The lived experiences of Baptist ministers

Abstract

The intent of this study is to utilize a phenomenological qualitative paradigm to explore the lived experience of the Baptist Ministers as full-time within the church. The conceptual framework was shaped by the following theories, namely: Rambo’s (1993) dialectical and process-oriented stage model of religious conversion, the classic and contemporary research paradigms on conversion and transformation which focuses on dramatic religious conversion, John L. Holland’s theory of vocational choice on career development, Carlyle’s great man theory of leadership, and Maslach’s (1976) burnout theory. Data were collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews with four (4) pastors who are currently leading their respective congregations. Data collected included transcribed interviews, field notes, and observations. Data were hand-coded to find key concepts and themes. Five themes that emerged from the data were: transformation of a “prodigal son”, God’s provision and awareness of workload and responsibilities in pastoral work, dealings with ups and downs of pastoral work, leadership in the ministry, and receiving “manna” as eternal gift. The results of this study contributed to a better understanding of the factors that led to clergy stress and burnout. The results of this study may address a gap in literature and may result in positive social change for both the clergy and church congregants because the results can be used to come up with solutions on pastoral leadership issues and for stress and burnout.