Digital Commons Network^™

Chains Shall He Break: A Vision For Reconciling Worship, Kyle Joseph Harmon

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

In the Evangelical church, there is a disparity between the worship of the church and a lack of care for the marginalized and oppressed in American society. Though their worship proclaims freedom, chains being broken, and captives set free, the church does little to advocate for the actual poor and disenfranchised. Because of these and other reasons, the American evangelical church has come to resemble something other than both its heritage and the Body of Christ described in Scripture. Instead, it has become a cloistered, segregated, echo chamber for those who agree on orthodoxy to retreat into and sense the …

The Healing Body: Recovering The Church's Mission Of Shalom, Heather Long Mcdaniel

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

Christianity is an embodied faith. God shaped human beings from the dust of the earth in God’s own image, in relationship with God, each other, and creation, and called us “good”. Our bodies, souls, and relationships are inextricably intertwined, and full health can be defined as a state of shalom, the flourishing of our whole selves in the context of our relationships and environment. Alienation, sickness, injustice, and suffering are experienced as brokenness in our bodies, souls, relationships, institutions, and environment. Restoration of health involves identifying and healing what is broken. God affirmed the goodness and worth of our bodies …

People Require Proximity: What The Church Can Do To Create Wholeness For Adolescents, Carrington Phauve Wilson

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

Historically, many have attempted to advocate for equality by centering an earthly dominant power to bring about likeness to the majority. Unfortunately, even the most noble of causes excludes those furthest from the center source. Therefore, reconciliation must not focus on human structures of power and equality, but God’s, centering the One who created all things, to be again returned to their truthful spaces. Thus, for reconciliation to be a realized truth, we must not center the dominant source of human power, but the furthest out, realizing the likeness to God that humanity continuously excludes. For this, womanism gives a …

Shattering Stained Glass: Empowering Christian Women To Lead Equitably In The Church And Society, Kaila Catalina Materne Creamer Alvarez

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

In today's American Christian culture, it has been my observation that women are still feeling the repercussions of Christian traditions and theologies that have an elongated history of neglecting their authority and leadership. After having a decade and a half of experience working within different Christian communities, there has been an overwhelming amount of evidence to support that there is a strong disconnect between the theology of women’s leadership and the physical, practical, and systematic action of engaging them as leaders. Among these narratives is my own. After having served in a leadership role within an evangelical mega church for …

Struck Down And Not Destroyed: A New Way To Carry Trauma, Rebecca L. Weygandt

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

There seems to be an assumption in many Christian communities that suggest people should avoid the experience of pain and suffering. This is often communicated by encouraging those who grapple with difficult realities to have a positive perspective or attitude. As a future leader in the Church, I am concerned about the negative impact of this message on the emotional and spiritual health of people. I am specifically concerned about those who engage in the arduous work of reconciliation and peacemaking and how they can survive the inevitable pain and difficulty of this work over an extended period of time, …

The Black Reconciliation: Finding Restoration Through Healing Circles In A Racialized World, Geneva Ree Taylor

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

This thesis will examine the ways in which African American communities can engage in a healing process that will produce personal, relational, communal, societal and global restoration. This project will specifically identify and examine the trauma and brokenness that African Americans experience in a racialized society. To accomplish this, a theological foundation will be established that will help to develop strategies, tools, and skills that can support the process of healing and restoration. In addition, this thesis will explain how current models of reconciliation are not adequate to address the deeply rooted complexities that people of color face in America. …

Racial-Trauma Informed Ministry: A Process For Dominant Culture Ministries To Effectively Engage With Communities Impacted By Racial Trauma, Teylar Greer

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

Though the dominant culture church in the United States exists within the context of racialized society, often the church has not directly addressed its unjust and traumatic effects. It is the theory of this project that with a more accurate understanding of racialized society, trauma, and coping behaviors, dominant culture ministries will engage more fully in the process of reconciliation. Therefore, this thesis seeks to lay out a theologically anchored process of reconciliation by which dominant culture ministries can be equipped to respond to experiences of racial injustice and trauma in ways that lead to and facilitate healing, justice, and …

Reconciling Hospitality: Building The Skills Of Reconciliation Through The Practice Of Hospitality, Sarah D. Henthorn

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the question, “Does the faithful embodiment of Christian hospitality that brings those in a social position of power together with the poor, marginalized and oppressed create a reconciled community where all people flourish and are equally valued?” The author explores theological, historic and ethical arguments for the practice of hospitality in order to develop a procedural guide to assist churches in teaching Christian hospitality.

Fifteen pastors were then surveyed to assess the viability of this tool as a means of leading congregations toward the practice of hospitality and the embodiment of reconciled …

The Multiethnic Church As A Reflection Of God's Image: A Focus On Reconciliation In A Local Congregation, Jodi C. Gatlin

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

This thesis seeks to discover whether or not a focus on reconciliation in a local church can prompt the congregation to engage their multiethnic neighborhood and become a more diverse church. It argues that in the midst of a broken and hurting world the multiethnic congregation offers a reflection of the image of God and a message of hope to the world. Specifically, this project will explore the question, “Can a focus on reconciliation in the local church lead to an increase of social and cultural engagement by its congregants that produces positive change in the surrounding community?” As a …

A Critical Assessment Of Spu’S Urban Plunge: A Proposal For The John Perkins Center, Scott D. Jackson

Honors Projects

This paper is written as an organizational report on the Urban Plunge Program for consideration by the John Perkins Center at Seattle Pacific University. I review Urban Plunge offering a critique and recommendations for re-imagining the program in its future development. I argue that the program needs to be clearly defined as an educational program, grounded in a conceptual framework, given a clarified and expanded mission, and guided by informed curriculum. Beyond critique, I create a proposal for programmatic content and organization to meet these identified needs.