Digital Commons Network^™

A Call To Love: Campus Climate Concerning Individuals With Same-Sex Attraction, Kristan M. (Legg) Whelan

Selected Honors Theses

This study investigates the impact of campus climate concerning students with same-sex attraction at Southeastern University. The current study surveyed Southeastern undergraduate and graduate students in regards to the perceived attitudes on campus toward students with same-sex attraction (SSA). The major concern was to identify the majority attitude of administrators, faculty, staff, and students pertaining to the treatment of this sexual minority on campus by these particular groups and in major areas of the campus, such as the classroom, athletics, and chapel. This study also allotted the latter half of the survey to an anonymous questionnaire for students who identify …

Discipleship As A Catalyst For Personal Transformation In The Christian Faith, Vanessa Marie Seifert

Theses & Dissertations

Some Christian churches approach the majority of their faith expression with a 'go to the community' dynamic, while other churches focus primarily on attracting the community to 'come to them.' The problem is that there is a growing population of religiously unaffiliated people in the United States for whom traditional forms of faith expression are not meaningful. A new way of thinking about communal faith expression is needed if the church seeks to reach people who are spiritually curious but not interested in the attractional church model. The journey towards organizational change, even for churches, often begins with a commitment …

The Impact Of Institutional Culture On Student Activism: A Multi-Case Study In Christian Higher Education, Brian E. Cole

Dissertations

This study contributes to the description and meaning of student activism within the context of Christian college environments and cultures, and is interpreted through the sociological concept of symbolic interactionism. The purpose of this study is to help fill the void in the literature on student activism at Christian colleges and universities, positioning it within literature of broader Christian culture and activism, Christian higher education, generational history of college student activism, and student development theories and leadership models. The goal of the study is to help create an understanding of how students at Christian institutions understand and engage in activism …

A Christian Mega Church Strives For Relevance: Examining Social Media And Religiosity, Kenthea Albert-Leigh Joan Fogenay

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between Facebook and Twitter uses and gratifications and religiosity. Non-denominational Christian mega churches focus their outreach programs on a "come-as-you-are" attitude with the hopes of making people feel comfortable. The interactive technology in our daily lives also infiltrates our experience at church. The congregation now has the ability to worship through technologies endorsed by leadership (Watson & Scalen, 2008; Bogomilova, 2004; Thomas, 2009). In order for churches to engage in effective communication, they must understand how people use social networking. Through survey methodology, the researcher takes an account of how …

Leadership Loss Within Independently-Controlled Protestant Churches: Protecting Against Leadership Turmoil And Turnover, Daniel L. Rundhaug

Dissertations

Throughout leadership research, limited focus has been given to the highest levels within independently controlled Protestant churches. Specifically, what accounts for the quality of relationship that exists between the senior pastor (recognized as the CEO of the organization) and the governing board to which he or she is responsible? This study examines the leadership relationship issue through the lens of a complementary leadership approach using Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory with transformational leadership and transactional leadership theories. In addition, several other questions were asked to identify potential other independent variables that contribute to the quality of the relationship between the two …

The Role Of Spiritual Formation And Ministry Governance In Developing Mission-Oriented Governing Boards, Allen Schoonover

Doctor of Ministry

Congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have struggled over the last generation to reach out effectively to new members. This struggle is the byproduct of a changing ministry context leaders are trying to address. By the 1980s, those elements that had fueled the growth of the Lutheran Church the United States throughout the previous century had largely faded. An awareness of these changes and the corresponding decline in membership and contributions has prompted leaders to examine how to reach out more effectively to those outside traditional ethnic and cultural Lutheran enclaves. In order to improve their congregation’s effectiveness, …

Message, Mode And Milieu: Recalling An Ancient Approach To Christian Discipleship Sufficient For The Western-Consumerist Context Of The American College Student, William John Westfall

Doctor of Ministry

American university students today are steeped in the ideals and practices of Western-consumerism. Rather than leading lives of self-sacrifice, as Jesus modeled, these emerging adults, even those who claim to be "Christians," typically reflect the self-centered ideals of the consumerist culture around them. There are at least two reasons for this reality. First, Western-consumerism tenets are diametrically opposed to Christian values. Students are pulled along by powerful cultural forces, which serve to shape both belief and behavior. Second, the Western social construct is becoming less conducive to a life lived in close community. As a result, this emerging generation is …

