Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Leadership Matters: The Process Of Leading A Declining Church To Revitalization Utilizing Early Church Principles, Jarvis Baker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current literature that exist details the perpetual decline that is occurring in the local church. Nevertheless, the leadership a pastor provides must not be ignored, when there is an attempt to lead a church from decline to revitalization. The purpose of this project is to assist pastors who lead declining churches to revitalization by examining the principles of the early church, which was a church that was vibrant in the area of growth and spiritual life. Based on questionnaires sent to pastors and other ministry leaders, the project will reveal the need for a practical Biblical plan …

Leveraging A Massive Open Online Course In The Local Church To Teach Hermeneutics, Howard Dale Tryon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The increase in massive open online course (MOOC) offerings in theological higher education presents unique equipping opportunities for local churches, providing high-quality instruction from authoritative scholars. The purpose of this project is to facilitate participation in a MOOC to equip members of Calvary Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Virginia, with basic hermeneutic principles in order to enrich personal Bible study and prepare for teaching the Bible. A pretest and posttest assess the effectiveness of the program to impart knowledge of hermeneutical concepts and skills. A concluding survey determines the extent to which participants plan to use learned hermeneutic methods and principles in …

Christ-Centered Worship: Five New Testament Principles For The Korean Church, Hallellu Choi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Protestant church of South Korea witnessed remarkable growth since the Gospel was first preached in Korea in the nineteenth century; growth in the second half of the twentieth century was particularly strong. The Presbyterian church in South Korea, however, experienced decline since 1995: this was mainly due to Christians’ lack of good influence toward the non-Christians in their lives. Their good influence on non-Christians in the world can be restored first by re-educating them with biblical principles of worship and by encouraging them to live out those principles. The purpose of this thesis is to suggest five principles of …

Pastoral Burnout Of African American Pastors: Creating Healthy Support Systems And Balance, William E. Johnson Iii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Pastoral self-care is critical in minimizing the symptoms of burnout in ministry. Caught up in the daily demands of ministry, pastors are under tremendous stress as they try to serve God’s people in multiple roles in ministry. Often, pastors are called upon to be counselors, preachers, project managers, students, social activists, and a moral compass for those they lead. Too often, pastors are expected to perform duties with superhuman perfection, life and ministry can get so crowded with obligations and emergencies that pastor’s maintenance of a healthy lifestyle can become unbalanced or cease to exist. This research study will complement …

Christian Theistic Anthropology, Anthony T. Vento

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

At the present moment, which is prior to conducting any research, I am of the opinion that anthropology has been influenced by certain schools of thought, and each school’s definition establishes a trajectory which definitively determines the adherent’s worldview. The schools of anthropology which are prevalent in today’s world, in my estimation, are the evolutionist’s perspective, the hedonistic perspective, the rationalistic perspective, the dualistic perspective and the Christian perspective. I will seek to objectively and unbiasedly define each perspective’s understanding of man, then I will compare and contrast the main tenets of each school of thought, and finally, I will …

A Case Study Of Professional Development Activities That Foster A Biblical Worldview In K-8 Christian School Teachers, Tanya R. Mooney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to explore professional development (PD) activities that fostered a biblical worldview (BW) in K-8 Christian school teachers. The theory guiding this study was Fowler’s (1995) faith development theory (FDT), as this theory provided an understanding of the transformational process which Christian teachers undergo as faith develops throughout their lives. BW development compared to faith development because of the transformation that occurred in pedagogical practices. Twelve K-8 Christian school teachers in Arizona were selected for this study using criterion sampling. Each participant was a K-8 Christian school educator, was a born-again believer, and …

How Public College Students Experience Biblically-Informed Literature Taught As Cultural Documents: A Transcendental Phenomenology, De'lara Khalili Stephens

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This transcendental phenomenology describes the experience of public college students who study biblical or biblically-informed literary texts that are taught merely as cultural documents in literature and humanities courses. Two primary theories informed this study: transformation theory in adult learning and the theory of literary apologetics. Furthermore, qualitative methodologies of data collection included journaling, individual interviews with 13 public college students, and focus groups. Data analysis included epoche, member checks, and horizonalization. Three research questions guided the study: (1) How do public college students describe their experiences with biblical or biblically-informed literary texts when they are taught simply as cultural …

