Digital Commons Network^™

The Loft: Where Gen Z Goes To Build Relationships And Discover Spiritual Truths, Jeremy S. Deweerdt

Doctor of Ministry

It is an alarming but indisputable fact that the vast majority of Generation Z, specifically those between ages 18 and 25, are not attending and/or not interested in the faith or beliefs of the American Protestant Church today. Studies show that the Western Christian church is losing touch with an entire generation and that reality is the driving force behind this research project. We know from research conducted for this Doctoral Project, as well as from multiple academic and sociological studies that members of Generation Z are often interested in spirituality but are either ignorant or highly skeptical of organized …

Language Translation In Localizing Religious Musical Practice, John Macinnis, Jeremy Perigo

Books by Dordt Authors

The focus of this Special Issue is language translation in the process of localizing religious musical practice. As an alternative to related concepts (such as contextualization and indigenization), musical localization is presented by ethnomusicologists Monique Ingalls, Muriel Swijghuisen Reigersberg, and Zoe Sherinian in Making Congregational Music Local in Christian Communities Worldwide (Routledge, 2018) as an effective way to account for the complex, diverse, and shifting ways in which religious communities embody what it means to be local through their musical practices: "Musical localization is the process by which Christian communities take a variety of musical practices - some considered 'indigenous, …

Democracy For Some: Greek-American Institutions And The Greek Junta, 1967-1974, Olga Koulisis

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

In 1967 a military junta took over Greece, silencing the democratic process in Democracy’s birthplace with the tacit approval of Democracy’s heir apparent, the United States of America. The tolerance, if not support, of Greek-American institutions to the establishment of the Greek Junta and the U.S. government’s support for that regime offers a case study of why democratic publics accept, if not bolster, their own government’s support for anti-democratic regimes. This case offers an intriguing juxtaposition because of the historical claims that U.S., Greek, and Greek diaspora identities make on democratic practice and commitment. This study examines how junta-tolerant Greek …

An Order (Rlte) Of Christian Initiation Of Adults Handbook For Directors, Coordinators And Team Ministers, Patricia M. Dudas

Master of Theological Studies Honors Theses

Vatican II called for a renewal of evangelization, catechesis, and liturgical celebration. The Catholic Church then wrote new rites for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA). To help OCIA ministers get started with group formation on the journey of faith resulting in conversion and transformation of lives, an OCIA Handbook was written that explains how best to catechize: to discuss the Scripture with a focus on life experiences and Christian responses; to incorporate the Church’s doctrines and precepts; and, to involve more parishioners in the OCIA process to welcome new members and to reinvigorate the parish congregation’s faith.

80th Annual Pepperdine Bible Lectureship--Harbor: God Loves Forever (2023), Mike Cope

Pepperdine Bible Lectures: Programs

Program booklet for the 80th Annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures, held at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, May 2-5, 2023. 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

Evan Woods, Rachel Higgins, and Tami Williamson, Lectures Team

Learning To Cope With Grief Through The Use Of Biblical Creativity With The Community Of First Saints Community Church, Patricia Watson

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Supporting those who are grieving has long been a complicated process for church communities and pastors. This project investigated whether introducing a creative activity to a grief support group could help participants view their loss through a lens of faith and clinical aspects of grief. Although further studies will strengthen this hypothesis, a four-week curriculum was conducted with five participants at First Saints Community Church in Leonardtown, MD. Results from quantitative and qualitative analyses showed that there was a benefit to those participants.

The New Girl, Jane Satterfield

Nelle (literary magazine)

pp. 130-138

Ministry Strategy For Retaining Youth And Young Adults In The Australian Union Conference, Jeffrey N. Parker

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

In the Seventh-day Adventist Church of Australia (known as the Australian Union Conference) there is a significant loss of membership continuance by youth and young adults that falls into the category of the so-called millennials. Church attendance and membership loss of millennials is a problem in the Australian Union Conference.

