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Integrating The Psychological Audit Of Interpersonal Relationships Into Short-Term Pastoral Marital Counseling – Help Or Hindrance?, Floyd Marsh Nov 2015

Integrating The Psychological Audit Of Interpersonal Relationships Into Short-Term Pastoral Marital Counseling – Help Or Hindrance?, Floyd Marsh

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research project was undertaken to determine if integrating the Psychological Audit of Interpersonal Relationships (PAIR) test into a short-term pastoral marital counseling model would help or hinder the busy multi-tasking pastor in economizing his time and improving his effectiveness while counseling couples presenting with mild to moderate dissatisfaction. The PAIR test is a relationship compatibility inventory, used by psychologists, physicians, professional counselors, and licensed clinical social workers, which assesses 20 separate dimensions of interest, personality, behavior, attitudes, and values. The research findings of this study strongly suggest that the PAIR test, when integrated into the counseling plan, will help …


Joonhyun, Joonhyun Bae Oct 2015

Joonhyun, Joonhyun Bae

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

During the last decade, most new church plants in South Korea remained as small churches of less than one hundred members that are not self-sustaining or growing, because their leaders are heavily dependent upon limited discipleship models of few megachurches that rarely reflect the characteristics of small churches. Since newly planted churches rarely grow in the absence of effective discipleship models that suit their given cultures and geographical locations, their leaders need to be equipped with a biblical framework and applications for establishing discipleship models that aptly respond to the needs of their churches. The purpose of this thesis project …


The Worship Experience: Five Essential Ways A Pastor Leads A Congregation To Respond To God, Changhwan Choi Oct 2015

The Worship Experience: Five Essential Ways A Pastor Leads A Congregation To Respond To God, Changhwan Choi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Today many churches do not take time in worship service for their congregations to respond to God’s Word proclaimed through sermons. They also may be unaware of biblical reasons for the response. This project will suggest five essential ways that a pastor can lead a congregation to respond to God’s Word at the end of each sermon. This project will lay a foundation for the understanding and development of the congregational response through examination of biblical and theological backgrounds. Furthermore, an approach utilizing these five strategies will be developed specifically for worship services in Korean churches by surveying 30 or …


Rescuing The Millennials: Four Essential Lessons Learned And Eight Key Principles To Reclaiming This Generation, Alethia Janise Simmons Oct 2015

Rescuing The Millennials: Four Essential Lessons Learned And Eight Key Principles To Reclaiming This Generation, Alethia Janise Simmons

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Recent trends reveal the decline in church attendance among younger generations, with the Millennials. The purpose of this project is to develop a Christian model that will offer churches practical steps and instructions on how to rescue this generation. Research will be conducted through surveys and interviews with sixty senior pastors, young adult pastors, and Millennials between the age of 18 and 29 years old to ascertain relevant data. This research will provide four essential lessons learned and eight key principles to reclaiming the Millennial generation.


Should Southern Baptists Baptize Their Children?: A Biblical, Historical, Theological Defense Of The Consistency Of The Baptism Of Young Children With Credobaptistic Practices, Robert Matz Sep 2015

Should Southern Baptists Baptize Their Children?: A Biblical, Historical, Theological Defense Of The Consistency Of The Baptism Of Young Children With Credobaptistic Practices, Robert Matz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Southern Baptists have expressed increasing degrees of alarm over allegedly rising rates of child baptisms. As a result, an increasing number of Southern Baptists have argued that the baptism of young children is inconsistent with Southern Baptists’ understandings of credobaptism and a regenerate church membership. Against these allegations, this dissertation asserts that children can be converted and when converted they should be baptized. The first chapter of this dissertation argues that water baptism is prescriptively contemporaneous with Spirit baptism. It establishes such based on the relationship between water and Spirit baptism as seen in the seven direct references to Spirit …


Flight Lead: The Mission Of A Father And Husband, John Marselus Sep 2015

Flight Lead: The Mission Of A Father And Husband, John Marselus

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Similar to fighter pilot flight leads, the Lord created multiple roles and responsibilities for husbands and fathers to lead their families. Millions of dollars are invested into the training and readiness of a fighter pilot to lead a flight into combat. Flight leads must perform multiple missions to ensure the success of friendly armed forces against their enemy. The multiple roles and responsibilities for husbands and fathers are remarkably similar to the functions a flight lead must execute to successfully complete a mission. This study compares the author’s military experience with scholarly research, Scriptural analysis, quantitative survey, and case study …


Developing An Embedded Process Of Spiritual Healing/Growth For South Korean Presbyterian Churches, Sung In Chang Aug 2015

