Religion Commons^™

Behind The Numbers: A Traditional Church Faces A New America, Larry Vogel

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The dissertation examines membership data for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) from the mid-1970s to the present. It considers the analysis of LCMS decline by two scholars, George Hawley and Ryan MacPherson, who independently proposed that LCMS membership decline was internal in causation due to diminished birthrates and fewer young families. While acknowledging the reality of such internal decline, this dissertation argues that the lack of external growth is a greater cause for LCMS decline. Its lack of external growth is due primarily to the racial and ethnic homogeneity of the LCMS and its failure effectively to evangelize the increasingly …

Examining The Cross-Cultural Competence Of United States Christian Missionaries Engaged In Developing Indigenous Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study, Craig W. Goodman

Dissertations

For the past two millennia, missionaries have crossed from one culture to another to bring the Christian message to all cultures of the world. Questions about the effectiveness of these mission efforts have been asked and researched by many; however, one key question remains unanswered: what personal attributes help a person to be more competent at crossing cultures as they interact with people from other cultures? Although cross-cultural competence has been studied in a variety of fields over the past 50 years, the models and assessments used have never been applied to Christian missionaries.

To address this deficiency, this parallel …

Using Intentional Relationship Building And Community Presence To Minister To An Addicted Population In Cookeville, Tennessee, James Bailey Simpson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Addiction and substance abuse are banes in American society as they destroy lives, families, hopes and dreams. Individuals with potential for productive lives and societal contributions are reduced to hollow shells and find themselves laser-focused on their next fix. Cookeville, Tennessee, is no different than any other rural American town as addiction and substance abuse are prevalent, especially within the northwestern areas of the city. West View Baptist Church was planted in this area in 1950 and has actively attempted to minister to the community's residents for the last 71 years. Recently, internal issues in the congregation and increasing disconnections …

Advancing Christ: Understanding How Foreign Cultures Respond To Missionary Aviation, Aidan Van Pelt

Senior Honors Theses

After World War II, missionary aviation became a profound influence on the world of missions. The impacts of missionary aviation culture on the spread of the Gospel in foreign locations will be investigated to better understand how it influences Christianity. The effect of expediting the travel-time to remote locations is apparent, but missionary pilots have several other influences as well, such as, community development, education and discipling locals. These various cultural aspects will be explored by first defining the culture, discussing the history of missiological responses and the origin of missionary aviation, and then examining the effects of missionary aviation …

Engaging The Poor: Leveraging Local Poverty Assistance Programs To Prepare For Global Engagement, Darren Hercyk

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

With globalization, there has been an explosion in travel by academic institutions and the church. For the church, this growth has been in short-term mission trips. Unlike traditional missionaries, most short-term travelers are untrained or lightly trained laypersons. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to understand how local poverty assistance programs could be leveraged to prepare the church today for global engagement. This study provided ten church volunteers with training that included a Scripture overview of the poor, the multidimensional factors of poverty, reducing harm in poverty programs, and the skills for affirming dignity during an interview. Following …

African Christian Leadership: Realities, Opportunities, And Impact, David K. Penno

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"African Christian Leadership is a well-organized, well-written report on some very significant research about leaders and the practice of leadership in the African church. The methodology allowed the researcher to hear from a broad spectrum of African Christians. One criticism of the study could be that a sample of church leaders and members in majority Muslim countries of North Africa were not included in the study, but this might be understandable due to the already vast scope of the project. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in leadership in the Christian context, and especially as practiced …

The Devil Of The Missionary Church: The White Fathers And Catholic Evangelization In Zambia, Bernhard Udelhoven

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article examines how Western Catholic missionaries in Zambia dealt with claims of witchcraft and Satanism. Within an analytic frame that draws upon cultural history, theology, and anthropology the article also considers how African Christians appropriated missionary notions of the devil.

From The Father’S Heart To Our Hands: Christian Responsibility In The U.S. Foster System, Amelia Tam

Selected Honors Theses

Nearly half a million children are currently served by the child welfare system in the United States. This overwhelming strain on state departments and non-profit placement agencies is compounded by the fact that there are not enough available homes. There appears to be a shortage of capable and resilient foster and adoptive parents. Thousands of children who are ready to be adopted do not have anyone to take them in, and thousands more float in the system until new families agree to foster. This seeming shortage of homes is absurd considering the wealth of compassion and capability within the American …

Missional Virtues In Leadership: Assessing The Role Of Character Strengths Of Christian Social Entrepreneurs In Creating Missional Organizations, William M. Manuel

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"the findings of this dissertation are that there are particular and identifiable virtues and character strengths that are possessed by christian social entrepreneurs which enable them to lead in the growth of the organizations that they have started."

