Digital Commons Network^™

Experiences Of Divine Grace Among Christian Friends, Kyle T. Webster

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Though topics of prayer, forgiveness, and gratitude have received attention in the psychology of religion, there is sparse literature regarding the concept of grace. This study explored how Christians who identify as Friends (Quakers) experience grace from God. Thirty interviews were conducted with Friends in the Pacific Northwest, using a standardized semistructured interview developed for a larger study of how Christians from various denominations experience grace. Four organizing themes were derived from the interview questions and then grounded theory was used to uncover associated sub-themes within each organizing theme. The organizing themes include the nature of God, the nature of …

Does Christian Faith Impact Loneliness?, Jeffrey M. Kelly

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Loneliness is on the rise within the United States, particularly within younger adults ages 18-37 (Bruce et al 2019). Although much is known about the negative dimensions of loneliness, and some about protective factors to help ease loneliness, the potential impact of religious and spiritual beliefs and behaviors on loneliness remains largely unexplored. This study focused on the relationship between a committed religious faith and perceived feelings of loneliness among university students. Participants include 1,182 undergraduate students from George Fox University who participated in the National College Health Assessment (NCHA). Religious commitment was evaluated using a supplemental 6-item self-report measure …

Engaging Gen Z: Toward A Paracletic Leadership Framework, Demario Hood

Doctor of Ministry

Today’s church faces a difficult reality: its effectiveness in reaching Generation Z is declining, while prospects of the group’s disaffiliation from the church are rising. In proposing a framework for effective engagement with Generation Z in a post-Christian, postmodern context, this dissertation argues that the generation’s desire for relational and identity-transforming leadership renders current growth- and success-driven leadership models ineffective and invites a new, theologically based, actionable/practical paracletic leadership paradigm.

Chapter 1 outlines the challenges and opportunities facing leaders where Gen Z is concerned. Chapter 2 examines Gen Z’s identity as revealed in its spiritual and social cultures and its …

Before You Burnout: Cultivating Sustainable Practices That Lead To Clergy Family Resilience, Dawn Kilian

Doctor of Ministry

While stress is inevitable in ministry leadership, excessive stress can lead to burnout. Pastors who experience burnout causes harmful effects on their loved ones. Burnout also contributes to health complications, spiritual dryness, marital dissatisfaction, and strained family relationships. Continuously ignoring early warning signs burnout can be harmful for pastors and their loved ones.

Focusing on the individual pastor is insufficient to inoculate the clergy family system from the devastating effects of burnout. In addition, their family members need to be cared for as well. It is proposed that clergy families would be able to thrive in ministry if they received …

Hesed: Engaging New Generations For Earthkeeping, Keith Ham

Doctor of Ministry

Within the Christian community, a critical gap of failing to address the degradation of the planet in a meaningful way has led to impoverished views theologically and in praxis and experience. In the context of earth care, independent African churches acquiesce her role and responsibility to conserve the land and conceive of new ways to envision creation care because of her models of prosperity theology and a millennium future. By intensifying a trust in God and allowing his covenantal love for and with creation the coherence of the Christian story is not compromised. Research in the metaphors of trusteeship and …

Why We Fail To Enact The Change We Need: A Framework For Adaptive Change At Large Churches, Beau J. Johnson

Doctor of Ministry

It is difficult for leaders at large churches to make changes to their ministry models. As culture rapidly evolves, large, attractional churches look to adapt their approach to reaching the unchurched. Attendance and participation in large churches continues to decline, despite the breadth of suggestions for what and how to change. These suggestions for change are often top-down, leader-centric, and rarely grounded in the academic research about change management. This paper seeks to address a comprehensive model for leading adaptive changes at large, established churches. Chapter One describes the problem, describing trends in cultural change and the impact on church …

Women In Ministry Leadership: A Spirit-Empowered Framework, Rhonda Davis

Doctor of Ministry

Emerging female leaders in the Pentecostal tradition have an opportunity to strengthen their spiritual formation and leadership development as they engage an everchanging ministry environment. Research indicates significant challenges for the female ministry leader as well as diminished access to programs designed to develop the necessary integration of leadership competency and spiritual wholeness. This research addresses the unique opportunity Pentecostal spirituality offers for spiritual and leadership growth. Building on existing research regarding female leadership, it asks: What do the components of Pentecostal formation and leadership development look like in the life of a female ministry leader?

