Christian Denominations and Sects Commons^™

Complexities Of Pastoral Change And Transition In The Megachurches Of The Baptist General Conference, Evangelical Lutheran Church In America, And Presbyterian Church (Usa), Sheila Strobel Smith

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

The emergence of the megachurch in the United States represents a unique phenomenon which was shaped by a variety of cultural, political, economic, and religious forces. Megachurches have grown exponentially in recent years and now exercise unprecedented influence on the religious landscape in this country. Accompanying this phenomenon is a new and unique group of leaders who have guided these congregations through periods of rapid growth and substantial organizational change.

It is anticipated that many megachurches will encounter significant challenges in the future as the current senior pastors retire. Since existing research on megachurches has focused primarily on the congregations, …

2010 Perihelion - Oru Yearbook, Holy Spirit Research Center Oru Library

Perihelion: ORU Yearbooks

The Oral Roberts University Student Yearbook, the Perihelion, is produced by ORU Media and Communications department.

The images and files are copyrighted to Oral Roberts University and cannot be reproduced in any form without permission from ORU administration.

Adams County History 2010

Adams County History

No abstract provided.

Mormon Worship, Terryl Givens

English Faculty Publications

Mormons, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints*, (LDS), worship God, the eternal Father, and Jesus Christ.

LDS doctrine designates temples as the most sacred sites of worship, the believers' homes as the second most privileged spaces for devotional acts, and the chapels, or meetinghouses, as the third most important. A temple (more than 100 worldwide in 2000) is a holy place, a "house of the Lord."

Mormon, Book Of, Terryl Givens

English Faculty Publications

In 1830 Joseph Smith* published a book he claimed to have translated "by the gift and power of God" from ancient gold plates buried in a hillside in upstate New York. The book records the details of three ancient peoples who had inhabited the North American continent.

A Study Of Compassion: Aaron's Creek Baptist Church In Virgilina, Virginia Reaching Single Parent Families, Billy Ray Mcentire

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Christ's mandate requires the Church to minister to those in physical and spiritual need (Matt 25:31-46). This project ministers to disadvantaged single parent families in Southside Virginia and makes clear to the congregation of Aaron's Creek Baptist Church several things: its responsibilities to society, the need for its service to society, and God's mandate that it practice and minister with compassion. A field study involving church volunteers and single parent families provides observation and interview data for the project's analysis. Volunteers develop into a self-driven ministry team that needs less direction in future ministry projects.

Introduction To America's Four Gods: What We Say About God And What That Says About Us, Paul Froese, Christoper Bader

Sociology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Despite all the hype surrounding the "New Atheism," the United States remains one of the most religious nations on Earth. In fact, 95% of Americans believe in God--a level of agreement rarely seen in American life. The greatest divisions in America are not between atheists and believers, or even between people of different faiths. What divides us, this groundbreaking book shows, is how we conceive of God and the role He plays in our daily lives.

America's Four Gods draws on the most wide-ranging, comprehensive, and illuminating survey of American's religious beliefs ever conducted to offer a systematic exploration of …

Foreword To Irina Yazykova, Hidden And Triumphant: The Underground Struggle To Save Russian Iconography, Wendy Salmond

Art Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Wendy Salmond's foreword to Irina Yazykova's Hidden and Triumphant: The Underground Struggle to Russian Iconography, in which Yazykova discusses how the art of icon painting survived during years of Russian Communism and is now poised to launch a new era that reflects modern experience.

How America Discovered Russian Icons: The Soviet Loan Exhibition Of 1930-32, Wendy Salmond

Art Faculty Books and Book Chapters

On 14 October 1930, the first exhibition of Russian icons ever to take place in the United States opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Over the next nineteen months it traveled to nine venues across the country, introducing the American public to a form of medieval painting virtually unknown outside Russia. Billed as the "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Loan Exhibition," its avowed goal was to share with the outside world the full story of Russian icon painting's evolution from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries, thereby adding a vital missing chapter to the history of medieval …

The Origin, Development, And History Of The Norwegian Seventh-Day Adventist Church From The 1840s To 1889, Bjorgvin Martin Hjelvik Snorrason

Dissertations

This dissertation reconstructs chronologically the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Norway from the Haugian Pietist revival in the early 1800s to the establishment of the first Seventh-day Adventist Conference in Norway in 1887.

The present study has been based as far as possible on primary sources such as protocols, letters, legal documents, and articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers from the nineteenth century. A contextual-comparative approach was employed to evaluate the objectivity of a given source. Secondary sources have also been consulted for interpretation and as corroborating evidence, especially when no primary sources were available.

