The Tongue of the Learned: How the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Group Communication Can Improve Biblical Literacy

By Jonathan D. Brackens
2012, Vol. 4 No. 12 | pg. 2/3 |

III. Materials and Methods

The Two Pastors

In 2009 SGC experienced a drastic change in leadership as their founding pastor of 25 years died. In appointing a new pastor, SGC leadership relied on student researchers to assist them in determining how the congregation and organization would respond to the newly appointed pastor. It is important to describe the characteristics of the pastors. The founding pastor was (a) African-American, (b) non-degreed, (c) taught in the Episcopal oratory style, and (d) published a book stating that those who integrate the “philosophy of men with the Word of God…refuse to seek or receive godly counsel” (Brackens 2008:61). He goes on to state that Jesus warned of the above more frequently than he warned of the devil (60-61). Point “d” is significant as it evidences his exclusive use of the Bible and the discreditation of non-biblical sources. The current pastor (a) is African-American, (b) holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science, (c) incorporates group communication learned during his studies and (d) has published research in academic journals. The contrast of the two leaders is ideal for this study, and the results are significant.

What Changed: From Episcopal to Socratic

Again, the founding pastor taught in the tradition Episcopal oratory style in which he stood before the congregation and delivered his message. Although the audience was free to publically concur or dissent, comprehension of the material was a private matter. The second pastor uses the Socratic method to teach his congregants: during the main service, he teaches a concept, asks his congregants questions regarding the message, and then has them explain how the concept can be applied in their life. The pastor adopted this approach after learning about the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). The pastor engages the audience to apply the message in a meaningful way on the spot – this causes members to arrive and stay alert (i.e., central processing). Furthermore, congregants are encouraged to disagree or ask questions; this includes them in the discussion, fosters mutuality, gauges laity biblical comprehension, and increases the minister's perceived credibility.

Participants

The subjects reviewed are members of SGC who volunteered to participate in a pre and post-policy implementation survey, which asked them to assess their understanding of the Bible and ability to apply its concepts to their lives.

Pre and Post-Policy Implementation Survey

There were N=10 members who participated in the survey; to ensure consistency, we polled the same participates in the post-policy implementation survey. The pre-policy survey was administered 13 days after the change in leadership and the post-policy implementation was completed in May 2011.

Organizational Health Indicator

SGC leadership also sought to determine how the change in leadership/communication styles would impact organizational health. Leadership staff decided to review the attendance-to-contribution correlation as an indicator of organizational health. They hypothesized that the group communication and leadership approach would cause (a) group members to become more financial responsible to the group’s mission and (b) reduce free-riders.

Analysis

All analysis was completed using IBM SPSS statistical package (Version 19.0); this program was used to complete a one-tailed T-Test, Pearson Correlation, and OLS Liner Regression. Findings are expressed as T-obtained (t), mean (M), standard deviation (SD), p-value (p), Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC), r-squared (R2), and adjusted r-squared (AR2).

Biblical Knowledge Application Survey

Again, the group was polled to determine if they had trouble understanding and applying scripture and its context to their lives. The respondent answered either “Yes” or “No” to the questions; the variables were coded “1” if the respondent had difficulty or a “0” if they did not. A one-tailed T-Test was completed to determine if the new policy aided in the respondent’s ability to understand and apply scripture.

Organization Health Indicator: Attendance-to-Contribution Correlation

To determine the attendance-to-contribution correlation, members' service attendance data was merged with the their contribution data. More specifically, the data was housed in a Microsoft (MS) Access database; queries were created to sum the total number of services attended for each member per year from 2008 through 2010. A similar query was created to sum the total number of contributions5 for each member per year from 2008 through 2010. The two queries were liked via a third MS Access query, exported to MS Excel, and imported into SPSS. Because both variables are continuous, we completed a Pearson Correlation Test to determine if the total number of services attended correlated with the total number of times a member financially contributed to the church per year. Using the same dataset, an OLS linear regression was completed to determine to what extent the total number of contributions could be predicted by the total number of services attended for each member per year. This provides an indication of the degree to which free-riders were reduced. As stated previously, the results of each test were significant and therefore supports this research's hypotheses.

IV. Results

Increase In Biblical Knowledge

Again, a one-tailed T-Test was completed to determine if there was an increase in parishioners' understanding and life application of biblical concepts via the pastor's implementation of ELM and group communication ideals. Analysis of the respondents’ answers pre and post-implementation holds that the respondent was significantly more likely to feel that s/he could understand and apply scripture post implementation (M=.1579, SD=.37463) than pre-implementation (M=.6316, SD=.49559), t(18) = 4.166, p=.001).

