Digital Commons Network^™

Bridging The Latino--Anglo Gap: A Transition Towards A Cross-Cultural Church At First Baptist Church, Robbins, North Carolina, Ernesto Robledo

Doctor of Ministry Projects

In its 2,000 years of existence, the church has remained mostly segregated in regards to the inclusion of other cultures within one setting. Christians from various traditions have spent centuries trying to be more like Jesus as they worshiped in many different settings. Even though the church has been active for so long, the reality is that she has been predominantly white. Through an intentional pastoral project, twenty-four individuals participated in a four-week bilingual Bible study and a community-wide missionary event. These purposeful interactions proved that the church can change her traditional ministry pattern by engaging members of the Latino …

Covenant, Particularity, And Inclusion: An Analysis Of Isaiah 56:1-8 And Its Implications For Modern Jewish And Christian Communities, Alison Hartke

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

Mission At And From The Margins: Patterns, Protagonists And Perspectives, Peniel Jesudason, Rufus Rajkumar, Joseph Prabhakar Dayam, I. P. Asheervadham

Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series

This volume revisits the 'hi-stories' of Mission from the 'bottom up' paying critical attention to people, perspectives and patterns that have often been elided in the construction of mission history. Focusing on the mission story of Christian churches in the South Indian state of Abdhra Pradesh, where Christianity is predominantly Dalit in its composition, this collection of essays, ushers its readers to re-shape their understanding of the landscape of mission history by drawing their attention to the silences and absences within pre-dominant historical accounts.

Global Diasporas And Mission, Amos Yong, Chandler H. Im

Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series

The movement of people from their homelands is increasing exponentially. Such waves of both immigration and migration triggered by various factors have created new opportunities for the church and its mission. This volume explores such global diasporas from both ecclesiological and missiological perspectives. Its various case studies invite reconsideration of the missionary and evangelistic task of the church in response to contemporary global dynamics. The image of the dandelion on the front cover symbolizes diverse people groups dispersed around the globe, even as the Christian imagination views such dispersal as being carried by the winds of the Holy Spirit.

Masters Of The Faith, Elmer L. Towns

Course Texts and Sunday School Campaigns

No abstract provided.

A Divine Round Trip: The Literary And Christological Function Of The Descent/Ascent Leitmotif In The Gospel Of John, Susan Elizabeth Humble

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The thesis of this dissertation is that the Descent/Ascent Leitmotif, which includes the language of not only descending and ascending, but also going, coming, and being sent, performs a significant literary and christological function in the Gospel of John. The Evangelist's Descent/Ascent Leitmotif becomes the Gospel's organizing principal, drawing together a constellation of verbs and a number of themes, including Jesus-Son's origin, identity, relationship to God, authority, signs and works, life, and glory.

In the introductory chapter, after providing a layout of the dissertation, the discussion turns to the spacial dimensions and christological importance of the vertical and horizontal depictions …

Ecotheology And The Parables Of Jesus: Creative Re-Readings Of Parables In Light Of The Environmental Crisis, Anita L. Peebles

Honors Papers

In this paper I demonstrate how adopting a scriptural hermeneutic based in Rosemary Radford Ruether’s prophetic principle can cultivate the ability of Christian communities to interpret Scripture based on their own community context. I will provide an interpretive framework for rethinking relationships between humans, nature, and the Divine that can serve as a correction for entrenched reading practices that reinforce Christianity’s complicity in environmental degradation. I use reader-response theory to conduct literary-critical readings of three well-known parables from the Gospel of Luke. The parabolic structure of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation informs my view of the parables as inherently subversive and …

'To Open Eyes That Are Blind . . . ' [Isa 42:7]: Senses, Idolatry, And Unity In Isaiah, Kelsie Job

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the theme of sense-lessness throughout Isaiah in connection with the sin of idolatry and prophetic expectation that Israel and Judah will one day be reunited. It explores Isaiah's use of a metaphorical trope to communicate the spiritual reality of Israel's insensibility and Isaiah's anticipation of YHWH's restorative action on their behalf. The restoration of Israel's senses portrays Israel's metaphorical features (eyes, ears, hearts) finally fulfilling their proper purpose before God (seeing, hearing, understanding), which are representative of the deeper spiritual reality that they at last will find their proper function as the people of God. Their senses …

'Whence This Evil?' A Critical Assessment Of (Anti)Theodicy And Innocent Suffering In Lamentations 3, Mark P. Stone

