Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Remember My Chains: New Testament Perspectives On Incarceration, Matthew L. Skinner

Faculty Publications

Understanding the physical realities and social attitudes concerning incarceration in the ancient world provides a fuller context to the New Testament’s unadorned and ambiguous references to people’s experience of being held in custody. The context is crucial for interpreting biblical passages that commend caring for prisoners, that reaffirm God’s strength and nullify the ignominy associated with incarceration, and that declare God’s power over the means and motives of imperial coercion. Such passages also compel the contemporary church to advocate on behalf of prisoners and to denounce the systems that regularly victimize them.

Sing A New Song To The City: Ambient Rhetoric And Urban Hymns, Adam J. Copeland

Faculty Publications

Hymns are a key component of how Christians express their faith. But many of these hymns do represent the rhythms and sensibilities of an older and largely agrarian world. Using the concept of “ambient rhetoric,” Adam Copeland suggests that it is time for other hymns that represent the ethos of daily life in an increasingly urbanized world, hymns that will speak to the realities of urban culture.

A Participatory God For A Participatory Culture: Christian Theological Perspectives On Networks, Dwight J. Zscheile

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Elca By The Numbers, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Planning For 2017: Reformation Resources For Your Library, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

This survey of recent and forthcoming books relating to the Reformation seeks to help readers to navigate the deep waters of this literature and to find useful volumes from which to “drink.”

Christian Youth Ministries And Youth Sports: A View From The Trenches, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

Although youth sports have long been a challenge to Christian youth ministries, these activities are now consuming more and more time of the youth involved, often drawing them away from activities and ministries sponsored by churches. What are the issues (and opportunities) in this challenge, and what can be learned from those currently doing Christian work with youth?

The Story We Find Ourselves In: Nurturing Christian Identity In A Consumer Culture, Terri L. Elton

Faculty Publications

Consumerism has become society’s prevailing story, the story in which young people cultivate their identity. If ministry leaders are to help young people nurture their identity as children of God and help them discover a faith that speaks into the current culture, it will be important to help them shift from viewing themselves as objects within a consumer society to seeing themselves as subjects and agents of God’s love.

Religion And Ethnicity In The United States, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

Religion and ethnicity are deeply intertwined in American life. This does not mean that Americans cannot be one in the gospel, but we will need new models and new ideas of how to express our unity with one another that take into account the ethnic diversity of twenty-first-century America.

From The Other Side: Funeral Directors Talk About The Changing Face Of Funerals, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

This report of interviews with funeral directors will provide pastors with insight on funeral trends from the side of these professionals. More, it might serve as an impetus for useful conversations between pastors and funeral directors in their areas.

Money, Religion, And Tyranny: God And The Demonic In Luther's Antifragile Theology, Guillermo C. Hansen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Digital Storytelling: Empowering Feminist And Womanist Faith Formation With Young Women, Mary E. Hess

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Really, Really Empty Nest: Single Parents Launching Only Children, Carla M. Dahl, Katie Dahl

Faculty Publications

When only children of single parents leave home, the nest is really, really empty. This situation requires particular understanding and certainly is an area for fruitful ministry.

The Ecology Of Vocation, Terri L. Elton

Faculty Publications

Those who care about the future of the church have a vested interest in both the quantity and the quality of candidates preparing for ministry in this generation and into the next. And it is easy to see those pastors as the product of a series of independent and individualized decisions. A college student, for example, meets with her pastor to discuss her future. Or an engineer sits at the kitchen table with his wife asking if they have the money for him to quit his job and head off to seminary. The future of ministry does indeed depend on …

Fading From The Family Portrait, Andrew Root

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Life On Screen And Other Musings On Faith, Food, & Media, Mary E. Hess

Faculty Publications

Media and food have this in common: a healthy diet of either one nourishes us, while an unhealthy diet causes problems. Just as we eat together in families, we should find ways to engage media together as well.

A Screen-Based World: Finding The Real In The Hyper-Real, Andrew Root

Faculty Publications

What is real? In our media-filled world, have we mistaken the image for the real thing? The church is called to proclaim the real, not by rejecting the use of sign and image, but by affirming those that speak the truth of our existence.

What Difference Does It Make?: E-Learning And Faith Community, Mary E. Hess

Faculty Publications

By adopting a relational model of teaching and learning we can better align our programs of Christian education with our fundamental understandings of the faith. Digital technologies can help us do this more fully and more effectively.

A Butterfly Effect: The Impact Of Marriage And Family Therapy Training On Students' Spouses, Carla M. Dahl, Mary L. Jensen, Jane L. Mccampbell

Faculty Publications

This qualitative study examines the impact of mar- riage and family therapy (MFT) training on the

marriages of trainees. Analysis of data from 18 spouses of alumni from a training program in an evangelical Protestant seminary found participants reporting mostly negative impacts related to time and finances, both negative and positive impacts related to role changes and adjustments, and mostly positive impacts related to marital communication. The additional contribution of this study has to do with the report of an overwhelmingly positive impact of systemic, integrative MFT training on the student’s faith as observed by their spouse and on the …

On Forgiveness And Healing: Narrative Therapy And The Gospel Story, Lois E. Malcolm, Janet L. Ramsey

Faculty Publications

Psychologists and theologians often talk past each other, particularly when discussing forgiveness. Comparing narrative therapy and the gospel story provides a way to engage the conversation meaningfully, both realities providing ways to transform human lives

Experiencing The Spirit: The Magnificat, Luther, And Feminists, Lois E. Malcolm

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

From Ict To Tci : Communicative Theology(Ies), Pedagogy And Web 2.0, Mary E. Hess

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Religion And Immigration, Old And New, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

Two great waves of immigration since the middle of the nineteenth century have had great impact on United States culture and religion. While there have been tensions and conflicts, the benefits to both the civil and religious communities continue to be striking.

God, Civil Society, And Congregations As Public Moral Companions, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tolerance, Democracy And Fundamentalism(S) : Challenges In Time Of Systemic Bifurcations, Guillermo C. Hansen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Leading In The Midst Of Change: A Theologically Grounded, Theoretically Informed Hermeneutic Of Change, Terri L. Elton

Faculty Publications

This essay proposes a hermeneutic of change, grounded in theology and theory, which can inform church leaders’ strategic actions in the midst of change. Drawing from the work of practical theology, it looks at four vantage points proposed by Don Browning: descriptive, historical, systematic, and strategic. The descriptive view offers two insights: God is active and present in the midst of change and God’s people are simultaneously saints and sinners. The historical perspective points out that God has always been in the midst of change, but God’s love and promises for the world have not changed. Systematic theology fuses the …

Tolerance And Democracy Instead Of Fundamentalism And Empire, Guillermo C. Hansen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tolerance And Democracy Instead Of Fundamentalism And Empire, Guillermo C. Hansen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

God In Civil Society: Prophetic, Sapiential, And Pacific, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Phenomenology For Family Therapy Research: The Search For Meaning, Carla M. Dahl, Pauline Boss

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Growing Faithful Children In Media Cultures, Mary E. Hess

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.