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Articles 1 - 30 of 316
Full-Text Articles in Practical Theology
Reinventing Holistic Healthcare: Pastoral Perspectives Of Biblical Insights For The American Healthcare System, Leanne Michelle Bergey
Reinventing Holistic Healthcare: Pastoral Perspectives Of Biblical Insights For The American Healthcare System, Leanne Michelle Bergey
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this case study was to examine pastoral perspectives of Biblical healthcare. These perspectives are essential to consider due to the long history of the connection between spirituality and healthcare and the church’s successful intervention worldwide for increasing healthcare outcomes. Since the church has been successful worldwide at creating faith-based organizations that meet community needs, it is vital that research focus on how churches might continue this success within the United States. This study used semi-structured interviews to examine the research questions of 1) What is the Biblical responsibility of healthcare? 2) How does culture influence the role …
Living A Better Story: The Lived Narrative Apologetic In The Book Of Acts, Cedric Lemar Thomas
Living A Better Story: The Lived Narrative Apologetic In The Book Of Acts, Cedric Lemar Thomas
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Is it possible to articulate an apologetic practice from the account of Luke-Acts, which is not among the current popular Christian apologetic practices within contemporary apologetic scholarship? Can one consider the narratives in this history of Acts as a description of apologetic methodology, a sort of a first Christian apologetic practice demonstrated by Jesus and then replicated by His disciples? The answer is yes. The historical work of Luke offers an early apologetic practice in which the story of Scripture, the narrative of God, witnessed incarnationally through the life of Jesus and continued by the early church. Like Scripture, the …
The Role Of The Law In The Sanctification Of The Believer Today: A Brief Introduction To Pronomianism, Benjamin John Stepan Szumskyj
The Role Of The Law In The Sanctification Of The Believer Today: A Brief Introduction To Pronomianism, Benjamin John Stepan Szumskyj
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
In recent years the theological term “pronomianism” has emerged within lay scholarship and academia. While still evolving as a concept, it is the doctrine that affirms the ongoing and universal nature of all God’s commandments, to be practised literally and non-literally (by way of principlism and paradigm), as opposed to a theological framework that designates only the “moral” as operative and those that are “civil and ceremonial”, as redundant. This dissertation contends that pronomianism is an accurate and credible doctrine of interpretation in which the Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ are to abide by all the commandments of …
Do Not Neglect To Show Hospitality To Strangers: Developing And Implementing A Program Of Home Hospitality At Furnace Creek Baptist Church, Philip D. Bramblet
Do Not Neglect To Show Hospitality To Strangers: Developing And Implementing A Program Of Home Hospitality At Furnace Creek Baptist Church, Philip D. Bramblet
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The researcher identified the lack of intentional interaction for the sake of the gospel between members of Furnace Creek Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, VA and people in the local community as an issue that should be addressed. This problem was addressed by developing and implementing a program of home hospitality with members of FCBC. Hospitality in private homes was identified as an important and biblical method of increasing interaction between the church and the community that has been neglected in doctoral action research. Many hospitality projects have addressed the corporate hospitality dynamic, but few have dealt with Christian hospitality …
Ripe For The Harvest: Developing Servants Through Spiritual Formation At Fairhaven Church Of Rootstown, Vincent A. Maltempi
Ripe For The Harvest: Developing Servants Through Spiritual Formation At Fairhaven Church Of Rootstown, Vincent A. Maltempi
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This action research project addresses the need to develop committed Christian servants within a church ministry context by utilizing a spiritual formation initiative focused on service as a means towards and evidence of spiritual formation and development. Fairhaven Church of Rootstown had not been instructed on the fundamental need for members to serve together. Consequently, service within the church was not a necessary part of discipleship or its spiritual growth plan. The purpose of this intervention was to create and implement a three-fold spiritual development initiative focused on Christian service that includes a sermon series, a midweek study, and a …
Equipping Equippers: Training Alaska Bible College Students For Equipping Ministry Through Mentorship, Justin Glenn Archuletta
Equipping Equippers: Training Alaska Bible College Students For Equipping Ministry Through Mentorship, Justin Glenn Archuletta
