Practical Theology Commons^™

Pastors And Politics: Considerations For Missional Church Leaders Addressing Political Matters, Matthew Stinson

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

We live in a politically divided time. Long-standing questions about the political role of the church have taken on a renewed interest for American Christians who see this political divide widening and have trouble reconciling their beliefs with the platforms of either major party. How ought Church leaders, seeking to lead missional congregations, speak to our current political context?

This paper lays out a framework for political engagement by missional Church leaders. It first offers a definition of a missional church and a missional church leader. Second, it surveys some of the various approaches to Church and State relations in ...

Bartered Bodies: Medieval Pilgrims And The Tissue Of Faith, George D. Greenia

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In ‘The Bartered Body,’ George Greenia disentangles the complex desires and experiences of religious travellers of the High Middle Ages who knew the spiritual usefulness of their vulnerable flesh. The bodily remains of the saints housed in pilgrim shrines were not just remnants of a redeemed past, but open portals for spiritual exchange with the living body of the visiting pilgrim.

Fostering Hope: The Christian Healthcare Chaplain In A Caring Relationship, Felix O. Otuorimuo

Masters Theses

In 2017, the data from suicide prevention resource center (National Survey on Drug Use and Health) showed an increasing rate of 10.6 million persons between the ages 18-65 that have had suicidal thoughts, a precipitating factor from hopelessness that triggers the goal of killing themselves. Given this challenge, the study seeks to understand how the Christian healthcare chaplain in a caring relationship, fosters biblical hope as spiritual care intervention to persons with suicidal thoughts to promote recovery, repair and restoration. The research was designed to use purposeful sampling to collect responses by anonymous online survey from 35 Christian healthcare ...

The Unifying Theme Of The Mind Of Christ In Philippians Demonstrated By Paul's Use Of Rhetorical And Linguistic Devices In An Oral/Aural Culture, David Alan Posey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Among the debatable issues arising from Paul’s epistle to the Philippians are questions concerning the structure, integrity and thematic emphasis of the letter. This dissertation argues that the “Christ Hymn” (2:6-11) is the central point of a chiastic structure of the letter, establishing the “Mind of Christ” as the primary and, thus, unifying theme of this correspondence. Four primary fields of research lend support to this hypothesis. First, rhetorical criticism seeks to understand the meaning of the biblical text through recognized persuasive devices utilized within first-century literature and speech. Second, linguistic studies, in its simplest form, examines the ...

What’S Down In Mdiv Town ...:Summer Time In The Springs!, Fernando Ortiz

MDiv Update

Newsletter of the Masters of Divinity program at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University

Owen Glen Cosgrove Papers, (1973-1996), Owen Glen Cosgrove

Center for Restoration Studies Archives, Manuscripts and Personal Papers Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Naming The Lies: A Spiritual Diagnostic Tool For The Leaders Of Kairos, Christopher M. Brooks Sr.

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The purpose of this project is to equip the leaders of the Kairos congregation at Brentwood Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee to utilize a spiritual diagnostic tool in small group settings to name the lies keeping them from maturing in Christ. Having experienced catalytic growth in its early years, the Kairos staff must adapt to the increasing pastoral and discipleship needs of young adults. Without a leadership pipeline to equip and train leaders to address the unique needs of young adults, small groups have struggled to develop a strategic approach to spiritual formation for leaders other than lecture environments. The ...

Transforming Anger, Mike Lueken

Doctor of Ministry Projects

This study explores the spiritual transformation of anger as a starting point for personal and ecclesiastical renewal and reconciliation. Dr. Dallas Willard writes, “To cut the root of anger is to wither the tree of human evil.” This is an extraordinary claim which suggests anger is a primary human sin, and a catalyst for many other sins and social problems. The implications of anger reach deep into one’s personal life and relationships and threaten the unity and witness of the Church. The transcendent problem of anger, according to Willard, is why Jesus addresses it before lust, divorce, retaliation, and ...

Finding Aid For Christian Scholars Conference Records, (1981-2009), Abilene Christian University Special Collections And Archives

Christian Scholars Conference Records

Finding aid for the Christian Scholars Conference Records, (1981-2009).

Countering The Criminalization Of Youth: A Denominational Strategy For Developing A Holistic Ecclesiastical Approach, Richard W. Griffith

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The purpose of this project is to create a strategy within the North Georgia United Methodist Church Conference (NGUMC) structures to counter the criminalization of youth by engaging in opportunities that bring awareness to the NGUMC and then engage in mentoring and other activities designed to counter this criminalization of youth through holistic and intergenerational approaches at the various ecclesiastical levels within the Conference. There is a growing concern among educators and other youth service professionals in regards to what has been called “the school to prison pipeline.” While a growing number of youth are at risk of falling victim ...

Program Evaluation Plan For The Bridge Care Center: A Plan For Measuring Effectiveness, Efficiency, And Theological Foundations, Janai Wallace

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

In this project, a program evaluation plan for The Bridge Care Center—a drop-in center for those experiencing homelessness or housing instability located in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle is presented. The program evaluation includes the program theory (based on social psychology and theological theory), a logic model, specific evaluation measures, a data analysis technique, evaluation of threats to validity, as well as an implementation plan.

