Practical Theology Commons^™

Ministry Leaders With Spiritual Friends: Retrieving The Great Tradition’S Wealth For Nextgen Church Leaders, Hank Voss

Essays

No abstract provided.

How Can Catholic Youth Programs Improve The Youth’S Connection To The Mass?, Elizabeth Cook

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

No abstract provided.

Shall Be Bright At Last: Reflections On Suffering And Hope In The Letters Of Paul, Nijay Gupta, Martha Byrne Van Houten, Sarah Swartzendruber, Alec Ward, Martha Ekhoff, Anna S. Carlson, Jared Bucko, Paul C. Moldovan, Alex Finkelson

Monographs

These nine essays on suffering offer exercises in Christian hope. The contributors reveal honest and tender wounds of the many harsh realities of life in a broken world awaiting full redemption. They meditate on Paul's holy words that teach us to pray with expectation and live by faith. They encourage fellow pilgrims to trust the path and stick together.

Shall Be Bright at Last is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

CC BY-NC-SA

Empowering Laity To Engage In Pastoral Care Ministry: A Proposal For Capacity Building And Supervision For Larger Congregation With Special Reference To Kohima Ao Baptist Church, Nagaland, India., Tsuwainla Jamir

Master of Theology Theses

This thesis explores how to provide effective lay pastoral counseling in a large congregation, with particular reference to Kohima Ao Baptist Church in Nagaland, India.

Preaching The Law With The Gospel, Jonathan Saur

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Preaching tools like the Revised Common Lectionary infrequently draw preachers to the legal texts of the Pentateuch, even though the New Testament, and especially the four Gospels, are heavily influenced by the legal texts of the Pentateuch. Congregations are at a disadvantage in understanding the New Testament message when one of the primary sources that shaped the New Testament is ignored. This study addresses this problem by utilizing relevant scholarship focused on New Testament interpretation of the legal texts to develop suggestions for preaching these texts. The four gospels are surveyed to glean insights into how they interpret the legal …

Preaching The Witness Of Last Words: How Biblical Farewell Speeches Shape Contemporary Listeners' Theological Legacy, Derek J. Engfelt

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This project explores several last words speeches in Scripture, in an attempt to mine core theological convictions. It considers the subject of theological legacy. It seeks to ascertain whether or not the preaching of last words of witness will be effective in influencing listeners’ consideration of their own cherished spiritual values. By means of a series of six sermons the author endeavored to encourage listeners to incorporate into their own lives of faith the treasured spiritual values that have been passed down to them as a theological legacy and to give greater thought as to what core theological convictions they …

Preaching Hope: Young Adult Fantasy And Science Fiction As Conversation Partners With Scripture, Kathleen Monson Lutes

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This thesis treats young adult science fiction and fantasy as a conversation partner with scripture, particularly but not limited to themes of apocalypse, revelation, and end-times, for the purposes of preaching God’s love and hope in a chaotic world. Included in this conversation is The Hunger Games trilogy, Divergent trilogy, A Wrinkle in Time, The Last Battle, and Warm Bodies. The dominant themes discussed are prophecy, sin/evil/repentance, resistance, and the Great Battle. This work provides a voice for preaching difficult themes, including end-times, in a world of fear and darkness. It particularly offers an example for preaching the timelessness of …

There Is A Word: Using A Queer Hermeneutic Toward Liberative And Prophetic Biblical Preaching, Dewayne L. Davis

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Preaching to, for, and about LGBTQ people is too often characterized by ambivalence, homophobia, and microaggressions couched as speaking truth in love. And yet, the biblical text includes themes, images, and stories with liberating and prophetic messages for LGBTQ people that include and affirm them within the body of Christ. This thesis argues that preachers can proclaim a liberating, prophetic word for the LGBTQ people within their congregations by using a queer hermeneutic, the intentional and conscious interpretation of the biblical text using the experience, information, and knowledge about LGBTQ people as the lens through which to bridge the world …

Congregational Exegesis: Toward Shared Proclamation, Tracy Crick-Butler

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Recognizing that theological diversity is a reality in many mainline churches, this thesis considers the value of exegeting the congregation to gain knowledge of the congregation’s lived and local theology. That knowledge is then used to write and preach four sermons with the intent of helping both the listener and the preacher deepen their understanding of Jesus. An additional focus is on the challenge for the preacher to make clear and bold theological claims. Using an Action-Reflection method of research, interactive exegetical tools, questionnaires, surveys and a personal preaching journal, this project is carried out by a minister in a …

Reaching The Diaspora: Streamed Worship And Preaching In The Lutheran Church Of Australia, Cultivating Koinonia And Ecclesia, Timothy Paul Stringer

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Streamed worship has been happening in the Lutheran Church of Australia since 2013. Who is it reaching? Where is it reaching? Is it connecting them to community and the church? Is the preaching reaching the people who gather outside of the physical church buildings? Is there anything we can do to improve the reach, the connection and the sense of belonging to the wider church even when living remotely or kept away from regular worship by illness, disability or work commitments? This exploratory case study seeks to find these answers and more and then to offer ways forward for the …

The Reflective Preacher: Effective Habits For Homiletical Self-Assessment, Brenda Froberg Legred

