadership actions and the sustainability of the 6th-12th grade youth ministry.

To gain Christ worshipers, evangelism is the church’s most significant commission. Disciples of Christ are commanded to preach the gospel: Mark 16:15. However, the church's edification through worship leadership produces the heart for evangelism in God’s people to be evangelists. This multiplies the ministry of the congregation to their world. This paper addresses the components of successful leadership that help people to be edified and evangelized in through the integrity of the gospel presentation through worship, specifically American evangelical worship leadership. Adaptive approaches must be considered as cultures evolve while retaining the accurate theological gospel message. Recorded historical commentary and leadership strategies are examined as they relate to cultural context. Insights from significant Christian leadership figures will be a contributing factor, including their motivations, challenges, strategies, and achievements. Ministry profiles of today’s worship leaders will be examined and discussed. Authoritative contributions from active worship leaders will support this study. Based on qualitative research, a discussion of a philosophical approach to worship will be offered as it relates to the diversity of today’s religious and secular cultures and the inclusivity of a wide age demographic; more variety in genres, a higher standard of education for facilitators, a higher level of performance excellence with creative artistry, team building, and a greater understanding of critical connectivity from artist-facilitator to listener. This project will fill a combined gap in historical knowledge, current applications, and a philosophical perspective for motivation and connectivity for the continued edification of the church and the unreached community of potential believers. The reader may gain personal leadership insight to evaluate past, current, and proposed standards considering self-evaluation of motivations, contextual challenges, strategies, and

One significant challenge for today’s Christian churches involves bridging the gap between youth involvement in church after high school graduation and moving on to college (Owens, 2014). Owens (2014) asserts that today’s adolescents experience parental and church support during high school, but once they head off to college, they leave that support and stability at home. Students leave the church for many reasons. This study proposes that one significant reason is that Christian churches do not educate youth ministry team leaders on multiculturalism. This research explored satisfactory multicultural competencies necessary for youth ministry leaders to disciple youth by asking adult youth ministry leaders and adolescent youth ministry attendees to respond to questionnaires, essays, and surveys to develop essential satisfactory multicultural competencies. This study drew theoretical guidance from an explanatory sequential mixed-methods theory, commencing with a quantitative longitudinal study using closed-ended questionnaires and concluding with qualitative essays and surveys to enhance the quantitative findings. This mixed-methods research describes the satisfactory multicultural competencies essential to empower Christian youth ministry leaders to reach the multicultural youth within Kansas City and St. Louis metro area churches. Kite (2015) reports that multicultural competencies in education require valuing students’ racial diversity and racial differences. Awareness of cultural biases and virtues, learning to view others' worlds, and developing culturally appropriate interpersonal skills legitimize cultural competence. Discussing satisfactory multicultural competence helps transfer these traits from one to another (Kite, 2015).

Pastoral leadership must understand their obligation to provide and promote healthy relationships in their personal, professional, and church ministries by utilizing the effective tool of emotional intelligence (EI) to become more effective (Goleman et al., 2013; Hendron et al., 2014; Chavous et al., 2023). The concept and usage of EI have experienced continued growth within the secular and academic organizational fields. However, there is little research on EI among the Christian pastoral leadership, the church, its associated ministries, and its educational institutions (Hendron et al., 2014). As noted by scholars, this gap in the literature and the credibility crisis of pastors needed attention (Barna, 2022; Earls, 2022). Religious leaders involved in Christian leadership are disadvantaged in not recognizing critical information about interpersonal relationships (Oswald & Jacobson, 2015). The theory guiding this study was defined by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer (1990), Daniel Goleman (1995; 1998; 1999; 2019), and The Institute for Health and Human Potential (2020), which defined EI as the ability to recognize, comprehend, and manage one’s own emotions and to identify, understand and affect the emotions of others. The population of this research was the data collection and sampling of 200 pastors located within the metropolitan Richmond, Virginia area. The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative correlational study was to discover if a relationship existed between EI and the participants’ emotional traits, demographic characteristics, and relationships with others.

