Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Previous research has indicates that causes of intra-congregational conflicts include worship styles and rituals, church building, gender and sexuality, etc. This research argues that although many congregations face these controversial issues, the chances of translating these controversial issues into intra-congregational conflicts depend on the structures of congregations. The purpose of this research is to identify congregations that are at a higher risk of having intra-congregational conflicts. Analyzing data from National Congregations Study (NCS), the result of logistic regression indicates that the probability of having intra-congregational conflicts is significantly affected by their organizational structure, the characteristics of their leaders, the social diversity of their members, and their theological perspectives. The finding of this research implies that although many congregations face controversial issues, intra-congregational conflicts are more likely to appear within congregations of certain types of structure.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Pastor succession figures prominently in most narratives of congregational history, yet the movement of pastors between congregations is not typically considered in studies of pastoral leadership, which focus on understanding localized interactions between pastors and congregations. As a result, despite the centrality of pastoral leadership in congregational life, we do not understand what leadership history patterns are typical for congregations, or how congregational experiences of pastoral leadership arise. Congregational leadership histories are subject to strong systematic influences, including the presence of congregational size hierarchies and denominational rules that determine how pastors move between congregations. This paper takes a first step toward understanding how the local experiences of congregations are shaped by these systematic influences. By first examining the underlying distribution of pastor tenures and vacant spells over the past 20 years, then using Optimal Matching Analysis to compare entire leadership histories directly, I show how congregational leadership histories vary between congregations of differing sizes in two denominations with radically differing rules for mobility: centralized pastor assignment in the Methodist Church (UMC) and congregation-driven pastor assignment in the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). My findings emphasize the value of examining leadership histories directly, since many of the differences between denominations are either not intuitive or not predictable from the differences in the distribution of tenure and vacant spells.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper investigates the connection between a congregation's political and theological ideology and the number of social service programs that are present in that congregation. Using the 1998 National Congregations Study (NCS), OLS regression is performed to analyze the factors that affect how many programs are run out of a particular church (N=1168). Results indicate that greater liberalism (on a combined political and theological ideology scale) increases the number of social service programs. Another important factor is the proportion of active adult members who volunteer for such programs and the percentage of members who hold four-year college degrees. These findings suggest, contrary to some current political thought, that faith-based initiatives are most likely to be successful in connection with large liberal Protestant churches rather than the more conservative congregations that are often the target of such policy.

Publication Type: Invited Paper
Abstract: Houston Roberson explores how a church congregation worked to forge a particular identity for itself by constructing a heroic memory of the Civil Rights Movement in lieu of confronting contemporary challenges. He considers Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church’s decision to rename itself and memorialize its role in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1970s and 1980s. With Martin Luther King, Jr. as its pastor, the church had garnered the national and international spotlight in the 1950s and 1960s. During those years the church buzzed with activity and boomed, attracting many new members. Yet life at the church changed dramatically by the early 1970s. As regular church attendance fell off precipitously, the church struggled to maintain its sense of itself as a distinctive and central force in the lives of Montgomery citizens. Roberson, who draws on church records, federal government documents, newspapers and interviews, investigates Dexter Avenue’s decision to use this moment to “remake” itself emphasizing neither its present ministries nor its hope for service in the future, but based mostly upon its past involvements and activities.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Abstract

Churches Need Sociology Too: Examining Perspectives on Racism in Evangelical, Mainline and New Thought Congregations

This paper examines the contextually situated understandings and pragmatic realities of church, race, and racism today, highlighting the perspectives and praxis of Evangelical, Mainline and New Thought congregations in the greater Denver area. It is the result of a mixed method quantitative and qualitative study. It discloses responses to areas of sociological and cultural research that remain largely unexplored by the participating churches, namely invisible or rationalized segregation, internalized White privilege, and the systemic nature of institutionalized racism. This research introduces data collected in response to key questions such as, “Is racism still a significant problem in the U.S. today,” “Does race impact your daily life?” and “Should churches be involved in attempts to alleviate racism?” It subsequently analyzes how contemporary Evangelical, Mainline and New Thought congregants appropriate or challenge current racialized understandings and systems in the U.S.

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