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The Impact Of Family Satisfaction, Racial Identity And Perceived Ethnic Discrimination On African-American College Students' Vulnerability To Stereotype Threat, Erica Lynn Featherson

Dissertations

Problem

Stereotype threat is something that has plagued the African-American community for decades. However, there is no direct research on the protective factors that could mitigate or exacerbate the effects of stereotype threat on African-Americans. The present study is intended to focus on the relationship between family satisfaction, racial identity, perceived ethnic discrimination and African-American college students’ vulnerability to stereotype threat.

Method

This study used the Family Satisfaction Scale (FSS), The Black Racial Identity Attitude Scale (BRIAS), The Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire (PEDQ) and the Stereotype Confirmation Concern Scale (SCCS) to explore the relationships between the four variables. A structural …

Oregon Conference Pathfinders' Teen Leadership Development Program As A Model For The North American Division, Tracy Leon Wood

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Pathfinder Teen Leadership Training (TLT) program was introduced in 1994 in the North American Division. Although the TLT Manual had gone through three revisions, there had never been any staff training or conference-level leader training resources developed. Because the TLT program was an NAD Pathfinder curriculum, it was imperative that the components of the Conference-level Leadership Skills Development Program be consistent throughout the division. The problem was that there were no developed processes or guidelines that conferences could follow to develop their TLT conference-sponsored program from the TLT Manual. The Oregon Conference had developed a TLT academic credit …

Improving The Lifestyle Of Andrews Korean Seventh-Day Adventist Church Members, Myung Do Park

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Andrews Korean Seventh-day Adventist church in Berrien Springs, Michigan has holistic lifestyle problems that are on the rise. Church members are experiencing health issues such as cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, and insomnia. In observing dietary patterns, it was noticed that some of our members do not bother to ascertain the content of the food being eaten. Other members have express the desire to learn about a healthy lifestyle. Purposeful attention to this need of the church is necessary. As a church community comprised of mostly pastors, university students and their families it is time to advocate …

Providing A Premarital Education Seminar For The Single Young Adults Of Abuakwa Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Ghana, Daniel Opoku-Adjei

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

In my years of service as a gospel minister, I noticed that a sizeable number of church members are censured or disfellowshipped on marriage or family issues, including divorce, adultery or fornication. The reasons for these unfortunate situations in our changing society could be linked to misunderstanding about marriage and the needed preparations. The major root cause of these problems on the part of both the young adults and the older people is inadequate premarital education. This results in wrong selection of life partners, short circuiting the courtship process and misunderstanding of what constitute marital satisfaction and marital stability. …

Strategies For Retention Of New Members In The Ebenezer And Gethsemane Seventh-Day Adventist Churches, Keith Woodard

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The Ebenezer Seventh-day Adventist Church of Greenville, North Carolina, was organized 33 years ago and is located on the periphery of Pitt County. In the past five years, the church has baptized 27 people; however, 15 of them are currently missing. As a result, growth has been inconsistent and members have become concerned about the growth of God’s kingdom. A possible factor in this situation is the lack of a structure to retain members after baptism. The Gethsemane Seventh-day Adventist church in 2013 held an evangelistic meeting in which 15 people were baptized. Only one person from the 15 …

A Strategy For Launching A Missional Ministry In The All Nations Seventh-Day Adventist Church Of Saint Petersburg, Florida, John Mills

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Based upon my pastoral observation, there was a lack of understanding among a majority of the board members of the All Nations Seventh-day Adventist Church regarding what it meant to be a missional team in service for Jesus Christ. As leaders of departments in particular, and the church, in general, the board members were more driven by the notion of putting on a quality program, than by the idea of a missional focus for all activities. Their influence made the work of ministry less effective than it could have been and more burdensome for their fellow leaders and members …

Development And Implementation Of A Ministry Program To Reconnect Former Adventists Within The Waitara Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Roger Govender

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

The membership data from the Waitara Church revealed a gain of 1.33% in baptisms and professions of faith. However, attendance data collected indicated that the weekly attendance numbers in the Waitara Church, within the Greater Sydney on any given Sabbath; did not add up to the numbers found on the local church membership roll. This disparity in membership numbers raised questions regarding the whereabouts of those who do not attend church any longer but continue to claim to be Seventh-day Adventists, this is a member retention problem that needs attention.

