The CRED Study: Reimagining the Work, Worth, and Well-Being of American Clergy
The CRED Study: Reimagining the Work, Worth, and Well-Being of American Clergy
Wayne Emmanuel Credle | 2023
Abstract
This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of 11 American full-time pastors at the senior and executive level to examine how personal, interpersonal, vocational, and social stress affect the well-being of clergypersons. Completing the study answered the calls of both Asimakoupoulos (1997) and Pooler (2011) who called for new models of organizational support for clergypersons. An exhaustive review of (a) spiritual leadership, (b) Christian leadership, (c) workplace spirituality, and (d) role identity theory was conducted, which yielded five research questions: RQ1: What does a typical day look like for American clergy? RQ2: How does clergy find purpose and meaning at work? RQ3: What is needed for clergy to have purpose and meaning at work? RQ4: How is the well-being of clergy? RQ5: What support do American clergy need to support their work, worth, and well-being? Ten interview questions emerged from the five research questions used in a one-on-one interview with the participants. Participants were chosen from a mixture of convenience sampling and purposive sampling for a 1-hour virtual interview. Participants were between the ages of 33-64, male and female, African American and Caucasian, and represented the Baptist (3), Presbyterian (2), and United Methodist Church (3) as well as nondenominational churches (3). Eight of the participants pastored a local church, and two of the participants served as chaplains at a university and in the Air Force. One participant served as a pastor of two churches and a hospital chaplain. The study concluded that clergypersons do more paperwork than pastoral care; are motivated inwardly, outwardly, and eschatologically; need place, space, and grace; handle stress by integrating, isolating, compartmentalizing, or being actively inactive; and need competitive pay, consistent practices, covenant people, and unconventional principles. As a result, the four domains of connection, restoration, empowerment, and development (CRED) emerged as a tool to assess the needs of clergypersons and assist with crafting strategies of intervention to maintain clergy well-being.