ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY TO DISCOVER ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF BLACK PASTORS’ WIVES IN THE SHEPHERDS CONNECTION A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY VICTORY VERNON ASHLAND, OHIO March 18, 2020 Copyright © 2019, by Victory R. Vernon All rights reserved DEDICATION To Mother Cathy Johnson, the first megachurch first lady who inspired me to embrace my calling, whose freedom to be herself, freed me to be myself To my husband, who is my best friend, my chest to lay on, my pulse, my rhythm, and my inspiration to strive for it all EPIGRAPH I am an expression of the divine, just like a peach is, just like a fish is. I have a right to be this way . I can't apologize for that, nor can I change it, nor do I want to . We will never have to be other than who we are in order to be successful . We realize that we are as ourselves unlimited and our experiences valid. It is for the rest of the world to recognize this, if they choose. Alice Walker APPROVAL PAGE Accepted by the faculty and the final demonstration examining committee of Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Ministry degree. ___________________________________ ____________________ Academic Advisor Date ___________________________________ ____________________ Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program Date ABSTRACT The purpose of this project was to discover the roles and responsibilities of black pastors’ wives in the Shepherds Connection. In designing this project, a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was distributed to sixty-six participants. Results revealed that prominent roles included: women’s ministry overseer, teacher, counselor, worship leader, and preacher/minister. Least prominent roles were: prophet, supervisor, children’s ministry leader, and teen ministry leader. Furthermore, a majority of participants found responsibilities included involvement in administration, church-running decisions, programmatic ministry design and worship design. Most participants also responded that meeting with political leaders and officiating weddings, funerals, and baptisms fell outside responsibilities. CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………… vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………….. viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT OVERVIEW …………………… 1 2. BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL, AND HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS …………………………………….…………………. 21 3. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ………………….……………….………. 55 4. DESIGN, PROCEDURE, AND ASSESSMENT ………….………… 70 5. THE RESULTS .……………………………….….….………………… 75 6. SUMMARY AND REFLECTIONS ………………………….………… 98 Appendix 1. PROPOSAL ……………………….………….………………………… 112 2. ASSESSMENT TOOL …………………………………………………. 135 REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………. 139 vi TABLES Table 1. Table 1: Roles ……………………………… 81 2. Table 2: Responsibilities (Agreement) ……………………………… 83 3. Table 3: Responsibilities (Disagreement) ……………………………… 88 4. Table 4: Responsibilities (Open-Ended) ……………………………… 93 5. Table 5: Participants’ Evaluation of ……………………………… 95 the Study vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This paper has had critical contributions from a host of minds and hearts. I am extremely grateful to those mentioned below, and many more: To Dr. William H. Myers who has such a beautiful mind. Your dedication to the academy and to students of color is a gift to all of us. You discovered a calling on my life that I had no idea existed, and I thank you for your discernment and the faithfulness you displayed during my journey. To Dr. Crystal Walker for your inspiration and insight. To Bishop Joey Johnson, “my Daddy,” whose work has shaped my life and ministry. Thank you, and I love you. To Pearl Mansu whose editing expertise shaped the final product. Thank you for believing in my project. To my church family who has always loved, honored, and respected me as your spiritual mother. Thank you. To my mommy and sister, whose love and support daily. Thank you for inspiring me to never quit. To the Shepherds Connection’s first ladies. Thank you for answering the calling on your lives. And thank you for believing in me and loving me. To Dominic, Chanae, Jason, Deidra, Tino, Rainnell, Raphael, Demario, Anthony, Ocie, Doris, Niece, Lisa, Toccara, Pastor AD3 and Lady Jessica Stephenson, Arnold and Rashelle Jenkins, Elders Larry and Dritta Craig, and my namesake, Victory. I love you all. viii To my rock, Dr. R.A. Vernon. You’ve always believed in me, and I thank you for loving me through it all. To my Savior, who I love and in whom I trust. I pray you will say to me on sunrise morning, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” ix CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT OVERVIEW At an annual Gathering of the Shepherds conference, which is designed for senior pastors and their spouses to acquire tools to better lead their congregations, I overheard a conversation between two pastors’ wives. One exclaimed to another, “Girl, how do you deal with all those people and lead them, too?” The other responded, “Honey, I