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Full-Text Articles in Christianity
Equipping Covenant Baptist Church To Defend The Bible In A Skeptical World, Harlan Grant Mclain
Equipping Covenant Baptist Church To Defend The Bible In A Skeptical World, Harlan Grant Mclain
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The thesis of this research project is “If Covenant Baptist Church members are taught the reliability of the Bible, they will be equipped to defend their faith to a skeptical world.” The goals of this doctoral thesis are two-fold: to train adequate believers regarding the Bible’s reliability in a skeptical world, and honor God in the process through the equipping ministry of the church in accordance with Ephesians 4:11-16. Seven lessons were researched, formulated, and presented to a small group of believers in Covenant Baptist Church who desired to become more confident in defending the Bible to a skeptic. Entrance …
The Rural Church As Community Support For Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren, William Shane Cassida
The Rural Church As Community Support For Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren, William Shane Cassida
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
A growing trend in rural communities located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, as well as across much of the United States, is the significant increase in the number of grandparents that are being forced to accept the responsibility of raising their grandchildren due to a crisis within the family structure. The US Census Bureau cited in 2016 that over 2.5 million grandparents are helping with the responsibility of raising their grandchildren, and that 7.8 million children live in homes owned by their grandparents. This accounts for almost 10% of all children nationally. There is a current ministry need for churches …
Unhealthy Leadership In The Christian Church: A Study Of The Divorce Rate, Curtis William Carter
Unhealthy Leadership In The Christian Church: A Study Of The Divorce Rate, Curtis William Carter
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this project is to bring healing and direction to a particular area of the Christian church that is destroying marriages and greatly emotionally damaging children and families. This specific research will look at both the divorce rate in the secular community and the divorce rate in the Christian church, thus comparing and contrasting the two. While at the same time, showing how unhealthy leadership in the Christian church continues this damage. Furthermore, this research will also illustrate which gender is most likely filing for the divorces here in the 21st century and answer the questions why, where, …
Establishing Christ Community Church As A Sent Community: Initiating Spiritual Conversation With Confidence, Relevance, And Conviction, William Leland Burch Ii
Establishing Christ Community Church As A Sent Community: Initiating Spiritual Conversation With Confidence, Relevance, And Conviction, William Leland Burch Ii
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The problem is that Christ Community Church does not see itself as a ‘sent community.’ A ‘sent community’ is one where purpose and forward movement in Kingdom work is embraced. A church must seek to involve itself in the community, delve into the needs, and speak to the emptiness with the Gospel of Jesus. The purpose of this project is to establish Christ Community Church as a ‘sent community’ by offering a sustentative engagement program which will: 1) describe the mission of Jesus; 2) assess the culture in which the church is situated; 3) answer six frequently asked theological questions; …
Universal Leadership Model, Derwin Lamont Hickman Sr
Universal Leadership Model, Derwin Lamont Hickman Sr
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The Great Commission is the call of Jesus to his people to go out into the world and make disciples. The universal leadership model presents an opportunity for disciples/leaders to step up and fulfill the Great Commission. The church should be involved in discipleship training, outreaches and supporting the issues that are aligned with Christian ideology and important to people in the communities they serve. An effective universal leadership model should include diversity, training, desired change, accountability and effectiveness of change. In so doing, the church can then find parishioners within the church who may be transformed into disciples/leaders and …
The Matthew 16:13-18:20 Chiasm As The Fountainhead Of Matthean Proto-Ecclesiology, Nicholas A. Dodson
The Matthew 16:13-18:20 Chiasm As The Fountainhead Of Matthean Proto-Ecclesiology, Nicholas A. Dodson
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The only two instances of the Greek term ἐκκλησία (usually translated “church”) found in the Gospels are in Matthew 16:18 and 18:17. These two passages have been examined, debated, and interpreted in a number of ways by various scholars. The present dissertation presents considerable exegetical evidence that these two uses of ἐκκλησία are actually part of a larger literary structure called a chiasmus, which connects the passages in which Matthew 16:18 and 18:17 are found. Because these are highly significant ecclesiological passages, this study further develops the connection of the chiastic structure to other foundational ecclesiological passages, namely the Matthean …
Are You A Pillar Or A Caterpillar?, Harold Willmington
Are You A Pillar Or A Caterpillar?, Harold Willmington
Dr. Willmington's Personal Observations of the Bible
No abstract provided.
Don't Argue On Sunday!, Harold Willmington
Don't Argue On Sunday!, Harold Willmington
Dr. Willmington's Personal Observations of the Bible
No abstract provided.
