Practical Theology Commons^™

Preaching As Foolishness, Steven D. Paulson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Joy Of The Lord Is Your Strength: How Your Passions Can Serve God's Mission In The World, Jay Grave

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This participatory action research project utilizes praxis events to enhance the understanding of Lutheran vocation in relationship to joy bringing activities. The research question driving this project is,

How would a participatory action research (PAR) intervention utilizing praxis events encourage congregational members to recognize and exercise their own gifts and passions as avenues of joyous participation in God’s mission in the world?

Data were collected through baseline and end-line interviews, transcribed meetings of a journey team, and census surveys. Data revealed that participation did yield a positive change effect on the understanding of joy bringing passions to enhance the missional …

Wesleyan Missional Small Groups: Three Crucial Attributes, David Werner

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Mixed methods (simple exploratory and participatory action research) study explored ways congregations can draw upon both the United Methodist heritage and the missional approach to foster spiritual formation using small groups that make sense to the postmodern culture and lead to behavior changes.

Three crucial attributes of vital, faith-forming small groups are: creating authentic community (belonging – engaging one another), engaging the Holy Spirit (believing – engaging God), and helping participants make applications to their daily lives (behaving – engaging real life). Congregations must do the hard work of contextualizing these and hold all three together for small groups to …

Cultivating The Holy Callings Of Ordinary Saints: The Church At Work For The Life Of The World, Jeffrey A. Eisele

Doctor of Ministry Theses

The Christian Church has long struggled to make better connections between Sunday and Monday by effectively equipping the priesthood of all believers for living out its faith in the world. This thesis reports the results of a participatory action research project aimed at cultivating connections between faith, baptismal callings, daily work, and the missio Dei through several congregational interventions. The results showed the effectiveness of cultivating a congregational culture through worship, faith formation activities, service, and especially small groups, for the purpose of strengthening congregation members’ witness in the workplace.

Preaching From A Biblical Anthropology: Sources And Methods For Correlating The Gospel And The Human Condition, Paul N. D. Miller

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Preachers’ understandings of the human condition are foundational to preaching that is faithful and effective, yet are often unreflective or dogmatic. Biblical anthropology provides both revelation about humankind and a variety of perspectives, aiding the preacher in addressing diverse situations. Topics explored: Old Testament anthropology undergirding the New; the fundamental unity of the human being; the differentiation of law, sin, and human nature; the doctrine of theological anthropology; law and gospel preaching. Research draws on preachers’ journals and listener feedback surveys to identify and demonstrate patterns of creative proclamation of the human situation and a corresponding Gospel response.

Coram Deo Et Coram Mundo: The Two Kinds Of Righteousness As A Normative Framework For The Description, Interpretation, And Healing Of Shame, Barson Lahivelo Mahafaly

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

Contemporary pastoral theologians, though describing and interpreting shame from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing both from theology and psychology, tend to propose healing for shame only from a theological perspective. Transposing Martin Luther’s doctrine of the two kinds of righteousness into an interdisciplinary framework, this work proposes that pastoral theologians need to describe and interpret shame as well as suggest strategies for its healing from both theological and social-scientific perspectives.

Luther distinguishes between two kinds of righteousness, one passive and the other active. Passive righteousness is the righteousness of Christ bequeathed to us through the Word and the Sacraments (baptism and …

Relational Pastoral Care And Counseling: A Practical Theological Exploration Of Relational Spirituality And Grief, Joel A. Jueckstock

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

What is the relationship between relational spirituality and grief? This dissertation pursues this question by employing a practical theological method for practitioners of pastoral care and counseling when tending to unique grief experiences. Grief is understood in terms of contemporary bereavement science. Relational spirituality is developed as an interdisciplinary, interpretive lens with the capacity to describe how individuals relate to the sacred in light of four dimensions: human-human, human-God, God-human, and inner Trinitarian. The outworking of these dimensions suggests a relational approach to interdisciplinary dialogue. Applying relational spirituality to individuals’ unique grief experiences produces a process of care for tending …

Sensitivity, Blessing And Doxology: Archival Practice As Spiritual Discipline, Mcgarvey Ice

Library Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Transforming Narratives Through “Live”: A Pastoral Model Of Care For Women In Sex Work, Nkiruka Okafor Ihm

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This work, “Transforming Narratives Through “Live”: A Pastoral Model of Care for Women in Sex Work,” seeks to provide the Church with a pastoral response from the narratives of the women doing sex work as streetwalkers in Nigeria. The work uses the four steps of practical theological model of Rick Osmer to describe, interpret, theologize, and strategize on pastoral care of women in sex work. The literature review, both descriptive and interpretive, examines the perception of agency as exercised by the women in sex work through the work of scholars, writings by women in sex industry, the different pastoral models …

A Theological Playground: Christian Summer Camp In Theological Perspective, Jacob Sorenson

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

Christian camping ministry is a vibrant and well-established form of ministry in the church, but it has received shockingly little scholarly attention. Supporters and detractors alike rely on anecdotal evidence to support their claims. Many in the academic community have dismissed camp as theologically shallow or mere fun and games, while others have praised it as a form of ministry proven to facilitate life-changing experiences. Much of the confusion comes from conflating very different models of camping ministry, though most is the result of a simple dearth of scholarly research.

