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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Definitively Lutheran?: An Exploration Of Definitive Lutheran Characteristics In Higher Education, John Eggen
Definitively Lutheran?: An Exploration Of Definitive Lutheran Characteristics In Higher Education, John Eggen
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This mixed-method, exploratory case study explores definitively Lutheran practices in higher education. This research explores emerging themes from Intersections and other publications reflecting upon institutional religious identity. This research explores the student experiences, expectations, and perspectives through a student survey and the perspectives of institutional leadership through qualitative research. It evaluates definitive characteristics of Lutheran higher education through the lenses of adaptive change, organizational theory, open systems theory, Lutheran identity, vocation, and exploring an understanding of missional, cruciform, perichoretic communities from the Pauline epistles. The results reveal limited statistically significant difference among students based on religious affiliation, but a divergent …
Lutheran Higher Education In A Secular Age: Religious Identity And Mission At Elca Colleges And Universities, Brian A.F. Beckstrom
Lutheran Higher Education In A Secular Age: Religious Identity And Mission At Elca Colleges And Universities, Brian A.F. Beckstrom
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This exploratory mixed methods case study examined the relationship between espoused and perceived religious identity and mission at five colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America through the lenses of secularization theory, missional leadership, ecclesiology, Trinitarian theology, adaptive leadership, and challenges in the higher education market. Results indicated that humanism is the primary means of describing religious identity and mission at ELCA schools and there are widely varying assumptions about what it means to be a college or university of the church. Advocates and skeptics of the institution’s religious identity and mission interpret reality through the lens …
Encountering The Gospel Anew: Confirmation As Ecclesial, Personal, And Missional Practices, Terri L. Elton
Encountering The Gospel Anew: Confirmation As Ecclesial, Personal, And Missional Practices, Terri L. Elton
Faculty Publications
Given the challenges facing congregations and young people today, some church leaders are wondering if confirmation continues to have a role in discipling young people. Based on the findings from The Confirmation Project, this article asserts that confirmation is, in fact, uniquely positioned to be a vibrant ministry for young people to encounter the gospel anew when congregations integrate ecclesial, personal, and missional practices. Such an approach strengthens confirmands’ understanding of faith, deepens their experience with Christian community, and equips them to discern their call to join in God’s mission in the world.
Confirmation Basics, Terri L. Elton, Lisa Kimball, Gordon Mikoski
Confirmation Basics, Terri L. Elton, Lisa Kimball, Gordon Mikoski
Faculty Publications
This article moves the findings of The Confirmation Project research from theory into practice. Three members of the research team highlight three themes (purpose, design, and leadership) and walk congregational leaders through a process of discovering how these ideas can help them find a way forward that is meaningful to their congregation.
The Pastoral Practice Of Christian Hospitality As Presence In Muslim-Christian Engagement: Contextualizing The Classroom, Mary E. Hess
The Pastoral Practice Of Christian Hospitality As Presence In Muslim-Christian Engagement: Contextualizing The Classroom, Mary E. Hess
Faculty Publications
This project involved inviting graduate-level classes to contextualize their study in relationship with a specific Lutheran congregation in an urban and multifaith neighborhood. In doing so, the Christian practice of hospitality—especially understood in terms of presence—was particularly pertinent. Learning took place in context, far more efficiently and effectively, through engagement with rather than teaching about each other. Ultimately the project members experienced learning in the presence of other faiths as deepening one's own faith, while inviting genuine respect for other faiths.