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How African American Pastors Learn the Role of Ministry

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How African American Pastors Learn the Role of Ministry HOW AFRICAN AMERICAN PASTORS LEARN THE ROLE OF MINISTRY by WILLIAM TIMOTHY HARRISON (Under the Direction of TALMADGE C. GUY) ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to understand the learning of African American pastors, specifically how they learn their roles and the means to fulfill them. A qualitative approach was employed as the methodology to gain insight from the perspective of the pastors themselves. The focus of the interview questions were the means of the pastors learning and were conducted at the pastor’s churches. The pastors were asked what roles they learned in their jobs, and how they learned the roles. The influence of the governance structure of their denominations was important to the learning and contributed to a support system for the pastors as well. The pastors were asked what role socio-historical context may have on their learning. Context was believed to play a very important part in learning according to the pastors. Finally, the pastors were asked how they learned their roles. Interviews were conducted with ten pastors from Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal churches. Follow up questions were asked and visits were made to the pastor’s churches to observe a service. Based on the data from the interviews and field notes, this study describes how learning takes place and makes suggestions for helping pastors learn their roles. The findings of the study revealed the importance of experience, structure, and history in the development of roles as well as the pastors’ learning of the roles and how to fulfill them. While formal education was important to the pastors, they believed the actual roles that were most important to the church they discovered in the action of doing the job. Situational learning, specifically workplace learning, was employed to contrast the learning of the pastors and other professionals. The theory help describe the process of learning that the pastors describe in their interview. Through personal interaction with other minister, mentors, and doing the job itself, the pastors learned what the spoken and unspoken roles were and mapped a strategy for fulfilling those roles. The pastors learned to navigate through the interpersonal issues in churches to discover their roles. INDEX WORDS: ADULT EDUCATION, ADULT LEARNING, AFRICAN AMERICAN PASTORS, AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH, COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE, INFORMAL LEARNING MENTOR, TRADITIONAL BLACK CHURCHES, WORKPLACE LEARNING HOW AFRICAN AMERICAN PASTORS LEARN THE ROLES OF MINISTRY by WILLIAM TIMOTHY HARRISON B.A., Emmanuel College, 1984 M.Div., Erskine Seminary, 1990 M.Ed., University of Georgia, 1998 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION ATHENS, GEORGIA 2010 © 2010 William Timothy Harrison All Rights Reserved HOW AFRICAN AMERICAN PASTORS LEARN THE ROLES OF MINISTRY by WILLIAM TIMOTHY HARRISON Major Professor: TALMADGE C. GUY Committee: JUANITA JOHNSON- BAILEY SANDY MARTIN BETTYE SMITH Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2010 DEDICATION To my father who taught me to laugh at life and my mother who taught me finish the job. I wish to acknowledge the many African American men and women of faith who gave hope to generations who could not see that promised land. And to the many teachers I have learned from in my life that saw potential in me when I saw none. And finally to the One in whom I live, and move, and have my being. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my wife who has encouraged, loved, and taught me for better or worse, richer and poorer. To Talmadge C. Guy who has patiently prodded me through the process and helped me through several of life transitions and kept my eyes on the finish line. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Juanita Johnson-Bailey, Dr. Sandy Martin, and Dr. Bettye Smith for their guidance and insight on my research. Finally, to the wonderful faculty of the Adult Education Department at the University of Georgia, thank you for helping me see the great potential of lifelong learning. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 Statement of Problem and Purpose .........................................................................14 Significance .............................................................................................................15 2 Review of Literature ....................................................................................................17 Historical Context of the African American Pastor ................................................19 Colonial and Antebellum Era ..................................................................................22 Civil War and Post War Developments ..................................................................23 Modern Developments ............................................................................................24 20th Century and Civil Rights ..................................................................................26 Post Civil Rights ......................................................................................................28 Changing Circumstances and Demands on African American Pastors .................35 Professional Development for African American Pastors ......................................43 Summary of Chapter ...............................................................................................55 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................56 Participants ..............................................................................................................58 Methods of Data Collection ....................................................................................60 vi Data Analysis ..........................................................................................................61 Validity ....................................................................................................................63 Research Subjectivity ..............................................................................................65 4 Profiles of the Participants ...........................................................................................67 Richard ....................................................................................................................69 Fred ..........................................................................................................................70 Mike .........................................................................................................................71 Candice ....................................................................................................................74 Harry ........................................................................................................................75 John .........................................................................................................................76 Tim ..........................................................................................................................78 Art ...........................................................................................................................79 Joe ...........................................................................................................................80 Don ..........................................................................................................................81 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................................83 5 Findings........................................................................................................................84 Introduction to Findings ..........................................................................................84 Roles African American Pastor Perform .................................................................85 Context and the influence on roles ..........................................................................96 How pastors learn .................................................................................................121 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................138 6 Conclusions, Recommendations and Implications ....................................................139 Conclusion one: the major influence of experience on learning ...........................148 vii Conclusion two: cultural factors ............................................................................143 Conclusion three: community of practice .............................................................149 Implications ...........................................................................................................153 Further research .....................................................................................................156 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................158
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