Theses and Dissertations

Recent scholarship on Lamentations has focused on the voice of Daughter Zion in chapters 1-2. Arguing that the frank protests constitute an antitheodicy, interpreters have placed these poems in opposition to the voice of the man in Lam 3, specifically 3:21-42. This Wisdom-like, paraenetic section is seen to put forth a theodicy, counseling penitent acceptance of God's righteous judgment. The present study argues instead that, when incorporated into the rhetorical movement of Lam 3 as a whole, 3:21-42 instead constitutes an antitheodicy consonant with Lam 1-2. It is proposed that Lamentations manipulates the expected theodicy solution until it has been …

The Pedagogy Of Hip Hop In Teaching Missiology: Exploring A Project Based Learning Environment Using Elements Of Hip Hop Culture As The Curriculum, Daniel White Hodge

Papers

No abstract provided.

Engaging In Pneumatic Mission Praxis, Robert L. Gallagher

Papers

No abstract provided.

Redesigning Missiological Education For The Twenty- First Century: International Joint Degrees In Development Studies And Missiology Through Institutional Partnerships In The Americas, Kevin Book-Satterlee

Papers

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Founded Upon A Rock: Doctrinal And Temple Implications Of Peter’S Surnaming, Matthew L. Bowen

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The famous Petros/petra wordplay in Matthew 16:18 does not constitute Jesus’s identification of Peter as the “rock” upon which his church would be built. This wordplay does however identify him with that “rock” or “bedrock” inasmuch as Peter, a small “seer-stone,” had the potential to become like the Savior himself, “the Rock of ages.” One aspect of that “rock” is the revelation that comes through faith that Jesus is the Christ. Other aspects of that same rock are the other principles and ordinances of the gospel, including temple ordinances. The temple, a symbol of the Savior and his body, is …

Reading A Protoevangelium In The Context Of Genesis, David Pettus

Eruditio Ardescens

This article proposes that the case for a ‘messianic’ reading of Gen. 3:15 is cumulative. No single individual argument is decisive and it is virtually impossible to sustain a robust protevangelium interpretation of this text within the context of Gen. 3 alone. However, as already pointed out in the introduction, isolating Gen. 3 from its literary/historical context in the book of Genesis does not lead to a fruitful resolution of its meaning but at best creates a hypothetical reconstructed meaning behind the text which becomes difficult to sustain in light of the interpretation of the 'seed' in the entire book. …

Genesis: Declaration Of God's Blessing - Chapter 2 From "Abrahamic Blessing: A Missiological Narrative Of Revival In Papua New Guinea", Sarita Gallagher

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

The Cleansing Of The Temple In The Fourth Gospel As A Call To Action For Social Justice, Douglas Thompson Goodwin

MA in Religion Theses

Historically, there has been the attitude that the writer of the Fourth Gospel, due primarily to his emphasis on the high Christology of Jesus, is uninterested, or even unconcerned, with the issues of social justice. The contention of this study is to show that this is just the opposite. By placing the Temple cleansing episode at the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry, instead of the end as the Synoptics do, the author of the Fourth Gospel uses Jesus' Temple episode as the vehicle for showing the importance of caring for those in society who have no voice and no future. …

Learning Together: Integrating Worship, Education, And Personal Devotion At Oakhurst Baptist Church Of Asheboro, North Carolina, Hunter Duncan

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The hypothesis of this project is that an integrated worship experience that engages church members with one biblical concept each week through various interactions will strengthen the community of faith. The ministry experiment sought to accomplish this goal by integrating weekly worship, Sunday School, daily devotions, and an internet-based discussion forum. Data was collected from project participants before the project began, weekly to measure the ongoing impact, and again at the project's conclusion. The results of the project revealed that integrating worship elements does improve engagement with the community of faith and the overall satisfaction with the weekly worship experience.

