Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Missional Interim Ministry Processes A Case Study, Christopher Edwin Hagen

Doctor of Ministry Theses

A case study of conducting an interim missionally. Presents theological and theoretical bases for missional interim processes and description of an actual interim period in which the interim was approached missionally. Units of analyses are environment/context, power/leadership, conflict, organizational restructuring, trust, and conventional interim tasks. Interpretation of data is by time-sequence analysis and explanation building.

Charismatic power yielded to democratic expressions through process of legitimization. Political organizing within congregation was method for power transformation. Goal was communicative action that discerned the mission of God, determined congregation’s calling within that mission, and described congregation’s ministries to carry out its calling. i

Reframing Mission: An Action-Research Intervention Into A Mainline Judicatory, Dwight J. Zscheile

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

A system-wide, action-research intervention into a mainline church judicatory sought to empower its members to respond to the adaptive challenges facing them through reframing their understanding of mission in light of their changing context and theological tradition, and through actively discerning the leading of the Holy Spirit. Recognizing that the problems facing mainline denominational systems in 21st century America require attention to foundational questions of identity and purpose in a post-Christendom era, this study utilized a multi-layered, participatory process that encouraged grass-roots transformation.

Over the course of one year, approximately 2,000 members of a diocese of the Episcopal Church participated …

Purification By Fire : 2 Peter 3 And The Stoic Cosmos, Peter G. Speiser

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

The Decline Of Denominational Loyalty In A Postmodern Time A Call For Unity, Rebecca Groves

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

Job 31 : The Sermon On The Mount In The Old Testament, Robert Dale Brown

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

The Ministry Of Purposeful Missionary Kid Re-Entry Care, Sara Marie Trumm

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

A Theological, Sociological, And Educational Rationale For The Curriculum : "Luther's Explanation To The Decalogue, As Explored Through Film : A Curriculum For Young Adults" ; Luther's Explanation To The Decalogue As Explored Through Film : A Curriculum For Young Adults, Karen A. Wilson

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

Children's Ministry Understanding God In The World Relational Developmentally Appropriate Equipping Leaders & Caregivers, Marie Woog

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

Teaching English As A Ministry Of The Church : Diakonia To Our Neighbors In The United States, Emily R. Myallis

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

"If Jesus Played Video Games, He Would Be A God!" : A Look At Gaming Culture Through The Eyes Of A Christian--And A Look At Christian Culture Through The Eyes Of A Gamer, Paul Curtis Adams

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

Renouncing The Devil, Confessing The Christ The Centrality Of Christ's Victory Over The Devil Within The Lutheran Tradition, Erik P. Gravrock

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

Reconciling The Believing Nonbelonger: Readiness To Reach And Receive Lost Sheep, Robert E. Sachs Jr.

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This study examines and explains readiness of reconciling with believing nonbelongers from 284 respondents in two categories of 139 systematically selected ELCA congregations in the western United States that received adults during 2001-2005. A concurrent-nested, mixed-method design integrates biblical-theological missio Dei and missio ecclesia foundations with Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Stages of Change and Parshall’s Contextualization Spectrum. Chi-square crosstabulations, simple logistical regression, and Centering Resonance Analyses show: faith of origin, worship attendance growth trend, regional location, population size and growth trend, clergy and lay partnership, and programmatic emphasis has significant effects on the readiness of congregations and respondents to receive the unaffiliated.

Cross-Training Christians For Rural Servant-Leadership : An Exploration Of The Role Of A Congregation In Nurturing Leadership In The Community Of Wessington Springs, South Dakota, John H. Paulson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This study explores the relationship between what is learned and experienced in the Christian faith community and people’s involvement in collaborative leadership within the rural community of Wessington Springs, South Dakota. The author makes use of Martin Luther’s theology of the cross and his teachings regarding Christian vocation, including the calling of parents as family leaders. This approach to leadership development employs a missional ecclesiology, with attention to the Triune God’s transformative, sending work in the world, and examines contributions from knowledge about civil society and human and social capital. Asset mapping is examined as a tool for leadership development.

Mainland Chinese Christian Scholars Leaving The Church In The Twin Cities (Minneapolis /St. Paul): A Theological And Pastoral Analysis, Yu Zhao

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

Mainland Chinese Christian scholars (Xue Zhe Ji Du Tu) are crucial to the Chinese churches in the American context in the U.S. In the last two decades, because these scholars join and then quickly leave the church, the fate of the Chinese church is in jeopardy. This research will consider this phenomenon of Christian scholars joining and then leaving the church and attempt to determine what are the theological, pastoral and sociological factors that contribute to these scholars leaving. This research will utilize a qualitative approach using the interview method to study the members of these Chinese Churches …

Congregations As Systems For Empowering Missional Leadership: A Lutheran Hermeneutic For Leading In Mission, Terri Lynn Martinson Elton

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

What are the cultural dynamics within a congregational system that are vital to the empowering of missional leadership? Do Lutherans have anything to contribute to the missional church movement in the United States? These two questions were primary for this dissertation and emerged out of two gaps identified in the missional church literature. Seeing congregations as complex, open systems, missional leadership within congregational systems was studied using a grounded theory, qualitative research approach. The five ELCA congregational systems in this study were identified by their peers as excelling in helping their faith community discover their calling as disciples of Jesus …

Holistic Approach To Mental Illnesses At The Toby Of Ambohibao Madagascar, Daniel A. Rakotojoelinandrasana

Doctor of Ministry Theses

The Church is to reclaim its teaching and praxis of the healing ministry at the example of Jesus Christ who preached, taught and healed. Healing is holistic, that is, caring for the whole person, physical, mental, social and spiritual. Healing is a part of the full salvation in Jesus Christ.

Mental illnesses or disorders affect one fourth of human beings in the world and their prevalence is far from declining. This thesis describes the model of Ambohibao and suggests it as a way for the church to do healing ministry, and particularly, as a way to approach the problems of …

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Community And Discipleship, As Emphasized And Applied In The Life And Mission Of A Covenant Church, Ronald F. Christian

Doctor of Ministry Theses

No abstract provided.

An Approach To The Interpretation Of The Self-Designation Of Jesus: The Son Of Man, Marlin Eugene Ingebretson

Master of Theology Theses

No abstract provided.