A Phenomenological Study: Black Clergy Leaders’ Response to Violence against Women

Violence against women and religious participation are two phenomena that are pervasive across many African American communities. African American women experience intimate partner violence at a rate higher than the majority of racial groups in the United States. Although many African American women highly depend on their faith and church to navigate their experiences with intimate partner violence, scant attention has been given to the role that Black clergy leaders have in responding to intimate partner violence against women. The current study utilized phenomenological methodology to understand better Black American clergy leaders’ responses to intimate partner violence against women. Findings from clergy leaders’ narratives suggested that they serve primarily four roles when responding to intimate partner violence against women: spiritual advisor, pastoral care/counselor, compassionate leaders, and uninformed responders. Overall, these themes indicate that although African American clergy acknowledge the prevalence of intimate partner violence within their communities, and are trained in pastoral counseling, they lack knowledge and training to respond to intimate partner violence. Discussion centers on the need for clergy to be trained in the area of intimate partner violence response given their position within the church. The results in this study can help clergy leaders understand the basics of intimate partner violence and identify gaps in their practices with abused women.     

Preparing Women for Baptist Church Leadership: Mentoring Impact on Beliefs and Practices of Female Ministers

Effective leadership is important in all organizations, and the Baptist church is no exception. Strong spiritual leaders can make a difference in the life of the institution and its members. Today, a growing number of African American women are answering the call to the Baptist church ministry; but the preparation, training, and mentoring are often insufficient. Ten African American women were interviewed to learn about their backgrounds, education, support, and roles as Baptist ministers in the church to discover perceptions of themselves as teachers, preachers, counselors, and leaders in the church and how they were trained and prepared to assume their leadership roles. Feminist and “servant leadership” theory provided the underpinning of this study. Research questions for study were: (1) In what ways did being mentored, or not, affect African American women ministers' perceptions of their effectiveness in ministry? (2) What relationship/role, if any, do mentors have in preparing these ministers to advance to a senior position of leadership within the Baptist Church? Major findings were that few ministers were willing to serve as mentors, although mentoring is vital for the growth in the position. Instead, women ministers were found to be self-motivated and personally inspired. Results also included role analysis of women ministers as teachers, preachers, counselors, and as mentors themselves. Sadly, the study found that in some cases women were not supporting other women in the Baptist church. Thus, being a woman in ministry is extremely challenging and this process is complicated even more when the minister is an African American woman.     

Satisfaction and Morale Among Parish Clergy: What American Catholic and Orthodox Priests Can Learn from Each Other

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches share a similar theology and a hierarchical church administration. Local parish communities are organized in similar ways. However, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches occupy different places in the context of American culture, and they have developed distinct notions of priesthood. Findings explore similarities and differences in the attitudes and experience of Catholic and Orthodox clergy. Most striking, the younger clergy (less than 45 years of age) report more conservative attitudes about the priesthood, "democracy" in church government, and empowering lay persons in the ministry.     

Developing suicide prevention programs for African American youth in African American churches

Suicide prevention programs for African American youth in African American churches may have broad appeal because: (1) the Black Church has a strong history of helping community members, regardless of church membership; (2) African Americans have the highest level of public and private religiousness; and (3) the church can help shape religious and cultural norms about mental health and help-seeking. The proposed gatekeeper model trains lay helpers and clergy to recognize the risk and protective factors for depression and suicide, to make referrals to the appropriate community mental health resources, and to deliver a community education curriculum. Potential barriers and suggestions for how to overcome these barriers are discussed.     

Being Examples to the Flock: The Role of Church Leaders and African American Families Seeking Mental Health Care Services

Within the context of Black churches, African American clergy have a significant role in the delivery of mental health care services for parishioners and their families. Working toward better linkages between faith-based communities and more formal mental health care could help to provide more culturally sensitive and timely mental health care for African American families. Using a salient part of an integrative model (Davey and Watson in Contemp Fam Ther 30:31–47, 2008), the roles Black church leaders have historically played for African American families seeking outside mental health care services are considered. We additionally provide an example of a recent collaborative partnership with a Black church that points toward some promising directions for future research and clinical collaborations between the field of couple and family therapy and the Black church community.     

