This three-year narrative study tells the stories of five women leaders working within the council for christian colleges & Universities (CCCU). Women leaders are underrepresented within this sector of higher education compared to other religious and/or private higher education institutions. Two of the participants hold positional leadership within academic affairs, two within student life, and one within college financial services. Ten themes emerged from the women’s stories, clustered into three broader headings that resonate with existing gender and leadership research (Ayman & Korabik, 2010), authentic leadership development theory (Avolio & Luthans, 2006), and guidelines for narrative analysis (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000): (a) the landscape or cultural setting, (b) leadership identity or the internal journey of leaders, and (c) relationships with others or interpersonal dynamics. the findings urge christian higher education institutions to consider five recommendations for enhancing the impact of female leaders.
Exantus, W. R. (2011). Pastoral burnout and leadership styles: A mixed-methods study of Southern Baptist pastors in Central Florida. Ph.D., Capella University.
This study examined the factors that contribute to stress, burnout, and turnover among Southern Baptist pastors of central Florida. Previous research indicated that pastors’ overwhelming responsibilities, lack of a support system and cooperation, and their own personal factors tend to put them under a great deal of pressure and adversity. this mixed method study focused on perceptions of 12 senior pastors who were interviewed and 32 others who were surveyed utilizing the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and a burnout inventory developed by this researcher. a significant relationship was found between job dissatisfaction (50%) and feelings of personal accomplishment. Pastors who are more inclined to exhibit transformational and transactional leadership styles have lower levels of burnout than those who are more inclined to practice laissez-faire leadership style.
Gathogo, N. (2011). Ethnicity, peace, and violence: The voices of Kenyan church leaders. Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
The study addresses the church leaders’ contribution towards fostering peace, justice, and reconciliation in the multi-party political era in Kenya that has been plagued with a vicious circle of ethnic violence. the research carried out in Kenya revealed that church leaders retreated into ethnic cocoons for personal and ethnic interests, where they trampled upon christian identity and loyalty while lifting up the banner of ethnic loyalty, which polarized their functionality and responsibility. the perceived loss of moral authority and status on a national platform relegated them to ethnic voices. the ethnic perception hampered and hindered their effort in fostering peace, justice, and reconciliation.
Church leaders recognized and acknowledged their weakness of not living according to the demands of christian identity and loyalty, as witnessed in their public repentance to God and to the nation after the 2007 post election violence that shocked the foundations of Kenya. church leaders have the potential to restore their status as the conscience of the nation and play an active role in peace building, justice, and reconciliation at both the national and grassroots levels that could help to thwart or minimize the occurrence of ethnic violence. the restoration of church leaders requires a paradigm shift of their ethnic-biased lived reality to a lived reality of christian identity and national identity, so that their prophetic voice can be heard and respected on a national platform by society.
Handy, A. (2011). The specula principum in northwestern Europe, A.D. 650-900: The evolution of a new ethical rule. Ph.D., University of Notre Dame.
This dissertation explores the specula principum, or advice treatises for rulers, written in Ireland and the Carolingian world between the seventh and tenth centuries. Including collections of aphorisms, the deathbed speeches of literary figures, formal manuals on courtly behavior, and other texts in Old Irish and Latin, these advice manuals offer insight into several aspects of early medieval European culture. This work contains two major arguments. the first argues that the intense interest in this genre across northwestern Europe suggests that the concept of what made a good leader was changing, which is shown to be the result of a negotiation between an older, pre-christian moral code and the emerging christian concept of morality. The second demonstrates the interconnectivity of these regions by making a case for Irish influence on the Carolingian manuals, which most likely occurred when Irish missionaries and scholars brought ideas to the continent in the eighth and ninth centuries.
Hickman, T. F. (2010). The integration of Jesus’ Great Commandment within Christian higher education: An analysis of the leadership praxis of Dr. David S. Dockery. Ph.D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The purpose of this study was to better understand the leadership philosophy and key strategic actions of Dr. David S. Dockery in relation to Jesus’ Great commandment. Dockery’s leader- ship has been instrumental in shaping and defining the meaning of christian education during his fourteen-year tenure as president of Union University. During his term as president, Dockery has overseen tremendous institutional growth in the expansion of campus facilities, financial resources, and record student enrollment. In a broader capacity, Dockery’s influence has been reflected throughout the Southern Baptist convention and the evangelical community.
This mixed method study analyzed and aligned Dockery’s leadership utilizing James Kouzes and Barry Posner’s perennial leadership classic, The Leadership Challenge.
