Digital Commons Network^™

The Whole Servant Leader: Leading From The Inside Out, Jewel Denise Williams

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While research on servant leadership focuses on the behavior or actions of leaders toward the follower, this project examines the inward development of those leaders to determine what godly attributes need cultivation to demonstrate the seven virtues of Kathleen Patterson. Patterson’s doctoral work “Servant Leadership: A Theoretical Model,” was published in 2003 by Regent University School of Leadership Studies. The examination of the lives of pastors, leaders, and lay leaders defined as servant leaders based on Patterson’s theory helped in the development of an attribute-driven virtue-focused servant leadership development model for this project. These leaders were asked to share what …

Conflict In The Small- And Medium-Sized Church, William D. Henard

Great Commission Research Journal

One of the most difficult aspects of dealing with any church is conflict. Because of humanity’s fallen nature and because of the difficulty of initiating and accepting change, conflict is almost always inevitable. Conflict becomes detrimental when it is not handled correctly or when it remains unchecked and finds its source deep within the sinful nature and motives of people. Conflict in the church, though, does not necessarily have to be destructive. Many of those within the church reconciliatory ministry say that conflict is essentially neutral. When handled properly, it can actually result in some positive benefits for the church.

Preparing To Multiply: Four Steps For Established Churches, Joey Chen

Great Commission Research Journal

How should a leader of an established church lead the church to multiply? With the increased attention to church planting, there are more resources available, but little attention is given to the established church. This article seeks to help the leader of an established church prepare to engage in multiplication. While strategy, best practices, and finances are vital components to church multiplication, the crucial starting point for an established church leader is to prepare. There are four places to look while in the preparation stage: inward, upward, outward, and around.

An Eschatological Framework For Assessing The Effectiveness Of Business As Mission Companies, Samuel Lee

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Innovation And The Local Congregation: Unleashing The Creative Power Of Communities Of Faith, Dan S. Poffenberger

Doctor of Ministry

Pastors search for ways to help their communities of faith live into their ministry with more impact, creativity and joy. Many are frustrated by the root bound nature of most congregations tightly organized in a hierarchy that limits the ability to be nimble and contextual. At the same time, culture is becoming more participatory, collaborative and creative. Thriving organizations have tapped into this culture by designing their structure to foster innovation. This work offers an examination of such organizations, their leaders and the tools they use.

Chapter One discusses the cultural shifts of connectedness and participation. These shifts have happened …

A Strategy For Developing Outreach-Oriented Small Groups For Millenial Students At Georgia-Cumberland Academy Church, Greg Hudson

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Millennial students at Georgia-Cumberland Academy (GCA) are not being inspired and equipped to actively engage in community outreach. GCA is a boarding school with 80% of students having homes in other locations, limiting their opportunity to develop connections with any local community, both at home and at school. The result is that students are graduating without needed skills to spiritually interact with their community and to share their faith in Jesus in meaningful ways. About 60% of Adventist youth are leaving the church, and part of the problem may be their lack of connection to the outreach ministries of …

Developing A Vision And Strategy For Multicultural Ministry: Woodburn Community Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Eduard Daniel Ciobanu

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The City of Woodburn, OR is home to a population of 24,223. Over half of the residents are Hispanic, while 1/4 to 1/3 are Russian Orthodox Old Believers. Adding to its diversity, 35.4% of the total population of Woodburn is foreign born. Started as a church plant 30 years ago, the mostly White, non-Hispanic Woodburn Community Seventh-day Adventist Church has traditionally kept a membership of around a 100, with a current membership of 101 and an average attendance of 38 in 2011. Despite an ideal, central location in town, an ability to embrace and support new members and attendees, …

Expanding The Ecclesiastes Worship Center In Sacramento, California By Using A Documentray Of The Russian Reform Movement, Udo Sokolovsky