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The research project strived to improve the Christian Ministry Training program at Alaska Bible College, by adding a multi-generational equipping mentorship focus to the already existing program. The addition of the multi-generational mentorship is modeled after the exhortation found in 2 Timothy 2:2. Adding the primary goal of equipping to the mentorship program is founded in Ephesians 4:11-16. There were a total of 28 participants in the research project, which included recent graduates, faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students as of January 2023. The research project seeks to equip students of Alaska Bible College to begin equipping mentorship as student …
Influence Of Preaching’S Rhetorical Appeal On Evangelical Listeners’ Motivation, Nicholas Anene Oji
Influence Of Preaching’S Rhetorical Appeal On Evangelical Listeners’ Motivation, Nicholas Anene Oji
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Preaching is a form of rhetorical narratology aimed at persuading its audience via sermons to experience a renewal of the mind and the transformation of their life. While previous research established the fact that listeners comprehend sermons through their rhetorical appeal, it has been unclear how this has motivated evangelical listeners to act. The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to explore how the rhetorical appeal of preaching influences evangelical listeners’ motivation at evangelical churches in Savannah, Georgia. A comprehensive approach to exploring a sermon’s rhetorical appeal was utilized by focusing jointly on individual perception and social context. The …
Christological Application Of The Mosaic Law: A Hermeneutical And Exegetical Exploration, Nabeel Saqib
Christological Application Of The Mosaic Law: A Hermeneutical And Exegetical Exploration, Nabeel Saqib
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This study is a hermeneutical and exegetical exploration of the Christological application of the Mosaic Law for Christians. It involves a clear understanding of the relationship between the continuity and discontinuity from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the relationship between Israel and the Church as people of God, and the relationship between the Old and the New Covenant. It also requires a clear understanding of the meaning and purpose of the law for the initial audience, and its current significance for Christians today. Romans 10:4 presents Christ as the culmination of the law as it sees him as …
The Need For A Spiritual Reboot In The Youth Of Great Commission Church, Jean Max B St Louis
The Need For A Spiritual Reboot In The Youth Of Great Commission Church, Jean Max B St Louis
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The decline of the youth attendance is evident in many Protestant churches. This research paper examined forty-three young believers from three Haitian Baptist churches, respectively, located in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. These data results help develop a suitable spiritual program that includes the six key influencing factors for spiritual growth: discipleship, mentoring, parental influence, church attendance, personal devotion, and ministerial involvement. This spiritual program was tested on a small group of young people from Great Commission Church in Queens. This research uses a mixed-method methodology, which is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data. The …
A Correlational Study: Second-Chair Leaders' Level 5 Leadership Score And Church Growth Among Southern Baptist Megachurches, Martin Benjamin Lovvorn
A Correlational Study: Second-Chair Leaders' Level 5 Leadership Score And Church Growth Among Southern Baptist Megachurches, Martin Benjamin Lovvorn
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
As the church strives to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges and navigate tumultuous times to fulfill its Great Commission, church leaders must strive to understand the type of leadership required to best accomplish their kingdom work. In researching the type of pastoral leadership that will most effectively build the church of Jesus Christ and advance his kingdom, much work has been dedicated to examining the leadership styles and influence of senior or lead pastors. However, few studies have explored the influence of second-chair pastoral leaders (SCPLs). This study is the first to quantitatively examine whether SCPLs who demonstrate the personal humility …
Boundless Community: A Virtual Platform Designed For Collaborative Development Of Emotional Well-Being, Sai On Ng
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This research aims to apply the US Army concept of spiritual readiness to help Christians manage emotional stress in a civilian context through an online community. This project invites disconnected Christians to join an online community where they can address negative emotions by developing self-awareness of their maladaptive thinking and embody the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. This approach assists individuals in building emotional resilience, a concept emphasized in the military. This project addresses five negative emotions (anger, shame, sadness, fear, and loneliness) by replacing them with positive emotions taught in the Bible. The project consists of eight …
The Therapeutic Church, Isidro Morell
The Therapeutic Church, Isidro Morell