COVID-19 left a wake of destruction upon its descension, pervasion, and diffusion across the continents. Not only did this happen at individual, household, and corporate levels, but also the nonprofit world. Christian ministries, faith-based organizations, and faith-based charities are among some of the largest international relief and development agencies that are on the front lines of humanitarian and disaster relief efforts (MinistryWatch & Smith, 2023). Understanding the effects of COVID-19 or phenomena with similar magnitudes on faith-based organizations is critical to understanding the impact at the level of their international humanitarian development and relief programs. There is a need for real-time research that elucidates those characteristics that contribute to faith-based organizational effectiveness in carrying out organizational objectives despite major national and international crises. The purpose of this study was to conduct a quantitative comparative analysis of comprehensive technical efficiency levels amongst Christian denominational, nondenominational, and interdenominational nonprofit organizations that focus on global food and water assistance as well as agrarian empowerment in poverty-stricken undeveloped/least-developed/third-world countries that face severe food and water shortages. Four research objectives and corresponding research questions guided this study. The author-researcher of this dissertation-in-praxis used data envelopment analysis models to measure the efficiency levels of international humanitarian faith-based organizations. Efficiency levels were measured in the areas of fundraising and program service delivery. To help solidify and better position faith-based humanitarian organizations that seek to meet the most fundamental of human needs and promote self-sufficiency and economic empowerment in poverty-stricken under/least-developed regions across the globe, the researcher added to the scholastic body of knowledge, both aw

Volunteers play a critical role in churches, and successful collaboration between paid pastoral staff and volunteers is essential for achieving the church’s mission. However, conflicts can arise when defining the roles and responsibilities of volunteers and paid pastoral staff. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceptions of paid pastoral staff regarding volunteer engagement in the Assembly of God’s (AG’s) church mission. The research drew from Harold Kelley and John Thibaut’s interdependence theory, which shed light on human interactions and their influences. Utilizing semi-structured interviews with 10 AG pastors in paid staff positions, the findings described the volunteer manager role that pastors perform. The findings suggested that staff-volunteer collaborative relationships derived from the paid pastoral staff’s perception of volunteerism as discipleship. The role of volunteer managers in a church contributes significantly to volunteer engagement through leadership modeling, ministry-based training, and spiritual gift identification. Therefore, the successful engagement of volunteers in the church’s mission depends on the willingness of paid pastoral staff to provide training and collaborate with volunteers. Finally, the study presented some suggestions for future research and exploration.

This quantitative non-experimental, predictive, correlational study aimed to evaluate the predictive relationship between government leaders exercising transformational leadership attributes and government service employees' potential to engage in creative problem-solving. This study contributes to the existing knowledge on leadership and creative self-concept by focusing on the government civilian service sector. This sector represents a large population with limited exposure to the correlation between leadership and creativity. The sample for this study was 1,432 engineering and contracting professionals from a government acquisition center in northern Alabama who designed and built weapons systems for combat forces. The data analysis included 609 participants. The Team Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to measure the key attributes of transformational leadership and the Short Scale of Creative Self-measured employees' creative self-concept. Data were collected through an online survey platform, and the participants volunteered to complete the survey. A multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the leadership attributes' predictive capability related to employees’ self-perceived creativity. The results demonstrated a predictive relationship between transformational leadership and employee creativity. Idealized attributes, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational motivation were found to be the best predictors of employee creativity. Recommendations for future studies include continued exploration into other career areas in government service to determine the generalizability of results across the government civilian service career fields and explore how transformational leadership impacts employee creativity in different contexts.

Berea Baptist Church in Rockville, VA lacks a multigenerational means of evangelism.

This action research project created a leadership development pathway to produce more ministry leaders at Southside Church of the Nazarene. A five-step leadership development pathway culminating in discipleship integration was designed and implemented. This pathway produced a statistically significant increase in the number of new leaders in one quarter of a calendar year compared to the quarterly average of new leaders in the previous three years. Data was collected through surveys, interviews, and roundtable discussions, and reviewed by multiple researchers to help remove bias.