Based on academic and …

Experiences Of Grace As Told By The Lgbtq Community, Nicholas A. Schollars

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Positive psychology has yielded rich insights about the nature of forgiveness and gratitude, but it is just beginning to broach the topic of grace. Theoretical evidence suggests grace is a crucial therapeutic factor in helping patients overcome shame, but empirical evidence is wanting. Because of the central role grace plays in Christianity, a qualitative exploration was conducted with a sample of participants identifying as either lesbian, gay, or bisexual, as well as Christian. Transcripts from 26 semi-structured interviews were coded and analyzed. Participants reported that their experiences of Divine Grace were related to their views about God’s nature. They reported …

A Cord Of Three: A Phenomenological Study Of Linkages In Interdenominational Interactions In Northwest Wyoming As Informed Through Network And Social Exchange Theories, Timothy N. Gray

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

This study explores pastors’ interactions in a rural regional network through Network and Social Exchange Theories. With the increasing need to understand the life experiences of network actors, a qualitative based approach is utilized. The results provide in-depth and contextually sensitive results that traditional quantitative-based techniques cannot. Open-ended interviewing allowed the participants to share their lived experiences, identifying the rhythms of boundary spanning behaviors. This offers hope for those seeking to understand the intricacies that orchestrate groups of people coming together in synergistic relationships. From a biblical understanding, a Cord of Three is not easily broken, and this study reveals …

Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University: Fpu's Effect On Tithes And Offerings In The Evangelical Church, Jay Forseth

Doctor of Ministry

In The Evangelical Church, giving actually went down after FPU in 23 out of our 42 churches (55%) the year the class was held. Nevertheless, our overall average increase in giving to the 42 churches was +2.39% the same year. The following year, giving further increased a total of 4.24% over the year before the class was taught, which supports Ramsey’s claim of a 4% giving increase. In year three after the class, total giving reached a remarkable increase of 7.06%, while 67% of our churches saw a positive net increase in giving after hosting FPU.

However, in the fourth …

Reclaiming A Multiplying Discipleship: Fostering The Dance Of The Gathered And Sent Church, Matthew Lake

Doctor of Ministry

In the postmodern world, the local church has experienced significant decline as Christendom gives way to a more secular culture. Many shrinking denominational churches have missed imaginative opportunities and practices to produce multiplying disciples. This dissertation explores how declining denominational churches can embrace new opportunities for flourishing in a postmodern context through the development of a culture of multiplying discipleship. History—through examples such as the early church and Wesleyan movements—has shown that multiplying discipleship movements are possible in cultures not familiar with the Gospel. Such movements reveal new possibilities produced through the tension found between more formational offices of teaching, …

Discipleship In A Digital Age: Leveraging Multimodality And Digital Networks, Jennifer Miles

Doctor of Ministry

Advancements in communication technology, particularly since the Internet Age, have impacted culture in several fundamental ways. Cognitive and psychological changes have changed how people seek and understand knowledge. The development of horizontal networks made of both space of places, physical locations, and space of flows, Internet locations,1 has reshaped academic, social, and political spheres. The rise in entertainment to transfer information has shifted society’s focus to one of experience and service in everyday life. These changes have impacted the institutional church through a reduction of individuals self-identifying as Christian and in behaviors traditionally considered Christian.

In response, the church has …

Believers Armor: How The Christian Church In The United States Can Survive And Overcome Spiritual Warfare, Michael A. Webb

Doctor of Ministry

This research seeks to discover why the Christian church in the United States has struggled to withstand the effects of spiritual warfare. Resisting Satan’s evil schemes continues to be a personal need and spiritual challenge facing people in today’s fastpaced digital world. Failing to resist Satan creates a severe problem for the Christian church. As a result, believers are unprepared to both understand and withstand the effects of spiritual warfare. The author, inspired by the Holy Spirit, created an artifact that has become a powerful ministry tool to address this challenge. The Armor of God challenge coin was fashioned from …

Father Wounds In Black Christian Women: Their Effects On Identity And Perception Of God As Father, Lasondra Barnes

Doctor of Ministry

The purpose of this study is to explore the father-daughter relationships of Black Christian women, specifically, the impact emotionally and physically absent fathers have on Black Christian women’s identity and perception of God. The misfortunes of slavery, poverty, the drug epidemic, and mass incarceration fractured the African American community, dismantling the Black family, creating the absent Black father. The Fatherless Woman Syndrome identifies five distinct, yet overlapping symptoms that have psychological and social implications affecting fatherless Black women. The level of pain caused by father wounds may distort wounded daughters’ perception of God as being unreliable, inaccessible or non-existent, distant …

Thriving Holistically As A Woman Married To A Minister: A Spiritual Formation Model To Support Women In The United States In The Role Of Pastor's Wife, Elisa Renae Ashley

Doctor of Ministry

While women married to ministers are blessed by God in many ways through their role as pastor’s wife, the role also presents many particular stressors. These stressors impact the systems of self, family, and church. A majority of clergy wives struggle to some degree with interpersonal loneliness, with finding confidants, and creating spiritual community wherein they can be authentically vulnerable. These struggles negatively impact the spiritual, physical, and psycho-emotional health of the women in this role. In order for them to deepen their spirituality and thrive holistically as they navigate the challenges of this role, a tailored spiritual formation model …