Method

Reconnecting ministry strategy was developed in order to …

Re-Entry Challenges: Comparison And Contrasts Between Korean And American Mks, Ok Kyung Ha

Master's Theses

Problem

Missionary Kids (MKs) have a different experience in the mission fields in terms of culture, language, and social adjustment when compared with their parents. They also face another challenge when they return to their parents’ home country, for they feel out of place and often do not think of their parents’ country as home. The purpose of this Masters thesis is to investigate the experience of MKs in the mission field, during re-entry, and to research the common elements or differences between Korean MKs and American MKs in their re-entry process.

Method

The research method used in this Masters …

A Comparative Study Of Hermeneutical Approaches To The Seven Seals, Harold Novac

Master's Theses

Problem

From the beginnings God had a purpose with His prophetical messages to the world and we can see in the Bible clearly, that God always presented His prophetical messages in a certain order. A chronological method was favored by God. That is why from the beginnings, as Seventh-Day Adventists we believed that the best way to interpret the secrets of Revelation is through the historicist approach. Unfortunately this view is fading among scholars, even among SDA researchers.

Purpose

We are going to investigate why this is happening and we will show that historicism has a lot to say, even …

Speaking Life To A Church In The Process Of Healing And Growth, Emeka Buffong

Master's Theses

Problem

Over the past several years, there has been a marked decline in almost every area of the Niles Philadelphia Seventh-day Adventist Church life. Members have reported feeling overwhelmed with discouragement, and overall commitment has dwindled significantly. This poor morale is reflected by the low numbers at prayer meetings, Sabbath services and other church functions. Furthermore, there is difficulty in filling church offices and even when individuals volunteer to serve in specific offices they often later resign or lose their motivation to serve. Church members often appear to look for excuses to leave. There is a deep sense of discontentment. …

Grief Management: The Divine And The Human Factor, Ransom Khanye

Master's Theses

Problem

When someone is bereaved, friends, comforters and sympathisers at times try to make sense of the situation. Some people theoretically deal with issues surrounding the death of someone and grief of the surviving ones without any personal experience of these events. Hypothetical and imaginative reasoning in comforting other people is insufficient for making a real impact and a significant and lasting difference to the bereaved. The current study was to try to identify the most effective way to help and console people who have lost their loved ones.

Method

The process of collecting data for this thesis was online …

Faith And New Life In Christ: The Problem Of Circumcision In Galatians 5:2-6, Keldie S. Paroschi

Master's Theses

Problem

Paul explicitly addresses the issue of circumcision for the first time in the epistle of Galatians in chapter 5:2–6. The precise meaning of circumcision, however, both historically and exegetically, has been much debated in Pauline scholarship.

Method

This thesis will first provide an overview of how circumcision has been interpreted in the context of different approaches to Pauline theology. Then, the historical background of the significance of circumcision around the first century AD will be analyzed, both in the Jewish and the Greco-Roman context. Finally, an exegetical study of Galatians 5:2–6 will focus on how Paul addresses the topic …

A Methodological And Theological Evaluation Of Jon L. Dybdahl's Theology Of Spirituality, Elvis-Silviu Dumitru

Master's Theses

Problem

The concept of spirituality has become popular in recent years among both Christians and non-Christians. The meaning of this term has evolved from biblical times to the present, and today we can come across many types of spirituality. Even in the Adventist Church this concept is understood differently. Ellen White emphasizes that we can correctly represent the character of Christ only by being spiritual, and unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are not spiritual. One of the most influential Adventist theologians concerned with this subject is Jon L. Dybdahl, which highlights the benefits of all types of …

The Abolishment And Fulfillment Of The Law In The New Testament: The Try Of A Harmonic Reading Of The New Testament Teachings Regarding The Law, David Hans Bernhard Harms

Master's Theses

Problem

A central issue in the covenant theology is the change in the law between the OT and the NT. Interpretations vary between the widely spread belief that the entire law has been abolished, up to the belief that the Jewish festivals should still be an obligation for each follower of Christ. The result of investigations regarding the changes in the law depends mainly on underlying presuppositions and different hermeneutical approaches.

Method

This study is based on three basic principles: (a) the acceptance of Christ as the Lawgiver and central Teacher of the law in the OT and the NT; …