R3al Hope: Living With The End In Mind, Richard J. Callahan

Doctor of Ministry

Jesus offers Abundant Life yet so many Christians settle for less. Why? There are myriad theories as to what constitutes Abundant Life (AL). As the evidence of history and Scripture are integrated, AL is consistently experienced in three realities: relationship, responsibility and restoration (RE3). Relationship + Responsibility + Restoration = Abundant Life or R3AL. R3AL Life existed in Creation, was made accessible to Fallen Eikons1 through Jesus and will be central to New Creation. While many Christians are aware of why they were created and the transformational power of Jesus, R3AL life eludes them. They have a flawed eschatology that …

Jesus And His Jewish World: A Resource That Brings First-Century Biblical Context Into The Twenty-First-Century World Through Technology, Paul D. Conway

Doctor of Ministry

THE PROBLEM The twenty-first century Assemblies of God Christian and communicator are separated by thousands of years and miles from Christ's first-century context. Few tools provide a three dimensional resource that converge the literature, land and language to construct a bridge that empowers learners to cross that distance independently. Many resources available are scholarly, scattered or static. Those privileged to visit the Holy Land leave enthusiastic but fail to export large portions of the educational experience. This often results in the traveler sharing their images and impressions for several weeks until all that remains are emotional memoirs and a dim …

The Hope Of An Open Hand: Civility As An Invitation To Incarnational Ministry, Kevin Dwight Glenn

Doctor of Ministry

No abstract provided.

Living Rhythms: Movements Toward Health And Holiness, Jill K. Sidler Fleagle

Doctor of Ministry

Human beings can honestly profess to believe what they do not believe. (Dallas Willard) Christians seek relational health apart from spiritual health and vice versa. The problem is one of belief that it is possible to live in intimate fellowship with the Lord while in broken or unhealthy other primary relationships. Jesus addressed the problem of compartmentalized thinking when one of the Pharisees asked him to identify the most important commandment (singular) in the Law. Jesus' answer inextricably linked loving God with loving others in his response of not one but two commandments: You shall love the LORD your God …

Shift: Expanding Preaching For A Social Media World, Bryce Ashlin-Mayo

Doctor of Ministry

Many have argued that the introduction of information technology and the subsequent birth of social media alter the way we communicate and relate socially. This phenomenon has comprehensively changed the methods and means of communication, the social structures and the social norms in which we operate. As Walter Ong exposes, we have moved into a Secondary Orality age transforming the way we communicate and relate socially.1 This change has created what Marshall McLuhan termed: "An Age of Anxiety," where people are using old tools in new environments.2 This reality has entered into the field of homiletics, resulting in previously dominant …

The Religion Of Success: The Religious And Theological Roots Of The American Success Industry Of Self-Help, Personal Growth, And Wealth, Sharon M. Lindenburger

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

The American success industry comprises an $11 billion for-profit enterprise that is growing by almost six percent every year in the United States and Canada (and increasingly in other countries). Purveyors of success teachings claim that they teach methods by which anyone, with enough commitment and vision, can “have it all.” “Having it all” includes health, relationships, careers, and spirituality, but the bottom line for the success industry is almost always material wealth. This thesis argues that religious and theological memes characterize the modus operandi of the success industry, particularly themes derived from American Protestantism, in the form of …

The Process Of Bible Translation And The Importance Of Contextualization, Ashley N. Haag

Selected Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Life Post 9/11: Experiences Of Korean Americans Ten Years Later, Jay Lee

Dissertations and Theses

This is one of the first qualitative studies to investigate experiences of Korean-American Christians living in New York City at the time of 9/11. This study sought to gain an understanding of how a group of Second Generation Korean-American Christians living in New York City at the time of the 9/11 attacks experienced that event and the event's impact on their religious beliefs. The study also investigated the communication context at the time of the ten year anniversary of the event, September 11th, 2011. The guiding research questions were: RQ1) What were their life experiences of 9/11? RQ2) Was their …