Organizational Health Indicator

SGC leadership decided to review the attendance-to-contribution correlation as an indicator of organizational health, the results are compelling; see Table 1.

Table 1: SGC Attendance to Contribution Correlation6
Year R2 AR2 Regression P-Value PCC Pearson Correlation P-Value
2008 0.068 -0.025 0.414 0.414
2009 0.516 0.468 0.009 0.718 0.01
2010 0.958 0.943 0.004 0.979 0.01

Using a Pearson Correlation Test, in 2009 there was marked improvement raising the PCC from .414 to .718 –strong—where p=.01. In 2010, laity education demands continued and the model sustained statistical significance using regression analysis. Reviewing AR2 from 2008 to 2010, the prediction between the total attendance and contributions rose from 0 to 94 percent. Furthermore, the PCC is .979, almost a perfect one-to-one relationship. Due to SGC’s implementation of their ELM and group communication policy, free-riders significantly decreased, and a profound increase was seen in parishioners' confidence in their ability to understand and apply biblical knowledge.

Suggested Reading from Inquiries Journal

While international literacy results show Canada maintaining a strong standing, there have been declines in the results for both traditional and digital literacy in several provinces, including New Brunswick. A trial of authentic literacy activities across a range of subject areas in the high school curriculum has been implemented... MORE»
Advertisement
Third grade reading proficiency is believed to be an important benchmark in education. The transition from third grade to fourth grade marks the shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” other subject material. Third grade proficiency is also an indicator of a student’s later academic success... MORE»
A global pandemic is often characterized by an abundance of information, the race for a vaccine, and a focus on preventing others from contracting the disease. However, the socio-cultural ramifications of such an event are oftentimes overlooked. Groups become stigmatized and targeted due to the spread of xenophobia –&ndash... MORE»
Eating disorders continue to increase in prevalence among adolescents, young men and women, as well as older adults, affecting nearly 5 million Americans each year (Reiss, 2002). Specifically, 1.1-4.2% of teenage girls will develop Bulimia Nervosa during their lifetime (NIMH, 2008), and it is estimated that 8 in 100 females of all... MORE»
Submit to Inquiries Journal, Get a Decision in 10-Days

Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines.

Representing the work of students from hundreds of institutions around the globe, Inquiries Journal's large database of academic articles is completely free. Learn more | Blog | Submit

Follow IJ

Latest in Theology

2017, Vol. 9 No. 05
Mary Magdalene remains prevalent within Christianity and popular culture. A mysterious and enigmatic figure, she continues to capture people’s imagination as ‘a mix of lust, loyalty, belief, prostitution, repentance, beauty, madness,... Read Article »
2017, Vol. 9 No. 04
In recent years there has been quite a bit of talk in philosophy of religion regarding how relevant and how purposive natural theology is, especially in comparison with experiential evidence. One major proponent of this recent skepticism in relation... Read Article »
2017, Vol. 9 No. 02
To briefly set the scene, the fourth century was a complex period for Christianity. It moved from being a persecuted sect to being supported by a new Christian Emperor, to vying with Constantine’s successors over unorthodox beliefs, to being... Read Article »
2016, Vol. 8 No. 02
The path towards and the meaning of Nirvana have been central issues to many theorists of the Buddhist Tradition. With this paper, I will describe the path toward and the state of Nirvana from a Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist perspective. By doing... Read Article »
2013, Vol. 5 No. 12
Years of adversity and oppression have pushed the once thriving practice of Paganism into the shadows. Even in our contemporary world of so-called religious freedom, some are still afraid to admit to their beliefs or to identify as a Pagan. To many... Read Article »
2012, Vol. 4 No. 08
One of the numerous working definitions of religion includes "a belief in a divine or superhuman power or powers to be worshipped," and "an expression of such a belief in conduct and ritual" (Johnson, 2012 p. 1). Rituals are generally a religion... Read Article »
2012, Vol. 4 No. 07
The Song of Songs is a unique book in the Bible. There is no plot and no mention of God, but the piece says a lot about early Hebrew traditions surrounding marriage and love, using elaborate descriptions and complex relationships. The overall message... Read Article »

What are you looking for?

FROM OUR BLOG

Presentation Tips 101 (Video)
7 Big Differences Between College and Graduate School
How to Use Regression Analysis Effectively