The influence of Child Evangelism Fellowship saw a significant increase across the United States of America after an organizational change following a 2001 Supreme Court case ruling. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the role of followership on the change and followership principles that emerged during the change that was implemented following the ruling Good News Club v. Milford Central School on the Good News Club ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship. Organizational change was defined as intentional actions promoted by leadership and intentional actions taken by followers who took advantage of the rights guaranteed by the ruling. The theories guiding this study were Followership Theory as popularized by Kelley, and Lewin’s Organizational Change Theory. The methodology for this study was open-ended, qualitative interviews of CEF directors to determine what they perceived to be the leadership and followership qualities displayed in this organizational change. The researcher coded the results of these interviews using NVivo software. This coding identified guiding principles for leaders of both Child Evangelism Fellowship and similarly structured ministries and organizations in the case of future strategic changes. These principles were that followership is a role, it can be described in positive teams, and there are many expectations for followers in a workplace or ministry.

This research study focused on leadership's role in building relationships among virtual team members. A qualitative case study, the research focused on organizations in the medical device industry within the Charlotte Metropolitan region of North Carolina. The research was formed using 15 open ended questions in an interview of 20 leaders of virtual teams. Each leader was interviewed individually and allowed to elaborate on their answers to help the researcher to thoroughly understand the approach used to help the relationships form among their virtual team members. During the interview, the discussion between the researcher and the leader being interviewed covered many topics that helped to identify the emerging themes for this research. After the interviews were completed, the responses were transcribed and coded. There were three themes which emerged during the data analysis process. These themes were (1) the importance of collaboration, (2) the need of sufficient tools for communication, and (3) the importance of face-to-face interaction to build relationships. The results of these emerging themes illustrates the importance for leaders of virtual teams to create opportunities for the team members to collaborate and develop a level of trust among their colleagues. This development of trust helps to ensure the team members will look to their colleagues for input on topics that may be difficult to resolve, as well as building relationships and often having conversations and resolving issues without input from leadership.

Despite much information and attention given to senior leadership transitions after a moral failure in leadership, there is little information regarding supporting pastoral staff moral failures and how to lead a ministry department to a place of healing and restoration. This thesis examined the distinct challenges of transitional leaders assuming the role of guiding a worship ministry department through a previous leader's moral failure. This study analyzes commonalities and themes to demonstrate the unique challenges the worship ministry faces apart from the church. Literature and research on leadership transitions due to moral failures tend to focus on senior pastoral leadership. While this information proves relevant, it does not provide insight into the role and methods needed to support pastoral staff in difficult transitions. Exploring the cause of the moral failure is not pertinent to this exploration of transitional leadership; rather, it is the incoming leader's journey to restoring trust, righteousness, and health. This analysis captures the assumptions, actions, and reactions of leaders who have effectively led a worship ministry in the context of a transition due to a previous leader’s moral failure. This qualitative study is essential for developing a methodology and plan of action to assist leadership in navigating these troubled times of transition.

Women pursue Christian education, obeying God’s call to prepare for ministry leadership. This qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological research study aimed to examine the perspectives of women graduates from Master of Divinity (MDiv) programs at Baptist Seminaries in Texas and to discover if their treatment could be linked to traditionally held beliefs about gender. The lived experiences of the study participants were defined as their first-hand accounts and perceptions of interactions with their male classmates and professors. The theory that guided this study was the Role-Congruity Theory, defined by Eagly and Diekman (2005) as aligning a group’s characteristics with their typical social roles. Through interviews and focus group sessions with 14 female Master of Divinity graduates, this researcher discovered the thoughts of the study participants on the continued existence of stereotypes about women and the roles they can fill in the body of Christ from their male peers and professors. Interview and focus group transcripts were analyzed and coded to find common themes encouraging women to follow God’s calling.