Communicating HIV/AIDS Through African American Churches in North Carolina: Implications and Recommendations for HIV/AIDS Faith-Based Programs

This study explores HIV/AIDS communication strategies among church leaders at predominately African American churches in a metropolitan city and surrounding areas in North Carolina. The church leaders contacted for the study are members of an interfaith-based HIV/AIDS program. The researchers used semi-standardized interviews to explore how church leaders address HIV/AIDS in the church. The findings indicate that the seven church leaders who participated in the study use a variety of communication channels to disseminate HIV/AIDS information for congregants and their surrounding communities, which include both interpersonal and mass media.     

The Influence of Cultural and Generational Differences on the Ministry Experience of Chinese American Church Leaders

This qualitative study explored the influence of cultural and generational differences on the ministry experience of fourteen Chinese American male church leaders. Specifically, this study examined how differences in communication style, view of authority, level of acculturation, and expectations of the church could create conflict within the church setting. This study also provided insight into the types of problems these church leaders and church members faced as a result of cultural and generational conflict as well as solutions they found in response to that conflict. Taken together, these findings not only address the literature gap regarding this understudied group of individuals, but they also have implications for more effective ministry in a multicultural church setting.

     

Ministry orientation and ministry outcomes: Evaluation of a new multidimensional model of clergy burnout and job satisfaction

In secularized countries, where the authority of religious institutions has declined, church ministers face pressures that may precipitate burnout and threaten ministry satisfaction. This study examined the relationship of ministry orientation to burnout and ministry satisfaction in a large sample of Australian clergy. The sample comprised 2,132 church leaders surveyed as part of the 2001 National Church Life Survey in Australia. They completed brief, alternative measures of ministry orientation, burnout, and ministry satisfaction. Data were analysed by means of confirmatory factor analysis, a multiple indicator multiple cause model, and structural equation modelling. Results supported the validity of three‐factor models of ministry orientation and burnout as applied to clergy, with burnout mediating the relationship between an internal orientation to ministry and satisfaction in ministry. The independence of personal accomplishment from satisfaction in ministry was also established. The usefulness of ministry orientation as predictive of ministry outcomes in the context of secularization is discussed.     

Enacting support within church communities for people living with HIV or AIDS

Social support is important in managing HIV and AIDS. Some people living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHA) have sought support from churches, despite their reputation for stigmatising PLWHA. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 PLWHA and 21 church leaders to identify ways that churches can effectively enact support for PLWHA through improved communication about HIV, AIDS, and related issues. Church leaders also were asked about the institutional barriers to enacting support for PLWHA. Implementing these strategies consistently and holistically will require intentional efforts to address the barriers within church organisations to create environments that are welcoming to and supportive of PLWHA.     

Models of Clergy Spouse Involvement in Protestant Christian Congregations

While all adults in the paid labor force face the difficult task of managing the competing pressures of work and family life, clergy families encounter an added dynamic in the way spouses are integrated into the church. Yet spouses approach involvement in unique and varied ways, making intentional choices over how much or little to participate in the congregations their husbands and wives pastor. Drawing from in-depth interviews with 46 pastors and clergy spouses in five Protestant Christian denominations, this study describes three models of clergy spouse participation showing the diverse ways women and men interpret and enact their role through the ongoing management of boundaries. I consider several social factors informing the model a clergy spouse embraces—pressure from congregants or one’s own ideas, congregational precedent, gender and stage in the life cycle—shedding light on the interaction between individual preferences and contextual factors. In doing so, I argue that although the women and men in this study are continually recreating what it means to be a clergy spouse, they remain heavily rooted in a traditional expectation that pastors’ wives and husbands provide support to their spouse’s church and calling to pastoral ministry.     