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This project aims to develop Nexus Point Church as a therapeutic environment. The Therapeutic Church environment is a supportive community, one member to another, ministering to each other empathetically, not service dependent or a dispenser of services. It is “Pew Neighbor” supportive and crisis intervention ready. The Therapeutic Church provides a therapeutic environment that heals interactively in spirit, mind, body, and relationship to improve the quality of life for the church member and those seeking help. This project identifies members as “Pew Neighbors” due to the proximity and continual closeness shared with those within the church community. Pew neighbors serve …
Grace-Based Faith Discipleship Approach Of Adults In South Rock Christian Church: Addressing The Contemporary Legalistic Lifestyle Of Disciples, Nicholas John Pannone
Grace-Based Faith Discipleship Approach Of Adults In South Rock Christian Church: Addressing The Contemporary Legalistic Lifestyle Of Disciples, Nicholas John Pannone
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Discipleship often evokes different responses. However, contemporary Christians have a faithfulness dilemma driven by the constant messages they hear. This DMIN project seeks to develop and promote a ministry structure that educates, equips, and enriches the Christian life based on God’s grace. The project seeks to provide a framework for participants to be transformed holistically by God’s grace. Often, the members of South Rock Christian Church understand grace as the entry point into salvation, but not the identifying trait of their faithful life in Christ. This action project consists of qualitative research that demonstrates a gap between belief and action …
A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Lack Of Baptist Church Participation In Seminole County, Florida, Ismael Melendez
A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Lack Of Baptist Church Participation In Seminole County, Florida, Ismael Melendez
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This phenomenological study explores the reasons for a lack of participation in in-person Baptist churches and the rise of participation in online Baptist churches in Seminole County, Florida. The theory guiding this study was Martin Heidegger’s hermeneutical framework which focuses on the commonality of experiences. Heidegger believed that to arrive at the essence of a phenomenon a researcher must go through the revisionary process of what Heidegger termed the Hermeneutic Circle. The principal research question in this study explored existing relationship(s) between in-person and online Baptist church leaders and how such relationship(s) contributed to a lack of church participation. The …
Biblical Memorization And Meditation As An Effective Means Of Spiritual Warfare, Scott Ahern
Biblical Memorization And Meditation As An Effective Means Of Spiritual Warfare, Scott Ahern
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This action research project aims to evidence how biblical memorization and meditation are effective means of spiritual warfare. The need for this type of study arises from the neglect of biblical memorization and especially biblical meditation in many evangelical churches. This author hopes the research project will help retrieve these spiritual disciplines for his home church Calvary Chapel of the Hills and broader evangelicalism. To promote biblical memorization and meditation in the author’s home church, he self-published a workbook titled Memorization and Meditation Manual: A Guided Workbook to Memorize and Meditate on Ephesians 6:10-18. This workbook guides readers in a …
Biblical Illiteracy In The Context Of Christian Apologetics: A Response To A Growing Concern At Faith Baptist Church Of Tyler Texas, Maurice F. Mcmillion
Biblical Illiteracy In The Context Of Christian Apologetics: A Response To A Growing Concern At Faith Baptist Church Of Tyler Texas, Maurice F. Mcmillion
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This thesis project addresses Biblical Illiteracy in the context of Christian Apologetics: A response to a growing concern at Faith Baptist Church of Tyler, Texas. The focal point of this project is to rectify Biblical Illiteracy in the Context of Christian Apologetics. Pastors across America have not identified that their congregations are uninformed on the basics of Christian Apologetics. This doctoral thesis project aims to give Pastors a structured format for reducing biblical illiteracy in Christian Apologetics with their congregation by providing a curriculum that can be taught and assessed. The methodological approach will be a focus group intervention. This …
Preparing Church Counselors For Obsessive Morbid Jealousy, David M. Reinhardt
Preparing Church Counselors For Obsessive Morbid Jealousy, David M. Reinhardt
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This research addressed the problem of the lack of training in pastoral counselors in the Iglesia Bíblica Bautista de Iquique, Chile, to help wives and their families suffering suspicious jealousy due to childhood traumas. This DMIN action research project trained pastoral counselors to connect childhood trauma to wives suffering suspicious jealousy. There are two stages of this action research; the first is to establish the connection of obsessive morbid jealousy (OMJ) to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The second is to prepare pastors and counselors to recognize the symptoms and causes of obsessive morbid jealousy and to have a clear strategy …
Cosmic Hamartiology: Using An Apocalyptic Paul Hermeneutic To Exposit Chaos Monster Passages, Peter Terrell Bingham Jr.
Cosmic Hamartiology: Using An Apocalyptic Paul Hermeneutic To Exposit Chaos Monster Passages, Peter Terrell Bingham Jr.
