God’S Plan For Life: Training Drill Sergeants To Better Serve Their Neighbor By Developing Moral Character Utilizing The “Transformational Moral Leadership” Model, Matthew Christensen

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Instances of moral failure within the U.S. Army raises the question of whether an individual’s character may be developed and improved by utilizing a moral decision-making process. If so, is it possible to measure this improvement? From a Lutheran perspective, is it possible to improve moral character without appealing to the boundaries provided by God’s Word and a Christian community influencing the spiritual dimensions of one’s life.

This project set out to build upon an eighteen-hour Transformational Moral Leadership training model being utilized to strengthen the moral character of drill sergeants at Fort Benning, Georgia. The project allowed me as …

God And Satan: A Look At Martin Luther’S Titles For Satan And What They Reveal About The Relationship Between God And Satan, Alexandria M. Shick

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Shick, Alexandria M. “God and Satan: A Look at Martin Luther’s Titles for Satan and What They Reveal About the Relationship Between God and Satan.” M.A. Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2022 87 pp.

The relationship between God and Satan is complex and intertwined. There is a tendency in Christianity to overemphasize Satan’s power and his place in the realm of evil and in so doing neglect and disregard what it means for God to be truly omnipotent. Luther understood Satan as being under God’s will, only having the ability to act where, when and how God allowed or permitted. The complex …

Cultural Formation Of Place: Making Yourself At Home, Olivia Arratia

Art Theses and Dissertations

The environment you grow up in can become a pivotal part of your existence. The sights, smells, people, and places you experience every day can transform the way you see the world. Growing up in a Mexican-American household has brought its own set of experiences that have made me the artist I am today. I am one of many contemporary artists building on the foundations of their heritage and the Chicano movement. I am also a Mexican-American artist expanding the identity and extending the legacy in the 21st century. This paper will investigate how Mexican-American heritage has influenced my artistic …

Deep Learning: A Teacher's Playbook To Facilitate Multiple Approaches Of Student Learning That Utilize Deep Learning Principles, Darin D. Griffith

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Darin D. Griffith on May 2, 2022.

A Classical Delphi Study: Identifying The Essential Leadership Characteristics, Traits, And Skills Of Lutheran School Leaders, Alan Freeman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Principals play a key role in the success and sustainability of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) schools. This study examines the qualities, characteristics and traits possessed by successful Lutheran school leaders to provide a framework for developing current and future leaders of Lutheran schools. Today’s Lutheran school administrator must understand and be effective in financial planning, marketing, curriculum and instruction, community outreach and strategic planning in addition to the more traditional areas of curriculum and instruction, employee evaluation, and other school management tasks. Today’s successful Lutheran school administrator must be a leader and not just a manager. Thus, Lutheran schools …

Life Beyond Bars: Nine Prisoners And Their Families, And Faith-Based Efforts To Recognize And Avoid-Cross-Generational Criminal Habits., Alfreda Reese

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

The aim of this study is to examine prisoners’ firsthand experiences and their underlying family issues to bring awareness and delete current cross-generational criminal habits. Through analyzing a series of individual experiences and exploring underlying family issues, the study intends to bring awareness and exposure to the implications of the criminal justice system on prisoners and their families. This study will analyze personal stories of prisoners and their families to identify, interact, and intervene in best practices to avoid criminal habits. The research gathered aims to empower prisoners and their families in suggested ways to delete repeated criminal patterns and …

Christianity, Feminism, And Identity Development In Christian Higher Education, Kaitlin Merlino

Communication Student Scholarship

Identity formation acts as an important part of human development. At the same time, some difficulty occurs when a person attempts to hold two identities that seemingly contradict. For those that identify as both feminists and Christians, this dilemma creates difficulties. As these two identity camps have been on opposing ends of a variety of issues for years, some may even feel unable to claim both of these labels simultaneously. At the same time, some can hold the values of each even as they reject the identity labels. The context of higher education provides students with an environment where they …

Examining Discipleship Strategies In Christian And Missionary Alliance Churches, Osvaldo A. Alvarado

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

In this quantitative study, discipleship strategies of churches in the Christian and Missionary Alliance were surveyed, to determine if discipleship strategies were effective at fulfilling the mission of helping people connect with God and grow spiritually. Data were collected from 30 church attenders from Western Pennsylvania churches, 27 of which fully completed the research survey. The internal reliability level of participant responses was evaluated and considered excellent. Results showed that the study participant perceptions that they grew in their faith in Christ through the discipleship opportunities provided at their church was statistically significant with a very large magnitude of response …

A Proposed Curriculum To Improve The Scientific Literacy Of Pastoral Leadership In The Church, Kacey Mewborn