A Madness to Our Method: Congregational Studies as A Cross‐Disciplinary Approach to Contextualizing Teaching and Learning in Theological Education

Abstract. This article explores congregational studies as a valuable teaching tool for contextualizing theological education across disciplines. As a form of pedagogy, congregational studies situates learning in a particular local ministry context. In addition, such a pedagogy apprentices learners within a particular “community of practice”– namely, that of professional church leaders of various types (lay, clergy, professional educators, etc.) having the knowledge and skills that allow them to read diverse contexts of ministry and improvise appropriate and faithful strategies of action within those contexts. After describing one seminary teaching experience in which congregational studies methods formed the pedagogical framework for an interdisciplinary course on the Bible and religious education, the article puts forward a practice‐based theory of adult learning to explain why congregational studies methods are particularly helpful to adult learners engaged in theological education. The article concludes by briefly addressing some problems and limitations to pedagogical processes based upon congregational studies. (The research for this article and its writing were supported by a grant from the Wabash Center for which I am deeply appreciative. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion’s Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion Section.)     

Predicting the Level of Pastors’ Risk of Termination/Exit from the Church

This study conducts an exploratory factor analysis on Wickman’s (2004) Pastors at Risk Inventory that measures the likelihood of whether clergy may face forced or unforced resignation. An online survey was administered to 285 evangelical pastors containing 42 Likert-type items developed from 20 years of qualitative practitioner ministry among clergy. The two factors identified—vision conflict and compassion fatigue—are discussed in relation to the extant literature and in their unique function with clergy. Results indicate that varying levels of disparity typically exist between expected ministry outcomes and actual ministry experiences, and that vision conflict and compassion fatigue are more likely among clergy who lack a support team and/or whose church has recently plateaued or declined in attendance.     

Perceptions of Social and Environmental Support for Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in Rural Southern Churches

The influence of church environments on healthy eating and physical activity was explored through in-depth interviews with rural adults aged 50-70 (n = 60). Data were analyzed using a constant comparative approach, with an emphasis on noting similarities and differences between African American and predominantly white churches. Findings suggest that church-based nutrition and exercise programs were rare, and existing recreational facilities were geared toward younger members. The majority of church leaders did not talk about nutrition or physical activity, but social support from church friends for healthy eating and physical activity was fairly common. Despite barriers to establishing healthy environments in church settings, churches are rich in social support that could be tapped to promote healthy behavior.     

Social Relationships in the Church During Late Life: Assessing Differences Between African Americans,Whites, and Mexican Americans

The purpose of this study is to see if there are differences in the social relationships that older African Americans, older whites, and older Mexican Americans form with the people where they worship. Data from two large surveys are pooled to see if race differences emerge in eleven different measures of church-based social relationships. These measures assess social relationships with rank-and-file church members as well as social relationships with members of the clergy. The findings reveal that older African Americans tend to have more well-developed social relationships in the church than either older whites or older Mexican Americans. This is true with respect to relationships with fellow church members as well as relationships with the clergy. In contrast, relatively few differences emerged between older Americans of European descent and older Mexican Americans. However, when differences emerged in the data, older whites tend to score higher on the support measures than older Mexican Americans.     

Religiosity and Risky Sexual Behaviors among an African American Church-based Population

African Americans are disproportionately burdened by STDs and HIV in the US. This study examined the relationships between demographics, religiosity, and sexual risk behaviors among 255 adult African American church-based participants. Although participants were highly religious, they reported an average of seven lifetime sex partners and most inconsistently used condoms. Several demographic variables and religiosity significantly predicted lifetime HIV-related risk factors. Taken together, findings indicated that this population is at risk for HIV. Future research should continue to identify correlates of risky sexual behavior among African American parishioners to facilitate the development of HIV risk reduction interventions in their church settings.     

