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Leaving Home, Keeping The Faith, Damian J. Geminder Dec 2015

Leaving Home, Keeping The Faith, Damian J. Geminder

Capstones

This capstone explores how outreach to immigrant and non-English-speaking communities is vital to the health of the American Catholic Church.


T.S. Eliot: A Never-Ending Exploration, Kristina Krupilnitskaya Dec 2015

T.S. Eliot: A Never-Ending Exploration, Kristina Krupilnitskaya

Honors Thesis

The following thesis explores the work of T.S. Eliot before and after his conversion to the Anglican Church. While the paper explores the stylistic qualities of Eliot's poetry, the main focus of the essay lies in bridging the pre and post conversion works together in order to show that both of the periods were significant in the poet's life. While many critics viewed Eliot's early poetry as a lot more exploratory and challenging, calling his later poetry banal and bland, my essay aims to show that even though the poetry had shifted in its content, its significance, complexity, and experimentality …


The Very Stones Would Cry Out: A Study Of The Gospel Of Christ In Luke 19:37-40, James Gardner Dec 2015

The Very Stones Would Cry Out: A Study Of The Gospel Of Christ In Luke 19:37-40, James Gardner

Senior Theses

My senior thesis project is a Sunday School series to be used for the high school ministry at Shandon Baptist Church. I've been an intern for the Shandon youth ministry for a year and a half, including the current semester, and have been involved in the ministry in some other capacity for nearly six years. Through my experiences with the youth ministry there, it has become my desire to pursue vocational ministry myself, and this project has become a great practical way for me to do research and learn what it will be like to be a youth pastor and …


Imagery, Prayer, And Mind Wandering: Kataphatic Prayer, Martha M. O. Duah Dec 2015

Imagery, Prayer, And Mind Wandering: Kataphatic Prayer, Martha M. O. Duah

Honors Theses

Mind wandering—reduced attention to external events—during prayer could pose a problem for Christians. However, different types of prayer make different cognitive demands. Kataphatic prayer, a common type of evangelical Christian prayer, makes use of mental imagery in hopes of experiencing God in a richer sense. Because both mind wandering and kataphatic prayer require imagery, tying up imagery resources in kataphatic prayer should block mind wandering thereby improving focus. Participants in this study prayed as they normally do, viewed a visual task, or engaged in kataphatic prayer while self-monitoring for mind wandering.


The Production Of Sticky Notes And Bible Quotes: Godly Answers For Sticky Situations A Children’S Musical As Directed By Julie Brinkman, Julie Elizabeth Brinkman Dec 2015

The Production Of Sticky Notes And Bible Quotes: Godly Answers For Sticky Situations A Children’S Musical As Directed By Julie Brinkman, Julie Elizabeth Brinkman

Honors College

This thesis reflects upon a director’s experience while directing her first production: Sticky Notes and Bible Quotes: Godly Answers for Sticky Situations by Dennis and Nan Allen. This children’s musical was produced in cooperation with Wylie United Methodist Church of Abilene, TX. Over forty children, with the help of ten adult volunteers, shared the importance of memorizing scripture and looking to God’s Word in times of trouble through song, skits, and the recitation of scripture. While reflecting upon the production process after each rehearsal, the director makes connections between her experiences as director, the content of her music education undergraduate …


Preaching Through Philippians: How To Advance The Gospel In The Worst Of Times, Amanda Rigby Dec 2015

Preaching Through Philippians: How To Advance The Gospel In The Worst Of Times, Amanda Rigby

Honors College

The Christian church has been influenced by the institution of preaching since its inception in the first century. Preaching has developed over time into the practice encountered most often today: sermons addressed and preached to congregations of Christians of all different denominations and geographical locations. Contemporary preaching has the power to shape the church in the emerging postmodern era. As someone studying to become a pastor who preaches to a church, I realize the importance as well as the significance of the task I have chosen to undertake. I use this space to enter into the practice of sermon preparation …


The Count Of Saint-Gilles And The Saints Of The Apocalypse: Occitanian Piety And Culture In The Time Of The First Crusade, Thomas Whitney Lecaque Aug 2015

The Count Of Saint-Gilles And The Saints Of The Apocalypse: Occitanian Piety And Culture In The Time Of The First Crusade, Thomas Whitney Lecaque