don’t know what I’m doing; I’m faking it until I make it!” (Confidential Identities, 2015) Purpose The purpose of my project was to discover the roles and responsibilities of black pastors’ wives in the Shepherds Connection. The Research Question What are the roles and responsibilities of black pastors’ wives in the Shepherds Connection? Overview Initially, this project was to be a manual to aid pastors’ wives in the black megachurch context in their roles and responsibilities. However, it evolved into a discovery project about black pastors’ wives in the Shepherds Connection. The Shepherds Connection is a national fellowship exclusively for senior pastors and their spouses. I eliminated the megachurch aspect to make the project useful to a larger demographic of black pastors’ wives. Consequently, pastors’ wives could benefit, whether or not they led megachurches. In addition, the project shifted 1 from an instructional manual to a discovery project because I realized it would be more helpful, in the long run, to devote ample effort to learn more about the population I desire to help through this project. Focusing my efforts on discovery project for this project would provide the groundwork for future projects which could include instructional manuals for pastors’ wives in the black church context. Accordingly, the focus of this discovery project was to discover the roles and responsibilities of the black pastors’ wives in the Shepherds Connection. As the wife of a pastor who has ministered in the black church for over two decades, the conversation between the pastors’ wives that I overheard arrested my attention. Their dialogue caused me to share with them how I overcame my own fears and uncertainties. The exchange between the pastors’ wives inspired the concentration of this project, which was to discover the roles and responsibilities of black pastors’ wives in the Shepherds Connection. I conducted this discovery project with the undergirding aim that it would equip the black pastors’ wives with tools to promote effective leadership in their churches. The compilation of biblical and theological foundations for this project gave indispensable insight from scriptural, feminist, ethicist, and womanist scholars. In addition, the historical foundation supplied pertinent information regarding the progression of roles and responsibilities of women (including pastors’ wives) within the black church. Since this discovery project dealt specifically with black pastors’ wives in the Shepherds Connection, it was vital to establish an understanding of who the pastor’s wife was. 2 Butler described the first lady, or pastor’s wife, as such: She is the wife of one husband. (1Tim. 3:2) She is to love, respect, be submissive, and be the number one supporter of her husband. (Titus 2:4- 5; Eph. 5:22, Col. 3:18) She is to love, nurture and train her children, Titus 2:4) She is to present herself before others tastefully and modestly. (1 Tim. 2:9) She must endeavor to be careful and wise in her speech and action. (Titus 2:5) She is to embrace her femininity and virtuosity. (Titus 2:5), Pro. 31:10) She possesses the transforming and influential power as the keeper of her home. (Titus 2:5); Heb.13:15) She is a teacher, advisor and wise counselor to the women. (Titus 2:3, Pro 14:1). She is one given to prayer, supplication, and intercession. (Eph. 6:18) and I would insert She is a wife that can be trusted Pro 31:28. (Butler 2013, 5-6) While Butler’s description provided a reference point, additional descriptors were often used by members of the Shepherds Connection to identify the pastor’s wife. Such identifiers included: ‘Sister,’ ‘Mother,’ ‘Evangelist,’ ‘Elder,’ ‘First Lady,’ ‘Lady,’ ‘Leading Lady,’ ‘Co-pastor,’ or her first name. Differences in titles for black pastors’ wives in the Shepherds Connection reflected the variety of churches represented therein. Though most churches represented in the Shepherds Connection were predominantly black, the churches involved were diverse in denomination, in location, in age, and in size. Congregations ranged from as few as fifty souls to as large as what would be classified a megachurch. With regard to what constitutes a megachurch, the definition of the term has been debated (Pinn 2002, 135). However, Thumma and Travis lent some insight to the term, as they defined it as a church which averaged 2,000 or more attendees during its weekend services (Thumma and Travis 2007, xvi). Vernon noted that the “average church in America has a hundred or less people in it” (Vernon 2011, 16). A conflation of Vernon’s figures with that of Thumma and Travis led to the implication that pastors’ wives in the megachurch context were 3 outnumbered by those who were not in the megachurch context. Since megachurch pastors’ wives were an outnumbered minority, they dealt with a dynamic that the majority of pastors’ wives may not have been able to identify with. As such, a discovery project for black pastors’ wives in the Shepherds Connection, would be beneficial to many other black pastors’ wives, whether from megachurches or small churches; it would also be beneficial regardless of their churches’ various locations, denominations, or sizes.