Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

18,491 Full-Text Articles 9,803 Authors 17,115,251 Downloads 216 Institutions

All Articles in Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Faceted Search

18,491 full-text articles. Page 108 of 457.

Innovativeness And Church Commitment: What Innovations Were Most Important During The Pandemic?, Anna Covarrubias, David R. Dunaetz, Wendi Dykes McGehee 2021 Azusa Pacific University

Innovativeness And Church Commitment: What Innovations Were Most Important During The Pandemic?, Anna Covarrubias, David R. Dunaetz, Wendi Dykes Mcgehee

Great Commission Research Journal

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented need for innovations in churches around the world. Organizational innovativeness, a precursor of successful innovations in organizational contexts, is rarely studied in churches. This study of American church attenders (N = 244) found that perceived innovativeness of churches (conceived of as the elements of a church’s culture which promote innovation, specifically, creativity, organizational openness, future orientation, risk-taking, and proactiveness) was a very strong predictor of church commitment (conceived of as intentions to stay in the church, r = .60, p < .001). Of the moderators examined in this study (membership tenure, age of participant, church size, and gender), only gender moderated this relationship; the relationship between perceived innovativeness and church commitment was stronger for females than for males. This suggests that innovations that facilitated relationship development and relationship maintenance had the greatest impact on church commitment during the pandemic.


Digital Monastic Communities At Sumter Chapel, Americus, Georgia, Drew Anderson 2021 Sumter Chapel, Americus, Georgia

Digital Monastic Communities At Sumter Chapel, Americus, Georgia, Drew Anderson

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.


Introduction To Special Section: Innovations In Churches During The Covid-19 Pandemic, David R. Dunaetz 2021 Azusa Pacific University

Introduction To Special Section: Innovations In Churches During The Covid-19 Pandemic, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.


Making Online Children’S Ministry Interactive In Wheaton, Illinois, Eric Norregaard, Ping Ng 2021 Wheaton Chinese Alliance Church

Making Online Children’S Ministry Interactive In Wheaton, Illinois, Eric Norregaard, Ping Ng

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.


The Quarantine Olympics Of Cultivate Church In Athens, Alabama, Joel Franks 2021 Cultivate Church, Athens, Alabama

The Quarantine Olympics Of Cultivate Church In Athens, Alabama, Joel Franks

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.


Storytelling The Gospel In Hungary: Zooming In On An Ancient Mode Of Communication, Keith Sellers 2021 WorldVenture Mission

Storytelling The Gospel In Hungary: Zooming In On An Ancient Mode Of Communication, Keith Sellers

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.


Book Review: Microchurches: A Smaller Way By Brian Sanders, Jason L. Lalonde 2021 Asbury Theological Seminary

Book Review: Microchurches: A Smaller Way By Brian Sanders, Jason L. Lalonde

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.


Announcements, David R. Dunaetz 2021 Azusa Pacific University

Announcements, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.


Innovation In Churches: A Theoretical Framework, David R. Dunaetz 2021 Azusa Pacific University

Innovation In Churches: A Theoretical Framework, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the many changes in the present socio-cultural context point to the importance of innovation in churches. A theoretical framework for understanding innovation in churches is presented, featuring 6 key elements. These elements include the cultural context of the church and the church’s target audience, a culture of innovation within the church, innovations in church programs, processes, and personnel, social capital (social ties) which permits church members to navigate the changes associated with innovation, program loss (that which is lost when programs change), and progress toward the church’s goals. The church’s goals and the …


Quick Responses To Community Needs In Two Churches During The Pandemic, Brad Ransom, Edward E. Moody 2021 Free Will Baptist North American Ministries

Quick Responses To Community Needs In Two Churches During The Pandemic, Brad Ransom, Edward E. Moody

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.


Identifying Current Gaps In Church Planting Movements Research: Integrating First- And Second-Order Perspectives, Warrick Farah 2021 One Collective

Identifying Current Gaps In Church Planting Movements Research: Integrating First- And Second-Order Perspectives, Warrick Farah

Great Commission Research Journal

The proliferation of church planting movements in least-reached peoples today provides an opportunity ripe for missiological research. Using the online application form for the Movements Research Symposium 2020 of the Motus Dei Network, this article identifies six gaps of understanding in the missiological discourse on movements: 1) Deepening Theological and Missiological Descriptions of Movements, 2) Identifying Best Practices and Effective Movement Strategies, 3) Clarifying Issues of Ecclesiology – Practical, Theological, and Spiritual, 4) Training Movement Catalysts and Practitioners, 5) Highlighting Contextual, Sociological, and Holistic Features of Movements, and 6) Documenting Movements with Respect to Verification, Metrics, and Administration. However, issues …


Book Review: The Culture Map By Erin Meyer, Kenneth Nehrbass 2021 Liberty University

Book Review: The Culture Map By Erin Meyer, Kenneth Nehrbass

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.