The Impact Of A Functional Understanding Of The Image Of God On Mission, Gary Hubbard

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to apply the work of biblical scholars regarding the functional image of God to the mission of the Church in order to argue for a comprehensive understanding of mission. By demonstrating continuity between God's creation purposes for humanity and his post-Fall work among his people, this study will seek to demonstrate that the Lord has always desired that his image bearers participate in the missio Dei. Furthermore, by explaining how Christ restores the imago Dei in the Church, this work will show that the mission of the Church is comprehensive, involving active participation in …

Book Reviews, Nathan Crawford, Frederick Long, David J. Zucker, Jeremy B. Griffin, Luke Allen, Robert A. Danielson, Ryan K. Giffin, Benjamin D. Espinoza, J J. Henderson, Jeremiah K. Garrett, Steven Lane, Charles Meeks, David Bundy, Robert Baker, Jeff Hiatt

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Eden University—Nurturing Life For The Real World, Jordan Guy

The Asbury Journal

Teachers are responsible for equipping students with wisdom for survival in the “real world.” One method for fulfilling this task is to trans- port three essential elements from the Garden of Eden into the classroom environment. This means: 1) exposing students to every “tree” in the gar- den, 2) inviting “the serpent” into the classroom in order to make every decision tempting, and 3) reflecting together on the benefits/consequences of every decision. Students and teachers who explore, wrestle with, and reflect on real world problems first in a nurturing community are better equipped to survive and even thrive in the …

Act, Values, And Christian Psychology: A Response To Sisemore, Mark R. Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

“Amen, brother” is probably too brief a response for an academic journal, but it would be a fitting summary for my observations of Sisemore’s (2015) article, “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Christian Translation.” Sisemore demonstrates both a good understanding of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Christian wisdom. Rather than repeating all our points of agreement, I limit my observations to two anecdotes about ACT and Christianity, a few positive reflections regarding Sisemore’s article, and two suggestions for further translation work.

"We Thank God For You" How Thanksgiving Transforms Our Walk: A Study In The Theology Of Colossians, Thomas R. Shepherd

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

United We Stand': A Biblical Perspective On Ecumenical Relations, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

A Strategy To Present The Concept Of Headship: Healing Families In The North Burundi Mission, Ndikubwayo Joseph

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. The headship of a husband over a wife is one of the concepts that creates a lot of misunderstanding in some Seventh-day Adventist homes in the North Burundi Mission. This situation has impacted both families and the church. On one hand, a husband believes he is to be strong, that he is the only one who can think logically, and that he should make all the decisions for the household. On other hand, a woman is considered to be weak, and therefore must respect her husband, have babies, and keep quiet. Unfortunately many women show respect out of fear …

A Strategy To Share The Gospel With The Hindu Community In The South Kenya Conference, Willys M. Oruta

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Adventist Church in the South Kenya Conference has not developed a strategy to share the Gospel with the Hindu community. The Hindu community is generally looked at as an idol worshipping group. However, this community conducts most of the business in many towns in Kenya. For this reason, they should not be neglected because God wants them to be part of His kingdom. Jesus died for the salvation of the whole world; therefore, a strategy to share the Gospel with the Hindu community is a divine command. In the South Kenya Conference, particularly in Kisii, the Hindu community …

A Discipleship Program For Developing Community In The Amazing Grace Seventh-Day Adventist Church Plant In Johannesburg, Samuel O. Misiani

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Many believers hunger for a deeper experience with Christ in their spiritual life, but do not know how to go about it. This discipleship and spirituality project was an attempt to discover a model that one could use to develop an authentic community in the ministry context of the researcher. Discipleship is a loving relationship with Christ in which the one whom He calls submits to His Lordship, and makes God’s purpose and glory the sole reason for being. In essence it is about total commitment to the Lordship of Christ, and cooperation with the Holy Spirit in His …

Strategy To Develop A Culture Of Biblical Spirituality Among South New South Wales Conference Pastors, Kendell Cobbin

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The majority of the pastors in the South New South Wales Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church work in isolated rural settings. In the past, there has been minimal connection between these pastors, with little sharing of plans, ideas, deeper concerns, or spiritual accountability. This has been compounded by their demanding roles and responsibilities. Such realities have the potential to deplete the spiritual health of individuals.

Method

This project developed, implemented, and evaluated a strategy over a 12 month period that fostered an enhanced intentional journey with God among 18 South New South Wales Conference pastors. The main focus …

A Biblical-Based Strategy For Discipling Women Who Convert To The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Malawi, Alice Abigail Takomana-Luwemba

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

New converts, particularly women, continue to leave the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Some converts experience adverse conditions after joining. Some women are rejected by their significant others: Parents, spouses, or other family members. Some are even banished from the community and often deprived of the joy of bringing up their own children. It seems that the lack of follow-up after baptism is one issue, but many are not spiritually grounded.

Method

In this study, historical, religious, and traditional practices are explored. The library research, interviews, and personal experience formed the basis for the contextualization of the traditional practices. The information …