My Current Research includes:
The Confirmation Project – I am on the Steering Committee for this Lilly Foundations Inc. grant representing the ELCA. The executive summary is available here. The research guide used for the qualitative visits, which I designed, is available here. Protocols For more see the website by clicking on the link above.
Leading Congregations and Nonprofit Organizations in a Connected World – Rabbi Hayim Herring and I researched Jewish and Christian congregations and nonprofit organizations leaning into a flattened networked world. We published our engagement with these findings in this new book. To see more on the book, click the link above.
Dissertation –
Congregations as Systems for Empowering Missional Leaders
This dissertation is a study of ELCA congregations and explores the significant cultural dynamics of congregational systems recognized for empowering missional leaders. Believing that congregations are living systems that seek to intentionally embody their core beliefs, missional leadership development is looked at holistically, using a grounded theory approach in studying congregations identified by their peers as leaders in this area. Five congregations from across the United States were identified and studied using qualitative methods of field observation, focus groups, and journaling. Cultural dynamics were identified within each congregation and between congregations, allowing for the uniqueness of each congregation to stand on its own, as well as identify commonalities. Areas for future research are identified in order to test these initial findings across a broader section of ELCA congregations, or to repeat this qualitative study within or across other denominations.
To download a copy see: http://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/phd_theses/13/
Intersections by Terri Elton 