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

During the last decades of the twentieth century, the Greater Sacramento area of California became one of the largest Russian-speaking communities in the United States. According to Russian American Media, there are approximately 300,000 Russian-speaking residents. Many of them came to America as victims of religious persecution. However, today only about 30,000—just 10% of the total number of immigrants—are active members in different Christian churches. One reason for this is that the Russian Orthodox Church is trying to intensify its impact on Russian immigrants by linking all that is Russian with Orthodoxy. As a result, many Russian immigrants do …

Developing, Implementing And Evaluating A Leader Development Process For Stone Mountain Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Joel L. Honore

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Stone Mountain Seventh-day Adventist Church’s vision calls for a reiterative process of growing the worship attendance to 2,000 worshipers, then initiating a new church plant every four years. At the initiation of this project, Stone Mountain Church did not have the capacity to achieve its vision. Its facility could not accommodate 2,000 worshipers. There were insufficient leaders to minister to 2,000 people, neither was there adequate leadership to take the congregation through a facilities expansion process. The shortage of leaders precluded the vision of Stone Mountain Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Method

Bolman and Deal (2008) provide four approaches for engaging …

A Strategy To Increase Devotional Reading Of Ellen G. White's Books On The Bible Story At The Augusta First Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Bobby J. Boles

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Some members of the Augusta First Seventh-day Adventist Church felt the writings of Ellen G. White were irrelevant and thus had no influence in their spiritual life. The church members had dismissed her writings in their spiritual journeys and instead read the works of more contemporary authors. This group seemed to be apathetic to the matter of Ellen White as a prophet, and some avoided her written work all together. A contributing factor to this indifference might have been a lack of devotional reading of her books on the Bible story. By addressing this lack of devotional reading, I …

Teaching Christian Mission In An Age Of World Christianity, Robert A. Danielson, Linda Whitmer

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

Ethnographic Action Research In Missiological Research Design: A Pilot Proposal, E. P.

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"As an integrant part of practical theology, missiology has an advantage of not being confined within the boundaries of social science methods. Although, as an academic discipline missiological research makes use of some social science methods, its interdisciplinary nature and theological perspective should allow for innovative methodologies that not only contribute to academic research but also fulfills the mission of God even while doing research. The pilot proposal introduced in this article presented a suggestion for an innovative methodology in missiological research. The proposed method combined methodologies from two main fields, ethnography and action research, combining their elements in a …

Books Received, First Fruits Press

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

A Model For Small Church Leadership To Support Their Minister’S Self-Care, Jeremy Allard

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The complexity of vocational ministry is difficult to manage and maintain. Balancing the complex nature of the church, relationships, family life, spiritual and personal life provides the minister with a struggle that rarely ceases. Pursuing self-care within this environment can provide relief to the struggle but is difficult to do alone. The study seeks to provide a model for local church leadership to support their minister so he or she can successfully manage ministry and personal life through self-care practices. The project identified ministers employed at Stone-Campbell churches with a weekly attendance of less than 125 in Minnesota and Wisconsin. …

Calvin Theological Seminary Academic Catalog 2017-2018, Calvin Theological Seminary

Seminary Academic Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Implementing Vocational Training At Escuela Quiteña De Estudios Bíblicos, Joshua K. Marcum

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This DMin project addressed the problem of the absence of a viable training model to equip graduates of EQEB (Escuela Quiteña de Estudios Biblicos) for self-sustaining ministry. Based upon a theology of vocation, the project implemented and evaluated the inclusion of a technical-skills component to EQEB’s current seminary training. The project followed the integration of sixteen EQEB students in the vocational program implemented during the 2015-2016 school year. Qualitative research data gathered from five group interviews with these students, my own field notes, and a faculty interview provided the substance upon which I based the project´s findings. Over a seven-month …

Spiritual Renovation Through Accountability: A Contemporary Look At John Wesley's Class Meeting And His Admonition To Watch Over One Another In Love, Robert Marshall

Doctor of Ministry

The dissertation asserts that Christ-focused small groups, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, can be a primary means of spiritual transformation while developing a sense of belonging in the Body of Christ. Without these small groups, public Christian worship can be little more than sentimentality. The term, small groups, describes small gatherings of Christ’s followers who “watch over one another in love that they may help each other to work out their salvation.”

