Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Design For Learning And Developing Skills For Handling Interpersonal And Substantive Conflict In The Ardmore, Oklahoma, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Jan Gary Johnson

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

While a great deal of attention has been given in conflict literature to the role of intra-church structures and the political/managerial processes and strategies for conflict intervention and/or management, this project is more concerned with relational matters. That is, the problem addressed in this project is the teaching of certain skills that would help church members preserve their interpersonal relationships even though engaged in conflict. The thesis is that an enlightened understanding of conflict and the development of certain communication skills can significantly affect how the parishioner perceives conflict and thus how he/she will behave in conflictive situations thereby …

A Needs Assessment Of A Continuing Education Program For Korean Pastors In The North American Division Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Kei Hoon Shin

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem

Continuing education for NAD Korean SDA pastors' ministry has been conducted since 1981. To make this continuing education program relevant a needs assessment was necessary. This study attempted to assess the specific needs of Korean pastors in knowledge and professional skills. Method All Korean SDA pastors in the NAD were included. Data were gathered through a written questionnaire. A graphic comparison method and other complementary instruments were adopted in terms of a discrepancy model.

Results

Among ten general subject-matter areas, the results from the survey show the area of biblical knowledge as most in need of continuing education. This …

A Comparison Of Receptivity To The Deductive And Inductive Methods Of Preaching In The Pioneer Memorial Church, Dwight K. Nelson

Professional Dissertations DMin

Problem. There are two basic methods into which all preaching falls, deduction and induction. Homiletical literature advocating either method extols the virtues of the one over the other. However, such literature offers little supportive data based upon listener responses and preferences. An historical survey of preaching reveals that the preaching of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament was dominantly inductive, whereas the preaching of the post-New Testament church has been generally deductive. Therefore, it was the task of this project to seek listener response to deductive and inductive preaching in the Pioneer Memorial Church in order to ascertain …

Development, Teaching And Evaluation Of A Course In Church Leadership And Administration For The Theological Seminary, Marienhoehe, Germany, Johann H. Gerhardt

Professional Dissertations DMin

One of the most important concerns of the clergy and the laymen of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany is the future of the local congregations. There may be many reasons for the dwindling of a church's attractiveness and relevance in a given situation. One is how the local church lives its organizational life. Adequate church leadership and administration proves to be an important instrument for a healthy development of a congregation. That is why prospective ministers need special training in this field.

It was the purpose of the present study to develop adequate administrational strategies and to apply them …

A Study Of The Meaning Of "Works" In The Book Of Revelation With A Syllabus For Applying The Findings In Religious Instruction, Vel Eric Kotter

Professional Dissertations DMin

This paper represents an attempt to clarify the significance of the term ergon ("work") in the book of Revelation. The first part investigates the word group ergon ("work") as used throughout the Scriptures, and especially in the book of Revelation. Special attention is given to the word as used in the Gospel of John, since this study accepts John, the Son of Zebedee, as the author of both the Gospel and the Revelation. The second part presents five studies representing a practical application emerging from the investigation. Not only is there a lack of discussion of the word ergon in …

A Correlational Study Of The Relationship Between Adolescent Religiosity And Adolescent Perception Of Parental Behavior In Antigua And Barbuda, Eustace Sheppard

Dissertations

Purpose. This study investigated the relationship between adolescent religiosity and (a) adolescents' perception of paternal supporting, controlling, demanding, and punishing behavior; (b) adolescents' perception of maternal supporting, controlling, demanding, and punishing behavior; (c) the ten dimensions of adolescents' religiosity and three predictor variables of age, sex, and religious affiliation.

Methodology. The population investigated comprised adolescents between the ages of fourteen and seventeen years old, in forms three and four, attending fifteen secondary schools in Antigua and Barbuda. A sample of 400 was chosen by purposive sampling from eleven of the fifteen secondary schools; of the 400 chosen 314 were included …

Premarital Preparation Within The Home, School, And Church As Perceived By Adolescents In The Lake Union Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Ernest James Stevens

Dissertations

Problem. In today's society increasing stress and problems face the traditional Judeo-Christian marriage and family. Adolescents are being confronted with these problems as a result of the continuing rate of divorce and internal stress within family relations. The Seventh-day Adventist church has historically emphasized the importance of marriage and the family. However, as the Christian marriage and family face changes in today's society, there is a need for greater awareness of the factors which influence the premarital preparation of adolescents. The purpose of this study was to research adolescents' perceptions of their premarital preparation. The primary hypothesis of this …

Impeccability In 1 John: An Evaluation, Leon Eloy Wade

Dissertations

The First Epistle of John confronts us with a dilemma which, since its inception, has challenged many students of the Bible. On the other hand, the Christian must not deny his sinfulness -- for which, however, there is a ready solution in the expiation wrought by Jesus Christ. On the other hand, the one who abides in God and is born of him does not sin and, indeed, cannot sin.