Developing An Embedded Process Of Spiritual Healing/Growth For South Korean Presbyterian Churches, Sung In Chang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to provide a biblical discipleship manual that restores believers to an intimate and obedient relationship with God through an embedded process of spiritual healing. Many disciples within South Korean Presbyterian churches are hindered from leading biblical lives of obedience by unresolved pain and scars that stem from their sins and misunderstandings about God. This is a direct result of dysfunctional discipleship processes within churches that do not empower the disciples to fully trust and obey Jesus Christ. The research will be conducted by surveying 100 Korean Presbyterian Church members. This thesis project will attempt …


Perfect Harmony: An Examination Of The Necessity Of Interdependency Between First And Second Generation Korean Congregations, Hank H. Shin Aug 2015

Perfect Harmony: An Examination Of The Necessity Of Interdependency Between First And Second Generation Korean Congregations, Hank H. Shin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The English speaking second-generation Korean Americans coexisting with the first-generation Koreans topic identifies the issues associated in a typical Korean immigrant church. Based on the resources, the English Ministry has a tendency to stay under the authority of the Korean Ministry leadership, coexist independently with a separate administration, or depart to set up a separate church. This project is separated in three parts. The first section reviews the history of the early Korean American churches in the United States. The second section addresses the problems between English Ministry and Korean Ministry. The third section identifies a strategy to provide harmony …


Midwest Mission: Developing A Church Planting Prospectus For The City Of Indianapolis, Joseph Allen Lightner Jun 2015

Midwest Mission: Developing A Church Planting Prospectus For The City Of Indianapolis, Joseph Allen Lightner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of Indianapolis, Indiana has a total population of 1,823,479 residents. (stats.indiana.edu) The North American Mission Board reports that "only one out of every five `Indy' residents" attends a church. (namb.net) In order to reverse this trend, new churches need to be started. This thesis will provide a biblical church-planting prospectus that takes into account the culture of the Indianapolis MSA area, specifically Hamilton County. This thesis will introduce the reader to the research and development required in order to write a church-planting prospectus.


Can A Christian College Student Please God? Spiritual Growth And Its Relationship To Small Group Involvement, Accountability And Academic Progress, Ralph W. Jernigan Jun 2015

Can A Christian College Student Please God? Spiritual Growth And Its Relationship To Small Group Involvement, Accountability And Academic Progress, Ralph W. Jernigan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In order to please God, a Christian college student should be committed to spiritual growth, accountability, as well as doing one's best academically. This project will examine the association between these three areas. Academic success will be measured among College Learning Strategies students using their pre-class and post-class grade point averages. A pre- and post-class survey will be administered to students in order to measure spiritual growth. Spiritual growth will be compared to a student's involvement in some type of accountability. The finding of a correlation between spiritual growth and accountability and/or spiritual growth and academic achievement would lead to …


An Examination Of The Doctrine Of Death And The Afterlife From A Biblical And Historical Theology Perspective Compared To The Level Of Sophistication Among The Laity, Wayne Allen Patton Jun 2015

An Examination Of The Doctrine Of Death And The Afterlife From A Biblical And Historical Theology Perspective Compared To The Level Of Sophistication Among The Laity, Wayne Allen Patton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Several key aspects of eschatology and their treatment appear to be under-explored in contemporary preaching. Within the context of individual eschatology, notions of death, the intermediate state, and the eternal state vary widely. A clearer understanding of these facets of the faith are necessary to fully understand the full measure of the work of Christ, the hope Christians have in Him, and the ability to convey these essentials to the lost. In this project, the writer will seek to discover and examine the key aspects of this doctrine and measure the level of sophistication among a sample of the laity. …


The Challenges Of Missionary Training In The 21st Century: A Manual For Training Of Missionaries, Kola Aiyedogbon Jun 2015

The Challenges Of Missionary Training In The 21st Century: A Manual For Training Of Missionaries, Kola Aiyedogbon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The thesis project is a case study of the Redeemed Christian Church of God that has more than 600 parishes in the United States and mission work in over 130 countries of the world. The study will involve the local mission Board members; trainers in the mission school, missionaries on the mission field in more than 400 parishes, and a sample of two mission churches. It will explore the global reverse mission enterprise and the gap in the training of missionaries from Africa in reaching the nationals of the mission field. This project will be action based and inter-disciplinary. It …


The Unspoken Truth: A Practical Guide For Pastors, Helping Abusers Break The Cycle Of Sexual Abuse, Teresa Johnson Jun 2015