Selected Honors Theses

Scientific illiteracy is a widespread reality in the Christian church today. The observatory and evidentiary nature of science seems to strongly contradict the faith-based belief in religion that often lacks physical evidence. This contradiction has incited many different conflicts between the congregation of the church and proponents of scientific advancement. A potential cause of this division is that the current education provided for church leaders is severely lacking in exposure to scientific topics that would allow these leaders to effectively communicate with their congregation when scientific issues are raised. Therefore, this research proposes a supplementary curriculum in the form of …

A Call To Family-Centered, Eternity-Focused Education Aimee Smith, Aimee M. Smith

Selected Student Publications

In Norms and Nobility: A Treatise on Education, David Hicks claims we are at risk

because modern education has lost its focus on moral instruction, normative standards, and a connection between knowing and doing. Beyond these changes in modern education, our culture is at risk because the education of future generations has been removed from the family. Parents can pursue a family-centered, eternity-focused education as they consider the iconic sword and the stone to overcome the current risk. Paideia serves as a cornerstone for an education recognizing eternal persons, and normative standards enable students to wield their swords of …

Charism Formation In Dominican Institutions Of Higher Education, Jennifer E. Schaaf Op

Doctor of Ministry Doctoral Projects

Using a qualitative approach, this research project examined the practices of charism formation and mission education at institutions of higher education founded by Dominican Sisters in the US. Broad surveys of those in roles responsible for mission at the institutions were followed by select site visits—conducted in person and virtually—and interviews. Websites and published materials about the institutions, curriculum, visible signs on campus and activities that are integral to the mission were examined as part of this project. As the number of Dominican Sisters available to serve in their founded institutions decreases, this research may provide a path forward in …

Determining Rural Church Growth And Sustainability Based On Population Trends And Outreach, Kimberly Ford

Education Projects

Farmington Baptist Church is a church located in rural Davie County, North Carolina. The church’s mission is focused on children, community, and culture. Due to consistent growth of the church population over the past 5 years, the church will soon outgrow its current space and needs to determine if they are to invest in a new building. The purpose of this project was to help determine if the growth of the church is sustainable based on both external and internal factors, and if so, what was the number of members they should anticipate accommodating with a new sanctuary building. External …

Battles Of The Mind: The Reaction Against Progressive Education, 1945-1959, Ben Yturri

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis discerns the relationships between three interrelated movements of the post-war period (circa 1945-1959): the overwhelming concern among leading intellectuals regarding the relationship between the individual and society, the post-war debates over education, and rising religious observance. Following WWII, the nation’s leading scholars and social critics addressed the most important problem facing the country and, for that matter, the world: how to avoid totalitarianism. Almost naturally, such anxieties influenced new debates over education. Broadly speaking, these controversies involved two related disputes over the efficacy of progressive education and the proper relationship between church and state. After World War II, …

Towards Charism Identity: A Catholic Identity Case Study Through The Lens Of Laudato Si’, Kristofer Ross Koller

Doctoral Dissertations

This case study evaluates the current relevance of how Catholic identity is conceived as an evaluative tool in accreditation processes. Catholic identity, though a concept inconsistently defined among various international contexts, is nevertheless utilized reductively as criteria for K-12 Catholic school accreditation in the United States, primarily through the framework of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS). Using the example of a secondary school with an explicit Catholic charism-based commitment to environmental sustainability, this dissertation collects qualitative data in an exploratory manner to evidence how schools that may seem insufficiently Catholic according to currently utilized frameworks …

Feminist Catholic Organizational Identity: A Phenomenological Study Of Charism In The Lay Educator Of A Notre Dame De Namur Learning Community, Kathleen Barrera Quiazon

Doctoral Dissertations

The Catholic schools of women’s religious congregations in the United States possess a distinctive Catholic identity, owed in great part to the charism of their founders and the feminist worldview that emerged in the sisters’ mission, communal narratives, and ministries. With the decline of women religious across the country, schools and congregations ask questions for the future of that identity in the hands of lay educators. As with many religiously sponsored schools, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and their lay partners in education are engaged in these critical questions for their own learning communities across the country.