This project takes a close look at the rich history …

An Inquiry In The Early Creed Of Romans 1:3-4: Does The Word Ὁριζω Support An Adoptionistic Christianity?, Nicholas Dodson, Brian Scalise

Eruditio Ardescens

No abstract provided.

Herman Bavinck Between Scholastic And Modern Psychology: Toward A "Reformed Psychology.", Joohyun Kim

CTS Master of Theology (ThM) Theses

Bavinck completed his first psychology book, Principles of Psychology (Beginselen der Psychologie, 1897) in the middle of his theological writings from his interaction with the nineteenth century psychologies. In 1920, Bavinck published another psychology book entitled Biblical and Religious Psychology (Bijbelsche en Religieuze Psychologie) on the basis of solid exegesis and biblical principles. In Principles of Psychology, Bavinck intended that his psychological principles would be as worthy as the empirical psychology of his day. Kuyper also stressed the doctrinal value of faculty psychology to Bavinck’s first psychology book in his review. Yet, these two psychology books were virtually neglected both …

Religious Vocations, Frank M. Lowe Jr.

Books

No abstract provided.

Mission In Evolving Cultures: Constructively Managing Music-Related Conflict In Cross-Cultural Church Planting Contexts, David R. Dunaetz

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

The choice of music, an essential element of worship and church life, must be addressed in cross-cultural church planting contexts. As cultures evolve, church planters are faced with choices about musical styles that may lead to interpersonal conflicts within the church. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine factors that may enable cross-cultural church planters to constructively manage music-related conflicts when they arise. Members of church plants, like all people, have various goals when entering into such conflicts. They are concerned about the content of the conflict (i.e., the musical style) and thus have content goals. They are …

Missio-Logoi And Faith: Factors That Influence Attitude Certainty, David R. Dunaetz

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

One of the goals of missio-logoi (missionary speech) used by missionaries is the development of faith in the lives of those whom the missionaries serve. From a biblical perspective, faith has both a relational (e.g., John 3:16) and a cognitive dimension (e.g., Hebrews 11:1). This cognitive dimension is similar to what social psychologists call attitude certainty, the degree to which an individual is certain that a particular attitude or belief is true. This study reviews the empirical research conducted to discover the factors that influence attitude certainty. These factors include support for the beliefs by peers, repeated verbal expression of …

(Re)Turning Warriors: A Practical Theology Of Military Moral Stress, Zachary Moon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The concept of military moral injury emerged in the past decade as a way to understand how traumatic levels of moral emotions (not posttraumatic fear) generate moral anguish experienced by some military service members. Interdisciplinary research on moral injury has included clinical psychologists (Litz et al., 2009; Drescher et al., 2011), theologians (Brock & Lettini, 2012), ethicists (Kinghorn, 2012), and philosophers (Sherman, 2015). This dissertation uses a pastoral theological method (Doehring, 2015a; Graham, Walton, & Ward, 2005) that draws upon life experience--memoirs written by veterans (Boudreau, 2008; Goodell, 2011; Mehl-Laituri, 2012; Peters, 2014)--to identify the inadequate understanding of moral identity …

The Myth Of The Saving Power Of Education: A Practical Theology Approach, Hannah Kristine Adams Ingram

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

U.S. political discourse about education posits a salvific function for success in formal schooling, specifically the ability to "save" marginalized groups from poverty by lifting them into middle- class success. The link between education and salvation is grounded in the historic relationship between Christianity and the establishment of public education in the United States. Initially, churches invested in schooling to form a Christian society. Today, the public institutions of education operationalize the ideology of meritocracy and promise individual success in the economic realm. Discourse analysis of political speeches and charter school programs demonstrates that education primarily offers its salvation to …

Spiritual Formation Of Young Adults In China: A Case Study Of Protagonists In Boxers And Saints, Xu Bian

Seattle Pacific Seminary Theses

The thesis examines the spiritual development of young adult protagonists depicted in Boxers and saints by Gene Luen Yang using the framework of six spiritual components and the approach of critical content analysis. It shows that the six elements, journey, transcendence, community, religion, mystery of creation, and transformation, are involved regardless of different religions people are converted to. In addition, religions provide an avenue for spirituality to mature given that spirituality is an intrinsic and universal characteristic of human beings regardless of their religious beliefs or lack of them. Finally, spirituality is not superior to religions because of the two …

Reconciling Hospitality: Building The Skills Of Reconciliation Through The Practice Of Hospitality, Sarah D. Henthorn

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the question, “Does the faithful embodiment of Christian hospitality that brings those in a social position of power together with the poor, marginalized and oppressed create a reconciled community where all people flourish and are equally valued?” The author explores theological, historic and ethical arguments for the practice of hospitality in order to develop a procedural guide to assist churches in teaching Christian hospitality.

Fifteen pastors were then surveyed to assess the viability of this tool as a means of leading congregations toward the practice of hospitality and the embodiment of reconciled …

Short Term Mission As The Undiscovered Country:, Brian M. Howell

Papers

No abstract provided.