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Mind The Gap: The Relevance Of Contextualization For The Training Course Fresh X-Der Kurs By Kirche2, Sandra Bils

Doctor of Ministry

In Germany, the Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers and the Roman Catholic diocese of Hildesheim are partnering in the ecumenical network. Searching for an appropriate endeavor, which supports the emergence and Kirche2 sustainment for new forms of being church, they were encouraged by the fresh expressions movement in the UK and their training model, mission-shaped ministry. The use of this foreign material in Germany needs adaptation. Hence, this dissertation enfolds the relevance of contextualization and seeks to reflect the adaptation process, following the main research question: How can the Fresh-X course by Kirche2 adapt the foreign material for the context in Germany …

Liminal Spaces: A Narrative Spirituality Of The Bible, Thomas J. Rundel

Doctor of Ministry

Liminal space is a place in-between what was and what will be. It is crucial for ongoing Christian formation. However, the Evangelical Church currently has no space for supporting those in liminality. Evangelical theology and practice actively discourage those in liminal space. As a result, Christian maturity is frustrated. Future leaders and contemplatives are endangered. This dissertation explores how the Evangelical Church could acknowledge, support, and educate those in liminal spaces.

The Bible repeats three liminal themes which create a paradigm of ongoing Christian formation. The themes are desert/wilderness, pit/grave, and exile/pilgrimage. The desert/wilderness is a liminal space, the grave/pit …

Toward A Corporeal, Biblical Narrative: A Study In Church Transformation, David C. Scafide

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation claims that church leaders can enact healthier church-wide transformation when changes are processed on the narrative level of culture. As the church’s narrative is transformed, the church lives out her new identity more readily and with less resistance. Chapter 1 defines key terms and examines the state of current transformation models and why they are not having widespread impact in transforming churches. Without understanding underlying narratives, church leaders face unnecessary resistance resulting from the attempt to impose changes that are not assimilated by the narrative of the church. Chapter 2 demonstrates how people always live out their perceived …

Reformed Worship (Rw) 115 - Ascension / Pentecost (March 2015), Reformed Worship Editors

Reformed Worship Magazine

Features

Worship Series: G.R.O.W. G.R.E.E.N. for the Glory of God by Verlan VanEe....3

Two Events That Make All the Difference by Diane Dykgraaf....10

Noteworthy: Quodlibet by Martin Tel....22

Articles

Editorial: The Spirit’s on the Move by Joyce Borger....2

Give Thanks to the Great Musician and Poet by David W. Music....30

Worship in the Face of Death by George Den Oudsten....38

Q&A: Ten Reasons to Celebrate Ascension Day by John Witvliet....44

Punjabi Psalms: An Interview with Eric Sarwar, Part 2 by Emily Brink and Eric Sarwar....46

Resources

Come and See: Wind of the …

Convergent Friends: The Emergence Of Postmodern Quakerism, C. Wess Daniels

Quaker Studies

Postmodernism is ushering in radical change for the Church. Some theologians argue that this change, especially given the discontinuities between modernism and postmodernism, affords new opportunities. Because of these changes there is a decline in many Christian traditions in the West, but there is also a renaissance of ' emerging churches'. The same can be said for Quakers who are experiencing a renaissance of their own. 'Convergent Friends' are a decentralized, international, body of Quakers seeking to renew their tradition through a growing awareness of the need to interact with culture missionally. Their origins and interactions are unique to Convergence …

In His Disciple Making Ministry, How Did Jesus Christ Determine What To Say And/Or Do?, David A. Toth

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation answers the question, “How did Jesus Christ ascertain what to say and do in his disciple making process?” The thesis is that Jesus Christ used the immediate life circumstances of his disciples to determine what he would say and/or do in the process of his disciple making. Jesus was remarkably effective in terms of quality and quantity leaving behind disciples who reflected his lifestyle and commitment to the mission of God and who powerfully reproduced themselves. The research supports the thesis as a partial answer and reveals three additional dimensions that significantly informed Jesus Christ’s disciple making approach. …

The Grace Place Ministry Leads To Bible Studies And Baptisms, Betty Eaton

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

A Simple Cup Of Coffee: What Starbucks Can Teach The Church About Hospitality In How We Reach Our Neighbors, John Austin Hinkle Jr.