This …

Pray And Play: The Impact Of Fellowship Of Christian Athletes Among Di African American Collegiate Football Players In Kentucky, Rasheed Flowers

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Participation in athletics provides student-athletes with opportunities to further themselves outside of athletics through academic assistance, educational opportunities and experiences, physical wellness, and personal/professional development. One often overlooked portion of this holistic development is spiritual development. As demonstrated in the name student-athlete, it implies a dual identity. Few student-athletes navigate multiple identities and a myriad of additional challenges in their collegiate journey than African American football student-athletes (AAFSAs). Spiritual development is vital for student-athletes; the literature validates that student-athletes growing in their faith may be better equipped to navigate the tension of multiple identity roles and cope with various circumstances. …

Absent And Present: The Mental Health And Wellness Of Ontario Teacher Leaders Using A Catholic Social Justice Approach, Jennifer C. Wojcik

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

The purpose of this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is to present a Problem of Practice (PoP) at Trinity Forever Catholic School (pseudonym: TFCS). This is the limited focus on teacher-leader mental health and wellness (MhW) stemming from a lack of resource organization by school and board leadership levels. Current MhW resources are not focussed on the health and well-being of educators. It is necessary to navigate resources that minister to the common good and dignity of all teacher-leaders. This exercise is important to the work of a teacher-leader who is serving TFCS under long-standing conditions that impair MhW. Catholic …

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear: Exploring The Effectiveness Of A Person-Centered Disability Awareness Seminar In A Congregational Setting, Joshua H. Jones

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

People with disabilities and their families frequently experience barriers toward inclusion and belonging in multiple spheres of life. These barriers are also present in Christian congregations. However, many congregations express a godly desire to love people with disabilities and their families without these obstacles.

The Old and New Testaments provide examples of how God’s people sought to love people with disabilities in their midst creatively and intentionally in response to God’s gracious actions, invitation, and command. Recent research in disability studies routinely highlight the necessity of being attentive to the uniqueness of each person with disabilities and his or her …

Educación Religiosa Escolar Desde El Enfoque De Las Capacidades Humanas De Martha Nussbaum. Una Propuesta Curricular Para La Experiencia Del Proyecto De Vida En Los Jóvenes De Undécimo Grado Del Colegio Rogelio Salmona I.E.D., Juan Felipe Mónoga Cáceres

Licenciatura en Educación Religiosa

Esta investigación titulada “Educación Religiosa Escolar desde el Enfoque de las Capacidades Humanas de Martha Nussbaum: una propuesta curricular para la experiencia del proyecto de vida en los jóvenes de undécimo grado del Colegio Rogelio Salmona I.E.D.”, de carácter documental, tuvo como objetivo diseñar una propuesta formativa que permita integrar curricularmente el enfoque de las capacidades humanas en la experiencia del proyecto de vida para jóvenes de undécimo grado del Colegio en mención de la ciudad de Bogotá, Colombia, con la intención de presentar un camino metodológico y práctico en la articulación e intersección entre la teoría de Nussbaum y …

A Values-Based, Holistic Approach Towards School Mission In A U.S. Islamic School, Salim S. Yusufali

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

U.S. Islamic schools endeavour to foster the development of moral practices and values stemming from Islamic teachings. Their efforts are demonstrated in classes (such as Islamic studies and Qur’an study), ritual practice (such as daily congregational prayer), and faith-based assemblies. Yet the schools often lack awareness, structure, and procedures for a focus on character, morality, and spirituality to permeate all aspects of schooling. They also tend to have limited resources for embarking on large-scale change initiatives. This Organizational Improvement Plan is written from the standpoint of the author, a scholar-practitioner, and Dean of Mission of a U.S. based K-12 Islamic …

The Role Of Aesthetics In Classroom Design: Implications For Engagement And Equity, Giuliana Barraza

Master's Theses

The desire for achieving greater equity in education has been a prevalent topic of research, with many studies indicating that the current education system in this country is designed in a way that exacerbates initial inequities and has a negative impact on student motivation and engagement (EOCD, 2012). While existing scholarship mostly discusses equity and engagement through the lens of curriculum and instruction, the power of physical classroom environments and aesthetic elements present in those environments is less explored. With student populations becoming more diverse, there is a greater need for new tools for teachers to utilize in pursuit of …

Animated By The Spirit: An Ecclesiology For Assessing Charism-Centered Mission In Higher Education, Michelle Nicole Blohm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A “charism-centered” institutional mission is a mission that is believed to be instantiated and guided by the working of the Holy Spirit. Countless Catholic higher education institutions claim to have missions rooted in one or more charisms. However, institutional assessment processes tailored to charism-centered missions have remained in their infancy due to the lack of a theological grounding for institutional charism and its assessment. This work uses Yves Congar’s pneumatological ecclesiology to establish a theological framework for interpreting charism as respecting and enhancing stakeholder diversity and uses Louis-Marie Chauvet’s ecclesiology of symbol to pioneer a model for institutionally assessing charism-centered …

Faith-Based Education And Civic Value Formation, Matthew H. Lee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the founding of the United States, scholars and policymakers have argued that education should not merely train the minds of students, but also prepare them for active participation in a democratic republic. This dissertation, divided into three chapters, studies the leaders, schools, and content that shape students’ character.