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines Raymond of Saint-Gilles’ regional affiliation in Occitania (modern southern France) and the effect of that identity on his conduct of the First Crusade. Crusade historiography has not paid much attention to regional difference, but Raymond’s case shows that Occitanians approached crusading in a fundamentally different manner from other crusaders. They placed apocalyptic eschatology in the forefront of the First Crusade and portraying the First Crusade as bringing about the New Jerusalem. To be Occitanian was not merely to be a speaker of Occitan. It was to be part of a Mediterranean culture, halfway between classical Roman and …


A Theological Take On The Miracle Of Ministry In The Spu Student Ministry Coordinator Program, Jake A. Crammer Jun 2015

A Theological Take On The Miracle Of Ministry In The Spu Student Ministry Coordinator Program, Jake A. Crammer

Honors Projects

The Student Ministry Coordinator program empowers leaders living on campus to serve their floors through discipleship, small groups, hall events, and coordinating on-campus residents with University Ministries. In this project, I attempt to articulate the work of the SMC Program in theological terms, hoping to clarify the mission the SMC Program for SPU’s campus.


Facilitating A Pastoral Leadership Model For The Ulysses Church Of Christ, Warren Baldwin Jun 2015

Facilitating A Pastoral Leadership Model For The Ulysses Church Of Christ, Warren Baldwin

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the results of a project intended to train leaders in principles of character-based leadership. I applied five principles drawn from Proverbs to the current situation of the Ulysses Church of Christ. The principles included community development, integrity, listening, ministering to the marginalized, and shepherding. I intentionally focused this character-based leadership training more on theological principles found in Proverbs than on skill development or leadership theories from the social sciences. I paid some attention to skill development and incorporated some principles from the social sciences, particularly psychology, but I placed greater emphasis on learning what …


Illuminating Christ, Jessie Bazan May 2015

Illuminating Christ, Jessie Bazan

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

The book, Illuminating Christ, features prayers and reflections centered on Christ's life for each of the different liturgical seasons.


Effects Of An Electronically Guided Prayer Intervention, Brian Lee Goetsch May 2015

Effects Of An Electronically Guided Prayer Intervention, Brian Lee Goetsch

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Abstract Hope has been identified as an important factor in a variety of positive outcomes in psychotherapy, medicine, academic success, and for general levels of functioning. However, until now most studies on hope have been correlational in nature, and researchers have rarely sought to understand how hope can be facilitated. The present study considered the effect of prayer on experiences of hope in a national sample of Christian college students. An intervention group completed a guided prayer exercise once a day for 2 weeks. Pre and post-test levels of hope were assessed and compared to a control group, and a …


Cultivating The Practice Of Missional Hospitality For Small Groups At West Houston Church Of Christ, Kevin Stewart May 2015

Cultivating The Practice Of Missional Hospitality For Small Groups At West Houston Church Of Christ, Kevin Stewart

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the results of a project in which I led a team to develop a plan to cultivate the practice of missional hospitality for small groups at West Houston Church of Christ. I used missional theology as a framework to give shape to the practice of hospitality. The project team met for nine weeks in the fall of 2014. The team practiced lectio divina focused on Luke 10, participated in theological reflection on missional hospitality, and fulfilled assignments to practice missional hospitality. These activities helped form the group spiritually and informed the development of a …


Evaluating An Oral Draft Of Luke 8:4-15 In Uduk, Jeremy N. Harrison May 2015

Evaluating An Oral Draft Of Luke 8:4-15 In Uduk, Jeremy N. Harrison

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the findings of a project in which I led a group of immigrants from South Sudan through the process of generating and evaluating an oral draft of Luke 8:4-15 in Uduk. The aim of this project was to provide a substantive field test of an oral translation methodology conducted among immigrants living in the United States who speak a language that lacks a translation of the entire Bible. The project involved facilitating basic translation training and conducting an oral drafting process with a team of three Uduk speakers. This project also involved evaluating the …


Fostering Healing Through Reconciliation In The Abernathy Church Of Christ, Randall K. Carr May 2015

Fostering Healing Through Reconciliation In The Abernathy Church Of Christ, Randall K. Carr

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This project is an exercise in addressing anxiety as a result of unresolved conflict in the Abernathy Church of Christ. In 2009 emotions escalated to a climactic point, leading a group of participants to separate from the Abernathy Church of Christ. The events surrounding this episode have played an influential role in shaping the narrative of the Abernathy Church of Christ. This project seeks to identify areas of residual pain in the existing narrative and move the congregation into a narrative of hope for the future of the Abernathy Church of Christ. The central theme is reconciliation and results from …


