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Stewards Of God’S Mercy: Vocation And Priestly Ministry In Africa, Jordan Nyenyembe

Journal of Global Catholicism

A reflection on the tasks of priestly ministry in Africa with specific reference to the example and exhortation of Pope Francis. Among the issues addressed and critiqued are Western “cultic” understandings of the priest and the, the “Igwe Syndrome" which likens the priest to a chief.

Contested Moral Issues In Contemporary African Catholicism: Theological Proposals For A Hermeneutics Of Multiplicity And Inclusion, Stan Chu Ilo

Journal of Global Catholicism

Drawing upon the broad work of Vatican II and Pope Francis’ Evangelicum Gaudium the article proposes how a hermeneutic of multiplicity and inclusion could help hold in balance the tension between tradition and innovation, universal principles and specific contextual application for Catholicism in Africa. Among the issues addressed are cultural relativism, natural law theory, and polygamy.

Josh Louwerse, Aleisa Dornbierer-Schat

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Case Studies Of The Participation And Results Of Professional Visitation To Schools By Youth Ministries Of Local Churches In Korea, Young Cho

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study is to get results from youth ministry participation in local churches through a school visitation ministry. Youth ministry faces a crisis in Korea because the number of church attendees is decreasing. In fact, the number of church members in Korea is decreasing, but the numbers of people in the youth group are much smaller than other age groups. Thus, the study shows the failure of education from church and home. The researcher experienced this issue in his own church and tried to find alternative methods. Upon closer study, he found hope for a youth …

Book Review: Race And Theology By Elaine A. Robinson, Aaron Perry

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Toward Just Hospitality, Ron Bruner

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

The ministry of Jesus moved through times of seeking justice, sharing hospitality, and withdrawing for prayer. Though inescapably “other” because of his divine identity, he sought solidarity with humans by becoming human and interacting with humanity through hospitable practices. The Ancient Mediterranean customs of hospitality were well-defined, but Jesus took this powerful cultural framework and changed its practice so that it produced reconciliation and justice.

This work briefly reviews the practice of hospitality in the time of Jesus. It also presents the work of scholars identifying linguistic markers that would have cued readers in the Ancient Mediterranean to recognize a …

Easter 7 Series A 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

Easter 6 Series C 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

Discerning Lay Leaders' Biblical Understanding Of Same-Sex Relationshiops : A Theological Review And Study Of Traditionalists' And Revisionists' Understanding Of Same-Sex Relationships, Benjamin Reil Greenbaum

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Leadership Influence : Building Respect And Credibility In Church Leadership To Transform Members' Lives, Lawrence K. Dena

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Frontmatter, Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Burnout Among African American Pastors: A Biblical And Practical Solution, Ronald Strong

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Pastors are dropping out of the Christian ministry at an alarming rate. These spiritual leaders often experience burnout due to excessive demands, which lead to physical, emotional and spiritual exhaustion, impairing their pastoral effectiveness. Qualitative and quantitative surveys and interviews were used to determine the relationship between burnout and ministry effectiveness by focusing on three mitigating factors: physical, emotional, and spiritual rest. The results identified overall fatigue as the primary cause of spiritual aridness and pastoral failings. Using this research, this thesis provides a model for holistic health with specific solutions for ministry burnout, thereby, improving pastoral effectiveness.

Cultures Of Intentional Connection : Effective Ministry Practices Of Congregations With Their Daycares And Schools, Mark C. Caldwell

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Before God And These Witnesses: An Evangelistic Guide To Weddings, David Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Every year, according to the Center for Disease Control, an average of 2.3 million couples wed in the United States, while nearly 900,000 divorces occur. One fourth of couples marry outside of a church. Though most ceremonies take place in a church building, the church’s presence is small. An opportunity exists to reach receptive engaged couples and provide needed counseling services to those marrying outside of the church. Premarital counseling reduces the risk of divorce approximately 30 percent. To impact marriages and see growth, the church must take a proactive and evangelistic role in providing premarital counseling and weddings services …

Easter 3 One Year Series 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

Towards A Theology Of The Single Mother, Stephanie Townes

Seminary Masters Theses

Families are changing. The white picket fence nuclear family with a mother, father, 2.2 kids and a dog is no longer the norm for American society. Families look less and less like “traditional families.” Blended families, children born out of wedlock, cohabitation, step-families, multigenerational families, adopted children, single parent families, foster parents, and homosexual partners raising children are all part of the fabric of society. Society has changed so much that, as feminist theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether points out, “it is no longer possible to speak of one predominant “normative” model of family.”

