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A Phenomenological Study Of Female Master Of Divinity Graduates' Experiences And Role Incongruity At Texas Baptist Seminaries, Michele Lee Taylor Apr 2024

A Phenomenological Study Of Female Master Of Divinity Graduates' Experiences And Role Incongruity At Texas Baptist Seminaries, Michele Lee Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Women pursue Christian education, obeying God’s call to prepare for ministry leadership. This qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological research study aimed to examine the perspectives of women graduates from Master of Divinity (MDiv) programs at Baptist Seminaries in Texas and to discover if their treatment could be linked to traditionally held beliefs about gender. The lived experiences of the study participants were defined as their first-hand accounts and perceptions of interactions with their male classmates and professors. The theory that guided this study was the Role-Congruity Theory, defined by Eagly and Diekman (2005) as aligning a group’s characteristics with their typical social …


How To Create Things With Words: Identifying The Performative Speech Acts Of God’S Spoken Words In The Genesis 1 Creation Account, Ivan C. Yu Apr 2024

How To Create Things With Words: Identifying The Performative Speech Acts Of God’S Spoken Words In The Genesis 1 Creation Account, Ivan C. Yu

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Speech Act Theory is a branch of linguistics that explores not only how language is used to convey meaning, but also how it is used to perform actions or functions. In recent decades, it has been applied as a viable hermeneutical tool to aid biblical interpretation and defend the inerrancy of Scripture. Identifying the speech acts of the biblical author or speakers in the biblical narratives can be useful to understand the meaning and intention of the utterances, phrases, and words spoken. In the Genesis 1 creation narrative, God spoke words to create the universe. While adopting a canonical approach …


Equipping Local Pastors To Develop A Comprehensive Chaplaincy Ministry For The Cullman County Sheriff's Office, Matthew W. Smith Apr 2024

Equipping Local Pastors To Develop A Comprehensive Chaplaincy Ministry For The Cullman County Sheriff's Office, Matthew W. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Law enforcement officers’ high incidence of suicides and career abandonment is often attributed to work stress and inadequate support. The unmet emotional, physical, and spiritual needs further compound this situation. The researcher addressed the problem of unmet needs by training local pastors to serve as chaplains. Seven deputies, including six males and one female, and ten ministers, including eight males and two females, participated in the program. The training sessions included the following topics: introduction to law enforcement chaplaincy, personal issues LEOs’ battle, ministry of presence, building relationships, the chaplain’s purpose and role, qualities desired in a chaplain, ride-alongs, death …


An Examination Of The Parental Role In The Discipleship Of Children, Robert B. Jarman Apr 2024

An Examination Of The Parental Role In The Discipleship Of Children, Robert B. Jarman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parents have an enormous role in the lives of their children. They are responsible for all aspects of their children’s development to prepare them to manage adulthood successfully. Parents invest much of their time in many important areas of the home, yet regarding discipleship, they will often pass on that responsibility to others or neglect it altogether. The danger of a lack of discipleship in the home is that it can potentially contribute to the growing trend of young adults leaving the faith. This thesis project examines the Biblical mandate for parents discipling their children, the reasons for parents not …


Forgiving Childhood Hurt Biblically, Latisha Shearer Apr 2024

Forgiving Childhood Hurt Biblically, Latisha Shearer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The profound impact of childhood experiences on an individual's mindset, emotional well-being, and transition into adulthood is a compelling problem addressed in this thesis paper titled “Forgiving Childhood Hurt Biblically.” This DMIN action research project is to implement biblical forgiveness as a transformative tool to address the physical, mental, and emotional wounds inflicted by childhood trauma. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), marked by early-life toxic stress, establish a foundation for the intergenerational transmission of trauma, significantly affecting the health and lives of adults. Given the vulnerability of childhood, addressing and forgiving the sources of trauma is crucial for effectively reprogramming and …


Burnout Prevention In Christian Public And Private Middle School Leaders: A Qualitative Study, Rhonda Grider Purchase Apr 2024

Burnout Prevention In Christian Public And Private Middle School Leaders: A Qualitative Study, Rhonda Grider Purchase

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a momentous problem in academic settings today regarding stress and burnout among academic school leaders (Francis et al., 2017). The focus of this study was to examine the prevention of professional stress in the lives of middle school academic leaders. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of what the selected participants believed was the prevention of stress and burnout in middle school leaders in Newton County, Georgia. For this study, school leaders were defined as certified principals who hold a bachelor’s level or above degree and contribute to the academic environment …


The Scatological Scriptures: A Biblical Theology Of Dung, Zachary C. Hill Apr 2024

The Scatological Scriptures: A Biblical Theology Of Dung, Zachary C. Hill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Scriptures contain a theology of dung. When the semantic and conceptual cognates that pertain to dung are synthesized, the result is a scriptural scatology whereby dung is presented as a symbol for sin. To clarify, the biblical exhibition of dung presents excrement as a central symbol employed by Scripture to concretize the abstract nature of sin. When each semantic and conceptual cognate that pertains to dung is examined, in nearly every instance where dung is mentioned, sin is in close proximity. The recognition of the dung–sin symbol enlightens particular aspects related to the nature of sin, which mirrors the …


