Digital Commons Network^™

Developing An Interdisciplinary Analysis And Application Of Worldview Concepts For Christian Mission, Paulo Candido De Oliveira

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. The Adventist emphasis on cognitive knowledge and behavioral change instead of deep changes of worldview assumptions and allegiance is the main concern of the present work. It is easier to emphasize cognitive beliefs and behavior than to do the difficult task of working to change the underlying worldview premises that drive behavior. The emphases on cognitive beliefs and behavior have frequently generated syncretism, created loyalty based on surface advantage instead of deeper allegiance, and hindered the Seventh-day Adventist Christian message from being adapted to different cultures.

Method. An interdisciplinary library research is conducted to establish the foundational knowledge of …

A Strategy To Reach Animistic People In Madagascar, Jacques Ratsimbason

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The majority of the Malagasy people who live in Madagascar are unreached with the gospel message. A preliminary investigation of current literature indicated that 50 percent of the Malagasy are followers of traditional religions. This present study was to develop a strategy to reach the animistic people with the gospel message.

Method

This study presents Malagasy people, their social characteristics, population, worldviews, and lifestyles. A study;and evaluation of Malagasy beliefs and practices were developed using Hiebert's model of critical contextualization.

Results

The study reveals that the Seventh-day Adventist Church must update its evangelistic methods to reach animistic people and …

Church Planting Using A Continuous Quality Management Process In A New Wesleyan Church In Western New York, Christopher Mark Baldwin

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Peripheral Church Of Postmodernity, Jim Park

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, William J. Abraham, Elaine A. Heath, Nathan Crawford, Joerg Rieger, J.D. Payne, John N. Oswalt, Michael Rynkiwiech, Charles M. Wood

The Asbury Journal

Wesleyan Perspectives on the New Creation

M. Douglas Meeks, ed.

Nashville: Kingswood,

2004, 200 pp., paper, 2004, $30.00

Reviewed by William J Abraham

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places

Eugene H. Peterson

Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

2005, xii, 368pp. cloth, $25.00

Reviewed by Elaine A. Heath

The Evangelical Moment: The Promise of an American Religion

By Kenneth J. Collins

Grand Rapids: Baker Academic Press

2005, 288 pp., paper, $22.99

Reviewed by Nathan Crawford

Theology as History and Hermeneutics: A Post-Critical Evangelical Conversation with Contemporary Theology

Laurence W. Wood

Lexington: Emeth Publisher

2004, 261 pp.

Reviewed by …

The Meeting For Worship In Which Business Is Conducted- Quaker Decision-Making Process As A Factor Of Spiritual Discernment, Paul Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Viewpoint: Reforming Christians Or Converting Non-Christians?, Gorden R. Doss

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Proverbs 8 And The Place Of Christ In The Trinity, Richard M. Davidson

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

Leadership In The Early Church During Its First Hundred Years, Robert M. Johnston

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

From Vision To System: Finishing The Task Of Adventist Theology Part Iii Sanctuary And Hermeneutics, Fernando Canale

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

The Prayer-Driven Church Plant, David A. Slagle

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Proclaiming What We Have Seen And Heard : The Role Of Prayer In Hermeneutics For Homiletics, James Joseph Mindling

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Building A Leadership Team Of Laypersons Upon The Rockwood United Methodist Charge's Embracing And Fulfilling Of Its Charge-Wide Vision Statement, Randall W. Bain

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Towards A Theology Of Land For The New Guinea Islands, William Kenny Longgar

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of Missional Outreach To United Methodist Church Growth In The Central Appalachian Region, 1990-2005, Carol D. Crawford

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Missional Potential Of International Churches : A Case Study Of Capital City Baptist Church, Mexico City, Ernest Eugene Klassen

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Church Growth, Church Health, And The Missional Church: An Overview Of The Church Growth Movement From, And Back To, Its Missional Roots, Ed Stetzer

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

The American application of the Church Growth Movement has, in my estimation, moved away from McGavran’s original emphasis of mission. While still valuing the approach and learning much from it, I would like to share my personal journey out of mainstream Church Growth into a more missional approach.