The Unspoken Truth: A Practical Guide For Pastors, Helping Abusers Break The Cycle Of Sexual Abuse, Teresa Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

For years, men, women and children have suffered silently as a result of sexual abuse. The abuser suffers and the cycle continues. Destroying the silence of sexual abuse is the beginning of breaking the cycle. Research has shown that the abuse goes far beyond the actual act and causes physical, emotional, and psychological damage. This project will investigate and encourage open discussion, address the abuse, and give valuable insight to the causes and consequences of sexual abuse. This project will offer prescriptive and preventative measures to all parties involved, in an effort to heal and stop sexual abuse. Through research …


Surviving The Other War: Group Intervention For Military Sexual Trauma In The Local Church, Ed Ellis Barker May 2015

Surviving The Other War: Group Intervention For Military Sexual Trauma In The Local Church, Ed Ellis Barker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Military Sexual Trauma (MST) is, together with the current military suicide epidemic, arguably the greatest danger to soldiers serving at home or abroad, and sadly the former is a contributing factor for the latter. MST involves the sexual assault or sexual harassment of an individual by one or several fellow service members. An important avenue of assistance is through the local church; however, "the quality of mental health providers does not include a sufficient number of faith-based counselors (especially Christian) to serve the predominantly Christian demographic in the U.S. Armed Forces." To assist in this, a psycho-educational support group has …


A Biblical Guide To Maximizing Great Commission Emphasis By Transforming Your Church Government, Marcus W. Bridges May 2015

A Biblical Guide To Maximizing Great Commission Emphasis By Transforming Your Church Government, Marcus W. Bridges

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

After learning 3500-4000 churches close their doors each year, Ed Stetzer believes, "the church will not change until the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change." This project will compare Congregation-led churches to Elder or Board-led churches to explore the need for changing the practical operation of the church in attempts to fulfill the Great Commission. The thoughts presented will provide a guide for church leaders, pastors, and church planters to adopt the style of governing policies that best results in for Jesus Christ. There will be fifty pastors polled from Congregation and Elder-led churches …


Overcoming Church Euthanasia: A Plan To Revitalize Dead And Dying Churches In The Southern Baptist Convention, Wayne E. Rogers May 2015

Overcoming Church Euthanasia: A Plan To Revitalize Dead And Dying Churches In The Southern Baptist Convention, Wayne E. Rogers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis will examine the problem of dead and dying churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. Membership in more than seventy-percent of churches in North America has plateaued or is declining according to the North American Mission Board. Rather than just starting new churches, this thesis will present an option to revitalize dead and dying churches in order to reverse this trend. The aim of this thesis is to promote the historical Southern Baptists plan which will help Southern Baptists regain historical parameters and goals when revitalizing dead or dying churches. The thesis will cite existing quantitative and qualitative data, …


The Pastor Search Process: A Proposed Manual For The Objective Investigation And Evaluation Of A Church By The Pastoral Candidate, John David Lones May 2015

The Pastor Search Process: A Proposed Manual For The Objective Investigation And Evaluation Of A Church By The Pastoral Candidate, John David Lones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is commonly acknowledged by both clergy and laity that a problem exists in the Southern Baptist Convention concerning both the length of pastoral tenure and the number of forced terminations of ministerial staff. Solutions have been proposed but little measurable change has been forthcoming. Much has been written about conflict resolution, communication between staff and lay leadership and realistic expectations. However well-intended these efforts may be, the statistics seem to indicate little or nothing has changed. This project intends to evaluate the pastor-search process from the perspective of the pastoral candidate. Churches make efforts to evaluate and investigate candidates …


Exploring Successful Women's Ministry Employment: A Comparative Case Study Of Two Churches In Virginia, Melissa Small May 2015

Exploring Successful Women's Ministry Employment: A Comparative Case Study Of Two Churches In Virginia, Melissa Small

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The following qualitative case study explored the phenomenon of successful implementation of a fulltime women's ministry staff position in Southern Baptist churches to provide foundational research for a best practices guide for successful implementation of women's ministers in churches. For the research, successful implementation of women's ministry staff was generally defined as fulltime staff position devoted specifically to women's ministry in a church. The use of interviews and focus groups provided information from the church leaders and women who were directly involved in the phenomenon. The setting took place in two Southern Baptist churches, located in the state of Virginia, …


Inner-City Evangelism: A Model For Reaching Gangs For Christ, Eric Ladell Boone May 2015