The Effect Of Mentoring On Interns In A Cross-Cultural Setting To Produce Incrteased Missional Engagement, Timothy G. Meier

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"the purpose of writing The Effect of Mentoring on Interns in a Cross- Cultural Setting to Produce Increased Missional Engagement is to examine the relationship between mentoring and mission. this is accomplished through interviewing interns who have served with c&Ma/Envision in a cross-cultural setting for a minimum of two months. for a minimum of 45 minutes, 17 interns were interviewed, and the results show a strong correlation between high mentoring and high missional engagement."

Initiating A Missional Mindset: The International Leadership Institute's Eight Core Values As Impetus For Missional Living, Kenneth R. Ott

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"Using the critical Incident technique in three phases of data collection, this project identified persons whose christian beliefs and behaviors had been impacted by embracing the Values as a way of life. While the transformed beliefs and behaviors did not definitively ascribe to the definition of missional living, they demonstrated the potential of the Eight core Values as a pedagogical construct to introduce a missional mindset in Christ-followers."

Implementing Vocational Training At Escuela Quiteña De Estudios Bíblicos, Joshua K. Marcum

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This DMin project addressed the problem of the absence of a viable training model to equip graduates of EQEB (Escuela Quiteña de Estudios Biblicos) for self-sustaining ministry. Based upon a theology of vocation, the project implemented and evaluated the inclusion of a technical-skills component to EQEB’s current seminary training. The project followed the integration of sixteen EQEB students in the vocational program implemented during the 2015-2016 school year. Qualitative research data gathered from five group interviews with these students, my own field notes, and a faculty interview provided the substance upon which I based the project´s findings. Over a seven-month …

Mission In Evolving Cultures: Constructively Managing Music-Related Conflict In Cross-Cultural Church Planting Contexts, David R. Dunaetz

Selected Faculty Publications

The choice of music, an essential element of worship and church life, must be addressed in cross-cultural church planting contexts. As cultures evolve, church planters are faced with choices about musical styles that may lead to interpersonal conflicts within the church. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine factors that may enable cross-cultural church planters to constructively manage music-related conflicts when they arise. Members of church plants, like all people, have various goals when entering into such conflicts. They are concerned about the content of the conflict (i.e., the musical style) and thus have content goals. They are …

Missio-Logoi And Faith: Factors That Influence Attitude Certainty, David R. Dunaetz

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

One of the goals of missio-logoi (missionary speech) used by missionaries is the development of faith in the lives of those whom the missionaries serve. From a biblical perspective, faith has both a relational (e.g., John 3:16) and a cognitive dimension (e.g., Hebrews 11:1). This cognitive dimension is similar to what social psychologists call attitude certainty, the degree to which an individual is certain that a particular attitude or belief is true. This study reviews the empirical research conducted to discover the factors that influence attitude certainty. These factors include support for the beliefs by peers, repeated verbal expression of …

Sports Ministry As An Entryway Into North Korea As A Means Of Spreading The Gospel, Jessica L. Mcmahon

Selected Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Reflections Magazine - A Promotional Magazine For Reflections Adoption Ministry, Kamryn Reynolds

Senior Honors Theses

For my senior honors thesis I have received permission to present a project along with its scholarly apparatus. I will be displaying ways to apply communications to ministry. The project will be a promotional magazine and informational materials. For the thesis I will include the magazine and a press release. I will be approaching some marketing techniques for a non-profit organization and assessing potential ways to reach the public. Many organizations are doing incredible work to fight social injustice and oftentimes few people understand the issues. I want to show how communication can revitalize ministry and get the word out …

Professional Missionary, Amateur Father: Using Missiological Principles And Family Systems Theory To Raise An Emotionally Healthy Family., David R. Dunaetz, Stephen S. Lambert

Selected Faculty Publications

Missionary fathers are sometimes better equipped to undertake the missionary task than to be successful husbands and fathers in stressful, cross-cultural contexts. This paper examines several missiological principles which are congruent with family systems theory that can help missionary fathers ensure the success of their family life.

2nd Place Essay: Leading Without Limits, Whitney Knox

Reed Leadership Student Essay Contest Winners

In response to the essay prompt: "If you knew you could not fail as a leader, what would you attempt to do for Jesus?"

I am a firm believer that God equips His servants for the mission that He calls them to. I hope someday to be a calming and assuring presence for my patients during a time when they are suffering. Knowing that I could not fail as a leader, I would not be afraid to make the tough decisions that deeply affect the lives of those who entrust me with their health care. Knowing that Jesus would not …

3rd Place Essay: Serving God On The Mission Field, Abbie Allen

Reed Leadership Student Essay Contest Winners

In response to the essay prompt: "If you knew you could not fail as a leader, what would you attempt to do for Jesus?"