Higgins, V. A., Jr. (2011). Leadership style and teaching orientation of pastors of solo-pastor SBC churches. Ph.D., The Southern Baptist   Theological Seminary.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between the leadership style and teaching orientation of a random sample of pastors of solo-pastor churches in the SBC. The leadership styles that were analyzed were Lewin’s autocratic leadership and democratic leadership (Bass & Stogdill, 1990; Lewin et al., 1939). The teaching orientations that were analyzed were pedagogical orientation and Andragogical orientation, as identified by Knowles (1984; Knowles et al., 2005). This study was designed to clarify and build upon the findings of previous researchers who have examined the relationship between leadership and teaching (ang, 1984; Mattia, 1991).
This descriptive study used a one- phase, quantitative, correlational model (Gall et al., 2005; Leedy & Ormrod, 2005). the aim was to collect data pertaining to both pastors’ and congregational members’ perceptions of pastoral leadership style and teaching orientation in order to better understand the extent of the relationship between the dimensions of leadership and teaching.
While this study did find that a perceived change in one dimension (either leadership style or teaching orientation) did correlate to some measurable perceived change in the other dimension, the researcher concluded that leadership and teaching were largely complementary pastoral competencies, and not strictly corollary; the relationship between leadership and teaching was best expressed in quad- rants, and not on a strict continuum.
Hong, H. (2010). Enriched by diversity: The transformation of Wycliffe Bible Translators USA into a multi ethnic organization. Ph.D., Reformed Theological Seminary.
This is ethnographic study on the transformation of Wycliffe Bible translators in the United States into a multi ethnic organization sets out to discern critical organizational factors impacting the transformational process. The study found that the ethnic diversity of Wycliffe USA is low compared to the ethnic composition of the United States. Worldview transformation is critical and foundational for the transformation of Wycliffe USA into a multi-ethnic organization. A number of organizational factors were found to be critical to the transformation process: the commitment of the leadership, establishing relationships with diverse ethnic communities and ethnic churches, recruiting and hiring among minority communities, training members in biblical teachings, and appointing a person to a leadership level position to be in charge of ethnic diversity. The research also found that there are common reasons for failures in transforming into a multi-ethnic organization, such as lack of vision by leadership, improper communication and engagement of stakeholders, poor project management, lack of employees’ involvement, an absence of urgency, and a lack of on-going training.
Johnson, L. K. (2011). Keeping women silent: A study of female leadership in faith-based institutions. Ph.D., Capella University.
This study examined the perspective of 26 administrators and seeks to ascertain the issues and concerns pertaining to female representation in faith- based higher education administration. In this qualitative study, based on grounded theory, interviews were conducted with 19 female administrators, one female president, and six male presidents at a variety of faith- based colleges and universities nationwide. though numerous points were made regarding the disproportion of females in faith-based higher education administration, the disparity of female mentors was identified as one of the primary reasons women do not attain to many of the executive levels posts in these institutions.
Lee, J. (2011). Competency-based leadership development for emerging Christian camp leaders in North American Christian camping. Ph.D., Biola University.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of competency based leadership development programs for camp leaders in North american christian camping. In order to establish a competency-based leadership development program for emerging camp professionals, the review of literature focused on the technical definition for the term “competency,” which breaks down to three main components: knowledge, skills, and attitude. From the relevant literature in the fields of business management, teacher education, recreation, park, and outdoor education, the fundamental components of competency-based educational programs for leadership development were identified. The leadership competency cube model was adapted with three categories (professional, organizational, and cultural) at three leadership levels (entry, mid, and top), and six core leadership competencies (professionalism, professionalization, organizational learning, learning organization, cultural awareness, and organizational culture change) in two leadership dimensions (individual and institutional).
Palmer, M. D. (2011). Faculty perceptions of organizational leadership at Christian colleges and universities with missions of servant leadership. Ph.D., Dallas Baptist University.
This study examined differences in faculty perceptions of organizational leadership at christian institutions with servant leadership missions. Faculty members’ perceptions were evaluated based on the independent variables of employment status (full- or part-time/adjunct), number of years employed at the institution, and whether they attended an orientation about mission. a sample of 860 faculty members from 11 institutions participated in the online Organizational Leadership assessment (OLA), which measures the servant leadership dimensions of Values People, Develops People, Builds community, Displays authenticity, Provides Leadership, Shares Leadership, and an overall score.
Sholes, J. R. I. (2010). Do Christian college students develop into more ethical leaders? An evaluation of moral development and transformational leadership. Ph.D., Capella University.
This quantitative study used the Defining Issues test-2 (DIt-2) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) to evaluate the relationship between transactional/transformational leadership qualities and moral development within a population of higher education students at a Protestant christian liberal arts college. This study considered the idea that transformational leadership is the morally highest ideal level of leadership. It also considered the impact that the higher education experience has on student moral development. Students attending a Protestant christian liberal arts college in the South were surveyed. The finding that there is no statistically significant relationship between transactional/transformational leadership and moral development within this population is similar to that of other studies. However, the information and values that were gained from this research has provided several areas for further research opportunities.
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