A large body of research ties organizational effectiveness to leadership; another ties it to culture. What has been missing, Jacques argues, is any account of how the two operate together when an organization is failing, and which of them weighs more heavily. No study had examined the question in the Haitian community at all.

Haitian churches serve as the site. Working phenomenologically, Jacques gathers detailed accounts from eighteen people who belong or once belonged to four congregations in Boston and nearby cities in the northeastern United States, examining organizational structure from the inside through what members have lived.

Culture shapes how these churches function, but leadership proves the dominant influence on how well or badly they do. Their inability to grow and thrive, Jacques concludes, comes down to leaders whose mentality has not evolved with the times; remedying it means deliberately building the right infrastructure and getting proper leadership training.