Page 11 - 2021 SPCE Program 3

Salon H – Judy Glanz – Multnomah University/Jason Miller – Biola University
Clarity in the Midst of Chaos: Learning from the Personal and Professional Experiences of
Pastoral Leaders in the Midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The daily expectations and responsibilities laid upon those called to lead our church communities are weighty on
the best of days, let alone in the midst of a global pandemic that halted physical gathering. We interviewed thirty-
three pastoral leaders in thirteen states who both confirmed and confounded our expectations of the resulting
difficulty of this season. Research findings for the pandemic reveal connections to significant loss yet valuable
Kingdom lessons surfaced as well. Crisis, while brutal in its methods, incubates reflection and positive growth both
for the pastors and the communities they lead.

Salon I – Lori Doyle/Jill Swisher – Concordia University Irvine
Flourishing in the Diaspora: An Empirical Study of Queen Esther’s Leadership Behaviors Offers
Contemporary Implications for Leading in Diverse Settings
Contemporary implications for leaders serving in diverse contexts are offered as a result of an empirical study of
Queen Esther’s leadership behaviors. The innovative use of a validated instrument applied to biblical text was
supported by qualitative research methods to affirm Esther’s leadership strengths and weaknesses as discussed in
Kouzes and Posner’s (2017) Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® Model. Since Queen Esther served in a time
and place of diversity, this empirical approach to investigating her leadership style exposes constructive leadership
practices for present-day leaders serving in a diverse and post-Christian culture.

Salon J – Mark Maddix – Point Loma Nazarene University
Opportunities and Challenges of Online Education in a Post-Covid World
With the increased use of distance education during Covid, in what ways is it providing opportunities and
challenges for the future of theological education? The workshop will provide several opportunities and
challenges of theological online education, with a particular focus on best practices and ideas gained from the
presenter’s twenty-plus years of online teaching, course design, and program development.

Irving II – Kevin Jones – Cedarville University
The Classroom as Crossroads for Pedagogy, Equity and Theology for Human Flourishing
Given the assumptions related to pedagogy, equity, and theology, it is paramount to understand the meaning and
interconnection of these ideals as related to human flourishing. Christians are called to study the word and do the
work of Christ. During our time together, attendees will engage thoughts around the theological and pedagogical
responsibilities of Christians serving a diverse global society. Attendees will be challenged to rethink, innovate, and
collaborate, as we discuss appropriate frameworks for the forward movement and flourishing for all of God’s
creation

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Breakout Presentations III (Fri. 1:45-2:45 PM)

Salon B – Long Ho – Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

An Analysis of Organizational Commitment among Asian-American Pastors
This research explores the influence of older generation pastors’ paternalistic leadership style on younger
generation pastors in the ethnically based districts of the C&MA denomination in the U.S. It analyzed the
responses from 139 participants, including a theoretical group that was relatively culture-oriented and an
empirical group that was relatively generation-oriented. The findings revealed that the theoretical group related to
the affective and calculative aspects, while the empirical group associated with the normative aspect of
organizational commitment. Paternalism had both direct and indirect effects on the younger generation’s
commitment, but only had a direct effect on their turnover intentions.

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