The Religious Persecution Of Christians, Novella L. Crudup

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The thesis project addressed the religious persecution of Christians in Kenya, East Africa, and the United States. The problem is that Christians deny Christ to avoid persecution. There is a need for a proposed solution that emphasizes the need to believe that persecution is a reality, and that every believer should anticipate and prepare for it. Furthermore, the proposed solution should emphasize that God has a purpose for allowing Christians to face persecution. The methodology used for this project was qualitative analysis. The researcher applied the content analysis approach towards interpreting the data that was collected from thirty-one participants completing …

Christian High School Science Teachers' Perspective Transformation: The Journey From Evolution To Creation, Paul Leslie Thorpe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenology study was to explore and describe the perspective transformations of 11 science instructors teaching at Christian high schools. These science teachers previously believed the evolutionary paradigm of origins. However, they have all experienced a transformation and now hold a young-earth creation perspective and believe the literal six-day creation event in the book of Genesis is accurate and true. Transformation of perspective regarding origins is defined as a phenomenon of transformative faith accompanied by assimilation and accommodation of new knowledge as seen through the lens of Jack Mezirow’s (1991) transformative adult learning theory, and James …

Situational Hermeneutics In The New Testament's Use Of The Old, William Boyd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The New Testament’s use of the Old Testament presents some unique hermeneutical challenges. New Testament authors utilize Old Testament texts in ways that do not seem to strictly adhere to modern interpretive methods, and they seem to exhibit multiple hermeneutical methods in their usage of scripture. This study seeks to explore the relationship between these various ways of interpreting scripture, and to propose a consistent way of evaluating the hermeneutical validity of varying usages which can apply to the New Testament’s use of the Old as well as to modern interpretation of the Bible. It begins by discussing the problem …

An Evaluation Of The Masterlife Christian Discipleship Program's Influence On The Disciple Of Christ, Leon B. Newton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Important to realize, is the absence of spiritual transformation in the lives of some Christians within the membership of Simon Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The purpose of this study was to discover if the program’s influence on those participants in the experimental group transform into Christlikeness faster than those participants in the control group. This study evaluated transformation of participants in both groups. There were five areas evaluated. These areas included attitudes, behaviors, relationships, ministry, and doctrine. The findings from this study provided credible and convincing evidence which can be used to encourage mass participation in the MasterLife …

Where Time And Eternity Intersect: The Integration Of The Liturgical Calendar Into The Worship Practices Of The Evangelical Church, Leah Woods

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The liturgical calendar is a historic practice of the Christian church which provides a structure for worship based on the life and teachings of Jesus. This project will examine the historical developments of the use of the liturgical calendar and the value of introducing it to the evangelical church setting. The project will be a case study of several evangelical churches in the Southern Maryland area through analysis of a one year sample of song canon. The song canons will be analyzed for balance in offices of Christ, story focus, and Trinitarian language.

The Cultural Appropriations Of Organic Church Leadership, Rhythms, And Methodologies Into The Traditional Church Model, Aaron Lewis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Within this thesis project an engagement with organic church structures, in relation to elements of leadership replication and natural rhythms of life, which are foundational to organic church expressions, will be explored. The metanarrative of leadership replication strategies and methodological elements which are foundational to the bio-communities contained within the context of simple and organic church expressions will be evaluated for their replication within the traditional church context. The intention of this thesis is to provide traditional church communities with crossover methodologies from organic church gatherings for the development of replicating leadership as well as holistic biblical communities.

How To Live While Ministering To The Dying: A Guide For Hospice Chaplains, Wayne Bruner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Burnout, turnover, and attrition are common among hospice chaplains. A guidebook to hospice chaplaincy, prepared by a veteran hospice chaplain, would articulate the specific characteristics, habits, ministry mindsets, lifestyle interests, spiritual development, and support systems that have proven effective in the lives and ministries of long-tenured hospice chaplains. Such a practical and biblical guidebook would be a welcomed tool for individuals considering hospice ministry, for novice chaplains, and for hospice organizations since it would foster chaplains’ resiliency and quality of life by showing what it means to “live” while ministering to the dying. This guidebook will review best practices in …

Cultural Based Discipling According To The Strategies Of Jesus, Jonathan Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many newly planted and existing churches in America have difficulty developing a discipleship culture. They focus on weekly worship gatherings and Bible Study classes. Gathering for worship and Bible Study is needed and right, but when this is the only activity, discipleship and a holistic healthy church culture is not occurring. Unfortunately, many churches engage in a consumer-driven culture with people unwilling to be in a sacrificial discipleship process for the Gospel’s sake. Jesus had four primary strategies for developing disciples. They are the gathered strategy, the small group strategy, the mentoring strategy and the sending strategy. Each is part …

