Date
11-11-2026
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Steve Smith
Keywords
Intergrating, Leadership
Disciplines
Leadership Studies
Recommended Citation
Abiona, Oluwole S., "Integrating Servant Leadership in Multicultural Church Contexts" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 9085.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/9085
Abstract
This dissertation-in-praxis addressed the lack of servant leadership among pastors in multicultural church contexts at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Newark, Delaware, where a pastoral culture oriented toward the majority culture, prosperity-gospel assumptions, and power-based leadership left minority members underrepresented and underserved. Grounded in the servant leadership of Jesus (Mark 10:45 KJV; John 21:15–17 KJV; 1 Peter 5:2–3 KJV), cultural intelligence theory, and transformational and transformative learning frameworks, the project delivered a six-session training curriculum to the six-member pastoral team over twelve weeks. A mixed-methods assessment used the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) before the program, after the program, and at a 60-day follow-up, together with a congregational feedback survey, pastoral reflection interviews, and reflection journals. Mean pastoral cultural intelligence rose from 4.31 to 5.46 on a 7-point scale and remained at 5.28 at follow-up, with the largest gain in metacognitive CQ (+1.38) and the smallest in behavioral CQ (+0.71). Congregational ratings of pastoral cultural responsiveness rose from 3.14 to 3.79 on a 5-point scale, and the gap between minority and majority members narrowed from 0.58 to 0.26. Interviews yielded three themes: authority as stewardship, seeing the unseen, and the difficulty of the doing. Knowledge and attitudes changed more than behavior, and minority participation in decision-making did not increase during the study period. The project produced a replicable curriculum, guidance booklet, inclusion strategies, and assessment package, and it showed that future efforts should strengthen experiential practice and pair pastoral formation with changes to governance and worship structures.