Facing Death, Finding Life: Discipleship And Focus Change In The Church, David Jason Turbeville

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation addresses the lack of focus on “others” within the Western Church and too much focus on “me.” The explosion of seeker-sensitive churches and the attractional model of church fuels churches feeling the need to be attractional to keep members happy. The attractional model would appear to be others-focused, but it seems to have had the opposite effect of creating a focus on “me and what I want” within the church. I believe that this has led to a decline in church membership. Field research and literature review support submitting recommendations on how a pastor in a Southern Baptist …

The Commodification Of The Table: The Journey Toward The Forgotten Body And Blood Of Jesus, Guy L. Taylor

Doctor of Ministry

Bread and wine are metaphors for the broken body and spilled blood of Jesus the Christ. Jesus himself stated that these two metaphors are to represent his sacrifice for humans, yet these metaphors have lost much of their importance in present-day Christianity. Pentecostal churches specifically seem to have forgotten what the bread and wine symbolize. Due to cultural influences, these churches no longer place emphasis on celebrating what they call Communion.

Many Pentecostal Christians today attend a service that is convenient, efficient, and that meets all their spiritual needs at one stop—like a Super Walmart of Worship due to the …

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Of Women And People Of Color In Leadership In The Wesleyan Tradition, Trisha Welstad

Doctor of Ministry

The majority of Wesleyan denominations began with theological belief rooted in social action, particularly as it pertained to abolition and women’s equality. Though their beginnings were radical, today the same groups are primarily homogeneous, representing a largely white congregational and leadership demographic, predominantly led by white males. With a historical theology of diversity and inclusion, this research seeks to understand why women and people of color are excluded from leadership roles in the Wesleyan Tradition and how it may affect the future of these denominations. Methodologically, this analysis utilizes research from Deloitte Insights as a template for gauging organizational effectiveness …

Demographic Changes And Faithful Response: Helping Presbyterian Churches Flourish Into The Future, David G. Watermulder

Doctor of Ministry

The problem that this dissertation seeks to address is that in an increasingly diverse society, Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) churches do not reflect the true racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the changing context in which they are located. This paper explores how PCUSA churches in American suburban areas can better understand themselves in order to be equipped to engage with an increasingly multicultural and globalized environment. The future health and witness of PCUSA churches will be enhanced and deepened through actively learning about cultural differences and preparing members and leaders to do ministry faithfully into the years ahead.

Section …

The Avoidance Of Burnout Among Open Bible Pastors: Creating Healthy And Vibrant Leaders In Ministry, Isaac Hebden

Doctor of Ministry

Pastors in the Open Bible Churches denomination struggle with spiritual health, even as they lead local congregations. The perils of vocational ministry can often contribute to emotional fatigue, disillusionment, and exhaustion, commonly referred to as “burnout.” Pastors serve sacrificially in their churches, giving all that they have for the lives of the others. However, the life many pastors live actually negatively impacts themselves as well as others around them, thus negating the purpose for which they strive.

This Doctor of Ministry project sought to discover how ministers can remain spiritually healthy while actively leading the local church. Much of the …

Transfigurative Power Of The Holy Spirit By Prayer And Preaching, Debbie Daley-Salinger

Doctor of Ministry

United Methodist churches (UMC) are declining due to the neglect of the Holy Spirit’s presence and action in congregational settings. Current day United Methodists have sanitized the experiential nature of the Holy Spirit; as well as under emphasizing the Spirit’s authority and wisdom. The Holy Spirit is a gift to the church, yet it is often rejected.

The UMC churches have missed the signs of the culture and have lost their connection within their communities. As a result, the church has become clueless to what the Spirit is up to. This loss of the vernacular spirit-voice has silently morphed into …

Exvangelical: Why Millennials And Generation Z Are Leaving The Constraints Of White Evangelicalism, Colleen Batchelder

Doctor of Ministry

This research presents the argument that Millennials and Generation Z are not leaving the church; they are reconstructing their faith and distancing themselves from fundamentalism. When exploring the history of evangelicalism, church history, and generational distinctives, one is given the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of generational dynamics in regard to faith, theology, and praxis.

Chapter 1 explores the various distinctions and biases that encompass each generation. It also provides background for how generational influence shaped the narrative of the church, faith, and purpose.

Chapter 2 tackles the generational shift in ecclesiology and gives readers a glimpse into the …

Intergenerational Formation As A Tool For Main Line Protestant Revitalization, Scott Crane

Doctor of Ministry

Generations X (“Gen X”), Y (“Millennial”), and Z (“iGen”) are not being formed in the faith by many mainline protestant congregations, such as the Presbyterian Church (USA) in the Pacific Northwest, as evidenced by their absence. Practices of applied intentional intergenerational Christian formation are vital for being formed in and passing on the faith to subsequent generations. This can take place in worship, Christian education, spiritual formation activities and missional service.