A Study On The Revitalization Of Worship By Using Multimedia In Korean Rural Churches With A Particular Attention To Visual Media, In Jun Hwang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to help to bring about the revitalization of worship in rural churches by using visual media. At present, Korean churches, especially rural churches, are facing great challenges due to the aging of the church members, illiteracy rates, a poor educational environment, the lack of incoming young people, pastors’ reluctance to minister in rural areas, troubled rural economy and so on. Nonetheless, churches in rural areas should not be abandoned. In this context, one of the most urgent needs in rural churches is healing and restoration through church worship. At any arduous and difficult time …

Contextualizing Worship And Music In A Multicultural Church: A Case Study At Christ Fellowship Miami, Kimberly A. Martin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christ Fellowship Church is a Southern Baptist, multicultural, multigenerational, and multilingual church with eight local campuses, which hosts worshipers from seventy-six nations every weekend in Miami-Dade County. While the worshiping body of Christ Fellowship Miami is extremely diverse, the music and worship genres and styles are predominantly homogeneous. This case study serves the worship ministry at Christ Fellowship Miami as they seek to engage in more culturally conscious methods of worship and music by exploring the diverse cultures, languages, and music styles represented in the congregation. It discusses the planning, development, and execution of a global worship experience at the …

The Development And Validation Of A Measure Of Beliefs About Sex And Spirituality, Brittany Lashua

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Spirituality and sexuality are related concepts that include sacredness and transcendence. When the spiritual concepts of sacredness and transcendence are the filter through which sexuality is understood, there are many positive benefits, including increased sexual and relationship satisfaction. Previous research has considered the concepts. However, little empirical work has addressed the idea of transcendence, spirituality, and sacredness without explicitly religious overtones. Previous measures that have considered spirituality and sexuality have been found lacking in the ability to capture the multidimensionality of sex fully and have utilized explicitly religious terminology that may not capture the experience of non-religious or spiritual individuals. …

A Strategy To Build A Healthy Church Through Dynamic Cell Ministries: The Case Of Global Mission Church In Korea, Kyung Sik Shin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research covers a strategy to build a dynamic cell church. The purpose of the cell church is not simply for church growth, but to restore the essence and function of a biblical community. This study will examine a biblical community as well as cell churches in theory. The study will focus its research on adult cell groups of Global Mission Church, one of the representative Korean cell churches, which served Korean churches and others in the world through cell conferences for its first 10 years since it began operation in a cell church system, from 2004 to 2014.

The …

A Strategy For The Church Growth Through The Development Of Senior-Friendly Pastoral Ministries: The Case Of The Senior Ministry At Shinlim Central Church In Korea, Hoo Sik Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to suggest the necessity of and alternative strategies for senior-friendly pastoral care to achieve sustained church growth amid the growing phenomenon of aging in Korean society. The recent aging of Korean society also has effects on changes in church members. As the ratio of senior members becomes increasingly high, pastoral alternative strategies for coping with it has also been urgently needed. The problem is that although this social phenomenon was already foreseen several years ago, there are insufficient practical strategies for pastoral care to deal with it.

The researcher first conducts biblical, theological, historical, …

A Study On The Training Programs For Assistant Pastors Toward Healthy Church Growth In The 21st Century With A Focus On Ulsan Dae-Young Church In Korea, Yong Don Yun

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Team ministry continues to be important in the 21st century. Against the situation that Korean churches are declining in this age, diverse programs are offered for the laity, but not many training programs can be found assistant pastors. Moreover, almost no educational training programs exist for assistant pastors except irregular seminars even in about 56 regular theological seminaries in South Korea. This thesis investigates the roles of assistant pastors in church growth and their training in team ministries. Based on the biblical and theological study, the thesis looks up the aspects of church history and reviews contemporary literature. It also …

A Study On The Influence Of Seasonal Feast Ministries On The Church Growth: The Case Of Seoul Shindo Church, In Hwan Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to suggest an alternative method for church growth based on the seasonal feast ministry. The Korean church experienced a quantitative revival unprecedented in the world. Recently, however, the reality is that many Korean churches lost their lively dynamics as they failed to strive to meet, and consequently their members gradually decreased. In this context, the researcher emphasizes the importance of feast ministries as an alternative method for church growth, based on the idea that feasts found in the Bible were days that gathered people. For this, the researcher will investigate feasts found in the …

