Digital Commons Network^™

Playing For More, Mike Byker

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Dordt Wins Different, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Cultivating Partnerships, Growing Stewardship, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Faithful Dialogue In A Divided World, Jennifer Vermeer

The Voice

No abstract provided.

The Good Design Of Limits, Teresa Terhaar

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Western Mansions In The Gardens Of Perfect Brightness, Another History Of High Qing Sino-European Exchanges, Nicolas Woreth

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

The Gardens of Perfect Brightness, the favorite residence of Chinese Emperors in the High Qing era (1683-1799), held mysteries that will remain forever concealed from the public eye after French and British imperialist forces looted it and burned it beyond repair during the Second Opium War (1856-1860). Behind the doors of the secret garden, scarcely open to anyone but the emperor, his wives, and servants, worked European artists and scientists. Most of them were Jesuit missionaries who served the emperor in the hope of gaining his favor and support for the spread of Christianity in China.

This paper aims to …

Investigating Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction To Boost Islamic Mobile Banking Adoption In Indonesia, Abdurrahman Abdurrahman, Mohamad Anton Athaillah, Yadi Janwari, Asti Meiza

Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics

This study examines the factors influencing the adoption of Islamic Mobile Banking (IMB) in Indonesia, focusing on technological, innovative, reputational, and Sharīʿah compliance dimensions. Using a quantitative approach with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), data were collected from 312 IMB users to assess both direct and mediating relationships among the variables. The findings reveal that perceived usefulness, firm reputation, innovation, and Sharīʿah compliance significantly and positively influence customer satisfaction, with Sharīʿah compliance emerging as the most dominant factor. Conversely, ease of use, though positively associated, does not significantly affect satisfaction, suggesting that functionality, trust, and ethical conformity outweigh …

Bridging Governance Gaps In Islamic Banking: Palestine And Malaysia Compared, Murad Ayesh Ali Obaid, Abdulmajid Obaid Hasan Saleh, Fahd Mohammed Obad Al-Shaghdari

Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics

This study focuses on the most important governance issues that Islamic banking institutions in Palestine are experiencing and discusses what can be learnt from the Malaysian experience in helping to better govern Islamic banking institutions to improve governance efficiency, adherence to SharīÊ¿ah and regulatory oversight. Using a qualitative approach, research is based on the data collected from interviews with experts, document analysis and comparative case studies of both jurisdictions. The results indicate that lack of a centralised authority to monitor them, lack of professional expertise and the inadequate specified internal frameworks greatly constrain the effectiveness of governance in Palestinian Islamic …

The Corinthian Twins: The Mystery Behind Naming King Lune’S Sons, Jono Darville

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Michael Ward’s landmark discovery, as outlined in Planet Narnia, unlocked the hidden structure of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Ward persuasively demonstrated that Lewis used the seven planets of medieval cosmology as an organizing principle for the Narnia series. With his discovery firmly in place, Ward has encouraged others to investigate the Narniad for new planetary connections and influences. To that end, in this article, I argue that C.S. Lewis named Cor and Corin after the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians in The Horse and His Boy, as these names are a perfect fit …

What Does Nature Mean In The Abolition Of Man? Or, The Participatory Ontology Behind The Sublime Waterfall, Chris R. Armstrong

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

If Lewis’s Abolition of Man is simply an argument for objective moral value, or what we have called “the natural law,” then why begin with waterfalls that demand of us certain kinds of aesthetic judgment,[1] and end by saying that technocrats who take Nature in their own hands to control others with it have stepped outside of something larger than moral law, viz. the Tao, the Real itself, and thereby lost their very humanity?[2]

What, that is, is Nature in the Abolition? Certainly, it is not nature as construed in philosophical naturalism after Jane Austen, after the advent …

C. S. Lewis And The Argument From Reason, Elijah Mcclanahan

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

This essay surveys and demonstrates that the "argument from reason" is a dominant methodological theme in the apologetics of C. S. Lewis.

