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Full-Text Articles in Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
The Loss Of Baptist Identity: How The Loss Of The Baptist Name Impacts Theological Identity, Josiah O. Hoagland
The Loss Of Baptist Identity: How The Loss Of The Baptist Name Impacts Theological Identity, Josiah O. Hoagland
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Throughout the United States, many Baptist churches have been following a recent trend of dropping “Baptist” from the church title. Research has shown that with the rise of post-denominationalism, there is a loss of identity in Baptist churches. This study explores the effects of dropping the name Baptist from a church’s title and its perceived impact on the theological identity of the church. This study includes a literature review analyzing the current body of literature on Baptist identity. Six Converge North Central Baptist churches were studied, three with a Baptist name and three without, using church surveys and interviews with …
The Impact Of Presence And Touch On Church Growth, William Charles Berg
The Impact Of Presence And Touch On Church Growth, William Charles Berg
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This project addresses the problem of discovering whether, when churches move to be physically present in their communities and engage in appropriate touch through serving, there is a corresponding impact in confession of faith and church growth. To answer this problem, the researcher began with the incarnation and trinity as a model of presence and touch. The researcher reviewed the Gospels to identify Jesus’ use of physical presence and touch in His ministry. The researcher also looked at the impact of presence and touch on the early church in the Book of Acts. He reviewed literature that focused on the …
Video Church: The Effects Of The Video Church Model On Christian Hospitality, Assad Mohammed Saif
Video Church: The Effects Of The Video Church Model On Christian Hospitality, Assad Mohammed Saif
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Hospitality is fundamental to human spiritual growth. Jesus knew this. Therefore, Jesus spent much time seeking to encounter people in the spaces they naturally congregated in. God sent Jesus to come from heaven to earth to show people the incarnate God and his desire to welcome them into his family. More specifically, God sent Jesus to a specific culture in the world where he believed the message of God’s love could be viewed through the lens of hospitality. By using a grounded theory approach, the researcher set out to discover the methods by which hospitality is impacted within the video …
Discerning Best Practices For Multiethnic Church Of Christ Mergers, Jordan T. Tatum
Discerning Best Practices For Multiethnic Church Of Christ Mergers, Jordan T. Tatum
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This project was aimed at discovering best practices for multiethnic Church of Christ mergers. Three churches were discovered that had formed by the merger of a White Church of Christ with a Black Church of Christ. A study of the multiethnic dynamics of the early church provided the biblical and theological foundation for this project. Special attention was given to Galatians, Romans, and Ephesians, as well as the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15. The researcher discovered that the Church was multiethnic from its inception. The researcher then researched the literature concerning multiethnic churches in America, Churches of Christ, and church …
Leadership Development In Grace Church: Adding Replication Culture Elements To Its Family Culture, Timothy N. Thomassian
Leadership Development In Grace Church: Adding Replication Culture Elements To Its Family Culture, Timothy N. Thomassian
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This project addressed the problem of the lack of a systemic approach to developing potential leaders at Grace Church as it seeks to add replication-culture elements to its existing family culture. The problem was addressed in four steps: (1) exploring biblical leadership development principles using the examples of Moses and Joshua, Jesus and Peter, and Paul’s instruction to the church leaders to “equip the saints for the work of ministry,” (Eph. 4:11-12), (2) reviewing relevant books, articles, and other sources to discover leadership development principles as they relate to replication culture, (3) conducting face-to-face interviews with three leadership development pastors …
Liturgical Drama In The Church: An Application Of Daily Scriptural Living, Alma Lee Langley-Ward
Liturgical Drama In The Church: An Application Of Daily Scriptural Living, Alma Lee Langley-Ward
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The main purpose of this research was to study the validity of using liturgical drama as a vital tool of expression in helping to make Scripture come alive for the application and transformation of lives, first of those of the researcher’s local congregation and eventually of other churches. The researcher wrote and directed a play using members of the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church as actors and crew. The entire church was a participant of this research as the play was done during a Sunday morning worship service as part of the liturgy. The mixed-method approach presented the most viable …
A Qualitative Analysis Of Church Leadership Conflicts In Evangelical Churches In Northern Nigeria With A View To Building A Better Transformational Leadership Model, Timothy Danladi Nwan
A Qualitative Analysis Of Church Leadership Conflicts In Evangelical Churches In Northern Nigeria With A View To Building A Better Transformational Leadership Model, Timothy Danladi Nwan
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The project addresses leadership conflicts among church leaders in evangelical churches in Nigeria with the view toward building a better transformational leadership model. To address these conflicts the project centered upon transformational leadership phenomena, showing that a leadership development training program model for the future leaders must be seen as a priority in all the evangelical churches in Northern Nigeria. Such a model would be based on the researcher’s qualitative research study, which used thirty-six participants from evangelical church denominations as a case study. The study included both interviews and fieldwork-based research, in which the case studies of church leaders …
The Unity Process And Its Effectiveness In Decreasing Cross-Cultural Divisions In Society Due To Racism, Pamela Y. Fields
The Unity Process And Its Effectiveness In Decreasing Cross-Cultural Divisions In Society Due To Racism, Pamela Y. Fields
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This paper dealt with determining the usefulness of The Unity Process as a tool in combatting the racial divisions in the Dallas metropolitan area. The case study qualitative method was utilized for this assessment. The research identified the background information and the context of the divisions and then the framework for the research. Research tools included pre- and post-surveys and interviews with the participants. The entire nine-session process was observed and then the researcher compared the results of the research with the materials from The Unity Process and then presented the findings. The analysis presented followed the order of the …
A Multiple Case Study: Participative Decision-Making In Four Black Indiana Churches, Michael S. Johnson
A Multiple Case Study: Participative Decision-Making In Four Black Indiana Churches, Michael S. Johnson
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This research study looked at factors in participative decision-making that would balance congregational polity and pastoral authority. A multiple-case study was conducted with four Black Baptist churches in central Indiana. Fifteen participants were interviewed across cases and organizational documents were analyzed. Four themes emerged. They included effectiveness, unified involvement, decision parameters, and trusted leadership. Effectiveness related to support for a decision. Unified Involvement was about members’ sense of belonging. Parameters involved areas where certain groups had discretion in decision-making. Lastly, trusted leadership pertained to the calling of a pastor and the confidence members placed in that calling.
