The dance between vulnerability and trust in pulpit leadership

Clay Smith

Etd

The dance between vulnerability and trust in pulpit leadership

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Clay Smith. The Dance Between Vulnerability and Trust In Pulpit Leadership. Covenant Theological Seminary. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/64101153-c38f-42c6-aa8e-bde8bf536530.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

C. Smith. The dance between vulnerability and trust in pulpit leadership. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/64101153-c38f-42c6-aa8e-bde8bf536530

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Clay Smith. The Dance Between Vulnerability and Trust In Pulpit Leadership. Covenant Theological Seminary. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/64101153-c38f-42c6-aa8e-bde8bf536530.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Clay Smith

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In Copyright

Abstract

Church culture is significantly formed through communication, specifically communication in sermons. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how pastors use vulnerability in sermons to build the congregation's trust in their leadership. This study utilized a qualitative design with semi-structured interviews with six Reformed pastors with the primary preaching responsibility in their churches in the southeastern United States. Analysis of the literature and interview data examined how pastors assess the use of vulnerability in their sermons, how pastors perceive the relationship between preaching and trust, and how pastors determine the limits of vulnerability in their sermons to build trust in leadership. Findings from the study include the critical nature of a gospel-saturated culture for the vulnerability to build trust, the value of understanding the negotiation of interests through preaching to build trust, the necessary match of the public and priv ate communication from the senior leadership, and the clearly communicated intent of redemptive purpose of vulnerability to build trust.

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