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation explores a local church’s implementation of Christian hospitality through the examination of a local Starbucks coffee house that successfully offers hospitality to its customers both in and outside its community. A critical problem facing mainline churches today is a decline in overall membership and worship participation. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has experienced a significant decline over the last 40 years. This decline is now being experienced even in larger evangelical churches. In this dissertation the researcher plans to explore whether a local Presbyterian Church can more effectively reach out to its neighboring community by renewing and implementing outward …

Korean Church: God's Mission Global Christianity, Wonsuk Ma, Kyo Seong Ahn

Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series

Once considered as a Cinderella in church growth and mission in the post-Edinburgh Conference era, the Korean church is given its due in this book. As a guide to Korean Christianity, it contains more than thirty chapters, written by historians, missiologists, sociologists, mission practitioners, pastors, and church leaders. They come from a wide range of church traditions, and also from within and without South Korea. This volume assesses the legacy and place of Korean Christianity and its mission, provides insightful and self-critical accounts in topics ranging from theories, policies, practices, and prospects, and offers a useful overview of how the …

72nd Annual Pepperdine Bible Lectureship -- Faithworks (2015), Mike Cope

Pepperdine Bible Lectures: Programs

Program booklet for the 72nd Annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures, held at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, May 5 - 8, 2015. The Pepperdine Bible Lectures is an annual event hosted by Pepperdine University featuring a wide variety of lectures and classes on topics and themes in the Bible and Christianity.

Mike Cope, Lectureship Director

Rick Gibson, Tami Williamson, and Joella Michael, Lectures Team

Thrive Richmond, Megan Mantlo

RELS 108 Human Spirituality: Student Perspectives

Student perspectives on worship services from Instructor Jennifer Garvin-Sanchez's Religious Studies 108 Human Spirituality course at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Three Models Of Acculturation: Applications For Developing A Church Planting Strategy Among Diaspora Populations, David R. Dunaetz

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Cross-cultural church planters often work with individuals from several cultures or with immigrants from one specific culture. These church planters can develop a more effective church planting strategy by understanding three models of acculturation, the process by which individuals respond and change when coming into contact with a new culture. The one-dimensional melting pot model describes how immigrants acculturate as time progresses, from one generation to another. The two-dimensional acculturation strategies model describes what can be expected to happen to members of a diaspora population due to their views of both their host and home cultures. The social identity model …

Oral History/Garry Bell/Carissa Blewett, Carissa M. Blewett

Vietnam

This is a transcript of an interview with Garry Bell, a Vietnam Veteran. It covers parts of his experience and some of the weapons used in Vietnam.

Negotiating The Doing To Being Boundary In J. Robert Clinton's Leadership Emergence Theory, Charles W. Sattgast

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the research of J. Robert Clinton only a third of leaders finish well. Clinton describes a developmental barrier he refers to as “the doing to being” boundary that many leaders face in their forties or fifties. This barrier requires leaders to undergo a paradigm shift from finding their meaning and fulfillment in achievement to ministry that flows out of being. According to Clinton many leaders fail to successfully negotiate this important transition which contributes to the alarming failure rate of leaders. This research project addressed this problem by exploring the nature and meaning of doing and being and …

Discovering The Work Of Baptist General Conference Mission In Ethiopia: The Essence Of Mission That Lasted For Six Decades, Kebede Gonfa

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher has explored six decades of mission work and leadership development by the Baptist General Conference (BGC) in Ethiopia. The main purpose of this project is to summarize the work of the mission in Ethiopia and its relationship to the national church with comments from local pastors and missionaries in regard to the conclusion of the work of the missionaries and the turnover to the local church, so that the current and coming generations may benefit from the strengths and weaknesses of the BGC Ethiopia ministry. The evaluations by missionaries and local leaders provides a balance of perspectives on …

Learning From Experience: A Critical, Collective Process Following International Short-Term Mission Travel, Nancy Vigander Winfrey

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation seeks to explore the impact of short-term mission (STM) travel on American Christian volunteers, leveraging the small group structure already present in many churches. Using a participatory action research approach, small groups from two different Protestant churches engaged in cycles of dialogue, reflection and action. The group process was framed by Habermas’ concept of communicative space with emphasis on emotional knowing, cognitive reasoning, and creative expression. Data were collected from session recordings, written documents and process field notes. Content and process analyses were guided by transformative and situated learning theories. Findings were unique to each congregational group, …

Resiliency And Self-Care For Pastors In Japan Facing A Disaster, John G. Houlette

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For Japanese pastors facing a disaster, exercising resiliency and self-care is an enormous task as clergy deal with varying disaster-related attitudes, impact within the church and overwhelming need and opportunity in the community. In addition to surveying seminary students, pastors who experienced the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake as well as pastors who lived through the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and seminary professors who train next generation pastors were interviewed using co-inquiry and a 360-degree data gathering approach. Results showed that managing stress, loss, relationships, compassion fatigue and burnout were common challenges. The data indicated that practicing resilient leadership entails …

The New Reformed Pastor: Zwinglian Wisdom For Modern Ministers, Scotty Jermaine Williams