Kerux - Vol. 51, No. 3, Calvin Theological Seminary

Kerux

Inside This Issue

• Learning How to Grow from Little Children Page 4
• Storm Chasers Page 7
• Discipleship for Developing Servant Leadership Page 8
• What Leslie Newbigin Has to Say about Christian Leadership Page 10
• Muslims and Christian Leadership in Times of Crisis Page 12
• God's Chinese Kingdom Page 16

Toward A New Church In A New Africa : A Biographical Study Of Bishop Ralph Edward Dodge 1907-2008, Samuel Dzobo

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study On The Church Growth Method Through The Vitalization Of Small Groups In Traditional Korean Churches: The Case Of Daegu Dong-Sung Church, Byung Min

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Nowadays, Korean society is faced with social issues, like individualism arising from fast growth. The traditional society has become dominated by individual interest and intention, as well as by new social aspects such as the loss of community ethics at large. This can also be seen in Korean churches; we have noticed an increase in Sunday service visitors and unregistered members. This change has brought a number of spiritual crisis into churches and is even a huge crisis in and of itself. In this regard, through research on church growth through small group ministry in traditional Korean churches, this study …

Lent 4 One Year Series 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

Guest Editorial: Seminaries Must Balance The “Ought To Learn” And The “Need To Know” In Doctor Of Ministry Curricula, Thomson K. Mathew

Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Christian Mind ≠ Christian Pedagogy, David I. Smith

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

The Story Pastor: A Faithful And Fruitful Identity For Pastors, Jordan Rimmer

Doctor of Ministry

Pastors are experiencing an identity crisis. Many are not sure how to process who they are and what they do. While old metaphors for ministry—like shepherd or prophet— do not connect as well with today’s culture, new metaphors—like leader or counselor— are not biblically complete. This identity crisis negatively affecting clergy health and ministry. How can pastors pursue sustainable ministries, based on an identity, that is faithful to the tradition and fruitful in the world today?

Story is a paradigm for ministry that shapes pastoral identity. Pastors benefit from thinking of their ministry in terms of story because it is …

Overcoming The Unique Spiritual Formation Challenges Experienced By Large-Church Staff, Scott Whaley

Doctor of Ministry

Church staff encounter unique spiritual formation challenges that are not experienced in other vocations. In addition to managing stressors that are typical in every workplace setting, the church staff must also address the implications that arise because their pastor is also their employer, and their place of worship is also their workplace. These challenges are magnified in the large-church environment due an increased focus on employee performance and an emphasis on a corporate organizational structure. Over the last few decades, large churches have adopted best-practices from the corporate world, practices which focus scrutiny on increasing staff performance, further adding to …

The Study Of Brokenness As A Critical Success Factor In The Effective Leadership Of The Pastor, Robert Thompson

Doctor of Ministry

In our western culture, many churches, pastors, and Christian leaders have adopted secular leadership that emphasizes performance and results rather than emphasizing spiritual leadership based in our identity in Christ as a servant leader and the process of brokenness that God uses to develop His servants. Recent literature has suggested that pastors and Christian leaders need to revisit the need for brokenness in their Christian formation as a critical success factor in their leadership. The Church should consider brokenness as a critical success factor in the effective leadership of the pastor.

This dissertation will concentrate on the importance of brokenness …

The Ecological Gift Of Spiritual Formation: A Renewal For Healthy Clergy, Jody Becker

Doctor of Ministry

Every year Lutheran clergy resign pastoral calls citing one, primary reason: burnout. Certainly, the demands of pastoral call within a congregation are easy to observe: long on-call periods of time, intense levels of pastoral care needs, and navigating multifaceted, interpersonal relationships, to name a few. While these demands become symptomatic to the problem of burnout, the determining cause is still unknown, especially given the various contextual factors for these pastors. Yet, the number of pastors leaving ministry or experiencing shortened tenures is alarming. In the Lutheran church, spiritual formation language is often associated with determined deficiencies. Other times, spiritual formation …

Program - 2017 Worship Symposium, 2017 Worship Symposium

Symposium on Worship Archive

No abstract provided.

Opening To Revelation: Building Discernment Processes From Practices That Best Inform Communal Decision Making, Chris Alexander

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This sequential explanatory mixed methods research project investigates the spiritual discernment processes of a Christian congregation in the United Church of Christ. The study identifies most utilized and most helpful practices of spiritual discernment within the areas of prayer, conversation, community, and media. This research shows how engaging spiritual practices influences participation in decision making by Christian congregations.

Walk Me To The Gate: Christian Practices Of Accompaniment With People Who Are Dying And Their Families, Yolanda Kali Denson-Byers

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This mixed-methods concurrent triangulation research project asks, “What practices should we incorporate into the hospice ministry of Fellowship Lutheran Church in order to help dying people and their families experience a peaceful death with love?” Utilizing two focus groups, four interviews, and a congregational census, this project finds that research participants are terrorized by death and are hungry for hospice and bereavement ministries provided by their community of faith. This exploratory project illuminates the specific practices which missional congregations may utilize to empower the priesthood of all believers to create a beloved community which points to the hope of resurrection.

Empathy As Sacred Ethic: A Chaplain's Perspective On Difficult End Of Life Cases, Peter L. Bauck

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

Because of our increasingly intercultural world, it can be difficult for patients, families, and medical teams to decide on what they should do for patients who are, in the medical team’s opinion, near the end of life. The family and medical team can hold disparate beliefs and values around what they should do for the patient. Ethics committees often get involved in these difficult end of life cases.These cases are also emotionally charged, especially for the family as they wrestle with the intensity of their loved one’s situation and try to decide what to do. Because of the emotional intensity …