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Ancient mythology, precisely that of the Ancient Near East, includes the treacherous characters of chaos monsters who cause disorder due to their destructive supernatural influence in the natural world. Scripture includes chaos monsters of various sorts that cause the same destruction in the wake of their cosmic work. While an array of methodologies has been developed to study chaos monsters in the Ancient Near East considering their sources—i.e., Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Akkadian, etc.—there is a lack of a Biblical hermeneutic to adequately exposit chaos monster passages in Scripture. In the Apocalyptic Perspective on Paul, scholars have sought to develop a way …
Spiritual Abuse In Augusta, Georgia: Reconciling The Spiritually Abused To The Local Church, James A. Getts
Spiritual Abuse In Augusta, Georgia: Reconciling The Spiritually Abused To The Local Church, James A. Getts
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this action-based research project was to address the absence of a therapeutic process wherein pastoral counselors at Life Management Group (LMG) can responsibly attempt to reconcile spiritually abused Christians to a local church in Augusta, Georgia. One hundred percent of clients citing spiritual abuse in LMG’s pastoral counseling department were abstaining from any religious activity within a community of faith at the outset of this project. Data was researched at the international, national, state, and local levels. The researcher concluded that published research related to the topic of spiritual abuse is theoretical in nature only and not …
Becoming Who You Already Are In Christ: An Eight-Week Discipleship Plan To Equip Members Of Crossline Church To Live Out Their Identity In Christ, John Paul Jones
Becoming Who You Already Are In Christ: An Eight-Week Discipleship Plan To Equip Members Of Crossline Church To Live Out Their Identity In Christ, John Paul Jones
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This action-research project focused on equipping members of Crossline Community Church to live out their identity in Christ. The intervention was an eight-week discipleship plan, “Becoming who you already are in Christ.” The action-research project aimed to evaluate the impact of equipping believers with their identity in Christ upon their transformation into Christ-likeness. The project incorporated biblical, theological, and devotional content with a comprehensive pedagogy designed for maximum influence toward progressive sanctification. The twelve participants in the intervention engaged in sermons, training classes, small groups, and personal Bible studies as a part of the action research. Triangulated evaluation tools were …
A Phenomenological Study Of The High-Tech, High-Touch Pastor: Maximizing Personal Ministry In A Digital Age, Shirley Groce
A Phenomenological Study Of The High-Tech, High-Touch Pastor: Maximizing Personal Ministry In A Digital Age, Shirley Groce
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to explore how high-tech, high-touch senior pastors who practice servant leadership establish and maintain personal contact with their church members and lead them using digital technology. This research was particularly relevant in an era of social distancing required by the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical framework for this study was Greenleaf's servant leadership theory. Ten experienced pastors were interviewed to determine how they balanced the impersonal nature of streaming worship services while maintaining personal contact with their congregations. These interviews were transcribed, and important themes were identified to determine best practices for using technology while maintaining …
The Prophets’ Use Of The Shepherd Motif And Its Contribution To Their Presentation Of The Character Of God, Deanna L. Huff
The Prophets’ Use Of The Shepherd Motif And Its Contribution To Their Presentation Of The Character Of God, Deanna L. Huff
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The shepherd motif provides one of the most significant portraits of God in the Old and New Testaments. Various research on the historical metaphor within these studies frequently focuses on the relationship between rulers and leaders in the ancient Near East. The shepherd motif provides a tangible picture of the characteristics of deities and kings in their world. Therefore, it is a natural step for the prophets of the Old Testament to utilize a commonly used metaphor. In modern research, numerous studies in Ezekiel 34 have explored different facets of the shepherd motif. Several studies are related to leadership roles. …
Worship Through The Visual Arts, Terry Tripp
Worship Through The Visual Arts, Terry Tripp
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Despite some Protestant churches holding the view that creating visual art is a spiritual practice of Christian worship, many still do not recognize it as a spiritual practice that Christians who are called to be visual artists should be taught and encouraged to practice. This qualitative research study focuses on the reasons that creating visual art is a spiritual practice of Christian worship and should be encouraged by church leadership. Visual art has been abused in the history of the Christian church. People have worshiped the creation instead of the Creator. Due to such unfortunate practices and abuses, some Protestant …
Investigating The Impact Of The Church Covenant On The Revitalization Of A Declining Church, Robert Gene Gifford
Investigating The Impact Of The Church Covenant On The Revitalization Of A Declining Church, Robert Gene Gifford
