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The Avoidance Of Burnout Among Open Bible Pastors: Creating Healthy And Vibrant Leaders In Ministry, Isaac Hebden

Doctor of Ministry

Pastors in the Open Bible Churches denomination struggle with spiritual health, even as they lead local congregations. The perils of vocational ministry can often contribute to emotional fatigue, disillusionment, and exhaustion, commonly referred to as “burnout.” Pastors serve sacrificially in their churches, giving all that they have for the lives of the others. However, the life many pastors live actually negatively impacts themselves as well as others around them, thus negating the purpose for which they strive.

This Doctor of Ministry project sought to discover how ministers can remain spiritually healthy while actively leading the local church. Much of the …

To Imagine A Future: A Social Entrepreneurship Program For Youth In High Risk Environments In Carpinteria, California, Christopher Lucian Pritchett

Doctor of Ministry

This research project seeks to examine the opportunity gaps facing the adolescents of Carpinteria for the purpose of suggesting a program that intends to address these challenges, in fitting with the mission statement to create pathways for children and youth to flourish, for the Pro Deo Foundation to fund and operate. Section One examines the problem that this dissertation seeks to address, specifically describing the difficult realities that teenagers in Carpinteria face in their everyday lives. Through research with human participants, including community members, leaders and administrators, this section gives the context of the subject matter, its history and the …

Thriving Holistically As A Woman Married To A Minister: A Spiritual Formation Model To Support Women In The United States In The Role Of Pastor's Wife, Elisa Renae Ashley

Doctor of Ministry

While women married to ministers are blessed by God in many ways through their role as pastor’s wife, the role also presents many particular stressors. These stressors impact the systems of self, family, and church. A majority of clergy wives struggle to some degree with interpersonal loneliness, with finding confidants, and creating spiritual community wherein they can be authentically vulnerable. These struggles negatively impact the spiritual, physical, and psycho-emotional health of the women in this role. In order for them to deepen their spirituality and thrive holistically as they navigate the challenges of this role, a tailored spiritual formation model …

Program - 2020 Calvin Symposium On Worship, Calvin Institute Of Christian Worship

Symposium on Worship Archive

Complete program and worship book for the 2020 Calvin Symposium on Worship.

There Is A Word: Using A Queer Hermeneutic Toward Liberative And Prophetic Biblical Preaching, Dewayne L. Davis

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Preaching to, for, and about LGBTQ people is too often characterized by ambivalence, homophobia, and microaggressions couched as speaking truth in love. And yet, the biblical text includes themes, images, and stories with liberating and prophetic messages for LGBTQ people that include and affirm them within the body of Christ. This thesis argues that preachers can proclaim a liberating, prophetic word for the LGBTQ people within their congregations by using a queer hermeneutic, the intentional and conscious interpretation of the biblical text using the experience, information, and knowledge about LGBTQ people as the lens through which to bridge the world …

The Reflective Preacher: Effective Habits For Homiletical Self-Assessment, Brenda Froberg Legred

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Biblical preaching is the key to church growth and health. Research shows that people are choosing not to worship because of mediocre messages from the pulpit. Yet, people are hungry for what God has to say about their life and context. The pastor-preacher must take the preaching task very seriously, devoting time and energy to the endeavor and seeking to continually improve their craft. The problem is that most pastors do not develop effective habits for homiletical self-assessment. This researcher will offer strategies and tools for faithful preaching and ideas for becoming a more reflective preacher. There are acquired skills …

Invisible Poverty: Awareness, Attitudes, And Action, Joseph W. Johnson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

In small-town rural America, we do not tend to see poverty. Poverty is relatively invisible, especially among our youth and children. Invisible Poverty explores the issues, challenges, stereotypes, and causes of small-town rural poverty while presenting possible solutions. Drawing from Alvin Luedke, Craig Van Gelder, Alan Roxburgh, Patrick Keifert, Cynthia Duncan, and Shannon Jung, Invisible Poverty presents a missional theology of accompaniment seeking justice and avoiding shame. In an effort to understand the complexity of rural poverty, Invisible Poverty asks; How might Action Research interventions affect awareness, attitudes, and actions of the congregation concerning the issues of poverty?