Students' Spiritual Integration Into Bible Colleges: A Grounded Theory Study, Brett Blount

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explain how undergraduate students integrate spiritually into Bible colleges in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States and discern the role spiritual integration plays in persistence. Spiritual integration of Bible college undergraduate students occurs when they perceive that their spirituality, whether possessed by them upon their enrollment and/or formed during their attendance, has aligned with the spiritual environment of their college and therefore have accepted their place in that environment. A total of 35 participants, 28 students and seven faculty members, were interviewed to obtain their perceptions of how students experience the …

A Model Of The Process African American Adolescents Use To Integrate Their Bilingual Identity With Their Overall Identity In A Foreign Language Immersion Environment: A Grounded Theory Study, Kim Romero

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a model that illustrates how African American adolescents in a foreign language immersion environment integrate their bilingual identity with their overall identity. For this study, bilingualism is defined as the ability to use two languages for academic and/or business purposes. I used multiple interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, and journals to collect data. The most important part of the identity integration process for African American adolescents in a foreign language immersion environment is choice. The loss of choice caused conflicts during the identity negotiation process. The participants perceived their bilingual identity …

Divine Physiology: Deity Revealed Within The Conception Of Jesus Christ, Robbin Nelson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis project will develop an educational instrument linking science to faith supporting the deity of Jesus Christ, specifically as it relates to his conception. This information will be used by this author’s church to understand the identity of Jesus. This thesis project will employ analytical, theoretical, and scientific research methods as applies to a study of medical and theological information, as well as interviews with medical professionals, and religious leaders.

A Plan For Founding A Christian Alternative School As A Type Of Youth Ministry In Korea With A Rationale For Church-Sponsored Christian Schools, Chan Sik Park

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study aims to contribute to the change of the prime age-centered traditional pastoral ministries present in Korean churches for the future generation-centered ministries. The researcher's church, too, has an inverted triangular structure under which the future generations disappear. To overcome this, this study sets up a model of new growth for the future generations. The researcher analyzes and evaluates the cause of the problem of decreasing youth in Korean churches. The researcher will do mentoring work in the special environment of alternative schools so that the youth may have sound faith and not leave the church even after they …

Saving The Sheep, Preserving The Fruit: A Plan Of Christian Education For The Millennials And Beyond In The Midwest Wesleyan Church, Keith Studebaker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis involved a ministry plan for adequately preparing preteen youth in the Midwestern Wesleyan Church denomination. The goal was to ground those youth in their relationship with God until their relationship with Him and His Church will persist through their teenage years and beyond. The topic is crucial in view of the marked exodus of youth from the evangelical church by their late teenage years, often never to return. Data were collected to show what is actually being provided currently to preteen youth in Midwestern Wesleyan local churches through a mixed-methods survey of pastors or Christian education leaders in …

Ministry Through Musical Performance: Establishing Biblical, Historical, And Pedagogical (Educational) Precedent For The Christian Performing Artist, Lindsey Graham

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As a performing artist, the author suggests in an “American Idol” culture, Christian artists have largely lost their identity as worshipers with a ministry of the Gospel through music. The Christian performing artist has the responsibility to commit to spiritual maturity and personal growth. This thesis project proposes the artist is a communicator of the Gospel through music and seeks to substantiate the Christian performing artist through biblical, historical, and educational rationale and precedent. Biblical rationale of the Christian performing artist is considered in Old Testament and New Testament principle and precedent. Historical rationale and precedent is established through the …

Integrating Worship Pedagogy Into New Membership Curriculum For The Local Church, Janicka Newbill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current research reveals there is a deficit in several models for new membership classes among Christian churches. In reviewing the current model examples the introduction and explanation of worship to new members as part of the new membership curriculum is missing. This deficit has implications toward churches that are having challenges with church membership. One of the challenges includes members grasping the importance of worship and its impact on members assimilating into the local church body. To address the gap in literature and the challenges with understanding worship, research examining local church curricula and performing class observations …

One From The Beginning: A Proposed Apologetic For The Growth Of The Church From Ad 30-250, Douglas Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

“The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.” Why Christianity from its inception grew in numbers has remained a relatively stable and uncontested topic. Moreover, recent history has seen a move by some scholars to claim not one but multiple Christianities existed in the first three centuries. No study, however, has approached the growth of Christianity as being a result of positive apologetics and then defended that there was but one Christianity from the beginning through the use of Root Cause Analysis. After proposing an early fixed understanding …