Many solutions, discussed and evaluated in chapter 1 have been attempted to harmonize this apparent contradiction. Though some are more satisfying than others, a common weakness exhibited among them all …

Edward Alexander Sutherland And The Seventh-Day Adventist Educational Reform: The Denominational Years, Warren Sidney Ashworth

Dissertations

Problem. Edward Alexander Sutherland, 1865-1955, was one of the most notable and successful educational reformers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He served the church for sixty years, fifty-three of them as president of four Adventist colleges. This study has been delimited to his years of denominational employment, 1890 through 1904, but does not include his forty-one years as president of Madison College--a self-suporting Adventist institution that received no direct financial assistance from the denomination.

Method. This study, investigating Sutherland's life from the perspective of his work as an educational reformer, employed the historical method of research. Major sources included extensive …

A Study Of Hemispheric Preference As It Relates To Reading And Recalling Nonsense Words From A Card Reader, Charlotte V. Groff

Dissertations

Problem. Information was not found in the literature concerning whether an individual, beginning reader or problem reader, consistently recalled a greater percentage of nonsense words attempted from a card reader with the right ear and right visual field (a Left Hemisphere Method), or with the left ear and left visual field (a Right Hemisphere Method), and whether one of these two methods achieved better results than using both eyes and both ears (the Both Hemispheres Method).

Method. This pilot study employed case study/clinical, formative methodology with eighteen boys and nine girls, ages 6-12 in preschool through grade four. The probability …

Selected Variables Related To Alienation From Religion Among Church-Related High School Students, Carl Robert Laurent

Dissertations

Problem. One of the most important concerns of parents and church leaders is alienation from religion among church-related adolescents. This research was conducted to discover relationships that might exist between alienation from religion and other selected variables.

Method. Three hundred and ninety students were selected by a stratified random method from among all students attending three church-related youth conferences. Each teenager was asked to respond to an inventory which consisted of 162 statements divided into eighteen attitude scales. One scale measured alienation from religion, while the other seventeen measured the independent variables. The major statistical method used in analyzing the …

A Correlational Study Of Jungian Psychological Types And Nineteen Spiritual Gifts, Chek Yat Phoon

Dissertations

Problem

No known study had examined the correlation between the Jungian psychological types and spiritual gifts. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible correlation between the Jungian psychological types and a selection of 19 spiritual gifts of the New Testament.

Method

This study employed two instruments to measure the psychological types and 19 spiritual gifts: The Myers-Briggs type Indicator and The Spiritual Gifts Inventory. The data which were computed and analyzed to test 38 null hypotheses were provided by a total of 430 undergraduate, graduate, and seminary students from Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, and church members …

The Concept Of Contextualization And Its Implications For The Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Education In India, Melchizedek M. Ponniah

Dissertations

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist chruch in India operates in a rapidly changing pluralistic context and a predominantly Hindu culture. Response to the emerging opportunities and demands suggest the reconstruction of theological education in more contextual terms. It is imperative that the institutions and practice of ministry be shaped and evaluated in terms of the manifold functions to be performed in the varegated and highly differentiated cultures within which the Adventist church functions.

Method

This study utilized the historical and descriptive methods. Literature was reviewed to gather concepts related to the concept of contextualization and contextualization of theological education.

Conclusions

1. …

A Review Of Educational Balance And Its Relationship To The Daily Schedule In Eighteen Seventh-Day Adventist Residence Academies In The United States, Eugene W. Rau

Dissertations

Problem. Within the time constraints of the 24-hour day and the sevenday week, and under the pressure of the increased number of units to be earned before graduation from Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) residence academies, it was doubtful that students were experiencing educational balance. The number of and time for activities in which a student could be engaged, plus the content and emphasis on daily functions, were studied and reported under five areas of educational balance: academic achievement, vocational and professional interests, social growth, physical activities, and religious experience.