Paradigm Change: From An Institutional Church To A Lay-Driven Disciple-Making Movement, Jimmy Tam

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The purpose of this project is to develop a multi-faceted strategy to empower laypeople from Sunrise Christian Community to launch simple, reproducible, and micro churches in the community or in their own social networks, leading to a paradigm change from an institutional and attractional church to a lay-driven disciple-making and church planting movement. Sunrise Christian Community is located in the predominantly immigrant West San Gabriel Valley, California. Historically, the three main waves of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China have provided the church with many opportunities to evangelize. At the same time, the influx of new members from ...

Beneficial Mourning By Inmates Who Have Lost A Significant Person, James Bradley Shoemaker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Incarceration is already replete with loss before someone of significance to an inmate dies. The prison environment challenges every aspect of grieving, and failing to effectively mourn pathologizes grief, reduces quality of living, and results in behaviours that cause recidivism. It is a poignant interaction between this researcher in his role as a chaplain and a particular inmate that provides the impetus for this study. This study begins with a qualitative meta-synthesis that examined 10 qualitative articles and dissertations published over the last 30 years to explore how some inmates manage to effectively grieve the loss of a significant person ...

A Study Of The Sermon As Bible Study Materials For Small Group And Church Growth: With A Focus On Singing Hope Church, Ki Young Jeong

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study will suggest that the Sunday Service sermons are essential elements for church growth and the sermons can be used as Bible study materials in the small group meetings. Korean churches kept on growing after the Pyeongyang Great Revival in 1907. However, Korean churches stopped growing since 2000, at which point they started to decline in numbers. One of the reasons is that the congregants do not live according to the Word of God that is proclaimed from the pulpit. There are various reasons for church growth. The researcher observed that continuously applying Sunday sermons to church members is ...

Transformative Potential Of A Short-Term Mission Trip Experience, Patrick J. Holladay

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

With the United Nations World Tourism Organization forecasting 2 billion international tourists by the 2030 there is something to consider. A volume of travel to such a scale means an opportunity to harness the tourism industry to bring people closer to Jesus. This exploratory paper begins an exploration of Christians travel experiences and transformative impacts of those experiences through interactions with other Christians. Using data from a group text messages and a personal journal, this paper presents how one specific trip type - short-term mission - influences the ‘exchanged life’ first posited by the missionary Hudson Taylor in the 1800s. Further, there ...

Until The Last Lock Breaks: A Training Curriculum For Ministry To The Sexually Exploited, Julia Speck Attalla

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The purpose of this project is to develop an online training curriculum for those wanting to reach out to the sexually exploited as a volunteer with After Hours Ministry (AHM). Ministry to the sexually exploited is becoming very popular, but people can do more harm than good if they are not adequately prepared to holistically minister to the complexity of issues facing the sexually exploited. Through the development of an online training curriculum, AHM will be able to train and prepare volunteers by addressing the complexity of needs facing those who are sexually exploited.

Part One will look at the ...

Ask The Beasts Of The Southern Wild: Exploring Human Identity As Beast, Being And Beholder In Ask The Beasts: Darwin And The God Of Love And Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Stephanie Cherpak Clary

Journal of Religion & Film

Anthropocentrism and hierarchical dualism together encourage a dangerous anthropology where human primacy among creation and the prioritization of certain humans leads to destruction for all. During a time when suffering caused by climate change continues to intensify, it is increasingly important to find compelling ways to share the stories of those who suffer most. I will explore how Beasts of the Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) contextualizes the ecofeminist theology found in Johnson’s Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love (2014), specifically the idea of humans identifying as beasts, beings and beholders. Furthermore, I will discuss how the ...

Science And Theology In Religious Education And Faith Formation With Children And Youth: Towards A Post-Foundationalist Approach, Judy S. Steers

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The intersections of Science and Theology have received a great deal of attention in recent decades. A broad range of approaches and discourse exists within academic environments. Within popular culture, however, the public perception often is that science and theology are in conflict and at odds with one another.

Many authors have attempted to write about science and theology from a dialogical standpoint. Educational projects over the past ten years have attempted to address the supposed conflict between religion and science, and affirm the validity of religious beliefs in a scientific era. Too often, however, scientific concepts are misappropriated as ...

The Inerrancy Of The Breath Of God: An Examination Of The Bible’S Claim To Inerrancy, Mark A. Roloff

Diligence: Journal of the Liberty University Online Religion Capstone in Research and Scholarship

As the 2018 State of Theology survey reports, American adults today are divided nearly in half over their beliefs on biblical inerrancy. However, without knowing how the Bible expects to be understood it is impossible to formulate an educated opinion on this issue. The purpose of this study is to present the Bible’s position on its own inerrancy, that it is completely inerrant in all its parts because it is entirely “God-breathed.”

Message Music A Universal Genre, Clarissa E. Steffen Ed.D.

Faculty Scholarship

Message Music is a collaboration of music from many different genres, that is meant to communicate universality, and bring about healing for individuals, couples, families, groups, and the community. It has a global message, and we are one. Finding its roots in an eclectic collection of folk, spiritual, gospel, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, Motown, Fusion, Metaphysical or other genres "Message Music," transcends all genres and allows people to join in a universal quest to unite and find collective consciousness and way of being together that brings acceptance and love. It has always existed, in some circles, it will be ...