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PREVENTATIVE MENTAL HEALTH MEASURES FOR MINISTERIAL LEADERS
Get PDFPastoral care and responsibilities come with a particular weight that can feel overwhelming at times for those engaged in ministry. In a world where mental health seems to be making all the headlines, there appears to be an overall lack of conversation surrounding the emotional well-being of clergy. This thesis aims to create a more holistic perception of mental health among ministerial leaders and pinpoint preventative measures that can be put in place to protect the hearts and minds of pastors as they fulfill the callings on their lives. In conducting this research, a mixed-method survey was completed by twenty-one participants in which questions were answered surrounding perception of and interaction with mental health in their ministerial careers. The results of this study implied that there are gaps pertaining to awareness, counseling, and familial implications in regards to pastoral well-being. Looking forward, preventative measures such as shifts in curriculum, access to counseling, and implementation of regular self-care practices can lead to reduced burnout among ministerial leaders and help point to a happier, healthier life-style
DISCIPLESHIP RENEWED: RETURNING TO THE ANCIENT TEACHINGS OF JESUS AS THE MANUAL FOR MODERN-DAY CHRISTIANITY
Get PDFThe modern American Christian is faced with a society that is in unprecedented spiritual decline. Yet, is today’s church equipped with the fortitude to shine as light in darkness like Jesus intended? The concern behind this project is that a broad view of current Christian landscape reveals a great need to reclarify what it means to be a Christian. In His teaching, Jesus provides everything that is needed for the Christian life. The American church needs to experience a genuine return to the kind of Christianity that Jesus intended. It is the kind that can be referred to as discipleship. The goal of this research was to provide a clear and effective pathway for discipleship that is based purely and simply on the teachings of Jesus. A study was conducted at Shreveport Community Church to determine the effectiveness of this approach. First, a theological and biblical study of Jesus’ description of discipleship was conducted, formed into a 4-week curriculum, and presented to a small group of seventeen individuals. Then, a post-test quantitative survey was then administered to determine the efficacy of the curriculum. The data obtained revealed that the discipleship curriculum was indeed efficacious for improving discipleship understanding and characteristics within the group. This study has resulted in a renewed intentionality and passion for discipleship at SC Church
Order, Structure, and Patterns in English Grammar: Utilizing a Classical Christian Methodology
Get PDFOrder, structure, and patterns are found in English grammar; however, they are not taught as essentials under a modern pedagogical approach. The classical Christian methodology of education not only teaches the student to recognize these attributes, but also utilizes order, structure, and patterns in the teaching methods themselves. In a world in which education is clearly in decline, a reassessment of educational methods is necessary. This work considers three models of education: modern, classical, and classical Christian. Within each of these pedagogies, the methods used to recognize order, structure, and patterns are also identified. In addition, the results of a case study are discussed. This study included utilization of the classical Christian model of education to encourage recognition of order, structure, and patterns in English grammar. Results of this case study indicate that the classical Christian model of education is the better model both in recognition of those attributes in English grammar and in utilizing order, structure, and patterns in the classical Christian model itself.
Keywords: English grammar, classical Christian education, order, structure, pattern
Utilizing the Classical Christian Study of Latin to Promote Intentionality
Get PDFIt is well known that the study of Latin increases English vocabulary, helps one understand grammar, raises standardized test scores, and helps one learn other languages. As modern education sees itself as an agent for change and social reform set on reconstructing society, fewer schools are offering Latin to students. Of those that do offer it, many are veering away from the traditional approach which has a goal of being able to read and connect with the writing of the great thinkers of the past while utilizing a methodology that focuses on grammar and syntax. This paper looks at three philosophies of education: modern, classical, and classical Christian and the different approaches used to study Latin. It also discusses the results of a study performed utilizing the classical Christian model of education in conjunction with the study of Latin to encourage ideas of intentionality and purposefulness, specifically that of stopping in order to attend to the details, slowing down in order to process information, and contemplating in order to wonder. Results indicate that studying Latin using the classical Christian model of education increases intentionality.