Foundational for the author’s approach to the problem is how shifts in culture, theology, learning theories, and spiritual formation intersect with the cyclical pattern of generation theory, including related …

Gender Synergy: Inspiring Men To Champion Women Leaders To Increase Gender-Balanced Leadership, Jake Dean-Hill

Doctor of Ministry

The lack of gender-balanced leadership has been a problem in the United States and around the world for centuries. Although women make up more than fifty percent of the U.S. population, and graduate with over sixty percent of all undergraduate and graduate degrees, they continue to be severely underrepresented in upper-level leadership in almost every company, organization, and church across America. Much has been done over the years to move toward equality for women in order to bring them to the powerful place of leadership men have held from the beginning of our country’s founding. From Women’s Suffrage to Affirmative …

Bringing Life Back To Christianity: Taking A Fresh Look At Baptism, Shawn W. Hart

Doctor of Ministry

“WORLD’S GREATEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE” was the boast of the notecard passed down for three generations. This particular recipe had won eighteen county fairs, five state fairs, and even a write up in Reader’s Digest, and now…it is yours! As you looked over this recipe that had survived the ages, you noticed “nutmeg” was one of the ingredients; you are not a fan of nutmeg though, so you used cinnamon instead. Next, the pecans were replaced with walnuts; the milk chocolate chips were replaced with dark chocolate; the salt was reduced; and lastly, instead of butter, you opted for …

The Value Of Cultural Hospitality Within The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In The United States Of America, Kara Johnsson

Doctor of Ministry

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States has the ironic and complex tension of being the most ethnically diverse denomination, as well as one of the most structurally segregated in terms of ethnicity. This structural segregation both highlights and represents a deep need for the development of intercultural community. The intentionality and value of unified diversity can be traced from the very beginning of Scripture through to Revelation, with Jesus living out its expression during his ministry here on earth. Significantly, the practice of hospitality is also a strong theme that is traced throughout the breadth of Scripture, providing …

Leading Change Through Reactivity: Preparing Congregations For Change And Processing The Resultant Reactivity In A Healthy Manner, Rick Kavanaugh

Doctor of Ministry

When a pastor introduces systemic change to a congregation, it injects anxiety into the congregational system, which in turn leads to reactivity. The result is resistance to change, which often becomes hostile. Pastors who do not adequately prepare their people for change or who do not know how to help their people process the conflict that results from change resistance in a healthy manner face hostilities that most likely result in their termination or resignation. Consequently, this work seeks to analyze how reactivity results from proposed changes; what pastors can do to better prepare their people for change; and how …

Embodying God's Full Welcome: A Theology And Praxis Of Hospitality Toward Families Affected By Autism, Manuel Magana-Garcia

Doctor of Ministry

Autism is the fastest growing cognitive disorder in the world, yet many of the families affected do not feel supported or welcomed by their faith communities. A congregation that cultivates a robust theology and praxis of hospitality—one that invites people to consider God’s full welcome, and their place as guests in his kingdom—will provide a path of formation that results in a supportive, safe, and collaborative space that includes families affected by autism.

This dissertation will address the ministry opportunity by first articulating a clear understanding of the existing need. A biblical background of God’s hospitable nature will provide a …

Are "These" Us? A Semiotic View Of Mixed Iron-Clay Feet From Daniel 2 In The Age Of Artificial Intelligent Technology, Hoa Huu Nguyen

Doctor of Ministry

This research offers a semiotic interpretation of Daniel’s prophetic 'mixed iron and clay feet' interpretation from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. This prophecy may be used to predict a potentially mixed Human-AI culture and its impacts on Christian faith in the age of AI and cyborgs. The Christian faith traditionally has not applied Daniel’s iron-clay feet metaphor to a potentially mixed Human-AI reality. However, I will argue that by employing this semiotic interpretation, we can inform and guide Christ’s Church, which continues to remain grossly unprepared for the questions and challenges raised by a burgeoning Human-AI culture. Knowledge of this topic will prepare …

An Examination Of The Global Refugee Crisis - How Have We Hurt? How Can We Help? - With Special Emphasis On Enhancing Resilience In The Somali Population Resettled In Columbus, Ohio, Jean Ollis

Doctor of Ministry

More than 45,000 Somali refugees have been resettled in Columbus, Ohio— second in density only to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. There is limited research on factors influencing resiliency among this population. This study utilized qualitative research methodology, including stakeholder interviews, stakeholder focus group, and literature review to understand the global, national, and local policies, resources, and cultural attitudes and biases that contribute to Somalian refugees’ struggle with resettlement in Columbus, Ohio.

The Declaration of Human Rights as the foundation of The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is explored as well as a timeline of how immigration and refugee policies have …