Coherent Chiastic Oeuvre In The Unity Of Luke-Acts: Two Volumes Conjoined As A Single Book, John Matthew Powell Apr 2024

Coherent Chiastic Oeuvre In The Unity Of Luke-Acts: Two Volumes Conjoined As A Single Book, John Matthew Powell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A thorough examination of the life and works of Saint Luke has always been an interest and desire to survey, and because of his eruditeness, which produced two amazingly inspired books in the New Testament resulted in the reason behind this dissertation project. Another important thing for this research is animated from the perspective that Luke is the only gentile writer in the NT. It encourages the world that God placed gentiles on equal footing with Jews of the Old Testament era. Unlike the additional three inspired Gospel writers (i.e., Matthew, Mark, and John), Luke did not take it for …


Mentorship For African American Female Officers Of Faith In The United States Air Force, Tanquer L. Dyer Apr 2024

Mentorship For African American Female Officers Of Faith In The United States Air Force, Tanquer L. Dyer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Mentorship has emerged as a critical component for the cultivation and development of leaders. Mentoring is beneficial for the mentee and mentor both personally and professionally. The United States Air Force (USAF) encourages formal and informal mentoring for their leaders through initiatives and regulations. Other branches emphasize leadership development; whereas, the USAF emphasizes career development. While African American female officers of faith continue to hold leadership positions, it is unclear whether mentorship serves as a factor of success. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and understand the lived experience of African American female officers in the USAF …


Preparing The Next Generation For Faith Ownership By Training Fathers In The Biblical Worldview, John D. Embrey Mar 2024

Preparing The Next Generation For Faith Ownership By Training Fathers In The Biblical Worldview, John D. Embrey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Several modern factors increase families’ difficulty training children in the Christian faith. Time commitments outside the home have increased, and a decline in faith practice has made parents less comfortable and confident with knowledge of the Christian faith. These factors fueled an increase in teenagers leaving the Christian faith as they moved into adulthood and a decline in the number of adults with a biblical worldview. The underlying assumption of this DMIN project is that if fathers are trained with a biblical worldview and mentoring skills, they will become more comfortable and prepared to share their faith with their children …


A Composition Of Strategic Harmony: The Role Of Hymnic Elements In The Compositional Strategy Of Amos, Moegagogo S. Solomona Mar 2024

A Composition Of Strategic Harmony: The Role Of Hymnic Elements In The Compositional Strategy Of Amos, Moegagogo S. Solomona

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Scholarship on the book of Amos has oft leaned in favor of a multilayered composition of the prophetic book, citing either post-exilic motifs or unusual thematic transitions as evidence. While most of the book of Amos is typically ascribed to the prophet himself, the attribution of certain portions to the work of later redactors brings into question the integrity of the message Amos seeks to convey, especially regarding a united theological message. Proponents of redaction claim that the portions in question would not have been part of the original composition due to their contents displaying post-exilic themes. Such a reconstruction …


Impact Of Worldview Development On Spiritual Vitality In Evangelical Protestant Churches: A Phenomenological Study, Nicholas Jared Curtis Mar 2024

Impact Of Worldview Development On Spiritual Vitality In Evangelical Protestant Churches: A Phenomenological Study, Nicholas Jared Curtis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The need for a biblical worldview is important in the church since only ten percent of Americans (17% in the church) have a biblical worldview (Foley, 2017, paragraph one; Barna, 2017, paragraph twenty). This is directly connected with one’s spiritual growth in the church as relationships help form one’s worldview which in turn will form one’s values and actions (McDowell and Wallace, 2019). The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the perceived impact of biblical worldview development on spiritual development in the church for pastors who oversee discipleship at doctrinally conservative, Evangelical Protestant churches in Texas. At this …


A Phenomenological Study Of Church Polity And Its Impact On Pastoral Leadership And Congregational Health, Travis L. Biller Mar 2024

A Phenomenological Study Of Church Polity And Its Impact On Pastoral Leadership And Congregational Health, Travis L. Biller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is reported that deacon-led churches produce conflict and high pastoral turnover (Harbuck, 2018; Payne, 1996). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how a church governance structure impacts a pastor’s ability to lead, the health of the church, and pastoral retention. The experiences of pastors from deacon-led churches were evaluated for clusters of meaning and compared with the experiences of pastors who serve under an elder-led model of leadership. Nine interviews were conducted—five pastors from deacon-led churches and four from elder-led churches. This study approached the phenomenological design from an interpretive, or hermeneutical approach to understand the …


The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence In Online Education For Recruitment, Retention, And Sustainability Of Religious Organizations, Gordon Vaill Barrows Mar 2024

The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence In Online Education For Recruitment, Retention, And Sustainability Of Religious Organizations, Gordon Vaill Barrows

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation explored the applicability of AI chatbot technology in the context of a church environment where it was used to promote an accessible and engaging online learning platform for education and ministry training. The primary objective was to develop an AI-powered chatbot to increase recruitment, improve retention, as well as support organizational sustainability as it relates to church membership. The research includes a comprehensive literature review on AI chatbot technology and its relevance to online education within the context of a religious organization. The literature review establishes the fundamentals for a theoretical framework, exploring the association between educational technology, …