God Made It Happen: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Jerry Falwell's Response To 9/11, Terry Littleton

Cultural Studies Capstone Papers

Using rhetorical analysis, this project examines the two texts (Listen America! and 700 Club interview after 9/11) of Religious Right preacher, Jerry Falwell to examine conceptual continuity over twenty years and uncover key ideological concepts. While the Religious Right employs many methods to influence the votes of the evangelical congregation, this paper will focus specifically on Falwell and the use of Biblical metaphors in his popular evangelical discourse. The project examines the fear-mongering used to create hate and paranoia in audience of these two texts.

“...And He Was Known In The Breaking Of The Bread.”, Michele Volz

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

From Left To Right? White Evangelical Politicization, Gop Incorporation, And The Effect Of Party Affiliation On Group Opinion Change, Devon B. Shapiro

Honors Projects

While most white evangelicals in America have advocated moral, cultural, and social conservatism since the Founding, the group’s fiscal and social welfare preferences have been more volatile. Early 20^th century evangelicals tended to be socially conservative, fiscally liberal, and, to the extent that they were politicized, mostly Democratic partisans. Since that time, not only have white evangelicals abandoned the Democratic Party, but also they have largely become fiscal and social welfare conservatives. I attempt to explain that transformation. I first examine the dynamics of white evangelical politicization and GOP incorporation, providing social and historical context to the political and …

Cosmopolitan Christians: Religious Subjectivity And Political Agency In Equiano's Interesting Narrative And Achebe's African Trilogy, Joel David Cox

Masters Theses

The primary texts featured in this study—the Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano and two novels of Chinua Achebe’s so-called African Trilogy—each constitute responses to a sly and exploitive Christian modernity, responses which, borrowing from theories of intersubjectivity articulated by Kwame Anthony Appiah and others, might be called two cosmopolitanisms: for Equiano, a Christian cosmopolitanism, which works within available theological structures to revise Enlightenment-era notions of shared humanity; and for Achebe, a contaminated cosmopolitanism, which ironically celebrates the modern inevitability of cultural admixture. Despite their separation by time, space, and even genre, and even more than their common …

Ethnocentrism In Short-Term Missions: Time Spent Abroad And Its Effect On Cultural Attitudes, Rachel A. Hill

Selected Honors Theses

This study examines the effects of time spent interacting with people of a different culture on ethnocentrism levels, within the context of intercultural short-term missions (STM). STM is defined as any international altruistic volunteerism lasting 11 months or less, and includes both spreading of Christianity and various poverty alleviation efforts. Data were collected by means of a survey measuring ethnocentrism levels, which was sent to the student body of Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. An ANOVA was conducted to analyze a possible relationship between the time spent in intercultural interaction (determined by length of trip) and ethnocentrism levels (determined by …

Elder Selection: Engaging The Monterey Church Of Christ In A Collaborative Elder Selection Process, Benjamin D. Pickett

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the outcomes of a project intended to foster greater collaboration at the Monterey Church of Christ in its selection of elders. The intervention involved the engagement of the Monterey Church in a process that involved multiple steps. These steps involved engagement with teachers in the context of a teacher training seminar, with Bible classes in a series of Bible lessons, and with elders, elder nominees, and their spouses in order to discern the perceived degree to which Monterey members participate in the elder selection process. The Bible lessons presented an alternative model for theological …

Justified By Faith: The Upper Susquehanna Lutheran Synod And The Pennsylvania Natural Gas Fracking Controversy, Lena R. Connor

Pomona Senior Theses

An exercise in applied Christian ecotheology, this thesis focuses on a community of Lutheran church bodies (ELCA) in North Central Pennsylvania as they grappled with natural gas hydraulic fracturing in the summer of 2012. In the paper, I employ a combination of theological, environmental, historical, and ethnographic research methodologies to ground my analysis of how this synod of Lutherans to date has approached the fracking boom. My primary research question is: How might the Upper Susquehanna Synod of the ELCA--as a representative body of 131 Lutheran churches that are steeped in tradition--use its history, community involvement, theology, and church structure …