Complete Issue Fall 2021: Innovation In Churches, David R. Dunaetz 2021 Azusa Pacific University

Complete Issue Fall 2021: Innovation In Churches, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.


What If Forgiveness Were Unthinkable?, James K.A. Smith 2021 Calvin University

What If Forgiveness Were Unthinkable?, James K.A. Smith

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Review of Paul Kahn's memoir Testimony.


Review: André Van Der Braak, Reimagining Zen In A Secular Age: Charles Taylor And Zen Buddhism In The West., James Mark Shields 2021 Bucknell University

Review: André Van Der Braak, Reimagining Zen In A Secular Age: Charles Taylor And Zen Buddhism In The West., James Mark Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.


Baptists, Catholics, And The Whole Church: Partners In The Pilgrimage To Unity, Steven R. Harmon 2021 Gardner-Webb University

Baptists, Catholics, And The Whole Church: Partners In The Pilgrimage To Unity, Steven R. Harmon

Gardner-Webb University Faculty Sabbatical Presentations

Within the whole church, Baptists and Catholics might seem to be ecclesiological and liturgical polar opposites. The two traditions are arguably more dissimilar from one another than each is from almost any other Christian tradition. Yet they share much in common that can enable them to travel together as fellow pilgrims on the journey toward a more visibly united church. Baptists, Catholics, and the Whole Church: Partners in the Pilgrimage to Unity, the book on which Steven R. Harmon (Professor of Historical Theology, Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity) worked during his Fall 2020 sabbatical research leave, challenges Baptists, Catholics, …


Proper Understanding Of Freedom In Christ: An Apologetic Tool In The Modern World, Cindy Casalis 2021 Liberty University

Proper Understanding Of Freedom In Christ: An Apologetic Tool In The Modern World, Cindy Casalis

Masters Theses

Modern Christian apologists employ a variety of tools designed to aid communities in their understanding of God and salvation via Christ's atonement. One of the ways defenders of the faith add to their field is primarily in discerning the real significance of the treasures found in Christ. The freedom His sacrifice has afforded us is one of those great riches. With proper appreciation of this freedom the apologist is well equipped to clarify many misconceptions surrounding Christianity. This work begins by dissecting the true meaning of freedom in Christ from a Judeo-Christian viewpoint. Building on that foundation, then this thesis …


Maintaining A Biblical Worldview: Mitigating Emerging Syncretism With Worldly Philosophies Through Focused Instruction In Christian Theology, Scott Kendal Leafe 2021 Liberty University

Maintaining A Biblical Worldview: Mitigating Emerging Syncretism With Worldly Philosophies Through Focused Instruction In Christian Theology, Scott Kendal Leafe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are granted a “new nature” that enables them to develop thinking, a worldview, based on the mind of Christ. Unfortunately, since every person’s worldview is continually being modified, it becomes ever more challenging for believers to keep their thinking consistent with Scripture. Therefore, this action research thesis assumes consistent participation in focused teaching on fundamental doctrines and theologies of the Christian faith is necessary to develop and maintain a cohesive biblical worldview. This research project comprised the teaching of a five-part Bible study course at a local church in eleven consecutive forty-five-minute classes on …


The Survival Of Dulles: Reflections On A Second Century Of Influence, Michael M. Canaris 2021 Fordham University

The Survival Of Dulles: Reflections On A Second Century Of Influence, Michael M. Canaris

Religion

This collection, marking the centenary of Avery Dulles’s birth, makes an entirely distinctive contribution to contemporary theological discourse as we approach the second century of the cardinal’s influence, and the twenty-first of Christian witness in the world. Moving beyond a festschrift, the volume offers both historical analyses of Dulles’s contributions and applications of his insights and methodologies to current issues like immigration, exclusion, and digital culture. It includes essays by Dulles’s students, colleagues, and peers, as well as by emerging scholars who have been and continue to be indebted to his theological vision and encyclopedic fluency in the ecclesiological …


Bonhoeffer On The Interaction Of Theology And Philosophy: Christological Redescription, Joseph D. Carson 2021 Liberty University

Bonhoeffer On The Interaction Of Theology And Philosophy: Christological Redescription, Joseph D. Carson

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

Setting an example of philosophical theology in his own writings, Bonhoeffer can help contemporary theologians navigate the interaction between theology and philosophy. Predominantly discussing Sanctorum Communio and Ethics, this essay outlines how Bonhoeffer offers a paradigm of Christian engagement with philosophy. Bonhoeffer utilized the insights of philosophy by (1) critiquing its idolatrous nature and (2) Christologically redescribing its creative concepts in service to theology. Giving an account of Bonhoeffer’s critique and positive use of philosophy, this essay argues that Bonhoeffer’s paradigmatic view of theology and philosophy is a helpful resource for contemporary Christians. Specifically, a dialectic of antithesis and …


Digital Commons powered by bepress