Method. Representing grades ten, eleven, and twelve in 18 out of 36 …

Concurrent Validity Of The Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory For Seventh-Day Adventist Seminarians And Ministers, M. Lloyd Erickson

Dissertations

Problem. The purpose of this study was to detemine if the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) is a valid instrument for measuring the vocational interests of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) seminarians and ministers and to discover if denominational differences exist on the SCII. Another purpose of the study was to determine if preferred type of ministry is related to vocational interests.

Method. The SCII and questionnaire were administered to randomly selected SDA seminarians and ministers. The data-producing sample consisted of 75 seminarians and 189 ministers. Statistical analyses included Hotelling's T test, t-tests, univariate and multivariate analyses of variance, and discriminant analysis.

Findings. …

Slow To Understand: The Disciples In Synoptic Perspective, Bertram L. Melbourne

Dissertations

The problem of the portrayal of the disciples of Jesus has been the focus of much scholarly investigation. Discussion has been pursued primarily from the Marcan perspective, in keeping with its assumed priority. Consequently, Mark is seen as creating the disciples' incomprehension to serve his theological intent. The correctness of this notion is questioned in this study which seeks to determine whether incomprehension was an authentic experience of Jesus' original disciples, and whether slowness of understanding was to be expected in teaching and learning contexts.

Recent scholarship on the disciples is surveyed to identify the main issues, approaches, trends, and …

The Concept Of Vengeance In The Book Of Revelation In Its Old Testament And Near Eastern Context, Joel Nobel Musvosvi

Dissertations

This study attempts to resolve the theological and ethical problems raised by the call for and rejoicing at vengeance as they appear in Rev 6:9-11 and Rev 19:2, respectively. Central to the study is the question of whether vengeance in Revelation expresses a vindictive human attitude or a divine attribute of justice.

In Chapter 1 a review of pertinent literature reveals the lack of agreement among scholars on the interpretation of vengeance in Revelation. Chapter 2 examines the concept of vengeance as it occurs in several Ancient Near Eastern vassal treaties, the Old Testament, and Pseudepigrapha. This examination reveals that …

The Concept Of The Poor In The Context Of The Ecclesiology Of Liberation Theology, Amin Americo Rodor

Dissertations

This investigation deals with the concept of the poor in the thought of Latin American Liberation theology, particularly as articulated in the context of the movement's ecclesiology.

Chapter I traces the historical and theological context for the emergence of liberation theology. The focus is placed first on the ecclesiological models through which the Roman Catholic Church expressed its life and mission in Latin America and how it affected the Church's social relations in the area. The impact of the ecclesiological shift of Vatican Council II, in combination with the historical situation of Latin America in the late '60s, is seen …

The Heavenly Court Scene Of Revelation 4-5, R. Dean Davis

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to interpret the heavenly court scene of Rev 4-5 through a thematic analysis of the passage. Little detailed study has been done to demonstrate the significance of the passage in its totality or its significance for the early chapters of Revelation. Scholars have noted parallels between Revelation and the Old Testament, but only recently have they begun to recognize the major impact of the Old Testament concept of covenant on Revelation. The research approach for this study is thematic m nature, with exegesis as a necessary tool. Chapter 1 establishes Rev 4-5 as a …

The Jephthah Traditions : A Rhetorical And Literary Study In The Deuteronomistic History, Dale Sumner Dewitt

Dissertations

The literature on Judges reveals a growing body of insights into its structure and arrangement, and the social dynamics and theology of the eras of its events and (later) composition. At the same time, there is continual search for greater understanding of these features of the book. Rhetorical criticism furnishes a promising approach to discovering the structure of the Jephthah stories, when used with genre-identification aspects of form criticism. The five Jephthah narratives are a loosely integrated, but symmetrically arranged sequence. The first and fifth narratives are rhetorically designed to pair with each other; the second and fourth are similarly …

The Meaning Of Yayin In The Old Testament, Lael O. Caesar

Master's Theses

Problem

The attitude of Scripture to the use of alcohol is a subject of continuing dispute. This thesis analyzes the 141 occurrences of the Hebrew word yayin (wine), to determine the attitude of OT writers to the use of alcohol.

Method

The study reviews literature dealing with the evidence for wine production and storage in Palestine and the ANE, and traces the development of the wine industry in Anatolia, Babylonia, Egypt, and the Levant. Against the background of this review the study considers OT usage of yayin, the main Hebrew word for wine, under the seven categories of daily life, …