Section 1 introduces the topic of a disconnect between the Church’s promise to be a transforming community and the spiritual emptiness and loneliness asserted by many. Three challenges …

Extending The Table: A Strategic Guide Of Missional Renewal For A Declining Congregation, Phillip Vaden Faig

Doctor of Ministry

The Lord took Ezekiel to the Valley of Dry Bones and asked him, “Son of Man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3) Many churches in the large metropolitan cities of North America are looking over the Valley of Dry Ministries and asking essentially the same question, “Can these ministries live again?” The decline of the church in large metropolitan cities of the United States has been dramatic. It is not an unusual sight to drive through a major city and see church buildings that were once filled with congregants either shuttered and repurposed or with only a small remnant of …

Kerux - Vol. 51, No. 1, Calvin Theological Seminary

Kerux

Inside This Issue

• Going Monk! Page 4
• The City of Diametric Beauty Page 6
• Ben Verkerk, Speaking for Student Senate Page 8
• Taste & See Page 9
• In His Words Page 10
• Cultural Diversity & God’s Mission Page 11
• Ready. Set. Go! Page 14
• The Raw Face of American & Christian Life Page 18
• Humbling, Hard, & Holy Page 20
• Something to Drink Page 21

Formulating A Covenant Of Discipleship For The Membership Of The Gwinnett Church Of Christ, David Chisholm

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the lack of a covenant of discipleship for the membership of the Gwinnett Church of Christ (GCC). The purpose of the project was to develop such a covenant document to help all the members of GCC better live out the process of becoming more like Jesus. To provide a theological foundation for this project, I explored discipleship in the exhortation sections of the book of Hebrews, which specifically addresses the need for greater commitment and intentionality amongst a community of faith. I also explored the theoretical framework of how formulating a discipleship covenant document could create progress …

Discipling Muslim Insiders: A Working Framework, Oscar Osindo

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Genuine Discipleship Empowered By Acceptance: A Case Study —Working With Youth, Petr Činčala

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Making Disciples In Buddhist Asia, Gregory P. Whitsett

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

What Is In The Name?, Gerson P. Santos

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

God’S Special Trio: Foreigners, Fatherless, And Widows, Tom Evans

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

The Challenges Of Adventist Discipleship, Gorden R. Doss

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Discipleship Structures, Movements, And The Role Of Multipliers, Laurence G. Burn

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Transforming Discipleship: Opportunities In Following The Master In A Postmodern World, Kleber De Oliveira Gonçalves

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Equipping A Local Congregation For Saturation Evangelism At The Emmaus Missionary Baptist Church, Willie David Mcclung Ii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the research project was to determine if a local church has failed to equip the congregation with the tools needed to share their faith, and saturate the local community with the Gospel message; and if so, to provide immediate training and test the results for its effectiveness at the Emmaus Missionary Baptist Church, Owings Mills, Maryland. Participants heard four consecutively evangelistic sermons, which were preached during the 10:45 a.m. worship service. In addition, after each sermon the participants attended a workshop that covered: (1) The biblical mandate, biblical definition, and meaning of evangelism; (2) The biblical method …

A Tale Of Three Bishops: Ideologies Of Chineseness And Global Cities In Vancouver's Anglican Realignment, Justin Kh Tse

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Most accounts of the 2002 departure of some conservative Anglican parishes from Vancouver’s Diocese of New Westminster (DoNW) over same-sex blessings seemed to fit the narrative of a battle over sexuality in the global realignment of the Anglican Communion. However, attention to the consecration of two new Chinese Anglican bishops—Silas Ng Tak-yin and Stephen Leung Wing-hong, both from Hong Kong—reveals that their split from the DoNW’s Bishop Michael Ingham had more to do with an ideology of cultural pluralization deploying “Asian values.” I, therefore, argue that the schism in Vancouver was a division over the three bishops’ imaginations of global …