Date

5-20-2026

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Rich Sironen

Keywords

Black female senior ministry leadership, stewardship theory, Black feminist thought theory, Black Church

Disciplines

Educational Leadership | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

In this century, there has been a notable escalation in the tally of African American women purporting the imperative in their lives to serve within the Black Church in clergy oversight positions. Despite overt inequities in clergy leadership regarding the percentage of males versus females, there is a dearth in the ministerial leadership literature concerning African American females. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of African American females in senior ministry in New York City. For this study, African-American clergywomen will be generally defined as African-American women who lead a church or are called/ordained senior ministers, pastors, or chaplains. The conceptual theory that guided this study was a blend of stewardship theory and the Black feminist thought theory as it explained the relationship between the stewardship/Black feminist thought theories and the significance of Black clergywomen experiences within male-dominated vocations. The guiding question of this qualitative study concerned “the lived experience of African American women in senior ministry leadership in New York City.” Non-denominational New York City’s Black women in senior ministry leadership comprised the sample. The proposed study employed semi-structured interviews and a constant comparative data analysis method to gather and analyze the interview data.

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