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The local church finds itself in crisis and the decline in attendance and membership in churches is undeniable. The thesis project establishes that there is more to being a Christian than identifying as one. To reverse the declining trajectory, churches must understand what a church is, what a church member is, and the importance of regenerate church membership. The premise of this project thesis was that if the pastor preached on the church’s historic covenant, it would serve as a starting point for the revitalization of the declining church by affecting the member’s understanding of the church and their role …
Christocentric Discipleship At Faith Baptist Church Of Tuscola, Allan Clyde Harris Ii
Christocentric Discipleship At Faith Baptist Church Of Tuscola, Allan Clyde Harris Ii
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Faith Baptist Church of Tuscola and many other churches worldwide do not currently conduct Christocentric discipleship. Discipleship, in general, is not being achieved as well. A significant disconnect between the gospel and discipleship exists today. There is ignorance regarding the gospel and its message and how believers are to fulfill the Great Commission. The disconnect is a result of the type of gospel preached and implemented. This study aims to discover a means and method to correct the ignorance of the gospel that results in improper or lack of discipleship, thus creating converts to Christianity and not disciples of Christ. …
Is Assurance Of Salvation Of The Essence Of Saving Faith In The Gospel Of John?, Robert Vacendak
Is Assurance Of Salvation Of The Essence Of Saving Faith In The Gospel Of John?, Robert Vacendak
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Catholics, Calvinists, and Arminians deny absolute assurance of salvation. Instead, they imagine only “degrees of,” “a measure of,” “a kind of,” or “some level of” assurance before final judgment. Scholarly analyses of assurance often prioritize earlier studies, not Scripture. Therefore, few question whether partial assurance even meets the Biblical threshold. This dissertation seeks a fresh inductive analysis of John’s Gospel, a book challenging the scholarly consensus. Numerically, John’s divine truth-claims regarding eternal life/assurance far exceed other Biblical books. Careful exegesis of John vindicates absolute assurance and refutes partial assurance. Regeneration occurs the moment one believes Christ has irrevocably saved him …
Restitution Is A Necessary Part Of Biblical Forgiveness: A Look At How The Bible Provides A Legal And Moral Solution For Transgressions Committed, Robert Andrew Pannier
Restitution Is A Necessary Part Of Biblical Forgiveness: A Look At How The Bible Provides A Legal And Moral Solution For Transgressions Committed, Robert Andrew Pannier
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the principle of restitution and how it is an essential part of biblical forgiveness. What makes this principle so important is that God wanted to ensure that there was no barrier to the unity of the body of Christ and unforgiveness related to a transgression can be a huge barrier as it creates resentment and anger. Since the ultimate goal of God is the unity of His creation, God provided a system where true forgiveness could be achieved, both from a legal standpoint, where a debt was repaid, and from a moral …
A Patristic Christological Defense: Utilizing The Patristic View Of The Incarnation As A Defense Against The Problem Of Suffering, Scott Steven Hyland Sr.
A Patristic Christological Defense: Utilizing The Patristic View Of The Incarnation As A Defense Against The Problem Of Suffering, Scott Steven Hyland Sr.
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
At issue is the question of whether it is logically consistent to embrace the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent God in the presence of evil and suffering. Many factors prima facie seem to indicate that the existence of such a God in the presence of an abundance of pain, evil, and suffering is logically incoherent. If such a God does exist, why does He allow the evil and suffering that He does? Hume asserts, such a being should be capable of preventing evil and suffering. Van Inwagen argues that the existence of a world that is constantly modified to …
One Church’S Apathy Toward Fulfilling The Great Commission, David Thomas Williamson
One Church’S Apathy Toward Fulfilling The Great Commission, David Thomas Williamson
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Philippians 1:9-11 records Paul’s prayer containing four assessments believers can use to measure their progress toward spiritual maturity. These areas include a love that flows, a mind that knows, a character that shows, and a fruit that grows. The purpose of all these qualities is to demonstrate God’s glory. Where spiritual maturity is absent, apathy and complacency abound, and this dilemma must be overcome before a church can effectively pursue and sustain a viable focus on church revitalization. Because theological academia has not effectively focused on the partnership between spiritual maturity and church revitalization, this DMIN research project will address …
The Final Amen: Designing And Implementing A Christlike System For The Closure Of Waypointe Christian Fellowship, Christopher E. Sherwood
The Final Amen: Designing And Implementing A Christlike System For The Closure Of Waypointe Christian Fellowship, Christopher E. Sherwood
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Like a myriad of other churches across the country, WayPointe Christian Fellowship (WCF) experienced a long decline leading to a critical question: Should the church permanently close? In the case of WCF, the answer was yes, which led to other questions about how to accomplish the task while maximizing God's glory, minimizing the pain felt by those involved, and preparing the congregation to migrate to another body of believers. This thesis project was designed to enable the leaders of WCF and other church leaders to answer these questions. In this pursuit, a comprehensive closure plan was created and implemented at …