Christianity Commons^™

Healing Through Homecoming Rediscovering The Hospitality Of Jesus As The Mission Tone Of The Church, W. Matthew Rice

Doctor of Ministry

This Project Portfolio addresses the following NPO: In an increasingly hostile culture, there is an opportunity to incarnate the hospitality of Jesus to a world in need of God’s embrace; in doing so, the Church will rediscover and release the mission tone of Jesus, a kindness that heals as it welcomes people home and leads to Spirit-empowered turns. The key insight of my research is that the coming of Jesus is the ultimate expression of ancient hospitality, and when God’s kindness permeates the mission tone of a church, it creates an environment where the gospel is heard, the Spirit’s power …

Toward Wholeness: Discovering Intimacy With Jesus Through Holistic Healing, David H. Brown

Doctor of Ministry

NPO Statement: Christians longing for inner healing and wholeness along with growing intimacy with Jesus need a confident, competent pathway to follow.

Key Insights from Research: Intuitively true, but still surprising, the top factor for improving someone’s confidence in pursuing their healing and wholeness in a ministry setting is trust of the minister. This factor topped perceived competence of the minister, community support and biblical soundness as other confidence-building factors. Another key insight, this one brought about through my stakeholders, is the importance of telling one’s story, one’s testimony, to help gain trust and grow the confidence of a potential …

Many Healings Of The Woman With The Flow Of Blood, Ekaterina Lomperis

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

With the emergence of the modern quest for the historical Jesus, theologians began increasingly questioning traditional views of Jesus as a healer of human bodies. While a growing suspicion of Jesus’s role as a literal healer of the body is commonly traced to the influence of the Enlightenment, in this essay, I will suggest that the roots of this theological marginalization run deeper, in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformations, when supernatural did not yet equal superstitious. The essay will examine two representative exegeses of the healing of the woman with the flow of blood in Mark 5:25–34, offered by Martin Luther …

Breaking Evangelical: An Attachment-Focused Framework For Healing Spiritual Trauma, Ashley Davis Gavila

Doctor of Ministry

About 25 percent of the US population is religiously unaffiliated, and about 70 percent of these individuals are former Christians (Pew Research, PRRI, Gallup, Barna). Included in this phenomenon is the spiritual traumatization of women within evangelical churches, which has been revealed partially through the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements on social media.

At the core of spiritual abuse is the issue of broken attachments (human bonding and communion with God). God created people for community, and abuse is direct injury to this vital aspect of our humanity. This work explores theories and concepts of perichoresis, God attachment, and interpersonal attachment …

Face Management And Servant-Leadership: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of Chinese And American Christian Church Leaders, Jiying Song

Faculty Publications - Department of Professional Studies

Leaders can have a negative impact on organizations when they knowingly or unknowingly attempt to save face, that is, try to protect their standing or reputation. The strong cultural value of not losing face presents a unique challenge for organizational leaders. The desire to gain face and the fear of losing face will likely permeate leaders‟ decision-making processes without even being noticed. The phenomenon of face exists both in China and in the United States, yet misunderstandings and a lack of understanding of face exist in both countries. Face management is the communicative strategies people use to manage face during …