This study aimed to understand the nuances of spiritual Bible reading and how it connects to the spiritual maturity of Christian leaders. The lack of spiritual formation in Christian spiritual leaders motivated this research. Literature abounds with spiritual reading, biblical engagement, interpretation methodologies, and the spiritual formation of Christian leaders. However, only a few studies exist on how people engage with the Bible. There is no empirical data on how biblical interactions impact spiritual development. The theory that guided this study was Jack Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory. With a quantitative survey methodology and non-probability sampling, data was collected from 91 participants from a population frame of spiritual leaders who assist the head pastor in spiritual oversight of the Assemblies of God churches in New England. Two existing instruments, the Faith Maturity Scale and Christian Life Survey, which have proven validity and reliability, carried the data. The quantitative correlational study protocol analyzed the data using the Pearson Product-moment Correlation Coefficient (Pearson’s r). The study results showed no statistically significant relationship between Bible reading and spiritual formation in leaders of the Pentecostal churches. Other factors might have been necessary for the spiritual maturity of Christian leaders.

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological research study was to describe the shared emotional experiences of 10 senior pastors of Christian churches located in rural central Virginia due to the national COVID 19 mandate that forced them to close their houses of worship. Moreover, in the United States of America, a COVID 19 mandate was implemented that closed places of worship, which altered the American pastor’s routine schedule. Therefore, the central research question explicated in this research study was, “What are the personal emotions experienced by 10 senior pastors in rural Virginia during a phenomenon, the national COVID 19 mandate, that closed houses of worship?” To note, this research study journeyed to discover if these pastors experienced spiritual injury due to this COVID 19 mandate. Furthermore, to discover the influence of the COVID 19 phenomenon that affected these American pastors, this research study implemented a qualitative research method, which utilized the transcendental phenomenological qualitative research design to research their exposure to spiritual injury and to mental health anxiety disorder due to the COVID 19 mandate that closed their churches.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the influence of the shepherd–teacher’s learning attributes, informed by adult learning theory, on the preaching moment within a conservative Southern Baptist congregation. Malcolm S. Knowles offered the theory guiding this study in his concepts of andragogy and self-directed learning. Knowles introduced an educational model that emphasizes adult learning and primarily self-directed learning. The study observed whether being a self-directed learner impacts the shepherd–teacher’s instructional activities, including preparation and delivery. The study addressed an identified gap between adult learning theory and homiletics. The multiple-case study started by surveying pastors with the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale. The final cases consisted of small (generally less than 150 congregants) Southern Baptist churches in suburban or rural contexts. The data were then triangulated with semistructured interviews of the pastors, document analysis of sermon transcripts, and focus groups with participants in the preaching moment. Content analysis, cross-case analysis, and examination of rival explanations were used to explore how the pastor’s attributes associated with self-directed learning shaped the preaching moment, including preparation, presentation, and perception by the hearers. The study discovered a capacity for self-directed learning is imperative for pastoral ministry. The practices associated with self-directed learning were seemingly intuitively practiced in biblical exegesis. The skills were especially relevant to discerning the learning needs of the congregation. The perception of the shepherd–teacher as a peer in the learning experience created credibility and modeled learning behaviors for the congregation. The study concluded with practical observations that might influence the equipping of shepherd–teachers and their practice of the ministry of the Word.

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. This qualitative descriptive study aimed to understand what church leaders of 12 Southern Baptist churches in South Carolina believe about preparing, training, and equipping their congregations for an active shooter incident in their house of worship. The foundational theories discussed in this study include Social Bond/Control Theory, Five Stage Sequential Model Theory, Group Socialization Theory, and Mass Shooting Contagion Theory. Through a qualitative survey and interviews, this researcher discovered what South Carolina Southern Baptist church leaders think about the possibility of an active shooter in their church. The Research Subjects were randomly chosen from South Carolina Southern Baptist churches. For this study, church leaders are defined as individuals in formal leadership positions at the executive level, including senior and associate pastors of biblically based Southern Baptist church organizations in South Carolina.