Semiotics And Christian Discipleship In Fyodor Dostoevsky’S Crime And Punishment And Dietrich Bonhoeffer’S The Cost Of Discipleship, Jacob Pride

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The literary and philosophical theory of semiotics considers signs and symbols. Pragmatics is the branch of semiotics that explicates the practical effects of a given interpretation according to its context. Through analyzing the pragmatic context of Crime and Punishment, one can begin to uncover the depth of meaning that the novel delivers. In The Limits of Interpretation, Umberto Eco talks about what he calls "intersubjective meaning," which helps a particular interpretation of a text attain "a privilege over any other possible interpretation spelled out without the agreement of the community" (40). The particular intersubjective meaning that needs to …

Socially Responsible Investing From A Christian Perspective, Lillian M. Young

Senior Theses and Projects

This paper attempts to determine the criteria that make investing in a particular company ethical according to a Christian economic ethic. Categories examined include product, environmental impact, employee relations, multinational corporations, and corporate governance.

Gay Christians: Living Out Faith In The Light Of Exegesis And Experience, Megan Baxter

Senior Theses and Projects

A study of God’s will towards gay sex within loving and committed gay unions based on exegetical scholarship and the lived experienced of gay Christians. Over 350 gay Christians were surveyed for this work, and their experiences are reflected in the conclusions of this paper. This work also investigated the relevant Biblical texts, paying close attention to the use of language and historical critical aspects of exegesis.

Describing A Pentecostal Spirituality And Eploring These Expressions Within A Spiritual Formation Model, Jeremy Daniel Sims

Doctor of Ministry

Richard Foster states, “The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.”1 But how do we understand what it means to be a “deep person?” We need a description of what a deep relationship looks like and a model of the spiritual growth process that makes that possible. A spiritual formation model is a tool designed to identify the organic process of growth for the believer in Christ and describe how that believer might tunnel into the depths of maturity by partnering with the Holy Spirit. As a Pentecostal, …

Ordinary Community: Missional Communities As A Helpful Ecclesial Response To The Problem Of Postmodernism And Consumerism For The American Evangelical Church, Christopher W. Marshall

Doctor of Ministry

There is a storm approaching the shores of the American evangelical church that is two-fold. First, there is a macro shift in cultural worldview from modernity, which was embedded in the tenets of the Enlightenment project to a new era called postmodernity. Postmodernity is characterized as a harsh reaction against the utopian ideals of the modern world. What is the appropriate ecclesial response of the American evangelical church to the postmodern world? Secondly, the dominant cultural challenge to Christianity in America is the organizing of life around the attachments of a consumer lifestyle. Consumerism dominates American life however it is …

The Semantics Of Hebrew Na' In The Pentateuch And Former Prophets., Stephen Kline

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

Beginning with a discussion of face-based linguistic politeness, this thesis investigates the etymology of the particle נָא as well as its meaning in the Pentateuch and Former Prophets. Though always associated with requests, the function of נָא varies according to its syntactical usage. With the particles הִנָּה and נָא ,אִם indicates that a request is about to be made; the interjections נָא and אַל־נָא are found too rarely to draw certain conclusions, but even in the few attested occurrences, a request follows. With the third-person jussive, נָא indicates that the hearer is being asked to do something, either to engage …

Jeremiah And Feelings: A Non-Identity Crisis., Brenda Kronemeijer-Heyink

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

As indicated by Jeremiah’s title, “the weeping prophet,” the book of Jeremiah is full of a wide range of feelings. The agent of these feelings is not only Jeremiah, but also his community (the people of Judah) and the LORD. These feelings expressed in the book can be seen as part of the prophetic message. In fact, Jeremiah’s feelings are not only his own but are also representative of his community and the LORD. This representational nature of Jeremiah’s feelings is hinted at through the ambiguity of the emotional agent, is shown in the paralleled feelings and incitements thereof for …

Bridging The Disconnect: Reframing Vocation For The Sake Of Young Adults, The Church, & Its Leaders, Aaron David Fuller

Children, Youth, and Family (CYF) Papers

No abstract provided.