The purpose of this research was to operationalize the construct, church organizational culture (COC), and to develop an instrument to measure the construct. In order to accomplish this goal, the researcher undertook a six-phase, mixed-methods study following accepted protocols for construct validation. The six phases of this research study included precedent literature review; expert panel; modified Delphi study; instrument design; statistical analysis; and revisions to the survey. Pilot studies of the instrument were conducted at churches throughout the United States. The new instrument underwent statistical analysis for item correlation using exploratory factor analysis, for internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's Alpha, and for content validity using an online survey of the expert panel. While the original instrument did not pass statistical tests for validity and reliability, the study yielded a definition for the new construct of church organizational culture and laid the foundation for additional research and development of a model and instrument to measure the construct. The research process also revealed a related construct of church leadership culture (CLC) and produced a reliable basic survey to measure six dimensions of CLC. KEYWORDS: Church, Organizational Culture, Instrument, Values, Leadership, Survey

The purpose of this study was to assess the social climate of different size churches and the relationship between social climate, member satisfaction, and church size. This study has investigated the extent to which (1) church member satisfaction is affected by social climate and church size and (2) the extent to which social climate is affected by church size. The social climate is the unique "personality" of a setting that gives it clarity and coherence (Moos, 1974b). The data were collected at different size churches. The sample consisted of a random sample for each church of those who completed a "church satisfaction questionnaire," which included demographic information, and the Group Environment Scale (Moos, 1986). There were 50 respondents for each church included in the sample. The sample included 114 men and 136 women. One hundred seventy eight were married and 170 reported having children. Two hundred fourteen considered themselves a member of their church.Previous research indicates satisfaction is influenced by both a setting's social climate and its size. Social climate dimensions that seem to influence member satisfaction are "cohesion," "leader support," "task orientation," "autonomy," and "innovation." Staffing theory suggests that size is also related to satisfaction. Small settings are presumed to be "understaffed" and those in understaffed settings are likely to report more feelings of satisfaction.The results of this study indicated that churches characterized by greater perceived "cohesion," "leader support," "task orientation," and "innovation" tended to have members who were more satisfied. The linear composite of these variables was statistically significant (p < .05) and identified 43.89% of the variance of the satisfaction measure. Results suggest that understanding the church social climate is helpful in understanding its members. Implications of these results relevant for church leaders are discussed.Contrary to what was anticipated, size was not a predictor of church satisfaction. The failure of size to predict church satisfaction is discussed in terms of staffing theory (Wicker, 1979a).The fact that certain social climate dimensions are. related to church member satisfaction is encouraging and justifies further research in this area. Ideas warranted for further research are developed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1979. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-90).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1994. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-153).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 1994. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 202-210).

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 228-236).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Abilene Christian University, 1995. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-99).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1996. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 242-249).

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1997. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 209-217).

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1996. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 297-305).