When: June 8, 2023, 3:30 pm - Thursday

Where: Malamat

Session 5

Session Abstract

This session consists of four presentations relating to not-for-profit leadership and management.  William Sharp analyzes and measures servant leadership style and qualities within Christian non-profit organizations using the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ).  Christopher Horne presents results from in-depth interview on Christian public administrators’ understandings of the work-faith relationship.  Timothy Veach and Agam Iheanyi-Igwe explore the role of entrepreneurship in successfully readjusting ex-missionaries in their return home. Jooho Lee considers how profit-seeking, if done in cooperation with the Spirit of God, can not only coexist with but serve to advance the divine mission.

Paper Abstracts

William Sharp, University of the Cumberlands, “How Servant Leadership among Non-Profit Senior Leaders Influences Growth”

The purpose for this study was to identify the relationship between senior leaders of Christian non-profit organizations that exhibit servant leadership and the organizational growth of Christian non-profit organizations. This study focused on the servant leadership style within Christian non-profit organizations, and the servant leadership qualities are measured using the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ). This quantitative study aimed to see the relationship between senior leaders’ servant leadership and Christian non-profit organizations’ growth. The study provides data from Christian non-profit organizations on their organizational growth in the categories of numerical growth, mentorship, and service opportunities in the last three years.

 

Jooho Lee, Pepperdine University, “Can There Be Any Intrinsic Value in Seeking Profits?”

An account of business as an intrinsically valuable activity must provide an account of the intrinsic value of profit-seeking. Such an account can be found within an account of work as cooperation with the Spirit of God working within history in anticipation of God’s transformation of the world. When done well, profit-seeking can entail a form of participating within a divine mission to invite others to value and transform the world as it should be and thus usher in the kingdom of God.

 

Christopher Horne, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Covenant College, “A Grounded Model of Christian Public Administrators’ Integration of Faith and Work”

About 28% of U.S. government managers profess to be Christians who regularly attend church. Given potential impacts on public policy and services, it is important to understand how these managers integrate faith and work. This grounded theory study of 30 Christian public administrators presents a taxonomy of faith-work integration with two axes: (1) purpose—pietistic versus instrumental, and (2) locus—personal, workplace, or societal. All participants share faith-driven work motivation aligned with public administration values. Mode of faith-work integration varies based on orientations toward a sacred-secular divide versus a holistic Christian worldview and perceived religious liberty.

 

Timothy Veach, George Fox University, and Agam Iheanyi-Igwe, Bushnell University, “Entrepreneurship as Repatriation Coping Strategy for Returning Missionaries”

The success of global corporate, humanitarian, and missionary assignments often depends on adjustment to overseas environments. Adjustment is equally integral to the repatriation process, with corporate repatriates sometimes requiring career changes or entrepreneurship to navigate the psychological challenges of reintegration. Long-term cross-cultural missionaries face comparable, if not more severe, psychological distress upon returning home. This study uses the Dual Process Model Adapted to Re-entry to examine whether entrepreneurship helps returned missionaries navigate this distress, similar to corporate repatriates. The findings may inform support for a globally mobile workforce and ex-missionaries.

 

Poster: James Meersman, Houston Christian University, “CSR and Sentiment: A Biblical Response to Greenwashing”

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was established in business literature since as early as the 1960s. However, despite roughly 60 years of study, interpreting CSR performance carries with it higher levels of subjectivity relative to financial performance. As a result, stakeholders are tasked with sifting through the components of CSR and the potential for greenwashing. While most firm stakeholders would agree that continuing to grow CSR efforts in the future is good, identifying what components of CSR are more important than others is more difficult. This poster will discuss how a biblical view of CSR can help shape our future.

Speakers

Brad Lemler, Howard Payne University, Convener

• William Sharp, University of the Cumberlands, “How Servant Leadership among Non-Profit Senior Leaders Influences Growth”
• Christopher Horne, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Covenant College, “A Grounded Model of Christian Public Administrators’ Integration of Faith and Work”
• Timothy Veach and Agam Iheanyi-Igwe, George Fox University; Bushnell University, “Entrepreneurship as Repatriation Coping Strategy for Returning Missionaries”
• Jooho Lee, Pepperdine University, "Can There Be Any Intrinsic Value in Seeking Profits?"
• Poster: James Meersman, Houston Christian University, "CSR and Sentiment: A Biblical Response to Greenwashing”