The study concludes …

Communally Discerning A Covenant Of Hospitality For The Care Of Children At Westview Boys' Home, Ron Bruner

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the lack of a covenant defining the practice of hospitality towards children for team members of Westview Boys’ Home. The purpose of the project was to facilitate the creation of such a covenant. The Westview ministry team already claimed hospitality as a strength; the hope was that reframing the ministry around this strength would improve the quality of care for children and the quality of life for the community. Invited into a communal discernment process (the methodology), the ministry team invested weeks in the examination of biblical texts, theological tradition, personal and communal narratives, cultural trends, psychological …

Whither Quaker Theology In The 21st Century? A Response To David Johns And Paul Anderson, Stephen W. Angell

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Persecution Of Coptic Christians In Modern Egypt, Alla Rubinstein

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Christian community of Egypt dates back to the seventeenth century and comprises 12 per cent of the population today. As one of the oldest churches of the world, the Coptic Christian Church, first formed in Alexandria, has stood resilient and faithful to its traditions against intolerance, siege and persecutions. Having been present in most institutions of the state among the overwhelmingly Sunni-Muslim population, Copts are not new to the slow process of Islamization that Egypt has been undergoing for the last twenty years. What has been unique to the recent Coptic experience is the forced integration of Shari’a law …

Transforming Attitudes And Commitment To Missions At The Mt. Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church In Greenville, South Carolina, Jermaine A. Boyce

Doctor of Ministry Projects

This ministry project's goal was to seek transformation in attitudes and commitment to missions at the Mt. Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, South Carolina. The goal of transformation was to guide the congregation's mission practices to be exemplary of its 'Missionary' name and the overall mission of the church as discovered in Luke-Acts and in the Abrahamic Covenant.

The project tested the attitudes and commitment to missions from the Missionary Society in comparison to the general congregation. The project revealed both strengths and weaknesses in the attitudes and commitments of the Missionary Society and the congregation about missions. The …

Glimpses Of Heaven Among Friends: The Utilization Of Film To Draw Interest In Small Group Studies At The First Baptist Church Of Albemarle, Roger William Thomas

Doctor of Ministry Projects

A small group study about heaven in scripture and contemporary film was developed in order to create interests in small groups. Believing small groups, discussions of the after life, and the power of storytelling are affirmed throughout scripture, individuals were recruited and led through the study. Surveys measured opinions on heaven and small groups among the entire congregation and the small group participants. Following the study, the participants were surveyed one final time on both subjects. Ultimately the study did not always change minds with concern to the afterlife, but the overall opinions of small group experiences seemed to be …

Developing A Process For Missional Formation: A Ministry Project In The Baptist Church Of Beaufort, Sc, Eric Thomas Spivey

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Traditionally, Christians and church leaders compartmentalize their lives into growing spiritually and serving other people. One studies the Bible, worships or serves others without much thought for how these spiritual disciplines of formation and missional living impact and influence one another. Through a designed pastoral experiment involving twenty-four individuals in three community groups, this project proves that missional living combined with spiritual practices increases the spiritual growth in the members of The Baptist Church of Beaufort (SC).

2010 - 104th Annual Summit, "Aliens & Light: Finding God In The Darkness", Abilene Christian University, Abilene Christian University

Lectureship and Summit Programs

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Mennonite In A Little Black Dress: A Memoir Of Going Home, Melanie Springer Mock

Faculty Publications - Department of English

Excerpt: "

An honest admission: When I first saw Rhoda Janzen’s new book featured in Time magazine and in The New York Times, my initial impulse was toward envy—unadulterated, green-as-possible envy. As a fledgling writer who grew up in a close Mennonite community, I often dreamed of creating a humorous memoir about my religious upbringing, complete with satirical observations about the peculiarities of Mennonite culture. Janzen’s Mennonite in a Little Black Dress was the book I always wanted to write. That the author had received a good bit of publicity for her work only intensified my shade of green.

After …

The Gospel According To Moses And Elijah, Roy E. Gane

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Jesus’ gospel culminates the deliverance messages of Moses and Elijah and points to our role: If we love Christ a lot because he has forgiven us a lot (Luke 7:40-47), we will find no greater joy than reconciling precious people to one another and to him before the great day of his return.

[Book Review Of] Siebenten-Tags-Adventisten Im Nationalsozialismus: Unter Berücksichtigung Der Geschichtlichen Und Theologischen Entwicklung In Deutschland Von 1875 Bis 1950, By Johannes Hartlapp, Denis Kaiser

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.