Stress Perception And Measurement In Missionary Populations, Laurie A. Tone, Fernando Garzon, John C. Thomas, Brigitte Ritchey, Mike Malek-Ahmadi

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Christian missionaries experience numerous stressors across multiple domains. To understand their unique experiences, a targeted assessment is required. There is no known psychometrically tested measure that captures the nuances of stress for this population. To that end, as part of a larger study, the quantitative CHOPS Stress Inventory, a new tool for measuring missionary stress was developed and showed good initial psychometric qualities when compared to an established stress measure. Furthermore, the Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) of survey findings on 267 cross-cultural evangelical missionaries noted that both age and sex demonstrated significant effects on perceived stress scores. Implications for missionary …

Nurturing Emotional Intelligence To Encourage An Increase In Compassion Among The Members Of Ecclesia Baptist In Asheville, North Carolina, Aileen Mitchell Lawrimore

Doctor of Ministry Projects

God’s infinite chesed for humanity, embodied in Jesus, calls Christians to claim their inherent brokenness and their infinite beauty and to offer the same grace to others. This chesed, experienced as compassion, enables Christians to extend compassion to themselves and others. To encourage this behavior among members of Ecclesia Baptist, this project paired psychology with theology and biblical study to nurture emotional intelligence (EQ). Participants attended five two-hour sessions and spent time on reflection and practice outside of meetings. Results indicated that increased EQ boosts confidence in compassionate behavior and increases intentions to continue practices formed from the study.

Conceptualizing Therapy As A Spiritual Discipline, Kristen M. White

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

Psychological literature is in the beginning stages of reflecting the Church’s shift toward spiritual formation, incorporating theory and research regarding how spiritual disciplines might be relevant to the practice of therapy. This work may be expanded by viewing therapy itself as a spiritual discipline, particularly for the client. This article makes this connection by clearly defining spiritual disciplines and highlighting how therapy is or can be made congruent with them. It further discusses how therapy may be a very useful spiritual discipline within the Church today. Lastly, this article discusses the implications for viewing therapy as a spiritual discipline for …

The Demise Of The American Holiness Movement : A Historical, Theological, Biblical, And Cultural Exploration, Darius L. Salter

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

Calvin Theological Seminary Academic Catalog 2020-2021, Calvin Theological Seminary

Seminary Academic Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: January 2020, Julius T. Medenblik, Amanda W. Benckhuysen, Jeffery A. D. Weima, Shannon Jammal-Hollemans

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

Main Features
3 - Hurting Churches & Hurting Pastors by Jul Medenblik
4 - Grief & Doubt in the Christian Life
8 - Christian Triumphalism by Gibson Danjuma
12 - Dementia & Wilderness by Mary L. Vanden Berg

Q&A: The Hurting Church
16 - Are Christians Allowed to Grieve the Death of a Loved One? by Jeffrey A. D. Weima
18 - Where Does Pastoral Care End? by Shannon Jammal - Hollemans
20 - What to Do When Church Leadership Feels Lonely? by Cecil Van Niejenhuis

Calvin Seminary News
22 - Calvin Seminary Names New Canadian Church Relations Liaison: Shawn …

Navigating Complexity In Our World : Public Theologies For Everyday Life, Gregg A. Okesson, Amanda L. Allen

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

Discovering Counseling Methods That Military Chaplains Can Use To Increase Spiritual Resilience, Philip E. Ridley

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research conducted in this project revealed most military chaplains possess innate skills that are valuable to counseling. Combining these skills with proven counseling methods increase service members’ spiritual resilience. Military chaplains’ empathy and the ability to actively listen to care-seekers is one such innate skill. Empathetic listening builds rapport and creates a safe client-focused environment. Within this safe environment, military chaplains can encourage service members with spiritual or practical wisdom. Additionally, military chaplains can provide assurance and peace through prayer, reading of sacred documents, or administering religious rites. These religious activities connect the care-seeker to their source of faith. …

Popes Benedict Xvi And Francis On The Sexual Abuse Of Minors: Ecclesiological Perspectives, Mariusz Biliniewicz

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

This article does not have an abstract.