While educational leadership in U.S. public schools is widely studied, there is much less scholarly attention to educational leadership in Protestant and other private schools. The first chapter investigates principal leadership and tests for systematic differences in educational priorities and preparation for their responsibilities by educational sector. Using a nationally-representative sample …

Intellectual Access And Spirituality: The Twin Urgencies Of Responsible American Education, Matthew Schmitz

Educational Studies Honors Papers

America is increasingly, and perhaps overwhelmingly, becoming a society characterized by political divisiveness. At its most extreme form, Hannah Arendt argues such a division can make us vulnerable to a loneliness that destroys our confidence and leaves us dependent on ideologies. A renewed sense of spirituality and intellect are prime candidates for helping us develop a healthy relationship with ourselves that can help counteract this loneliness. Not only that, but fully accessing our intellectual and spiritual sides can give us the confidence to tackle democratic republican citizenship the way Thomas Jefferson envisioned it. Here, Jacques Rancière helps us to construct …

The Passing Show, Kathryn Fanelli

Masters Theses

The Passing Show, examines the interface between contemplative practices and the destabilizing effect of the carnivalesque. A repurposed early 20th century merry-go- round is reconfigured as a conceptual vehicle for renewing our attention to removing hindrances. The site-specific installation, titled Vimoksha, is viewed through the lens of the radical imaginary, investigating notions of karmic inheritance through a heuristic approach to material processes, personal history, kinetics and sound.

Service Matters: Integrating Faith And Vocation In Evangelical Christian Higher Education, Karen Rouggly

Doctor of Ministry

Evangelical colleges and universities in North America are at a tipping point. Schools are struggling to demonstrate their relevance to a culture that separates faith from work. This research demonstrates that using the pedagogical approach of service learning, colleges and universities can empower students to integrate their faith and vocation, ultimately producing locally and globally engaged citizens. The sections begin with a description of the ministry problem, noting the educational problems as well as the theological problems which produce systems of disintegration in faith and vocation for traditional undergraduate students. Next, the biblical foundation of symbiotic relationships between Godself, humanity, …

Decreasing Stigma And Increasing Partnership: The Black Church And Mental Health Community, Harriet Lakisha Bryant

Education Projects

Mental illness of any form needing mental health assistance has come with some negative stigmas and perceived apprehension in the Black community. African Americans' low use of mental health services, historically and presently, has been well-documented. As a result, many African Americans seek assistance from within their faith-based organization, particularly their clergy staff. Pastors influence views on mental health counseling and mental health-seeking attitudes of their congregants. For my consultancy, I partnered with Watts Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, a predominantly African American church to integrate mental health services into their church-based programming and to conduct an analysis of best practices …

The Congruence Of Teachers’ And Principals’ Perspectives Of Learning-Centered Leadership Behaviors Of Principals Within International Christian Schools And The Impact On Organizational Commitment Of Teachers, Andrea Dawn Rens Dugan

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the degree of congruence between principals’ self-perception of learning-centered leadership behaviors and teachers’ perceptions of learning-centered leadership behaviors of their principals in international Christian schools accredited with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) located in countries outside of North America. If a difference does exist between teachers’ and principals’ perceptions, will teachers’ organizational commitment be impacted? The perspectives of leadership behaviors were determined using the Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education (VAL-ED) (Goldring, Porter, Murphy, Elliot, & Cravens, 2009). Both principals and their teachers completed the survey online. Teachers also …

Increasing Church Resources To Assist With Building For A Small Church In A Rural Area In North Carolina, Christina Bell Hill

Education Projects

There has been a shift in churches, and many are closing (Wuthnow, 2013). Church growth is imperative in keeping churches healthy and allowing them to grow and keep their doors open. Smaller churches often have more challenges when they are trying to build on additions to their churches because of the lack of resources available within the organization. The 2021 pandemic also showed everyone how we can do things differently, and viewing church online became extremely popular. The importance of the church has slowly started to drift away. The necessity of attending church in a physical building is no longer …

Building Health And Safety Initiatives In Faith-Based Organizations, Jaqueline Denise Palmer

Education Projects

The church has always responded to the needs (the sick, dying, and hungry) of the community. The church is more than a place to feed the soul; it is a place for healing of the mind, body, and soul. How effective is the church in providing health and wellness education? There has been an increase in domestic attacks on faith-based organizations. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (n.d.) stated that from 2009 to 2019, there have been 37 attacks on houses of worship resulting in 64 people losing their lives. These attacks prompted houses of worship to review their security policies or …