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A Culture Of Scarcity And A God Of Abundance: Leading A Church Into A Bigger, Better, More Beautiful Story, Jamie Mccallum
A Culture Of Scarcity And A God Of Abundance: Leading A Church Into A Bigger, Better, More Beautiful Story, Jamie Mccallum
Doctor of Ministry
Christians live in the ever-present tension of two competing stories. The first is the story our culture promotes. It is one of scarcity. In this story, there is never enough money, resources, time, or love to go around. The other story is the one God tells in Scripture. It is a story of an abundant Creator who gives more than enough for life, love, purpose, and enjoyment in this world. This paper explores my journey in leading Belfair Community Church away from a mindset of scarcity and into a living theology of abundance. When we truly trust that God is …
Winsome Wounds: A New Perception Of Pastoral Suffering, Stephanie Hurd
Winsome Wounds: A New Perception Of Pastoral Suffering, Stephanie Hurd
Doctor of Ministry
Pastors may view their divine calling as quid pro quo assurance against personal suffering. Yet everyone suffers. Seminaries train pastors in the technical skills required for ministry, but hermeneutics and homiletics do not help a pastor who is wounded. Churchcraft is about thriving as a leader in a church environment and acquiring the navigational tools, experiential knowledge, and soft skills to do so. Section 1 establishes the problem: Misperceptions about typical pastoral suffering, the disorientation it causes, and the lack of tools needed to respond in a productive way. Section 2 presents possible responses such as Stoicism, Legalism, Epicureanism, increasing …
The Church's Lament: Moving The White Church From Grief Of Complicity To Lament, Kristin Hamilton
The Church's Lament: Moving The White Church From Grief Of Complicity To Lament, Kristin Hamilton
Doctor of Ministry
This dissertation begins with the presupposition that leaders and members of the white, evangelical church are aware that there is an ongoing racial struggle in the United States, and in the church. Beginning with the theory that the church is in denial regarding historical complicity toward racism and white supremacy, this paper uses Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s Grief Stage model to explore how the white church has become stuck in the early stages of grief (denial and anger). This exploration reviews historic and current examples in which white Christians have been complicit with systematic oppression against Black people and non-Black persons of …
Wrestling For The Souls Of The Survivors: Helping Partners Who Are Married To Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, John N. Raymond
Wrestling For The Souls Of The Survivors: Helping Partners Who Are Married To Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, John N. Raymond
Doctor of Ministry
For some who partake in the wonders of marriage, the experiences of pleasant memories and successful challenges mark their dreams in their twilight years. For couples where one or both experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA), marital challenges have far greater negative effect on each of the marital partners—their twilight dreams may not be so pleasant. Although many couples experience setbacks and hardships, for the couple affected by CSA, the setbacks are experienced with greater intensity and duration. This dissertation will highlight research quantifying the negative long-term consequences of CSA. I also will give examples of qualitative research that describes the …
Seeds Of Truth: The Importance Of C. S. Lewis's Interactions With Child Readers In The Chronicles Of Narnia, Joseph Thouvenel
Seeds Of Truth: The Importance Of C. S. Lewis's Interactions With Child Readers In The Chronicles Of Narnia, Joseph Thouvenel
Doctor of Ministry
This paper explores the ways in which C.S. Lewis's interactions with child readers in The Chronicles of Narnia provide important insight for communicating theological and spiritual truths to children. Through a brief examination of Lewis's own childhood as well as a concise analysis of his writings to and about children, important insights regarding the place of imagination and wonder within The Chronicles of Narnia will be revealed. This paper also inspects the seven books that comprise The Chronicles of Narnia, paying specific attention to Lewis's use of first- and second-person narrative within this series as a means of demonstrating his …
Recovering Spiritual Direction In The Protestant Tradition, Morris Dirks
Recovering Spiritual Direction In The Protestant Tradition, Morris Dirks
Doctor of Ministry
The purpose of this dissertation is to foster a commitment to the development of spiritual direction in the ongoing care of pastors within the Protestant tradition. The need to recover this practice, once well established in the church, is made obvious by the increasing challenges faced in ministry and the spiritual and emotional impact now experienced by pastors. More and more leaders are losing their way as a result of the unchecked stress fostered by the overwhelming expectations, whether real or perceived, which are placed on them. Pastoral responsibilities have been significantly compounded by the increasing programmatic and executive functions …
Relational And Incarnational Leadership: A Flattening Of The Congregational Hierarchy And A Shared Journey Of Faith, Timothy D. Ozment
Relational And Incarnational Leadership: A Flattening Of The Congregational Hierarchy And A Shared Journey Of Faith, Timothy D. Ozment
Doctor of Ministry
The problem addressed in this paper is: How can mainline congregational leadership move a church forward toward health in a postmodern world wherein the mainline Church as a whole is in such serious decline? This problem will be addressed by proposing a model of pastoral leadership that lives relationally and incarnationally with the congregation, flattens the hierarchy, and nurtures key lay leaders who are empowered to: answer their personal call, cultivate intentional relationships, and nurture the congregation into a missional and incarnationally focused living organism. Pastoral leadership, as we will argue, is, therefore, primarily living incarnationally and relationally with a …