The Impact Of Presence And Touch On Church Growth, William Charles Berg

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project addresses the problem of discovering whether, when churches move to be physically present in their communities and engage in appropriate touch through serving, there is a corresponding impact in confession of faith and church growth. To answer this problem, the researcher began with the incarnation and trinity as a model of presence and touch. The researcher reviewed the Gospels to identify Jesus’ use of physical presence and touch in His ministry. The researcher also looked at the impact of presence and touch on the early church in the Book of Acts. He reviewed literature that focused on the …

Cultivating Relational, Developmental And Missional Discipleship Within A Lutheran Mega-Church, Richard Michael Webb

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the last two decades, many Lutheran mega-churches have become stagnant or have begun to decline in worship attendance. Some have even closed their doors, not surviving past their founding leadership. Furthermore, few of these mega-churches offer any kind of intentional growth pathway for their members. What is called discipleship often appears instead to be a classroom-driven assimilation process. This project addressed the problem Lutheran mega-churches have in making disciples by exploring the relational, developmental and missional aspects of discipleship and how they might be integrated into an effective discipleship strategy for use in these mega-churches. This project began with …

Christian Bioethical Approaches To Gender Reassignment Surgery: Understanding Opposition And Retrieving The Body-Soul Complex, Stephanie Roy

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

No abstract provided.

A Pentecostal Expression Of Holistic Reflection In The Improvement Of Pastoral Leadership Practices, Gabriella Van Breda

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation is an action research self-study undertaken with the aim of transforming my pastoral leadership practices with the extended application of assisting other leaders to do the same. The research question asks in what ways action research methodology with its inherent reflective methods contributes to pastoral leadership transformation. The primary outcome is a framework of holistic reflection that consistently and systematically works to transform my leadership practices. Through the action research methodology of constant iteration, I evaluated the effects of my leadership, reflected on the disconnect between my core values and my behavior and searched for a means to …

A Phenomenological Study Of Early Resignation Among Southern Territory Salvation Army Officers, Everette F. Platt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand early resignation of Salvation Army officers in the Southern Territory by investigating their lived experiences with the phenomenon. The theories guiding this study were role identity, as it explains the differences in perceptions and actions that accompany a role and emotional intelligence (EI), which refers to a generic competence in perceiving emotions, both in oneself and in others. The central research question addressed how former Salvation Army officers in the Southern Territory perceive that their officership experiences impacted their decision to resign early. The subquestions for this study addressed (a) …

Wells' "Walk Humbly: Encouragements For Living, Working, And Being" (Book Review), Robert Lancaster

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Of Ministry And Mental Health: Worship Leaders With Depression, Benjamin Bartow Harrison

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the fact the mental health issues are becoming more destigmatized among those in society, pastors and other church staff still face unique challenges when seeking treatment for mental health issues. This study considers the perspectives of ministers who often struggle in silence with depression. This qualitative historical research study will identify the unique challenges faced when battling depression that have not yet been studied concerning the lives of worship leaders in various stages of such mental health issues. Time demands, financial challenges, and stigma have emerged as common themes through exploration of a small body of existing literature and …

Believers But Not Followers: The Unstoppable Misconduct And Neglect Of Christians Outside Ministries Duties, Fabio Delgado