Method

After consulting Scripture and current literature on families and family values, this researcher developed a quantitative and qualitative survey for Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Australian Millennials. It used a professional survey program that guaranteed the anonymity of each person. Embedded within the 18-question survey was space for personal responses. …

Discipling The Whole Student, Scott R. Ward, David Sedlacek, Rogelio Paquini, Jasmine Fraser

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Problems Confronting Children's Ministry : The Diocese Of Lagos Anglican Communion, Church Of Nigeria, Akinwande Godwin Odubena

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Wrestling With Disturbing Bible Passages : A Trinitarian Approach For Adults At Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church That Engages Family Systems Theory And The Twelve Steps, Jason L. Baxter

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Women And Their Roles In The Church, Matthew Niles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Women and Their Roles in the Church, addresses the disagreement about the roles women are allowed to serve in at Faith Baptist Church. The problem is that congregants are disagreeing about what roles women are allowed to serve in at the church. This disagreement has led to people leaving the church and finding new churches. The purpose of this study is to develop a small group curriculum to teach leading examples of women from the Bible. The purpose of the study would help expand the participants' understanding of what roles women are allowed to serve in at their local church. …

The Final Amen: Designing And Implementing A Christlike System For The Closure Of Waypointe Christian Fellowship, Christopher E. Sherwood

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Like a myriad of other churches across the country, WayPointe Christian Fellowship (WCF) experienced a long decline leading to a critical question: Should the church permanently close? In the case of WCF, the answer was yes, which led to other questions about how to accomplish the task while maximizing God's glory, minimizing the pain felt by those involved, and preparing the congregation to migrate to another body of believers. This thesis project was designed to enable the leaders of WCF and other church leaders to answer these questions. In this pursuit, a comprehensive closure plan was created and implemented at …

A Training Program For Adult Mentors Working With Teenagers To Enhance Their Spiritual Health And Church Life, Mark Damon Albertino

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A major problem facing the church is that a significant number of teenagers leave after high school. The researcher addressed the problem of teenagers leaving Taylorsville Church of God after high school by training adult members to mentor the church’s teenagers. In the program, seven adult mentors, which included six females and one male, and six teen mentees, which included four females and two males, participated. The training program included the following topics: mentor spiritual health, servanthood, church life, active listening, parents, empathy, compassion, spiritual health of teenagers, and current teen issues. Through a series of interviews with the adult …

Children Are A Heritage From The Lord: A Procreation-Centric Approach To Christian Marriage And Family Education, Nicholas Lee Hagerman

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Hagerman, Nicholas L. "Children Are a Heritage from the Lord: A Procreation-Centric Approach to Christian Marriage and Family Education." Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2022. 242 pp.

As youth and young adults are being raised in the church, they are often taught about issues related to sex and marriage. However, procreation and raising families are rarely mentioned in such teaching, which tends to focus instead on relational issues between spouses, the avoidance of sexual sins, and the marital institution's reflection of the relationship between Christ and His church. This project seeks to remedy this deficiency by taking …

“This Ain’T Just A Rap Song”: 2pac, Sociopolitical Realities, And Hip Hop Nation Language, Leah Tonnette Gaines

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

2Pac’s music was not merely rap songs. His music was and continues to be a platform for communicating important messages and concerns with his audiences. To relay these messages, he often used Hip Hop Nation Language (HHNL). In this research, I will conduct a linguistic analysis to illustrate how 2Pac’s music communicated sociopolitical realities through his use of HHNL. To construct possible answers for the questions that guided this work, the researcher transcribed, coded, and analyzed a sample size of 2Pac’s music. From the sample of songs used, the researcher was able to detect three common themes throughout, namely relaying, …

Index Of Discernment Articles

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

These pages present an index of work published in Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry from Volume 1, Issue 1 until Volume 8, Issue 2. Lists by subjects and authors are presented.

Book Review: Worship With Teenagers: Adolescent Spirituality And Congregational Practice, Chelsea Flow Stirman

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Worship with Teenagers: Adolescent Spirituality and Congregational Practice, by Eric Mathis. Baker Academic, 2022. 243 pages, $17.00.

