Date
10-16-2024
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Walter Thomas
Keywords
clergy families, ministry pressure, expectations, spiritual upbringing, pastors’ kids, support mechanisms
Disciplines
Counseling
Recommended Citation
Kanco-Ackep, Comfort, "A Phenomenological Study of Challenges Faced by Pastors’ Kids; Effects on the Children and the Pastor" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6094.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6094
Abstract
The goal of this phenomenological study is to identify the challenges faced by pastors' children and understand their repercussions. The phenomenon of pastor's children deviating from the faith and straying from religious beliefs is a prevalent issue. The Bible shows that priests like Eli and Samuel had children who disobeyed the Lord, in the Old Testament. God's children have had their children wander from moral or religious ways many times. This is due to the many obstacles they face. The pastor's children have numerous expectations and challenges. This study examines how these problems affect pastors' children and pastors. Felitti and his colleagues proposed adverse childhood experiences underpins this investigation. Quantifying and analyzing impacts of negative childhood experiences is the only way this theoretical framework understands human behavior. Pastoral children sometimes defy and deviate from conventions when they face problems. The main study questions are: 1. What challenges do pastors' adult children face? 2. How do these issues affect pastors' children? 3. How does it affect the clergyman? Data collection will be conducted using qualitative research methods, specifically through interviews and focus group discussions. The target demographic for this study is eight pastor’s kids and four pastors. Qualitative data analysis will use open coding, textural, and structural descriptions. This study is important since it intends to find the problem's root cause and offer solutions. Additionally, the study will determine if these issues harm pastors' children and pastors. This study aims to contribute to the current corpus of knowledge and data pertaining to this matter.