Mentorship has emerged as a critical component for the cultivation and development of leaders. Mentoring is beneficial for the mentee and mentor both personally and professionally. The United States Air Force (USAF) encourages formal and informal mentoring for their leaders through initiatives and regulations. Other branches emphasize leadership development; whereas, the USAF emphasizes career development. While African American female officers of faith continue to hold leadership positions, it is unclear whether mentorship serves as a factor of success. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and understand the lived experience of African American female officers in the USAF regarding the impact of mentorship received in their career development and progression. Further, this study explored the role of personal faith as a potential factor in the mentorship experience. The data collected during this research consisted of interviews and observations. Face-to-face interviews conducted via Zoom were the preferred method, in which the interviewer and participants were key instruments. Participants shared their lived experiences and feelings as experts on the phenomenon of how mentorship affected their career development and progression. Observations were applied to identify gestures, body language, or cues. During the research, an officer is generally defined as a person who holds a position of authority as a Company and Field Grade Officer or above. Additionally, this research referred to persons of faith; however, there is no implication made to any particular denomination or religious affiliation. The theories that guided this study were mentor role theory and social cognitive theory.

It is reported that deacon-led churches produce conflict and high pastoral turnover (Harbuck, 2018; Payne, 1996). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how a church governance structure impacts a pastor’s ability to lead, the health of the church, and pastoral retention. The experiences of pastors from deacon-led churches were evaluated for clusters of meaning and compared with the experiences of pastors who serve under an elder-led model of leadership. Nine interviews were conducted—five pastors from deacon-led churches and four from elder-led churches. This study approached the phenomenological design from an interpretive, or hermeneutical approach to understand the experiences of pastors under these models. Data from interviews were analyzed for broad themes to understand the structure and essence of the experiences of pastors living under their respective leadership models. There was a noteworthy difference between their perceptions of how their given leadership model impacts their ability to lead and the health of their church under that model. Specifically, there is more potential for conflict and control issues in deacon-led churches. In addition, elder-led churches appeared to experience better health and unity, experienced less conflict, and had more trust from their congregations. Further, under the deacon-led model, pastors were required to be more intentional in leveraging influence over individual leaders and members with the goal of achieving ministry objectives; whereas elder-led pastors, working as a team, spend more time focused on organizational objectives. In addition, under the deacon-led model pastors lacked the support enjoyed by those under the elder-led model. The goal of this research was to help churches understand how their church polity impacts their pastor and the health of their church.

The purpose of this Doctor of Ministry project is to train ministry leaders by studying the cross-cultural leadership characteristics of Apostle Paul. Central Steele Creek Presbyterian Church is part of the sad statistic of traditional churches that have been declining for the past thirty years. This will continue unless leaders of the church embrace the diverse culture and nature of the surrounding community. Cross-cultural leadership is needed in this time of multi-cultural communities and there is no one better than Paul to demonstrate this indispensable cross-cultural ministry paradigm. If leaders at Central are trained and motivated to embrace Paul’s cross-cultural ministry leadership, then they will help a mono-cultural church to become a multi-cultural ministry. This project addresses the problem of leadership at Central lacking understanding and openness to the changing cultural landscape of the surrounding community. The data collected from the project is helpful in educating, training, and raising up cross-cultural leaders who will lead and serve multi-cultural communities surrounding the church. The hope is that this project will provide some practical answers that will bring transformations in the organizational ministry of Central church's leadership team to help grow the church. From the collected data, the conclusion is reached that training sessions will lead to increased measures in cultural intelligence and values for church members at Central. Infusion of cultural intelligence and values, along with openness to diversity, helps Central to transform from a declining traditional church to a potentially growing multi-cultural community church.