By the end of elementary school, I knew two things about my life. I wanted to be a nurse, and God wanted me to be a missionary. It would take me a while to understand that God, being a good God, could take the desires of my heart and use them to serve Him on the mission field. If I knew I could not fail as a leader and if I had God’s blessing, I would …

Finding Still Waters And Green Pastures: Understanding And Reducing Stress In Urban Church Planting, David R. Dunaetz

Selected Faculty Publications

The work of urban church planters is often hindered by high levels of stress. Stress may be viewed as a process that involves stressors and an individual’s perceptions of both the level of threat and his or her ability to deal with the threat. The long term and the short term consequences of stress can be attenuated through appropriate coping strategies such as problem solving, prayer, and seeking social support. Recent empirical evidence indicates that exposure to nature is also very effective, a strategy that might be especially beneficial to urban church planters and their ministries. Several practical applications are …

The Father's Business Person, The Shift To Tentmaking Missions Strategy, Chris White

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the important place that tentmaking holds or should hold in missions strategy. It is the belief of the author (supported by almost 20 years of ministry experience overseas) that visas and money are often barriers to ministry effectiveness. This paper would like to provide a solution (i.e. tentmaking) to these common tensions that most missionaries encounter. The value of the topic is very personal to the author's ministry: first because I am currently serving on the mission field (needing a visa and money), and second because of the potential tentmaking holds for …

Implementing A Context-Based Teaching Curriculum For French Learners At The Mtc, Stephanie Wallace Olsen

Theses and Dissertations

Two control groups and two experimental groups of missionaries and teachers participated in a study comparing a grammar-based method of teaching to a context-based method. The study lasted for two weeks during June 1997. Each classroom was recorded using a timing-based observation system that captured 13 missionary and teacher language behaviors. The behaviors were recorded in real time and later evaluated to determine in which classroom setting the most real communication occurred. A second purpose was to determine the effectiveness of teacher training with respect to teachers in the experimental group. Findings revealed that missionaries in the context-based classroom received …

Preacher's Magazine Volume 74 Number 04, Neil B. Wiseman (Editor)

Preacher's Magazine

EDITORIAL Thanks, Brother, for Shaping Our Ministry, Neil B. Wiseman

FEATURE What People Remember About Your Ministry, Neil B. Wiseman

COLLECTION OF RANDAL E. DENNY WRITINGS Is Your Passport Ready?; The Most Neglected Ministry in the Church; We Preach Christ Crucified; At Your Service, Lord!; Pastoral Ministry: A Front Seat in Human Experience; Sunday School Is More Important than We Think; Theology of the Church—We Are Family; The Secret of Victorious Living; Just a Parish Priest; Precious Moments of Worship; What I Learned from Receiving Pastoral Care; To Be Used of God; What Is Success in Ministry?; Serendipities of Work …

Preacher's Magazine Volume 74 Number 03, Randal E. Denny (Editor)

Preacher's Magazine

EDITORIAL Passport for Home, Wilbur W. Brannon

HOLINESS Definite Holiness Preaching, Morris Chalfant

HOLINESS CLASSICS Holiness Teaching—New Testament Times to Wesley, by Paul Merritt Bassett, J. Kenneth Grider

TODAY’S BOOKS FOR TODAY’S PREACHERS A Dangerous Hope, Derl G. Keefer

PREACHER’S EXCHANGE

CHURCH MUSIC Hymn Story of the Month—Part Four, Keith Schwanz; A Tight Squeeze, Donna G. Kelley; How I Taught Children to Sing—When I Couldn’t Carry a Tune, Lois Hoadley Dick

FEATURES The Sticky Question of Denominational Loyalty, Richard S. Taylor; Go On to Maturity, William Tucker; Church of the Solid Rock, Joseph M. Stowell

CHURCH …

Preacher's Magazine Volume 74 Number 02, Randal E. Denny (Editor)

Preacher's Magazine

EDITORIAL Beautiful Savior, Randal E. Denny

FEATURE A Scientist Takes Steps Along His Damascus Road, Karl Giberson; Memories, Movements, and Measurements of Grace, Bud Reedy; Small-talk Your Way to a Successful Career, Patricia L. Fry

GREAT HOLINESS CLASSICS The Holy Spirit and the Church’s Master, Paul S. Rees

EVANGELISM Candles and Roses, Ernest McNaught

CHRISTIAN HOLIDAYS Implications of the Incarnation, David Hoffman; Christmas Blesses Small, J. Grant Swank Jr.

