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Experiences Of Divine Grace Among Christian Friends, Kyle T. Webster
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 …
Engaging Gen Z: Toward A Paracletic Leadership Framework, Demario Hood
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 …
Does Christian Faith Impact Loneliness?, Jeffrey M. Kelly
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 …
Before You Burnout: Cultivating Sustainable Practices That Lead To Clergy Family Resilience, Dawn Kilian
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
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
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
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
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 …
Reclaiming A Multiplying Discipleship: Fostering The Dance Of The Gathered And Sent Church, Matthew Lake
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, …
Believers Armor: How The Christian Church In The United States Can Survive And Overcome Spiritual Warfare, Michael A. Webb
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
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
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
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
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 …
The Avoidance Of Burnout Among Open Bible Pastors: Creating Healthy And Vibrant Leaders In Ministry, Isaac Hebden
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 …
Intergenerational Formation As A Tool For Main Line Protestant Revitalization, Scott Crane
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
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
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
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 …
Embodying God's Full Welcome: A Theology And Praxis Of Hospitality Toward Families Affected By Autism, Manuel Magana-Garcia
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 …
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 …
Techno-Theology: A Theological Algorithm For Being Human In A Technological Age, Daniel Passini
Techno-Theology: A Theological Algorithm For Being Human In A Technological Age, Daniel Passini
Doctor of Ministry
In a world with rapidly changing technology that challenges our understanding of what it means to be human, our dealings with the biosphere, and our social interactions, many pastors and Christians do not have an adequate theology of technology. Our current narraphors have been influenced by our linguistics, popular culture, and an escapism theology that prevents us from interacting with technology in a theological way. Technotheology is the algorithm necessary to understand humanity’s role in a technological age through the matrix of the imago Dei. Using humanity’s ability to reason, their regency over creation, and their ability to be in …
Stewarding Privilege: Transitioning To Millennial Leadership In Christian Family Foundations, Mark Petersen
Stewarding Privilege: Transitioning To Millennial Leadership In Christian Family Foundations, Mark Petersen
Doctor of Ministry
While Christian family philanthropy has significant potential to influence the viability and success of Christian ministry, it is an understudied area of investigation. In surveying its context, both formal and informal structures provide the framework for stewarding this privilege. These are under pressure to change due to generational shifts, family dynamics, evolving expressions of faith, and shifts in philanthropy itself. These pressures create specific challenges for the leadership of foundations by descendants of the Christian founders as they grapple with donor intent, ongoing stewardship, daily operations, and public accountability by their foundations.
Succession is a common transition for organizational life …
To Imagine A Future: A Social Entrepreneurship Program For Youth In High Risk Environments In Carpinteria, California, Christopher Lucian Pritchett
To Imagine A Future: A Social Entrepreneurship Program For Youth In High Risk Environments In Carpinteria, California, Christopher Lucian Pritchett
Doctor of Ministry
This research project seeks to examine the opportunity gaps facing the adolescents of Carpinteria for the purpose of suggesting a program that intends to address these challenges, in fitting with the mission statement to create pathways for children and youth to flourish, for the Pro Deo Foundation to fund and operate. Section One examines the problem that this dissertation seeks to address, specifically describing the difficult realities that teenagers in Carpinteria face in their everyday lives. Through research with human participants, including community members, leaders and administrators, this section gives the context of the subject matter, its history and the …
A Neo-Free Methodism: Shadow-Work As A Model For Racial Justice, Liz Simmons
A Neo-Free Methodism: Shadow-Work As A Model For Racial Justice, Liz Simmons
Doctor of Ministry
The increase of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States is on a trajectory to shift the demographic of the Church over time to majority non-white. Because of the abolitionist spirit of its genesis, Free Methodist church contexts have the historical and theological foundations to become hosts for multicultural communities and culturally engaging conversations leading to racial justice. The homogeneous demographic of many Free Methodist churches today, however, results in blindness toward privilege and resistance toward social engagement, reinforcing an insulated identity narrative.
Particularly in rural and suburban areas where the surrounding demographic is shifting at a slower rate, …
Discernment Practices For Second Chair Leaders, Linda Sommerville
Discernment Practices For Second Chair Leaders, Linda Sommerville
Doctor of Ministry
Second Chair Leaders (SCLs) face unique challenges in leading ministry organizations from the second chair. Research indicates that those who lead from the middle of an organization (i.e. from the second chair) are at greater risk of experiencing depression and burn-out than those who lead from the top of an organization, yet most leadership resources are written by and for those in first chair, or top-tier roles . While there may be helpful information from these leadership sources, they do not often adequately address the specific leadership concerns facing SCLs.
This study addresses the unique needs of Second Chair Leaders …
A New Rural Missiology: Bringing Hope To Forgotten People In Forgotten Places, Steve Swinburne
A New Rural Missiology: Bringing Hope To Forgotten People In Forgotten Places, Steve Swinburne
Doctor of Ministry
The social, economic, and religious landscape of rural America has changed. Rural America is experiencing brokenness and misplaced hope, yet rural churches are often ignored in terms of missional priority and resources by the Protestant church. However, the biblical story shows that God cares for rural people, and they have not been forgotten by him. A new rural missiology must be developed in order to do for rural ministry what Tim Keller and other urban theologians have done for city ministry in the 21st century. A new rural missiology will motivate Protestant churches to resource rural churches, dignify the call …
Acedia In The Local Church: Cultivating The Virtue Of Charity As A Remedy For The Vice Of Acedia, Jason Sedore
Acedia In The Local Church: Cultivating The Virtue Of Charity As A Remedy For The Vice Of Acedia, Jason Sedore
Doctor of Ministry
The vice of acedia is one of the greatest challenges the church is currently facing. Acedia lies at the root of indifference, apathy, idleness, and a lack of engagement in the life of a community of faith. Paradoxically, acedia also manifests as dutiful, distracted service that seeks to maintain status quo or personal preferences. Adding to the complexity further, acedia will also produce an overwhelming desire to leave one’s faith community for any other place that promises to meet one’s needs or provide a more hospitable environment for one’s growth.
The first step that must be undertaken against this forgotten …
Rising To Heaven: The Ideology Of Progress And The Semiotics Of Church Growth, Len Wilson
Rising To Heaven: The Ideology Of Progress And The Semiotics Of Church Growth, Len Wilson
Doctor of Ministry
Congregational growth remains a dominant model for pastoral ministry in a USAmerican, United Methodist context today. Yet producing sustained growth has proven to be immensely difficult. Ongoing quantitative and qualitative analysis of cultural attitudes toward Christianity today show that the long-standing vocational emphasis on growth has not proven fruitful.
The claim of this work is that the ongoing problem of church decline is not strategic, but semiotic: the basis for continued congregational decline comes not from faulty planning but from a problematic conflation of growth with improvement. For many, Church Growth is influenced by a definition of human and social …
Scriptural Contextualization: Understanding Chinese Philosophical Narratives, Gregory Appleby
Scriptural Contextualization: Understanding Chinese Philosophical Narratives, Gregory Appleby
Doctor of Ministry
Whether one is overseas or within their own home culture, when working cross-culturally scriptural contextualization is necessary to reduce confusion. When developing Chinese leaders, differing world views have caused conflict and confusion especially concerning an understanding of Scripture and the person of Christ. Westerners teaching, working, and living in a Chinese context participate in either widening or narrowing the philosophical gap between the East and the West concerning their understanding of Scripture. My hope is that Western leaders will see the value in alternative interpretations and understanding of the Scripture based on Chinese foundational narratives. Misunderstandings of cultural differences have …