(NCU) Introduction with Professional and Educational Aspirations

Introduction with Professional and Educational Aspirations 
BTM 7101, Assignment 1 
DuBose, Justin Z. 
Dr. Joe Direnzo 
29 January 2017 

​My name is Justin DuBose and I am currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Northcentral University.  Prior to enrollment at Northcentral, I received a Bachelor of Arts from North Georgia College & State University (since renamed the University of North Georgia) with a major in history and a minor in political science.  I subsequently enrolled at Luther Rice Seminary and received my Masters of Divinity degree in 2013.  I have been serving in the not-for-profit sector since 2005 in three different churches.  Additionally, I have been serving in the United States Army Reserves since 2010 as a chaplain.   
Since 2013, I have been serving as the Senior Pastor of Missionary Alliance Church in Whiteville, North Carolina.  Included in my area of responsibility is the oversight and management of a pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade Christian school, Columbus Christian Academy.  It was this particular responsibility of overseeing an organization with an annual budget of approximately $750,000, multiple management structures, and twenty-five employees which initially sparked my interest in the further study of this subject.  Prior to this particular assignment, I had no experience in the field of organizational leadership apart from leading small programs within an organization.  Since assuming this role, I serve as the chairman of several boards, interact with multiple entities within the organization, and oversee the entire operation, with all of its moving parts, while attempting to keep everyone moving in the same direction and aiming at the same target.  This has not only aroused my interest in organizational leadership but also sparked a passion for leading not-for-profit organizations into all that they can be, despite their unique challenges and organizational idiosyncrasies. 
 I am particularly interested in researching and writing about the religious, not-for-profit sector of business and the unique challenges of rallying volunteers around common objectives and a shared mission and vision.  More specifically, the focal point of my interest is the rallying of adults in the generation commonly referred to as "millennials".  In my current sphere, an incredibly large percentage of the burden of leadership is carried out by adults over the age of sixty, and the major challenge is communicating a compelling mission and vision to multiple generations, while encouraging the millennial generation to assume personal ownership of the organization.  Any study in this field will only serve to deepen my understanding and develop my professionalism in the world of religious, not-for-profit leadership. 
While pursuing this degree at Northcentral University, I hope to develop my ability to navigate the library resources.  I have spent several hours exploring the available resources, but there is such a large selection of categorized resources that I am concerned that it will take me a relatively significant period of time to feel comfortable in discovering pertinent and helpful resources.  In the meantime, I am certain that it will be a "discover as you go" process as I continue my educational pursuit at Northcentral. 
My initial encounter with the possibility of doctoral pursuits began in my undergraduate program with a professor whom I respected who encouraged me to consider the pursuit of a Ph.D.  This was further developed with my professional mentor who continually encouraged me to develop my intellect at the highest level my pursuing and obtaining a doctoral degree.  In my case, the deciding factor between pursuing a DBA or a Ph.D. was determined by my desire to personally contribute to the field of knowledge more so than the application of specific administrative principles.  An additional factor in this decision was my personal desire to teach at the collegiate level at a Christian institution of higher learning for the purpose of instructing and shaping young minds about this important subject in their own personal and professional endeavors in this area. 
In conclusion, I am genuinely excited about pursuing a Ph.D. in organizational leadership at Northcentral University to further my competency in this area.  Organizational Leadership in the religious, not-for-profit sector is a subject about which I am not only passionate but also incredibly personally invested.  I have been, and will continue to be, investing my personal and professional energy into this field and know that whatever contributions Northcentral University can make to my own endeavors will have lifelong effects and impacts in any current or future organizations in which I am involved.