Date
2-13-2026
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
John R. Beck
Keywords
Adaptive Leadership, Time Management, Small Church, Pastors, Leadership Development, Overchurched, Innovation, Time, Local Church, Leadership, Ministry Leaders, Small Churches, Church Size
Disciplines
Christianity | Leadership Studies
Recommended Citation
Majors, Simorrah J., "Leading in the Unexpected: Adaptive Leadership and Time Management, A Phenomenological Study of the Small Church Pastor" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7939.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7939
Abstract
One of the most challenging obstacles small church pastors face today may be managing their time. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of the use of time management within the scope of church leadership and administration, as perceived through the lens of pastors ages 35 to 80 who are either the senior or sole pastor or elder at small trinitarian Protestant churches in the United States Northeast Region. Time management is generally defined as organizing and planning how to divide time between different activities and functions. The theory guiding this study is Ronald Heifetz's (2009) Adaptive Leadership theory and its associates, which focuses on the leader's behaviors in relation to the adaptive work of others in the situations they face. As a subset of complexity leadership theory, adaptive leadership produces adaptive change in a social system by encouraging learning, creativity, and adaptation. Small churches are unique and dynamic; this study explores the impact and influence of time management strategies on a small church pastor's daily work, from a practical standpoint, and how adaptive leadership is carried out in these responsibilities and leadership structures. A pastor’s daily experiences and time-management practices offer insight and opportunities for the small, local church community and its structure. In addition to time management, this study also captured a pastor’s self-efficacy and the impact of the overchurched demographic on small churches. This study seeks to glean from the daily experiences of small churches, pastors, ministry leaders, and their congregants.