CHURCH MUSIC Hymn Story of the Month—Part Three, Keith Schwanz

PREACHING Attitude Check, Jim L. Wilson

PASTOR’S PERSONAL GROWTH Children with a Glass Life: A Review of the …

Preacher's Magazine Volume 74 Number 01, Randal E. Denny (Editor)

Preacher's Magazine

EDITORIAL An Unfaltering Faith, Randal E. Denny

FEATURE The Limits of Plagiarism, J.B. Chapman

HOLINESS CLASSICS I Want to Know Christ, Carl Leth

HOLINESS HERITAGE Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary Heritage Day, Floyd T. Cunningham

PREACHING Preparing Your Attitude for Sunday, Craig Rench

BIBLICAL STUDIES The Biblical Gift of Tongues, B.D. Webb

WORSHIP Now Hear This, Jim I. Wilson; The Need to Feel Unstrung, Doug Barnett

CHURCH MUSIC Hymn Story of the Month, Part Two, Keith Schwanz

SERMON Is There Hope for the Hapless Wedding Guest?, C.S. Cowles

PICTURE WINDOWS FOR PREACHING, Compiled by Derl G. Keefer

WESLEYANA Within a …

Preacher's Magazine Volume 73 Number 04, Randal E. Denny (Editor)

Preacher's Magazine

EDITORIAL Pastors and Parishioners Really Do Need Each Other, Randal E. Denny

GREAT HOLINESS CLASSICS, Aaron M. Hills

SPECIAL FEATURE Life in the Family of God, Roger L. Hahn

SPECIAL Is This Epochal?, J. Kenneth Grider

PREACHING A Theology of Reminder, John A. Kitchen

EVANGELISM Interview with Tom Nees, Bryon McLaughlin

REVIVAL Keeping the Church Alive, Muriel Larson; True Stories, Mary Legner

PASTOR’S PERSONAL GROWTH The Biblical Basis for Accountability Relationships, David E. Dryer; Pastor, Who Looks After You?, John I. Hoh Jr.; To Whom Does the Pastor Talk?, Ronald L. Phelps

TODAY’S BOOKS FOR TODAY’S …

Preacher's Magazine Volume 73 Number 03, Randal E. Denny (Editor)

Preacher's Magazine

GREAT HOLINESS CLASSICS A New Crisis Ensues, E. Stanley Jones

FEATURE The Triumphant Defeat, John G. Merritt

CHRISTIAN MINISTRY Is There a Place for Shepherds in This Era of Ranchers Complex?, Edmond P. Nash; Ministry Means a Cross, Jerry McCant; Willing Workers, Sue Murphy Mote; The Wacky World of Ministering to the Unchurched: The High Cost of Reaching People You Never Expected to See in Church, Karen Aaker; Ministry: By Gender or by Gift?, Jeannie Neufeld; To Forgive Is to Forget, Raquel Liz Cintron-Forrest

PREACHER’S EXCHANGE

PASTOR, BE ENCOURAGED Where Do Pastors and Mates Go for Help?, C. Neil Strait …

Preacher's Magazine Volume 73 Number 02, Randal E. Denny (Editor)

Preacher's Magazine

EDITORIAL We Rocked the Ark, Randal E. Denny

FEATURE Living by Vows, J. Robertson McQuilkin

PASTOR’S PROFESSIONAL GROWTH The Mystery of Penned Ministries, Raymond C. Kratzer

CHURCH GROWTH Helping a Church Rise and Walk: The Minister as Therapist, Russel L. Jarvis

THEOLOGY Fundamentalism and the Church of the Nazarene, Edwin E. Crawford Jr.; A Wesleyan View of Scripture, H. Ray Dunning

PASTORAL CARE Spiritually Single: Ministering to the Unequally Yoked, Marcia Dummler Mitchell; Truth or Sad Consequences? A Game You Shouldn’t Play, Birney Dibble

PASTOR’S PERSONAL GROWTH Ministry in the Second Half, J. Grant Swank Jr.

BOOK REVIEW

PREACHING The …

Preacher's Magazine Volume 73 Number 01, Randal E. Denny (Editor)

Preacher's Magazine

EDITORIAL Be Honest with One Another, Randal E. Denny

FEATURES Overcoming an Abusive Past, Norman Moore; A Gift of Life in the Face of Death, Rick L. Williamson; Saying Farewell to Your Church, Ponder Gilliland; Transition Summit at Glen Eryie, Wilbur Brannon

PREACHING Marks of Effective Preaching, Robert Premus

CHURCH HISTORY Forgotten Giant of the British Pulpit, Paul Murray

MISSIONS Renewal Through Social Outreach: Practical Guidelines, Jerry L. Appleby

EVANGELISM Evangelicals and the “Homosexual Problem,” J. Grant Swank Jr.

HOLINESS How I Know I Am Filled with the Holy Spirit, Victor Wellington Peters

PASTORAL COUNSELING When to Refer to a …