The Decline And Absence Of Young Adults At Grace Place Christian Church, Michael Carnell Mcgill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the study was to address the problem of low attendance and engagement among young adults at Grace Place Christian Church. This topic is given consideration based on the researcher’s observation of the absence of this demographic within the local ministry context. The literature review revealed this is a common problem throughout the Body of Christ. Grace Place Christian Church is a predominately African American within a military community. The unique characteristics of this ministry context warranted research specific to it. The researcher interviewed twenty unchurched young adults and ten pastors and collected over one hundred nine questionnaires …

Flying In Our Sleep, John Strauss

Graduate Thesis Collection

Flying In Our Sleep is a one-hour radio / podcast production of a story in which “Teens wake to discover they’re drafted into an army of killer robot drones and must outwit their deadly AI overlords in a desperate bid to escape.” This partly ironic summary sets the tone for an adventure story for Young Adult audiences with thoughtful elements around the meaning of consciousness, personality, and friendship. The project also includes a paper, “The Art of the Fiction Podcast,” that explains how the show was produced, and argues that digital media has a place in literary writing programs to …

Christ In The Covenant Curses? Deuteronomy 28 And The Gospel, A. Rahel Wells

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Contributor's Biographies

The John Carroll Review

No abstract provided.

Reviving The Christian Left: A Thematic Analysis Of Progressive Christian Identity In American Politics, Adam Blake Arledge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While Christianity in American politics today is mostly dominated by the voice of the Religious Right, many are unaware that there also exists a significant number of progressive Christians throughout the country. This diverse group, often referred to as the Christian Left, is not as organized or outspoken as conservative Christians and tends to shy away from the restrictive influence of identity labels. However, members all share in common a passion for social justice issues. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the identity of Christian Left individuals through a thematic analysis of interviews. By interrogating participants’ identity …

Saint Jude's, October 23, 2022

Saint Jude's

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Waltham, MA

Saint Jude's Finding Aid

Theological Education And Spiritual Formation In The Lives Of Engaged, Emerging Adults, Markus David Colbert

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis seeks to answer the following question: What is an effective discipleship method for emerging adults who are already engaged in IChurch? The method chosen was multi-layered and utilized corporate discipleship which involved a classroom setting geared toward theological and doctrinal education based on Bloom-Anderson’s taxonomy of educational objectives, communal discipleship which was concerned with small group activities and peer-to-peer accountability, and personal discipleship geared toward individual spiritual formation given an edited list of Whitney’s personal spiritual disciplines. Participants were asked to take an introductory Theological examination which plotted them from analyze level to the create level of Bloom’s …

A Process For Training In Godliness: A Team Approach To Personal And Spiritual Growth, Kraig Alan Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to address a problem relating to spiritual discipleship within a group of local church men. The men of Heritage Baptist Church may not have a process for training in godliness. The thesis will supply a process for training in godliness, developed by the author and based on numerous streams of thought from the literature with regard to spiritual growth. The thesis will also illustrate hindrances to training in godliness, looking at past and current trends which have stymied spiritual growth, particularly in men. This study will suggest that current methods for training in godliness …

Re-Imagining And Rechanneling Youth Potential Through The Lens Of The Hofstede Cultural Dimensions Model, Olaotse Obed Gabasiane

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Applying Paul’S Areopagus Model To Generation Z, Tanita Maddox

Great Commission Research Journal

The members of Generation Z are today’s adolescents and young professionals, bringing with them their own culture. This culture requires other generations to use a cross-cultural approach to evangelism, as modeled by Paul in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). Paul observed the Athenian culture, built rapport, used common language with his audience, found common ground as a cultural doorway for his message, and redefined the audience’s understanding of the relationship between God and humans. The same steps can be applied to gospel proclamation to Generation Z for effective and relevant evangelism.

Saint Jude's, September 25, 2022

Saint Jude's

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Waltham, MA

Saint Jude's Finding Aid

Saint Jude's, September 18, 2022

Saint Jude's

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Waltham, MA

Saint Jude's Finding Aid