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christianity is embedded in moral conduct, values, and norms which require believers to project a Christ-like nature. While the whole concept of Christianity is embodied in faith and righteousness, the current generation of believers has exhibited an increased state of secularism which contradicts biblical morals and drifts them further from the religious faith. This research stems from the increasingly common notion of “believers but not followers,” where Christians wittingly abandon their ministerial duties and engage in misconduct. The selection of this topic emanates from the deep concern regarding the rising trend of hypocrisy among believers and mainly propagated by events …

Missional Metamorphosis: How Identity, Presence, And Praxis Are Reshaping Disciple Making Within Post-Christian Contexts, Justin Thomas Wester

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The American Church’s current disciple-making paradigm is struggling to engage post-Christian contexts with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Despite American society’s steady trending away from a biblical worldview, dwindling church attendance, and declining religious affiliation, the American Church is still operating under a disciple-making paradigm conducive for the Christendom era. What changes must occur to help churches break away from an antiquated paradigm and embrace a more contextually appropriate expression? This project helps to answer that question by capturing and expressing how changes in ecclesial identity, contextual presence, and corporate praxis are altering disciple-making paradigms within post-Christian contexts. Utilizing quantitative …

Post-Soviet Transformation For Evangelicals, 1991-2018: Deepening Causes For Discord, Walter Sawatsky

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

During the great transformation between 1989 and 1991, the majority of American journalists were completely surprised by the transformations of 1989 in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the USSR in 1991, since it contradicted their stereotypes so profoundly. Several developments within the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe turned out to be signposts for those with the eyes to see. Literary figures and philosophers circulating their thinking in samizdat form, or through the emergence of dissenting movements, pointed to the disillusionment with the grand socialist promises. Solzhenitsyn had already drawn attention in his Nobel speech to the power of truth …

Recycling A Colonial Puritan Sermon: A Case Study, David M. Powers

Sermon Studies

Notes which the teenager John Pynchon took in the 1640s as he listened to the Rev. George Moxon’s sermons in frontier Springfield, MA, have become the inspiration and the ingredients for sermon performances in 21st century New England. The project began with a word-for-word transcription of a symbol-for-symbol manuscript based on a code invented by Pynchon. Then a very few words which the notetaker skipped, in his rush to record just what he heard, were added to provide essential clarification. So, too, was introductory material to frame the experience by encouraging the listening congregation to “stretch” a bit to appreciate …

Pastoral Counseling And The African American Churches Of Metro Atlanta: Breaking The Stigma Associated With Asking For Help, Lasonja Chanta Richardson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A stigma exists in the African American Christian community that seeking counseling services displays a lack of faith and therefore is unspiritual; however, as a new generation emerges with more liberal views on counseling and the role of the church, an opportunity to define pastoral counseling as an acceptable practice is emerging. The current lack of pastoral counseling in the African American church is negatively affecting the spiritual health of the church but offering counseling services will increase spiritual maturity. African American churches must re-evaluate their stance on pastoral counseling and begin to emphasize pastoral counseling as not only acceptable, …

Learning In The Midst Of Action: Phronesis In The Seminary, Kyle J. Chalko

Doctor of Ministry

The U.S. Assemblies of God Cooperative Fellowship (AG) remains one of the least educated, and least interested in education, denominations. A perceived disconnect between graduate-level learning and practical application deters many AG pastors away from continuing their education, leading to a nationwide trend of not being “welleducated.” AG pastors have a different set of values than mainstream evangelical denominations. Thus, the pastors seek their pastoral development from sources other than mainstream higher education. If universities can create more opportunities for practical training within typical course work, provide wisdom and character development, and facilitate mentoring relationships, then AG ministers would be …

A Reader's Guide To Children's Ministry, Shannon Rains, Jennifer Schroeder, Ron Bruner

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Although the church has long practiced ministry with children, this field of ministerial practice is taking new and exciting shapes in the 21st century. Because of the expanding and substantial body of literature produced in this discipline over the last several decades, we have assembled an annotated bibliography intended to give scholars, practitioners, and church members an overview of the more significant printed work that addresses Christian perspectives on ministry with children.