Removing the stained-glass ceiling : the communicative practices of the Church of the Nazarene women senior/solo pastors

The purpose of this study was to identify the communicative practices of women senior/solo pastors in the Church of the Nazarene. Orbe's (1996, 1998a) Co-cultural theoretical framework was employed to analyze the data gathered from 10 semi-structured, in-depth interviews, which identified seven communication orientations that the women senior/solo pastors in the study employed to advance and work within the denomination. Specific communication practices in each orientation were identified and explained. Additionally, through a grounded theory approach this research added to the Co-culture theory by identifying a new censoring practice—humor--expanding the use of existing practices, and clarifying the definition— "intragroup" networking. Finally, the results, the implications, and future research were discussed.