There was a need for a biblical leadership development program at Anointed To Minister Ministries (ATMM). This researcher assessed the effectiveness of the current leadership and concluded that a biblical leadership development program was paramount to the foundation of the church. Furthermore, Henry and Richard Blackaby, argue in their book Spiritual Leadership “failing to develop leaders in an organization is tantamount to gross failure by the leader, whether by design or by neglect.” The purpose for this DMIN action research project was to develop a strategy and to implement a biblical leadership training program for educating, equipping, and empowering selected church leaders framed on the model of servant leadership (Rardin, 1990) and emergent leadership theory (Clinton, 2012). In order to establish a baseline of how the leaders in the project understand church leadership and the project's leadership model of servant leadership, focus groups, a survey and questionnaire will be administered pre and post training. Upon successful completion of the leadership training program, it is hoped that the leadership training program may be adopted by pastors to implement with their ministry leaders. Therefore, if Anointed To Minister Ministries will design and implement an 8-week biblical leadership development program, then the outcome should develop leaders who become disciple makers and who will also model servant leadership to their significant others, at their place of employment and the community.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the impact that mentorship had on the retention of ten participating educators working at various post-secondary educational institutions. The theory guiding this study was Dansereau’s leader-member theory guided as it pertained to the interactions between a dyadic relationship such as the one represented by one-on-one mentorship. The central research question for this study asked about the mentorship experiences of educators in higher education who have been in the field of education for five years or more. This study used transcendental phenomenological to study the essence of the experiences of 10 educators at post-secondary organizations around the United States. This population of participants was a volunteer-based, convenience sample. The setting for the study was completely virtual, and the researcher utilized Microsoft Teams and secure email to transmit and share information. The data collection methods included interviews, questionnaires, and journal prompts. The analytical approach for the data collected focused on bracketing the researcher out of the experiences prior to coding for similarities and prominent themes. The findings of this research suggest that mentorship may have a positive impact on educator retention at the post-secondary level when effective mentorship practices are consistently implemented over time.

This DMIN project helped St. Paul High Street Baptist Church develop a community engagement team that helped them reestablish its long-lasting relationship with the community surrounding the church. Certain issues within and outside of the church were discussed that had led to a lack of community engagement within recent years. A community engagement team was put together to help bridge the gap between the church and its surrounding community. To help with this, several community engagement team events were held, and surveys were given to both church and community members. Through the successful completion of this project, St. Paul High Street Baptist Church was able to reestablish itself within the community and now serves as a resource to other churches that are trying to build relationships with their community.

The purpose of this qualitative dissertation research project is to determine the impact that law enforcement leaders, their leadership styles, and decision-making processes have on the well-being of police officers. This study sought to understand this impact by focusing on the perspectives of frontline police officers, detectives, and first-line supervisors from various law enforcement organizations in the Central Virginia Region and within the context of leadership decisions made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the constructivist grounded theory approach to research design, 12 participants responded to an initial qualitative questionnaire, followed by a semi-structured interview to gain the rich, detailed data necessary to answer the research questions. Through the constant comparative analysis of the data, the key themes of unprecedented, job to do, family impact, negative impact, and positive impact emerged. These themes were synthesized to form an emerging theory explaining the research questions. This theory suggests that the processes law enforcement leaders use to make decisions impact police officer well-being, specifically in long-term, uncertain incidents like the global coronavirus pandemic. The study has implications for academic researchers and practitioners concerned with leadership in law enforcement organizations and police officer well-being. Future research recommendations are included in this study. Additionally, this research discusses recommendations for law enforcement leaders for future long-term, uncertain incidents like COVID-19.

Servant leadership is a moral-based form of leadership in which leaders place the well-being of followers before their own (Canavesi & Minelli, 2022). It is a theory that has gained increased notoriety over the past several decades. Despite this, there remains a limited amount of empirical research on it and its potential benefits. However, several professions have adopted it, and their results have been positive. Leadership change is needed in many professions, and law enforcement is no exception. The policing profession faces many challenges, such as recruiting quality candidates and retaining existing personnel. Furthermore, the challenges plaguing policing also exert a tremendous influence on the level of job satisfaction experienced by existing employees. This study addresses servant leadership, including its origin, characteristics, and potential benefits to law enforcement. It also examines how servant leadership is currently employed in police agencies by utilizing a self-report survey administered to graduates of a nationally recognized police training program. Adopting servant leadership in law enforcement organizations offers an avenue by which identified challenges may be addressed positively.