Promoting Healthy Behavior from the Pulpit: Clergy Share Their Perspectives on Effective Health Communication in the African American Church

African Americans continue to suffer disproportionately from health disparities when compared to other ethnicities (ACS 2010; CDC 2007). Research indicates that the church and the pastor in the African American community could be enlisted to increase effectiveness of health programs (Campbell et al. in Health Edu Behav 34(6):864–880, 2007; DeHaven et al. in Am J Public Health 94(6):1030–1036, 2004). The objective of this study was to investigate African American pastors’ perceptions about health promotion in the church and how these perceptions could serve as a guide for improving health communication targeting African Americans. Semi-structured interviews with African American clergy revealed that pastors feel strongly about the intersection of health, religion and spirituality; they also believe that discussing health screening and other health issues more frequently from the pulpit and their own personal experiences will ultimately impact health behavior among congregants. This study suggests that African American clergy see themselves as health promoters in the church and believe this communication (i.e., pastor-endorsed health information materials) will impact health behavior among underserved and minority populations.     

Truly Inclusive or Uniformly Liberal? An Analysis of the Politics of the Emerging Church

The emergent church movement has fashioned itself as an alternative for Christians who do not want to walk away from their faith, but feel uncomfortable with the dogmatic conservatism found in mainstream evangelicalism. The emerging church movement has portrayed itself as diverse and inclusive, which is a direct result of evading ingroup‐outgroup boundaries. However, despite the desire for a plurality of opinions, the movement's leaders have been known to take political positions that are largely left‐leaning. We use the first dataset known to gather this identity from a sample of Protestant clergy, and assess whether denominationally connected emergent church clergy do, in fact, present a distinctive political profile. Emergent clergy are what they say they are—diverse and inclusive—while they are, on average, more liberal than nonemergent clergy in the sample.     

How effective are our marriage ministries? A critical survey

Since the introduction of marriage and family counseling into some seminary curricula thirty years ago, the majority of clergy have developed premarital counseling as a part of their marriage ministries, and educational committees have established marriage and family courses in church school programs. Two questionnaires, used in three clergy conferences, provide data for a critical survey of representative clergy involved in ministry to marriage. Analysis of the data and interviews with a continuing education director and a marriage counseling trainer provide reasons why clergy may not be fully qualified and, therefore, may be only partially effective as marriage counselors. The kinds of educational experience necessary for ministers to become more effective in marriage ministry are examined. Finally, the minister's role in marriage in a secular society is interpreted as undergoing a shift for which many clergy are unprepared.     

Just how Emotionally Intelligent are Religious Leaders in Britain? A Study among Anglican Clergy in Wales

This study explores the profile of 364 Anglican clergy serving in the Church in Wales (264 clergymen, 93 clergywomen, and 7 who did not disclose their sex) on the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale. The data confirm the finding from three earlier studies of church leaders in Britain that both male and female clergy in Britain record significantly lower levels of emotional intelligence in comparison with the standardization data published for this scale. Closer investigation of the scale items, however, questions whether this instrument may offer a fair assessment of the kind of emotional intelligence best suited for pastoral ministry.

     

HIV/AIDS Prevention, Faith, and Spirituality among Black/African American and Latino Communities in the United States: Strengthening Scientific Faith-Based Efforts to Shift the Course of the Epidemic and Reduce HIV-Related Health Disparities

Black/African American and Latino communities are disproportionately affected by the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic. Blacks/African Americans and Latinos are also more likely to report a formal, religious, or faith affiliation when compared with non-Hispanic whites. As such, faith leaders and their institutions have been identified in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy as having a vital role to serve in reducing: (1) HIV-related health disparities and (2) the number of new HIV infections by promoting non-judgmental support for persons living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS and by serving as trusted information resources for their congregants and communities. We describe faith doctrines and faith–science partnerships that are increasing in support of faith-based HIV prevention and service delivery activities and discuss the vital role of these faith-based efforts in highly affected black/African American and Latino communities.