A Covenant Epistemology, Larry Taylor

Doctor of Ministry

The problem addressed in this paper concerns how large, charismatic-type churches practice their ecclesial epistemology. It is the position of this paper that the typical hierarchical approach to leadership has hindered the epistemological process by placing too much responsibility on one person, the senior leader, and too little responsibility on the congregation as a whole. Covenant Epistemology is a response to this problem, by calling on the whole church to function in unity in the discernment process. Its core feature is the covenant that bonds members of a faith community together to a unique commitment to seek collectively knowledge and …

Functional Diversity, Eric M. Brown

Doctor of Ministry

The question at the heari of this dissertation is, "can it be different?" The "it" is the way church is organized, worship happens, and the very flavor of the church in the United Methodist Church in Oregon and Idaho. Today, church is generally organized following the traditional Anglo experience. The hymns, food, and organizational patterns generally follow the patterns of the white, English-speaking majority in the churches. A different formula would be one that is more multicultural and multiethnic. In this dissertation, the different way of organizing and thinking of church is called functional diversity.

Functional diversity is explored through …

Is Adventist Theology Compatible With Evolutionary Theory?, Fernando L. Canale

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Three Approaches To Practical Theology, Theological Education, And The Church’S Ministry, Kathleen A. Cahalan

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Video Venue Preaching On Christian Life Transformation, Richard Blackburn Gifford

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Discovering The Catalysts For Growing True Disciples In An Emerging Postmodern Culture, Wayne D. Spears Ii

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Social And Theological Implications Of Postmodern Holism In Community, Robin J. Dewhitt

Doctor of Ministry

The modern world has created for us a dichotomy in which the secular and religious worlds are divided along Cartesian lines. These Cartesian lines exist between church, the workplace, political life, social life, and any other arena in which a philosophical distinction can be demonstrated. The result is that not only has society been divided, but also each individual person has been divided into multiple distinct areas of life. 1 With the onset of the postmodern era, we have begun to reformulate our worldview along the lines of holism. Holism has been defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as, "The …

"Eating" And "Drinking" In The Book Of Revelation: A Study Of New Testament Thought And Theolgy, Gerald Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Descendants Of Israel: Intimate Interactions Between The New Zealand Maori And The Mormon Missionaries

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

Since the first Maori to be taught the gospel from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the early 1880's, countless have become converted. Most of which were baptized only within the span of a few years of receiving the gospel. It is evident that the early Mormon missionaries clearly demonstrated a dramatic impact upon the indigenous tribes of Maori of New Zealand. However, what were the differentiating factors about Latter Day-Saint missionaries that set them apart from other missionaries, whom of which had already been in the country for roughly sixty-five years!? The course of this research …

Trends In The Portrayal Of The Puritans Found In American History Textbooks From The 1870s Through The 1990s As Influenced By Secular Educational Philosophy, James A. Wicks

Faculty Dissertations

There has been a movement to exclude a Biblical worldview from high school American history textbooks exchanging it for a secular worldview through the use of historical revisionism. Available literature failed to adequately address the impact of revisionism within the pages of American history textbooks specifically concerning the portrayal of the American Puritans. Therefore, an analysis of American history textbooks beginning in the 1870s through the 1990s was necessary to demonstrate the existence of historical revisionism regarding the treatment of the American Puritans and whether a trend existed to revise their place in American history textbooks over the past two …

A Relational Hermeneutic Toward Connective Ecclesial Leadership, Dwight Jason Friesen

Doctor of Ministry

The modern western church is experiencing a crisis of hermeneutic. The pervasive hermeneutic or interpretive lens employed by modern Christ-followers has engendered a largely static view of church structure and leadership. Simply put, the Western church fails to see relationally. This problem of "visual impairment" will be addressed by crafting a relational hermeneutic composed of three distinct and overlapping lenses: a theological/biblical (God) lens, a sociological/ontological (humanity) lens and a scientific/network (the cosmos) lens. Lens 1: God is social. For orthodox Christ-followers a relational hermeneutic begins with a God who is social; a Tri-unity of Divine persons, each lovingly serving …

Lutheran Day School Operation: Financial Stewardship Implications, Thomas Radtke

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

In addressing this problem as it faces Trinity Lutheran Church, the writer will survey other schools and determine the method that each congregation uses to fund the operation of its day school. My premise from the outset is that some of these day schools use the traditional means of funding through congregational offerings while others use member tuition as a major factor in the funding of their day schools. The purpose of this exercise is to evaluate the methods used and make application to Trinity for the best method of funding their day school operation.

Before All Else Fails, Read The Directions (For Worship), Laurence C. Sibley

Pro Rege

Laurence C. Sibley, Jr., wrote this article in response to Keith C. Sewell’s “Some Thoughts on ‘The Reformation’ as a Contemporary Icon,” published in Pro Rege, 31.1 (September 2001): 14-25.