"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." — Ephesians 2:10

I believe this season of doctoral study is one of those prepared works.

As a father, pastor, teacher, and lifelong student of leadership, I'm currently pursuing my second doctorate, this time in Organizational Leadership at Columbia International University, a program deeply rooted in the integration of rigorous scholarship and Christian faith. My research asks a question I believe is urgently needed in our moment: What happens when image replaces integrity in leadership — and why do followers so often go along with it?

My dissertation, "When Spectacle Eclipses Substance," develops a theoretical framework for understanding how leaders become inflated beyond their actual character, how followers surrender their moral agency in the process, and how organizational accountability quietly erodes as a result. This isn't abstract theory. We've all seen it — in boardrooms, in churches, in movements we once trusted.

At the heart of this research is a sobering question about moral agency — and what it means when followers surrender their conscience to a charismatic voice.

I believe God's people need language and tools to name what they're witnessing, and to build organizations where truth and character still matter.

This work is set to be completed by May 2028. To complete it with excellence, I'm seeking to raise $7,500 to cover dissertation-related costs — research materials, database access, academic resources, and the fees required to produce work that meets doctoral standards.

If God has placed it on your heart to invest in the kingdom through scholarship and leadership formation, I'd be honored to have you partner with me. Every gift — large or small — is a seed sown into work I pray will bear fruit far beyond a degree — in classrooms, in pulpits, in boardrooms, and in every place where leaders are formed.

As a token of my gratitude, every donor who gives $50 or more will be personally acknowledged by name in the completed dissertation — a small but permanent way of saying: you were part of this.

Thank you for praying, for believing, and for giving.

Coram Deo — all of this before the face of God.

With gratitude,

E. Derrik Porter