Inner-City Evangelism: A Model For Reaching Gangs For Christ, Eric Ladell Boone

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis will focus on the crimes and violence that have corrupted and invaded the world, in a life-threatening, devastating, and unprecedented way. Criminal gangs have made their presence in communities all around the world, which has resulted in mental corruption and spiritual and physical destruction. Regardless of how gang members are looked upon and viewed by society due to their daily ungodly activities, the author will address the importance of the church becoming dedicated to reach gangs with the gospel, which holds the power to transform the life of whoever hears it regardless of their past or present. The …


Exploring Successful Women's Ministry Employment: A Comparative Case Study Of Two Churches In Virginia, Melissa Small Apr 2015

Exploring Successful Women's Ministry Employment: A Comparative Case Study Of Two Churches In Virginia, Melissa Small

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The following qualitative case study explored the phenomenon of successful implementation of a fulltime women's ministry staff position in Southern Baptist churches to provide foundational research for a best practices guide for successful implementation of women's ministers in churches. For the research, successful implementation of women's ministry staff was generally defined as fulltime staff position devoted specifically to women's ministry in a church. The use of interviews and focus groups provided information from the church leaders and women who were directly involved in the phenomenon. The setting took place in two Southern Baptist churches, located in the state of Virginia, …


A Four-Fold Strategy For Training Parents To Teach Spiritual Formation At Home, James Otis Ledbetter Feb 2015

A Four-Fold Strategy For Training Parents To Teach Spiritual Formation At Home, James Otis Ledbetter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to aid church leaders toward understanding the dynamics of family ministry: what it is and what it is not. Having written five books for Focus on the Family and David C. Cook addressing the role of the church and family, this author has successfully transitioned his church from the traditional family ministry (families in the support role of the church) to placing the church in the support role of the family: strengthening God's family by strengthening theirs. Based on surveys, evaluations of each individual family's health, historical and cultural documents, resources, and actual case …


Shepherding The Flock: C.A.R.E. - A Model For Pastoral Ministry, Ronald Hughes Feb 2015

Shepherding The Flock: C.A.R.E. - A Model For Pastoral Ministry, Ronald Hughes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A seminary graduate is often well equipped in a variety of areas including preaching, languages, church growth, and the like. One area that graduates often feel ill equipped is the practical area of pastoral care; however, every minister, whether in a church of ten or ten thousand, must have a way to effectively deal with this part of their ministry. From a review of the literature and a survey of pastors, this project will confirm the current need for further training in the area of pastoral care. In addition, this project will offer a plan to meet those needs within …


Evangelism And Social Concern In The Theology Of Carl F. H. Henry, Jerry Ireland Jan 2015

Evangelism And Social Concern In The Theology Of Carl F. H. Henry, Jerry Ireland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examines evangelism and social concern in the theology of Carl F. H. Henry. Henry stands not only as the most important figure in the re-awakening of evangelical social concern, but also a leading thinker among Evangelicals on the theological foundations that should guide this movement in its life and practice. Henry, building on the work of Abraham Kuyper (although with some significant differences), sought to recapture the Reformed emphasis on a worldview approach to the Christian faith. Thus, Henry emerges as a key and oddly understudied figure in the re-awakening of evangelical social action. Yet, his balanced approach …


An Investigation Of Adversity In Christian Living And Proposal For Discipleship Response, Christopher Payne Jan 2015

An Investigation Of Adversity In Christian Living And Proposal For Discipleship Response, Christopher Payne

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

With numerous ministries teaching a cultural gospel comprised of prosperity and pleasure, people have the impression that a saving faith limits personal hardships. Jesus taught his disciples the truth about hardship and how to struggle well and the Church is called to do likewise. This thesis will present five key biblical truths to equip Christians for growing their faith through personal struggle. Moreover, the project will give leaders a guide for discipling hurting church members. The author will research current and historical discipleship materials and models, examine current teachings on faith and struggle, explore relevant biblical teachings, and survey fifty …


The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership Behavior, Adult Attachment And God Attachment, Deboarah Foulkes Jan 2015

The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership Behavior, Adult Attachment And God Attachment, Deboarah Foulkes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Transformational leaders are charged with the undertaking of not only accomplishing tasks, but also engaging followers in a manner that will achieve these tasks. An interaction with the follower is needed to achieve this, and the quality of that interaction may be impacted by environmental stressors. Past studies suggest that adult attachment orientation will determine the quality of interpersonal interactions. Additionally, past studies also suggest that an attachment to God influences the quality of interpersonal interactions and how one copes with stress. A correspondence model of God attachment posits that a person’s attachment to God will be similar to their …