Resilience and Success of African American Pastors

Book excerpt: The content of this manuscript is research investigated for the resilience and success of pastors in the Church of God in Christ, a Pentecostal denomination that has over six million members, to include over three-thousand pastors. The research is a phenomenological study designed to provide a narrative, interview of the participants to share their background, role, and day-to-day practices of the work of ministry as a senior pastor in this organization. The research will consist of seven to ten pastors selected from across the country, all African-American males, age groups ranging from 42 years to 72 years of age. The information will be gathered by personal interviews conducted by asking each of them the same questions to gather all the facts and data for this research design. The instrument used will be a recording device that will record all conversations that will be transcribed in writing verbatim. As the human instrument conducting this research, it will constitute travel, lodging, and scheduling of each participant that will give the researcher an intimate up and close contact with each participant. The information will be safeguarded, names will be protected and all information will be useful as a model example of what constitutes success for ministry and the tools and resources needed to maintain a healthy and productive state of mind to be resilient in leading the charge as clergymen in the field of ministry. It is with great joy and a privilege to conduct this interview with pastors serving in the Church of God in Christ.