In response to the substantial amount of church revitalization that is necessary to cause a noteworthy decrease in the 70 percent of churches in America that are declining or plateauing (Rainer, 2019, para. 4), lead pastors carry a biblical responsibility to lead churches into growth and spiritual health (Jamieson, 2011, para. 15-16). While church planting is a respectable portion of the macro solution, revitalizing declining or plateaued existing churches is an equally significant part of the solvent. However, a substantial majority of revitalization literature and education focuses on the practical methodology of implementing church renewal and emphasizing the lead pastor’s influence on the process. Yet, there is little literature on the psychological nature of the lead pastor in church revitalization. Even further, there is a gap in the area of how the lead pastor’s psychological capital influences the process of leading church revitalization. This mixed-methods study gathered 104 surveys and interviewed 10 lead pastors serving in the Church of God seeking to narrow the gap, interjecting a psychological study intended to amend the methodologies of leading church revitalization. This study found that there is a medium to strong quantitative and qualitative correlation between the lead pastor’s psychological capital and influence upon leading church revitalization. The implications of this study suggest that church revitalization literature and education would benefit from the inclusion of psychological capital measurement and development.

This study investigated the integrated impact of Transformational Leadership (TFL), Cross-Sector Collaboration (CSC), and Foundations as Community Catalysts (CFC) within a Salem-based leadership institute. Through a qualitative case study involving 12 leadership institute attendees from 2020-2023, I explored the perceived presence of each of the three components, as well as their transformative potential in organizational and community change. I also examined participants’ perceived strengths and weaknesses of the leadership institute. All participants were able to see the presence of TFL, CSC, and CFC, and their combination resulted in collaboration, deep relationships, and a change in mindsets. The findings suggest that the TFL component of the programming fostered positive culture change and trust; that CSC aspects provided a space for trust and vulnerability, which facilitated meaningful and impactful changes in the community; and are all facilitated by the philanthropic approach of CFC involving deep and pure intent, a solid reputation and influence in the community. Among the most prominent community changes include the development of a behavioral health program within a career technical high school in the area, and the revitalization of a community-wide youth festival that had ended and lost funding several years ago. Participants also acknowledged that long-lasting impact takes time, but they were excited about the potential. Participants considered the strengths of the Leadership Institute to be valuable vulnerability/relationships, accountability, the ability to address community problems, the impactful retreat and monthly sessions, and alumni involvement/opportunities. Weaknesses included the desire for more time/going deeper, requesting greater demands on participants, a more specific organizational focus, concerns over long-term sustainability, and improved mentoring/coaching. This study lays the groundwork for future research, emphasizing the transform

Population statistics point to an exodus of Millennials from local churches, reinforcing the increasingly widespread opinion that the church is no longer relevant or relatable (Barna Group, 2019a, 2019b; Conway, 2019; Del Rosario & Bock, 2017; Earls, 2022; Easton & Steyn, 2022; Fry, 2019; Gale et al., 2023; Kinnaman & Matlock, 2019; Omilion-Hodges & Sugg, 2019; Packard & Ferguson, 2019; Sumpter, 2019; Wilson, 2019). Culturally contextual ministry leadership methods are needed if the trajectory of these statistics is to change. To reach the population of the Millennial generation, ministry leaders need to examine the cultural needs of those they are trying to reach. By embracing the complexities of this disconnected population, ministry leaders can develop culturally contextual ministry methods of leadership, such as transformational leadership, that connect with their audience while protecting the integrity and purity of the biblical scriptures. Transformational leadership is an exchange in which “leaders and their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation,” resulting in a transformative experience (Burns, 1978, p. 20). This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study evaluated the influence of transformational leaders on the lived experience of volunteer leaders from the Millennial generation (born between 1984-1998) who have remained connected to the local church community. The findings of this research helped to determine whether the Millennial generation responds to the leadership characteristics of transformational leaders and whether this connection affects their decision to remain connected to their faith communities.