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Biblical preaching is the key to church growth and health. Research shows that people are choosing not to worship because of mediocre messages from the pulpit. Yet, people are hungry for what God has to say about their life and context. The pastor-preacher must take the preaching task very seriously, devoting time and energy to the endeavor and seeking to continually improve their craft. The problem is that most pastors do not develop effective habits for homiletical self-assessment. This researcher will offer strategies and tools for faithful preaching and ideas for becoming a more reflective preacher. There are acquired skills …

Missional Leadership In Times Of Congregational Transition, Tormod O. Svensson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Congregational transitions are points of change, providing opportunities to introduce a missional understanding and direction of ministry. Missional leadership in times of congregational transition includes case studies of three ELCA congregations in transition, led by pastors who have a missional understanding of leadership, processed through the lenses of transformational pastoral leadership, congregational transitions, what it might mean to be sent by God, the Holy Spirit leading and empowering, missional ecclesiology, and congregational spiritual practices. It draws on resources by Allen Roxburgh, Patrick Keifert, Dwight Zscheile, Craig Van Gelder, Lee Bolman, Terrence Deal, Peter Northouse, William and Susan Bridges, and others.

Invisible Poverty: Awareness, Attitudes, And Action, Joseph W. Johnson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

In small-town rural America, we do not tend to see poverty. Poverty is relatively invisible, especially among our youth and children. Invisible Poverty explores the issues, challenges, stereotypes, and causes of small-town rural poverty while presenting possible solutions. Drawing from Alvin Luedke, Craig Van Gelder, Alan Roxburgh, Patrick Keifert, Cynthia Duncan, and Shannon Jung, Invisible Poverty presents a missional theology of accompaniment seeking justice and avoiding shame. In an effort to understand the complexity of rural poverty, Invisible Poverty asks; How might Action Research interventions affect awareness, attitudes, and actions of the congregation concerning the issues of poverty?

Proclaiming Jubilee: Preaching That Sets Women Free, Jennifer Michelle Benson Moran

Doctor of Ministry Theses

In Luke 4, Jesus outlines his mission: to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and free the oppressed. Yet the marginalization and oppression of women have been structurally normalized throughout history, both in secular society as well as Christian culture. Through historical, cultural, biblical, exegetical, hermeneutical, and homiletical analysis, this study posits that a jubilee homiletic is a crucial part of embodying liberation from textual interpretations that have prioritized those who are privileged, so that women may reclaim scripture as a source of freedom.

Harvesting Hope: Biblical Preaching With People Of The Land, Catherine Belles

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This project seeks to customize generic preaching skills to better serve rural Midwest churches in a time of great transition. “What seeds are we planting that our harvest will be hope in Jesus Christ? Does the Word of God affect our response, and are we transformed by that change, so that hope becomes part of our faith DNA?” Seeking to encourage prophetic visioning, preacher, leaders, and members to live into God’s ongoing new creation. Harvest is a major theme in rural communities and biblical narrative, a metaphor of grace and judgement. Preachers are encouraged to glean the faith stories of …

Do You Hear What I Hear? Discernment And Dialogue In A Secular Age, Andrew J. Schlecht

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This Participatory Action Research (PAR) utilized a mixed methods approach to address an adaptive challenge in a Lutheran church in a bedroom community in a small town and rural setting. The research involved implementing PAR interventions that cultivated four spiritual capacities: see, hear, know, and say within the realm of faith formation. Results suggest the Holy Spirit initiated a process of cultural adaptation as participants began reframing their world view, having their missional imagination transformed, discerning the triune God’s active presence, and engaging in dialogue.

Liberated For Mission: Theology Of The Cross Informing A Fresh Missional Imagination, Pamela M. Marolla

Doctor of Ministry Theses

“How might an action research intervention cultivate a hermeneutic of missio Dei as it relates to baptismal vocation?” This study used mixed methods action research including interventions, questionnaires, Dwelling in the Word, and interviews. Biblical and theological lenses were God’s liberating nature, baptismal vocation, theology of the cross, missio Dei and more. Theoretical lenses were leadership theories, strengths, assets, hospitality, and imaginative interaction. Interventions were a sermon series, dwelling in the word, and contextual leadership. Through these the congregation gained understanding of the liberating nature of God through prophecy, reconciliation, being known, and their own place in missio Dei.

A Hermeneutic For The Aqedah Test: A Way Beyond Jon Levenson’S And Terence Fretheim’S Models, Arlyn Sunshine Drew

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Dissertation Abstract

Revelation. Paideia: Commentaries On The New Testament [Review] / Tonstad, Sigve K., Stanislav Kondrat

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Book Review

Nurturing Emotional Intelligence To Encourage An Increase In Compassion Among The Members Of Ecclesia Baptist In Asheville, North Carolina, Aileen Mitchell Lawrimore

Doctor of Ministry Projects

God’s infinite chesed for humanity, embodied in Jesus, calls Christians to claim their inherent brokenness and their infinite beauty and to offer the same grace to others. This chesed, experienced as compassion, enables Christians to extend compassion to themselves and others. To encourage this behavior among members of Ecclesia Baptist, this project paired psychology with theology and biblical study to nurture emotional intelligence (EQ). Participants attended five two-hour sessions and spent time on reflection and practice outside of meetings. Results indicated that increased EQ boosts confidence in compassionate behavior and increases intentions to continue practices formed from the study.