RT Article
T1 Exploring the Lived Experience of Forced Termination among Southern Baptist Clergy Couples: A Retrospective Study
JF Journal of psychology and christianity
VO 36
IS 2
SP 149
OP 160
A1 Speight, Dallas E.
A1 Speight, Sheila W.
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1639647317
AB Forced termination of clergy has been the topic of limited research and little or no attention has been given to the long-term lived experiences of forced termination. This study involved an investigation into the phenomenon of forced termination among Southern Baptist clergy couples who had been forcibly terminated for a period of at least 3 or more years. A total of 10 clergy couples participated in interviews, eight individually and two in a group interview, to gain their direct input as to how they experienced forced termination. Interviews were transcribed and data were analyzed using NVivo10 to capture themes, patterns, and relationships. The results of the data analysis yielded the following overall emergent themes: trust, anger, relief and peace, abandonment and ambivalence, and shock and disbelief. The researchers recommend that future research regarding forced termination be conducted in several areas: (a) the repairing or rebuilding of trust among congregations and its leadership, (b) forced termination lived experiences of clergy couples from other faith groups, and (c) the need for seminaries and faith groups to explore how best to prepare clergy for effective ministries