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout churches in the Reformed tradition, there is a growing interest in renewing Eucharistic practices. This growing interest has led to a series of discussions among Reformed clergy regarding the role of pastors in the Eucharistic context. According to some church leaders, many Reformed pastors have a faulty sacramentality that stems from a misunderstanding of John Calvin’s pastoral vision. Instead of compelling faith in action through the Eucharist, where communicants share the grace they receive, this sacramentality leads them to be passive recipients that keep Eucharistic grace within the church. Unlike other research, which addresses the aforementioned issue by only …

Crabgrass Piety: The Rise Of Megachurches And The Suburban Social Religion, 1960-2000, Nathan Joseph Saunders

Theses and Dissertations

Although there were less than twenty megachurches (churches averaging over two thousand in weekly attendance) in the United States before 1960, by 2010 there were approximately fifteen hundred. Megachurches are not a homogenous group, but they exist in all parts of the country and they have enough in common to warrant their identification as part of a coherent trend in American evangelical culture. Specifically, most megachurches appeal to an ethos that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s known as the suburban social religion. The suburban social religion combined to differing degrees the American civil religion described by Robert Bellah, meritocratic …

Development Of Lay Leadership Through Teleconferencing In The Early Bird Bible School, Choong Hwan Lee

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

As a pastor in local South Korean Adventist churches in the United States, I tried several times to train and nurture members, but there was not much fruit. I discovered that the activities of lay leaders in these churches were steadily declining. Although there are many causes, the most serious challenge is a lack of leadership development training for lay leaders. And then, when leadership training is provided, the program fails to promote an evangelistic passion and ultimately causes a deficit of training for future church leaders. Even when churches do provide the program, many Korean Adventists cannot attend …

Obituaries - Volume T-U-V, Rowan County Historical Society

Rowan County Histories Collection

Obituaries of Rowan County, Kentucky. Volume T-U-V. Compiled circa 2015.

Hispanic Religious Outreach In The Upper U.S. South: Missionary Outreach, Strategies, And Institutional Praxis Among Mainstream Denominations, John Benitez

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Hispanic religious ministry provides a way for long established mainstreams to stay afloat in the face of the demographic realities in the U.S. today. Unfortunately, the lack of literature, particularly in geography, precludes the examination of elements of contemporary Hispanic religious outreach, including such considerations as strategies, their effectiveness, and institutional praxis among mainstream religious denominations in the U.S.

Using a hybrid methodology that relies on several techniques, I examine Hispanic religious ministry in the Upper U.S. South, which geographers tell us is America’s newest Hispanic destination. I, thereby, develop and present here a case study to compare Hispanic religious …

Book Review: Urban Apologetics: Why The Gospel Is Good News For The City By Christopher W. Brooks, Paul M. Gould

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Wheel Model: Catalyzing Sustainable Church Multiplication Movements By Frank Schattner, Ariel Lee

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

From The Archives: Tillman Houser: Missionary Educator In Zimbabwe, Robert Danielson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Church Growth Before Mcgavran: The Methodological Parallels Of John Wesley, Bob Whitesel

Great Commission Research Journal

This article will look at methodological parallels between John B. Wesley and Donald A. McGavran. The influence of both men arose during similar social shifts that were accompanied by a perception of ecclesial apathy. Parallels will be demonstrated in McGavran’s principles of 1) conversion as a priority, 2) effective evangelism as a process model, 3) the danger of redemption and lift, 4) the importance of multiplication, and 5) pragmatism in methodology. A final section will look at the legacy of these two men and will suggest how identification can help retain focus on principles rather than on contextually-bound tactics.

A Biblical And Relevant Way To Reach Young Adults, Matthew Costner

Great Commission Research Journal

The church’s influence in America and the world is decreasing, yet America and the world’s population is on the rise. What is the church to do? Church planting is not fixing the problem, and neither are the currently existing model churches. The only way to turn around America’s church is the only method the Bible recommends—discipleship. In this article, you will see that the best way to reach young adults is not by flashy programs, the best worship, or by dropping a denomination’s name from the church title. The best way to reach young adults is by using the younger …

Prayer: A Key Component To Planting Or Revitalizing A Church, William J. Ingram

Great Commission Research Journal

This article examines prayer from a biblical and theological perspective as it relates to turning around or revitalizing declining or plateaued churches and offers practical insights into starting an intercessory prayer ministry at the local church.

Prayer: Breaking Down Walls Of Hostility, John Holbrook

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

The Development And Implementation Of A Community-Based Evangelism Model In The Word Of Life Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Memphis, Tn, Fred Batten Jr.

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Studies (Arn, 1988) reported that over 80% of churches in America are in a period of stagnation or decline relative to growth. Despite the mega-church trend in America, most churches will not add one person to the membership rolls in a given year (Sylvia, 2004). A safe conclusion is that attendance is also on a downward trend. Research (Burrill, 2007) suggests that from historical bases the Seventh-day Adventist church does a good job in the area of evangelism. In 2006 the statistical report of the world Adventist church highlighted that over 3,000 people joined the church through baptism on …