Enriching Christian Hospitality At Malaby's Crossroads Missionary Baptist Church In Knightdale, North Carolina, Barbara Starr Barner Jan 2015

Enriching Christian Hospitality At Malaby's Crossroads Missionary Baptist Church In Knightdale, North Carolina, Barbara Starr Barner

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Hospitality is the welcoming of strangers, family, and friends. In the early biblical and historical traditions, hospitality focused on welcoming the alien and extending resources to them. Hospitality, however, need not be limited to the basic physical needs of the stranger, but spiritual needs are to be addressed as well. In the reflection of Jesus’ work on the cross, Christian hospitality should be the intentional, responsible, and caring act of welcoming or visiting strangers, enemies, the distressed, downtrodden, without regard for reciprocation. The goal of this project was to enhance Malaby’s Christian hospitality culture and take our personal interactions to …


Understanding The Complexity Of Family: Examining Family Systems And The Process Of Relationship For Families And Congregation Of First Baptist Church Woodbury, Tn, William H. Hay V. Jan 2015

Understanding The Complexity Of Family: Examining Family Systems And The Process Of Relationship For Families And Congregation Of First Baptist Church Woodbury, Tn, William H. Hay V.

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Understanding the Complexity of Family: Examining Family Systems and Processes of Relationship for Families and Congregation of the First Baptist Church of Woodbury, Tennessee is a project designed to share family systems theory with families and church. Through six didactic sessions (triangulation, anxiety, self-differentiation, over and under functioning, crucial conversations, projection) and reflective journaling, families are encouraged to recognize the processes of being family and the parallel processes of family that are present in the life of a congregation. Using quantitative and qualitative instruments, results show that family and congregational functioning can be improved through raising awareness of systems process.


The Effectiveness Of Utilizing Various Memory Cues In The Preaching Event At Sandy Plains Baptist Church In Shelby, North Carolina, Garin Hill Jan 2015

The Effectiveness Of Utilizing Various Memory Cues In The Preaching Event At Sandy Plains Baptist Church In Shelby, North Carolina, Garin Hill

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Every Sunday pastors across the spectrum attempt to preach in memorable ways. So if traditional wisdom is actually true – most churchgoers forget the sermon immediately upon leaving church – then does that qualify as memorable? While realizing no sermon lingers forever, this project explores ways to give the sermon a longer shelf life in the parishioner’s memory. Specifically, by utilizing picture, story, and object lesson in various sermons, this experiment conducted at Sandy Plains Baptist Church in Shelby, North Carolina, examines which memory cues (if any) are most effective in keeping the sermon fixed in the long-term memory of …


Endless Dishes: Encounters With The Transmission Of Zen-Buddhist Training From Japan To America, Alexandra Garlan White Jan 2015

Endless Dishes: Encounters With The Transmission Of Zen-Buddhist Training From Japan To America, Alexandra Garlan White

Senior Projects Spring 2015

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.


The First Pontiff: Pope Damasus I And The Expansion Of The Roman Primacy, Thomas J. Mcintyre Jan 2015

The First Pontiff: Pope Damasus I And The Expansion Of The Roman Primacy, Thomas J. Mcintyre

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this thesis is to examine the extent of the agency Pope Damasus I demonstrated in the expansion of papal primacy and exaltation of the Roman See. Damasus reigned as bishop of Rome from A.D. 366 until 384. To answer this question, the research for this thesis focuses on involvement, of Damasus in contemporary theological disputes, his appropriation of Roman geography and his Latin language initiatives, both liturgical and Scriptural. Research was conducted first by consulting primary sources. These included the writings of Damasus himself, particularly his epigraphs, as well as epistolary correspondence. A key component of the …


Assessing The Effect Of Worship Education And Worship Renewal At First Baptist Church Kings Mountain, North Carolina, Jonathan Bundon Jan 2015

Assessing The Effect Of Worship Education And Worship Renewal At First Baptist Church Kings Mountain, North Carolina, Jonathan Bundon

Doctor of Ministry Projects

For many Christians, worship has been reduced to the entertainment value centered on self rather than the Triune God. Ignorance must be combated with worship education and worship renewal. For the worshiper, how one prepares for corporate worship affects their worship experience and informs their private worship. The four-week study, Spirit and Truth, introduced members of First Baptist Church Kings Mountain to worship education and renewal and challenged them to assess their own worship practices. Quantitative and qualitative test results and observations validated this project's needs. In addition, the project afforded opportunities that might contribute to a life-long experiment of …