An Examination Of Art In The American Evangelical Church For The Purpose Of Discipleship And Evangelism, Joshua Dugan
An Examination Of Art In The American Evangelical Church For The Purpose Of Discipleship And Evangelism, Joshua Dugan
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Christianity, in previous eras, has been the foundation of the art community. But, it has surrendered that role over the past three centuries and with it a significant potion of its influence on culture. In addition the church is not effectively reaching an entire demographic of people, those who would define themselves as creatives and artists, because it has distanced itself from the arts. This paper will research the previous methods employed by the church and the current limitations of art within the American Evangelical church through applied academic research as well as interviews with church leaders and artists. The …
Corporatization Of The Church Compromises Christian’S Priorities, Purpose, And Practices, Edwin Alston
Corporatization Of The Church Compromises Christian’S Priorities, Purpose, And Practices, Edwin Alston
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
In effort to mainstream its exposure, income, agenda, and influence among the people all over the world, some churches have embraced a corporate model in operating and ministering to the masses. Corporatization advocates business mindset, which leads to less sensitivity to building a relationship with God. This trend focuses on revenue and the bottom line. By seeking a self-gratifying importance in society, a growing number of churches are no longer the institution that houses individuals who serve as the salt of the earth and light of the world. This strategy minimizes spiritual formation and discipleship in order to promote a …
The Dying Of The American Church: Five Biblical Principles For Revival, Stan Mars
The Dying Of The American Church: Five Biblical Principles For Revival, Stan Mars
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The majority of churches in America continue to suffer a numerical plateau or a decline in church growth. As a result of disobedience to God to follow His commandments in the making of disciples, the church also suffers from a flat lined, virtually non-existent, adult conversion rate. People of the world who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are not being evangelized by the church using the first century process of discipleship and therefore, the numbers of conversions to Christ are dismal. The modern day American Church needs to return to the first century process of …
Leadership Principles And Applications For Establishing A Christ-Centered Church In South Korea, Dongho Cho
Leadership Principles And Applications For Establishing A Christ-Centered Church In South Korea, Dongho Cho
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this project is to provide a Christ-centered, biblical Great Commission model for Presbyterian Church pastors in South Korea. Pastor Hanhum Ok said that there are many programs and forms without the spiritual vitality in the Korean Church. Many attractional churches attract people by relying heavily on programs that often alter the focus of believers onto the programs themselves and prevent them from focusing on Jesus Christ. To ensure that the church—the body of Christ—remains faithful to its biblical mandates, thesis project argues that the pastors must have leadership principles and applications in accordance to the Christ-centered biblical …
From Patristics To Postmodernity: Does A Message Still Exist?, Douglas Taylor
From Patristics To Postmodernity: Does A Message Still Exist?, Douglas Taylor
Other Graduate Scholarship
Dr. David Wheeler once advised that while not all are called to be an evangelist, all Christians are called to be evangelical. Although some may counter that postmodernity is waning, the question remains how one might be evangelical in a postmodern world. The concept that no metanarrative exists has been one of the pillars of postmodernity, and as such challenges the premise that Scripture contains an overarching story encompassing all of mankind. If Dr. Wheeler was correct, and all are called to be evangelical, then the question that would seem to require answering is how one might begin to address …
Justification And Sanctification In The Southern Baptist Church In West Virginia; Implications In Worship And Practice Of Faith, Todd Hill
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this project is to investigate the doctrines of justification and progressive sanctification and its implications in the Southern Baptist Churches in West Virginia. In the Southern Baptist Churches in West Virginia, there seems to be much confusion concerning the subject of justification and sanctification in the life of the believer. This confusion appears to grow out of a misunderstanding of sanctification and its relationship to justification from the error of Roman Catholic doctrine of blending justification and sanctification. The result of this study will expose the disparity of understanding concerning these doctrines and produce a teaching resource …
The Pharisee Church: Why The Heart Of The Modern American Church Does Not Match The Heart Of Christ And What We Can Do To Change It, Samantha J. Blue
The Pharisee Church: Why The Heart Of The Modern American Church Does Not Match The Heart Of Christ And What We Can Do To Change It, Samantha J. Blue
Senior Honors Theses
Religious discussions often hinge on semantics. Currently debate abounds concerning the state of the modern American Church. Is it failing? Is it flourishing? Who is a part of it? Comparing the biblical understanding of church to the state of the modern American Church provides great insight into how the modern church has erred. Investigating the semantic range of the word “church” also sheds light on why perceptions of the modern American Church vary. Additional comparisons are made between the typical American Christian and Pharisees. Potential similarities are identified and analyzed. Finally, suggestions are made regarding church reform so that the …
The Postmodern Church, Timothy C. Lawless
The Postmodern Church, Timothy C. Lawless
Senior Honors Theses
Within the past twenty years, the Church (especially in America) has experienced dwindling membership and attendance, along with a host of other problems. Many of these problems are symptomatic of a massive cultural shift toward postmodernism, leading to discontentment with the Church. In attempting to respond to these challenges, the emergent Church has arisen as a major element of American religious culture. Their methodology and doctrine is heavily influenced by postmodernism, which presents a further challenge for Christian leaders and ministers. This paper will survey the challenges facing the Church, will describe the emergent Church’s origin and response to these …