The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the role that spirituality plays in the leadership of African American men who are both a pastor and a public school administrator. Very little has been written about the role of African American spirituality in educational leadership or about school administrators who are also pastors. This study examined the role of spirituality in the leadership of eight African American men who were both public school administrators and pastors of Christian congregations. The epistemological scope for this study came from social constructionism. The three-interview series method (Seidman, 1991) was used to collect data gathered from individual interviews. The key research question was, “What role does spirituality play in the leadership of African American school administrators who are also pastors?”

This study contributes to the understanding of the role of spirituality in leadership from an African American male perspective. The findings suggest that the role that spirituality played in leadership of the administrators/pastors was that their spirituality connected them to: (a) their family values; (b) the way they built relationships with teachers, students, and the community; and (c) opportunities to serve. The findings suggest that school administrators should not overlook the role of spirituality to cultivate a nurturing, caring, and supportive school environment. The practical significance that the findings suggest for educational administration programs are: (a) develop professional development workshops; (b) include a course on spirituality and leadership as a choice within the leadership preparation classes; (c) teach the method of code switching; and (d) create partnerships with school, community, and church organizations.