Creator God, Humans, And Artificial Intelligence: Framework To Address Theological And Relational Issues, Tinku Thompson
Creator God, Humans, And Artificial Intelligence: Framework To Address Theological And Relational Issues, Tinku Thompson
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Technological advancements are happening at an accelerated phase. Five decades ago, no one even owned a personal computer. A decade ago, smartphones did not exist. Today there are 2.71 billion smartphone users in the world, which is more than thirty-five percent of the world’s population. Many developments have happened in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, and Mixed Reality. AI is the term used to describe a machine’s ability to simulate human intelligence. Characteristics once considered unique to humans like learning, logic, reasoning, perception, and creativity are now being replicated by technology and used in every industry. The problem …
Cultivating Relational, Developmental And Missional Discipleship Within A Lutheran Mega-Church, Richard Michael Webb
Cultivating Relational, Developmental And Missional Discipleship Within A Lutheran Mega-Church, Richard Michael Webb
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Over the last two decades, many Lutheran mega-churches have become stagnant or have begun to decline in worship attendance. Some have even closed their doors, not surviving past their founding leadership. Furthermore, few of these mega-churches offer any kind of intentional growth pathway for their members. What is called discipleship often appears instead to be a classroom-driven assimilation process. This project addressed the problem Lutheran mega-churches have in making disciples by exploring the relational, developmental and missional aspects of discipleship and how they might be integrated into an effective discipleship strategy for use in these mega-churches. This project began with …
Christ-Centered Leadership: The Formation Of Millennials, Sean K. Wood
Christ-Centered Leadership: The Formation Of Millennials, Sean K. Wood
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The problem this project addressed is the perceived lack of Christocentric leadership development among millennials of Canadian churches with over one thousand people in attendance. In response to this problem the researcher explored Christ-centered leadership formation and discipleship in the New Testament and early church. The literature reviewed related to the uniqueness of millennials as it connects to leadership development. The researcher interviewed two Senior Pastors who are considered highly influential with the millennial cohort. These two leaders have both led effective church congregations in Canada during their respective twenty-plus year tenure serving the same churches. Millennial leaders who are …
The Role Of Transformational Leadership In Preparing Youth As Future Church Leaders, Michael K. Paul
The Role Of Transformational Leadership In Preparing Youth As Future Church Leaders, Michael K. Paul
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The membership of St. Peter's Episcopal Church has been on the decline. The most affected members of the church congregants are the youth. In return, this threatens the future of the ministry. The issue is mainly attributed to the failure of former and current church leaders to prepare youth as future ministry leaders. The biblical and theological foundation of the study was based on various passages, such as Gen. 17:4-5, Exod. 3:11, Luke 10:1-16, John 20: 11-18, and 1 Corinthians 11:1, among others. The researcher depended on the above listed biblical passages since they offered insights into Abraham, Moses, Jesus, …
Discovering Counseling Methods That Military Chaplains Can Use To Increase Spiritual Resilience, Philip E. Ridley
Discovering Counseling Methods That Military Chaplains Can Use To Increase Spiritual Resilience, Philip E. Ridley
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The research conducted in this project revealed most military chaplains possess innate skills that are valuable to counseling. Combining these skills with proven counseling methods increase service members’ spiritual resilience. Military chaplains’ empathy and the ability to actively listen to care-seekers is one such innate skill. Empathetic listening builds rapport and creates a safe client-focused environment. Within this safe environment, military chaplains can encourage service members with spiritual or practical wisdom. Additionally, military chaplains can provide assurance and peace through prayer, reading of sacred documents, or administering religious rites. These religious activities connect the care-seeker to their source of faith. …