Emulating Paul’S Ministry Leadership In A Diverse And Changing Cultural Landscape, Mark J. Lee Mar 2024

Emulating Paul’S Ministry Leadership In A Diverse And Changing Cultural Landscape, Mark J. Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this Doctor of Ministry project is to train ministry leaders by studying the cross-cultural leadership characteristics of Apostle Paul. Central Steele Creek Presbyterian Church is part of the sad statistic of traditional churches that have been declining for the past thirty years. This will continue unless leaders of the church embrace the diverse culture and nature of the surrounding community. Cross-cultural leadership is needed in this time of multi-cultural communities and there is no one better than Paul to demonstrate this indispensable cross-cultural ministry paradigm. If leaders at Central are trained and motivated to embrace Paul’s cross-cultural …


Building High-Performance Ministry Teams: Pastors, Ministers, And Leaders Of Selected Baptist Churches In Macon, Georgia, Michael Wendell Johnson Feb 2024

Building High-Performance Ministry Teams: Pastors, Ministers, And Leaders Of Selected Baptist Churches In Macon, Georgia, Michael Wendell Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This transcendental phenomenological research explored the experiences of pastors, ministers, and leaders of selected Baptist churches in Macon, Georgia regarding the impact of a shared vision on the development of high-performance ministry teams. The study's goal will be to understand how a shared vision can motivate pastors and church leaders to do what is necessary to improve church ministries so they can function in a way that would advance the Kingdom of God. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the experiences of pastors and church leaders in building high-performance ministries. Shared vision will be defined as a clear and common …


A Phenomenological Study Of Complexity Leadership Interactions Of An International Protestant Convention During Covid-19, Thomas S. Narofsky Feb 2024

A Phenomenological Study Of Complexity Leadership Interactions Of An International Protestant Convention During Covid-19, Thomas S. Narofsky

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study aimed to explore the in-depth perceptions and insightful reflections of 12 International Protestant Convention leadership team members to explore and investigate their lived experiences and leadership decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of Complexity Leadership Theory. The 2020-2023 COVID-19 pandemic changed the world when the emergent fast-paced virus disrupted and overwhelmed societal life, creating pre- and post-COVID bifurcation points that will shape world dynamics and social interactions for years (Warren, 2022; Christianson & Barton, 2021; Harari, 2020; Pierce, 2020). For this research, complexity leadership interactions, social network dynamics, and information flow were studied to discover …


A Qualitative Descriptive Study: What South Carolina Church Leaders Believe About Congregational Active Shooter Preparation, Charles David Watts Jr. Feb 2024

A Qualitative Descriptive Study: What South Carolina Church Leaders Believe About Congregational Active Shooter Preparation, Charles David Watts Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to establish a baseline of understanding what experiences South Carolina Southern Baptist church leaders have in active shooter training and what they believe about preparing, training, and equipping congregations for an active shooter incident in their house of worship. This researcher examined how church leaders prepare, train, and equip congregations for security threats like active shooter incidents. This study fills a gap in the existing literature, adding to the research by Auten (2021), Rainer (2017), and the FBI (2016). This researcher examined how churches prepare for security threats like active shooter incidents. …


Some Aspects Of The Theology Of The City In Ane Literature And Biblical Protology And Eschatology: A Comparative Study, Vlatko Dir Feb 2024

Some Aspects Of The Theology Of The City In Ane Literature And Biblical Protology And Eschatology: A Comparative Study, Vlatko Dir

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The city is an essential accomplishment that is embedded in the foundations of human civilization. From its mature appearance in Sumer and its developed forms throughout the ANE world, the city held a high place in cosmology, cosmogony, and anthropogony. The ideology and theology of the city created by the ANE peoples were built around and presented through the interplay of the triangle of influences and dependencies formed by the city, the temple, and kingship in conjunction with the gods. The question is whether the same construct is ingeminated in the Bible. This dissertation strives to provide an appropriate context …


Church Systems: From Church Attenders To Committed Church Members, Loyd Johnson Jan 2024

Church Systems: From Church Attenders To Committed Church Members, Loyd Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

American churches are in decline, with attendance dropping below 50 percent for the first time in 2021. The need for revitalization cannot be overstated or underestimated. Luke's historical narrative in Acts 2:42-44 is an ecumenical prescription for a healthy, growing church today. This project seeks to determine the theoretical structure and biblical foundation necessary for churches to achieve healthy, sustainable growth. This study aims to develop and initiate a strategy with biblical praxis that will guide church attenders to an urban church in Columbus, Georgia, through a process to become committed church members. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness …


Indirect Prophecies Concerning The Death Of Christ In Narrative, Lindsay A. Siemers Jan 2024

Indirect Prophecies Concerning The Death Of Christ In Narrative, Lindsay A. Siemers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In Luke 24, two disciples recognized that Jesus had predicted He would suffer, be betrayed, and handed over to death by crucifixion, and had said He would rise again on the third day. It was now the third day, and Jesus was no longer in the tomb, but they were confused as to what these things meant and how they came to be. Jesus says to them, “‘O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning …