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Best Practices In Lcms Congregational Mergers Into Multisite Ministries, Brian Hesse Dec 2018

Best Practices In Lcms Congregational Mergers Into Multisite Ministries, Brian Hesse

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Hesse, Brian J. “Best Practices in LCMS Congregational Mergers into Multisite Ministries.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 171 pp.

In this MAP the process of a church merger is evaluated for the development of Best Practices in LCMS Congregational Mergers into Multisite Ministries. These best practices aredeveloped with special considerations towards LCMS ecclesiology, missiology and Martin Luther’s Distinction of God’s Two Kingdoms. Best practice recommendations are included for LCMS church mergers, especially for those congregations considering multisite ministry.


The Eclipse Of Elegance: Towards A Contemporary Lutheran Aesthetics Of Discipleship, Andrew Whaley Dec 2018

The Eclipse Of Elegance: Towards A Contemporary Lutheran Aesthetics Of Discipleship, Andrew Whaley

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

WHALEY, ANDREW D. “THE ECLISPE OF ELEGANCE: TOWARDS ACONTEMPORARY LUTHERAN AESTHETICS OF DISCIPLESHIP.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2018. 214 pp.

It is no secret that, from the time of the Reformation Iconoclast controversy through the period of Pietism, and even into the twentieth century, aesthetics has had a troublesome existence in many, if not most, protestant denominations. This, of course, includes my own denomination, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. In such cases, aesthetics has unfortunately been forgotten, ignored, or viewed with such deep suspicion that its place in theology has been outright denied. The result is that the aesthetic aspect of …


My Eyes Have Seen Your Consolation_ Παρακλησις In Luke-Acts, Alexandre Vieira Dec 2018

My Eyes Have Seen Your Consolation_ Παρακλησις In Luke-Acts, Alexandre Vieira

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Vieira, Alexandre Teixeira. “My Eyes Have Seen Your Consolation: Παράκλησις in Luke-Acts.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2018. 216 pp.

Luke describes Simeon as a faithful Jew who was “awaiting the consolation of Israel.” Many interpreters say that this description conveys Luke’s idea that there is a separate hope for the nation of Israel, which would be made manifest at some point in the future when the Messiah would bring about political deliverance for them. Others argue that, although Luke himself did not think that was the case, Simeon and other Jews in Luke’s narrative did, but the narrative Luke writes …


A Messianic-Millenarian Movement In Brazil: Canudos/Ba 1893–1897, Celiane Da Rocha Vieira Oct 2018

A Messianic-Millenarian Movement In Brazil: Canudos/Ba 1893–1897, Celiane Da Rocha Vieira

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Vieira, Celiane da Rocha Witt, “A Messianic-Millenarian Movement in Brazil: Canudos/BA: 1893–1897” Master of Arts Thesis. Concordia Seminary,” Master of Arts Thesis. Concordia Seminary, 2018. 78 pp.

The Brazilian backland is a place where religion plays a huge part in the lives of the population. At the end of the 19th century an important episode takes place amidst the turmoil the nation was facing, the small community of Canudos/Bahia became part of the news nationally and internationally as a rebel and religious fanatic settlement under the authority of one man, Antônio Conselheiro. Taking into account the fact that the terms …


Just Play: On Being Fully Human In Sport, Amy Gray Bird Aug 2018

Just Play: On Being Fully Human In Sport, Amy Gray Bird

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Bird, Amy, S.G. “Just Play: On Being Fully Human in Sport.” Master’s thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 73 pp.

Is competing in competitive sport worthy of a Christian’s time, energy, and resources? If so, how does one compete in a God-pleasing way? Certainly, several factors are at work here, but to gain a theologically faithful understanding of sport this paper considers two concepts as vital: the Lutheran doctrine of vocation and the concept of leisure as articulated by Catholic moral theologian Josef Pieper. This thesis considers both vocation and leisure and explores how when taken together vocation and leisure clarify the …


Leonardo Boff’S Social-Environmental Ecology Exposition, Analysis, And Appropriation For Lutheran Theology, Alan Furst Jul 2018

Leonardo Boff’S Social-Environmental Ecology Exposition, Analysis, And Appropriation For Lutheran Theology, Alan Furst

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Furst, Alan Diego. “Leonardo Boff’s Social-Environmental Ecology: Exposition, Analysis, and Appropriation for Lutheran Theology.” MA Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 107pp.

Ecological issues throughout the world present an urgent need for a deepened theological approach to the doctrine of creation. In fact, recent studies have shown that such issues point to a more serious problem with the entire system at work shaping social relations today. This situation calls Christian theologians to rethink the doctrine of creation in light of ecological issues. This includes Lutheran theologians, who still need to address the current situation involving ecological issues and to offer reflections and …


Falling Far From The Tree? God's Rejection Of Cain Outside The Garden Of Eden (Genesis 4:1-16), Mark Remington Squire May 2018

Falling Far From The Tree? God's Rejection Of Cain Outside The Garden Of Eden (Genesis 4:1-16), Mark Remington Squire

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Squire, Mark R. “Falling Far from the Tree?: God’s Rejection of Cain Outside the Garden of Eden.” S.T.M. Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 105 pp.

This thesis offers a review of the history of interpretation of the account of Gen 4:1–16. Specifically, the focus of this thesis regards the question of why God favored Abel and his sacrifice and not Cain and his sacrifice. The paper provides an original translation of Gen 4:1–16, as well as translation notes. The historical interpretations of the answer to the question of why God favored Abel over Cain are grouped into three broad categories: Cain’s …


Developing A Mentor-Method Of Evangelism At Redeemer Lutheran Church, Rolla, Missouri, Nathan Kuhlman May 2018

Developing A Mentor-Method Of Evangelism At Redeemer Lutheran Church, Rolla, Missouri, Nathan Kuhlman

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Kuhlman, Nathan, A. “Developing a Mentor-Method of Evangelism at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Rolla, Missouri.” D.Min. MAP, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 196pp.

Past models of evangelism are not as effective as they once were. To meet a changing, post-Christian culture, a model of evangelism that better speaks in today’s context is necessary. To address this need, this project was born. The purpose of this project was to develop and launch a mentor-method approach to evangelism at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Rolla, Missouri. This was accomplished through the launch of a pilot group of 12 test subjects from Redeemer who worked through a 10-week …


Interpreting Short Term Mission For Long Term Discipleship Creating A Standardized Short Term Mission Experience Training Manual For Hales Corners Lutheran Church, Chrisitan Wood May 2018

Interpreting Short Term Mission For Long Term Discipleship Creating A Standardized Short Term Mission Experience Training Manual For Hales Corners Lutheran Church, Chrisitan Wood

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Wood, Christian R. “Interpreting Short Term Mission for Long Term Discipleship: Creating a Standardized Short-term Mission Experience Training Manual for Hales Corners Lutheran Church.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 201 pp.

This project seeks to produce a concise and consistent training manual for participants in Short Term Mission Experiences (STMEs). The manual seeks to foster growth toward living life on mission. This project uses interviews with several exemplars along with literary resources to produce a training manual. The training manual was then “tested” as more than fifty individuals participated in seven STMEs through Hales Corners Lutheran …


The Power Of God’S Word: Jeremiah Speaks To Kenya Today, Jared Otieno Magero May 2018

The Power Of God’S Word: Jeremiah Speaks To Kenya Today, Jared Otieno Magero

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Magero Jared Otieno “The power of God’s Word: Jeremiah speaks to Kenya today.” Master of Arts Thesis. Concordia Seminary, 2018. 106pp.

This thesis searched what moved Jeremiah to keep proclaiming God’s Word when the people opposed it, when by proclaiming God’s Word Jeremiah himself went through a lot of suffering and persecution, and when the people instead heard and delighted in the words of false prophets. My research explored how the theology of the powerful Word of God and the task of its proclaimer speak to my church in Kenya where, even though we are a confessional church, we are …


Body-And-Soul: Embodied Participation Of The Laity In The Divine Service, Aaron Roggow May 2018

Body-And-Soul: Embodied Participation Of The Laity In The Divine Service, Aaron Roggow

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Roggow, Aaron, W. “BODY-AND-SOUL: EMBODIED PARTICIPATION OF THE LAITY IN THE DIVINE SERVICE.” Master’s thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 96 pp.

Since God has created us as body-and-soul creatures, it follows that worship of Him is not only spiritual but also physical in essence and in practice. The resurrection of Jesus Christ in the flesh points to the holistic nature of our faith; as such, the physicality of our worship is a fruit of this faith in an incarnate Lord. The benefits of bodily movement and gesture associated with the Word in Christian worship are a vitally important part of worship …


A Survey Of Christian Missions In China And The Chinese Term Controversy, Christopher Vossler May 2018

A Survey Of Christian Missions In China And The Chinese Term Controversy, Christopher Vossler

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Vossler, Christopher, P. “A Survey of Christian Missions in China.” S.T.M. thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 121 pp.

This thesis surveys the history of Christian mission work in China from the (legendary) mission of the Apostle Thomas up to the present day, including the upheavals resulting from the Communist Revolution. The lens through which this history is presented is the Chinese Term Controversy, a centuries-long conflict regarding the proper translation of the term “God” in the Chinese language. Every major missionary effort in China wrestled with this question to some extent, and many found themselves torn apart due to their different …


Grammars Of Transformation: Saving Evangelical Cultural Engagement, William Watts May 2018

Grammars Of Transformation: Saving Evangelical Cultural Engagement, William Watts

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Watts, William J. “Grammars of Transformation: Saving Evangelical Cultural Engagement.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2018. 137 pp.

Evangelical Christians have been struggling to offer a thorough and unified account of cultural engagement for the last several decades. H. Richard Niebuhr’s “Christ the Transformer of Culture” type has supplied evangelicals with the most influential rhetoric on the proper relationship of Christians and the church to the culture at large. However, this consensus is collapsing in the wake of new ways of speaking of cultural engagement that largely downplay or altogether avoid the language of transformation. The emergence of these new ways …


Friendship And Gift In 2 Corinthians 8–9: Social Relations And Conventions In The Jerusalem Collection, Ruth Whiteford May 2018

Friendship And Gift In 2 Corinthians 8–9: Social Relations And Conventions In The Jerusalem Collection, Ruth Whiteford

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Whiteford, Ruth A. “Friendship and Gift in 2 Corinthians 8–9: Social Relations and Conventions in the Jerusalem Collection.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2018. 197 pp.

The collection in 2 Corinthians 8–9 not only presents the opportunity for a transfer of economic resources, but also signifies a particular kind of social relationship between the Christians in Corinth and Jerusalem. While the Corinthians interpreted prospective transactions through the lens of patronage and therefore as an opportunity to gain status, Paul’s sustained use of the ancient Greco-Roman friendship topos in his instructions reveals his conviction that all members of the ἐκκλησία are equal, …


The Salvation Of The Household In Lukian Theology A Tool For Mission And Evangelism In The West African Church; Acts 16:25-34 As A Case Study, Jean Baptiste Mberebe May 2018

The Salvation Of The Household In Lukian Theology A Tool For Mission And Evangelism In The West African Church; Acts 16:25-34 As A Case Study, Jean Baptiste Mberebe

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Mberebe, Jean Baptiste. “The Salvation fo the Household in Lukan Theology: A Tool for Mission and Evangelism in the West African Church, Acts 16:25-34 as a Case Study.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2018. 251 pp.

What is the “salvation of the household” in Lukan theology? What does it mean for mission and evangelism in the West African context? These are the questions the author is attempting to answer, and in so doing he hopes to draw the attention of the reader, both in the West, and especially in Africa, on the nature of salvation-that the nature of salvation is not …


Translating Pun And Play - Wordplay And Soundplay In Hosea, Eric Fudge May 2018

Translating Pun And Play - Wordplay And Soundplay In Hosea, Eric Fudge

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Fudge, Eric, J. Translating Pun and Play: Wordplay and Soundplay in Hosea. Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2018. 312 pp.

Puns and plays of sound are distinguishing features of poetry and proclamation. Poetry uses these phonetic devices to structure passages, create euphony, or evoke emotional responses from audiences. Proclamation, particularly in a live setting, also uses sound to emphasize words or lines that encourage audiences to feel, respond, or memorize. Puns arrive in the form of wordplay, which uses similarity of sounds that create ambiguity. Soundplay also uses similarity of sounds but to establish euphony or aural tagging. These phonetic plays …


In Search Of Best Devotional Practices In Relation To The Practice Of Preaching, Jason Wagner Apr 2018

In Search Of Best Devotional Practices In Relation To The Practice Of Preaching, Jason Wagner

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

In Search of Best Devotional Practices in Relation to the Practice of Preaching. Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2018. pp.

Preachers are tasked with faithfully carrying the Word of God to their people on a weekly basis, yet preachers often struggle to be spiritually fed for their own sake as well as for the sake of their congregations. This project seeks to investigate the connection between personal prayer and devotional reading and proclamation. In seeking best devotional practices among pastors, this study reveals a number of benefits to the man who is tasked with regularly proclaiming the …


Stimulating Growth In Missional Understanding And Participation, David Benson Apr 2018

Stimulating Growth In Missional Understanding And Participation, David Benson

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Benson, David M. “Stimulating Growth in Missional Understanding and Participation.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 195 pp.

The purpose of this project was to initially assess the understanding of and attitude toward the mission of the Church among the active membership of Faith Lutheran Church in Springfield, Missouri. Then, through the implementation of a six week, biblically based course of study about the missio Dei and the mission of the Church, a sampling of the membership were given in-depth instruction to increase their missional awareness. This same group was then reassessed to see if there had …


Exploring What It Means To Be A Faithful Christian In Twenty-First Century America, Scott Busacker Mar 2018

Exploring What It Means To Be A Faithful Christian In Twenty-First Century America, Scott Busacker

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Busacker, Scott, M. “Exploring What It Means To Be a Faithful Christian in Twenty-First Century America.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 187 pp.

This Major Applied Project seeks to explore what it means to be a faithful Christian in Twenty-First Century America. It explores the Biblical and Confessional Lutheran understanding of faithfulness. It then surveys the unique history of religion in America, highlighting the importance of both religious zeal and individual liberty. Christianity in America is going through a period of change. It is no longer culturally established. Thus, Christians need to deliberately consider how to …


The Practical Orthodoxy Of Balthasar Meisner: The Content And Context Of His Theology, David R. Preus Mar 2018

The Practical Orthodoxy Of Balthasar Meisner: The Content And Context Of His Theology, David R. Preus

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Preus, David R. “Balthasar Meisner’s Practical Orthodoxy: The Content and Context of his Theology.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2018. 397 pp.

Throughout his tenure at Wittenberg from 1611 to 1626 Balthasar Meisner (1587-1626) contended with defining “theology” in terms of a genuinely practical enterprise. His challenge was to preserve Luther’s evangelical theology, along with its metaphysical and ethical implications, in the crucible of current political realities and shifting intellectual trends. Though drawn from Scripture, Luther’s theology had certain metaphysical and ethical dimensions that simply could not be ignored by the first two generations after his death. In the interest of …