Keywords: classical Christian education, Latin language, intentionality, triviu
THE EFFECT OF ATHLETE ENDORSEMENTS ON BRAND EQUITY
Get PDFMarketing trends have recently seen an increase in the use of athlete endorsements. While celebrity endorsements are not a new practice, the use of athletes as endorsers is still relatively new to the field. This thesis investigates the effect of athlete endorsements on brand equity. Using the Aaker’s model, brand equity is split into the categories of brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality, and brand loyalty for thorough exploration. A quantitative, non-experimental research approach was designed to examine consumers’ perceptions of these four elements of brand equity. The resulting survey was administered online to 117 participants. The data revealed 4 statistically significant correlations between consumer perceptions and brand equity elements – as well as a predictive relationship between social media usage and likelihood to perceive products endorsed by athletes as more environmentally friendly and sustainable than most other brands
A DAILY TIME WITH GOD FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH: HOW WORSHIP, SCRIPTURE, AND PRAYER TRANSFORM PEOPLE INTO FULLY DEVOTED FOLLOWERS OF JESUS
Get PDFBible engagement, faith practice, and people identifying as followers of Jesus are at an all-time low in America. Christians are casually attending church, occasionally volunteering, but not transforming into fully devoted followers of Jesus. Discipleship is defined differently from church to church, and “spiritual formation” is the new rave without much local church praxis. How do Christians go from a weekly faith of attendance to a daily faith of transformation? The focus of this doctoral dissertation is to present the practice of daily meetings with God as the solution to this problem. It is by laying out a clear theology of daily meetings with God accompanied by a practical guide for implementation, worship, Scripture, and prayer that the foundation for daily meetings will be developed. The result will be fully devoted followers of Jesus ready to fight the devil, form theology, and satisfy their spirit in the presence of God
Elevating Followers: Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the Revised Kelley Followership Questionnaire
Get PDFEvery person is a follower, and followers and leaders are both equally important to the leadership process, yet followership literature pales in comparison to leadership literature. One problem was that followership did not have a valid and reliable selfassessment. The purpose of this study was to advance the theory of followership by conducting confirmatory factor analysis on the revised Kelley Followership Questionnaire (KFQ-R; Ligon, 2016) with data collected from employees at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The KFQ-R and three additional instruments to assess convergent validity were administered in December 2022. Data analysis included seven iterations of factor analysis conducted using jamovi statistical software. The results showed that the KFQ-R is a 16-item assessment that measures two previously identified followership dimensions (critical thinking disposition and work engagement) and two new followership dimensions (co-productive orientation and experienced meaningfulness). This updated version of Ligon’s KFQ-R should be named the KFQ-RV2, with the letter V indicating “version.” This study expands and enriches the understanding of measurable followership dimensions that cultivate a positive organizational culture. Among the nine suggestions for future research are to reword two items, use the updated scale, and administer the KFQ-RV2 in flat organizations
FAITHFUL IS THE WORD: FORGING A PASTORAL MENTALITY BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF THE PHRASE “PISTOS HO LOGOS” AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS WHEN APPLIED TO PASTORAL SUCCESSION
Get PDFThe aim of this thesis is to develop a biblically grounded resource that will prepare incoming pastors who will succeed retiring pastors of local churches. Studies show that most church succession attempts are not deemed successful, which is concerning since, over the next ten to twenty years, the American church will experience the largest wave of retiring pastors it has ever seen. This work addressed two learning gaps, as little exists in the form of resources directed primarily at incoming pastors and research on the clause Pistos ho Logos. Therefore, the primary research questions were “What are the meaning and significance of Pistos ho Logos, and what principles might the clause suggest that could equip incoming pastors to take up their new positions faithfully?” Using a qualitative study of the lived experience of pastors who experienced succession, and a theological analysis of a unique Pauline clause that appears only five times in the Pastoral Epistles, Pistos ho Logos, the findings show applications with spiritual and organizational leadership implications. The significance of this study is that it provides a pastor mentality based on the faithfulness of the Word of God that will enable them to faithfully lead plateauing or declining congregations through the difficulties experienced in pastoral succession
A Framework for Retaining a Multigenerational Workforce
Get PDFVoluntary employee turnover has become a prevalent concern in the modern global labor market. The exodus of competent talent makes it harder for organizations to meet their business objectives. Excessive turnover affects organizations\u27 day-to-day operations, including their ability to compete in a global market (Allen al., 2010). The voluntary departure of highly skilled individuals can have significant organizational implications (Brown et al., 2015). The departure of highly skilled personnel can result in direct and indirect adverse expenses. Employee separation, recruiting, and onboarding are direct expenditures associated with worker turnover (Jannet et al., 2020). Indirect turnover costs include decreased group productivity, elevated job stress, low workplace morale, and poor organizational performance. Excessive voluntary turnover has psychological and intangible consequences on an organization\u27s corporate, departmental, and individual performance (Carter et al., 2019). These repercussions include high-stress levels brought on by open jobs, interruptions in service delivery, declining worker morale, delays in the workgroup\u27s output, and the loss of knowledge, experience, and competence from departing employees (Allen et al., 2010). Organizations in all sectors usually find it difficult to recover from high rates of voluntary workforce turnover due to the ridiculously high costs involved. Higher education institutions, for example, have spent over $68 million on problems related to voluntary employee departure (Figueroa, 2015). The contemporary workforce comprises four distinct generational cohorts: Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, Generation Y (often referred to as Millennials), and Generation Z (Ahmad & Ibrahim, 2015). Each group has unique desires and ambitions that, if ignored by organizational leaders, might lead to voluntary turnover (Haynes, 2011). The propensity of today\u27s workforce to switch jobs creates issues for the nation\u27s economy, particularly concerning the sustainability of talents across industries and the profitability of organizations (Jo, 2008). The four-hour one-day training seminar educated senior and mid-level managers and directors of a central Florida institution on the following topics: 1. The effects of voluntary and involuntary turnover on organizational effectiveness at the corporate, departmental, and individual levels; 2. turnover antecedents among generational cohorts using Maslow\u27s hierarchy of needs theory; 3. the impact of organizational culture, servant leadership, and transformational leadership practices on staff retention. 4. A framework for developing a recruitment and staff retention program to attract and leverage the varied skill sets of their multigenerational workforce. Project Themes: The project theme includes voluntary and involuntary turnover, turnover antecedents, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational culture, servant leadership, and transformational leadership.
Contributions to the Field of Leadership: Leadership is the process by which one exerts influence over a collective of persons to achieve a shared goal(s) (Northouse, 2019). In an organizational context, the leadership process warrants aligning subordinate staff needs with the organization\u27s objectives. Every generation of workers has expectations, and failing to meet them will lead to their departure. The training program allowed participants to learn and comprehend central servant and transformational leadership practices that cultivate favorable workplace attitudes, job embeddedness, and organizational commitment. Real-world Implications: The framework introduced in this training provides thorough methods for determining the causes of high employee turnover, developing and launching retention and recruitment strategies, and monitoring turnover rates. Furthermore, The framework incorporates transformational and servant leadership practices necessary to establish a workplace culture that fosters positive attitudes, enhances job embeddedness, and fosters organizational commitment among workers from different generational cohorts