C. S. Lewis And Artificial Intelligence: An Ai Ethics Problem, Justin E. Edgerly

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

This paper demonstrates that the quest for safe and ethical AI is undermined by much of the philosophy, implicit and explicit, in AI literature and undergirding AI research and development. C. S. Lewis’s writings provide a prescient and penetrating critique of this philosophy and point toward a “regenerate science” that addresses the present need for wisdom in AI development. This paper contributes to the field of AI ethics by presenting several Lewisian concerns about the nature, application, and undergirding philosophy of current and future AI technologies, as well as a Lewisian perspective on the requirements for safe and ethical AI.

Divergent Paths: The Spiritual Friendship Of C. S. Lewis And Dom Bede Griffiths, Martha Abele Mac Iver

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

This essay argues that despite their parallel conversion journeys at Oxford and their lifelong friendship, C. S. Lewis and Dom Bede Griffiths ultimately came to different understandings about the relationship between humans and God and what it means to commune with God in what we commonly call prayer. Despite the frequent mention of prayer in their letters, their views of the way in which God was present within them and what communion with God entailed diverged in significant ways as Griffiths sought to integrate Christian and Hindu conceptions of God. Their own spiritual friendship may have survived this rift, but …

C. S. Lewis’S Lost French Doctorate, Anne-Frédérique Mochel-Caballero

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

Before the American Narnia films, C. S. Lewis was virtually unknown in France. Even today, his fame is nowhere near the level it has reached in the English-speaking world, be it in academia, among Christians, or in popular culture. The number of French doctoral theses or books on Lewis is extremely small. As for the French translations of his books, many of them are now out of print. However, this was not always the case. Lewis has never been as well-known in France as in Britain or America, but during his lifetime he achieved a certain fame in secular universities, …

Jesus’S View On Church Unity And Leadership: A Comparative Study Of His Views Against The Old Testament And Pauline Models In Addressing Leadership-Driven Divisions Within The Togolese Assemblies Of God Church, Sidibé-Néwendé Kamassé

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This paper will analyze the lack of alignment between Jesus's view of kingdom-centered unity and the pattern of leadership, and how these differences have affected the rule of the church according to biblical history. The paper further examines the problem of divisions driven by leadership in the modern churches, especially those in the Togolese Assemblies of God Church (TAGC). The thesis argues that Jesus's unique teachings on the Kingdom of God can be viewed as both the key organizational principle defining ecclesial leadership and unity and the final leadership paradigm that wrestles with the Old Testament and Pauline models of …

Evaluating Theories On End-Of-Life Dreams And Visions With Similar Phenomena In Trauma-Related Populations, Christopher Channy Vinson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A grounded theory approach was used to conduct a study on participants (N=24) who were veterans with trauma-related dreams or who had a near-death experience. Research questions were designed to qualitatively examine the lived experiences of dreams and visions in a non-end-of-life setting. This allowed the data to give greater insight into the end-of-life phenomenon and deepen the body of knowledge on dreams and visions in general. A survey consisting of the PTGI-SF, LuCiD, NExS, and the Greyson NDE, along with open-ended survey questions designed to record dream narratives for a thematic analysis, was used. The dream narratives were coded …

Infinite Line, Infinite Knowledge: The 'Spera' And Organized Chaos In Lambert's Encyclopedia, The 'Liber Floridus', Ava Romano

Theses and Dissertations

The Liber Floridus is a medieval encyclopedia renowned for its program of circular diagrams, or sperae. Inside this manuscript of 190 chapters, these diagrams frame and embody written knowledge, revealing a connection between encyclopedism and life in the Benedictine monastery by creating a coherent visual organization of chapters.

Main Areas Of International Activity Of Ukrainian Christian Churches, Yuliia Kondratiuk, Olha Hordiichuk, Iryna Vitiuk, Oleh Sokolovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article analyzes the international activities of the main Christian denominations in Ukraine (the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and Protestant denominations) in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has been ongoing since 2014 and became full-scale in 2022. The war has radically changed the priorities of all denominations: from classical ecumenism and missionary work to mass humanitarian aid, the protection of religious freedom, and countering Russia's use of religion as an instrument of aggression. Despite repression, the destruction of more than 630 religious buildings, and the deaths of dozens of clergy, Ukrainian churches have …

Appreciating Deacons In The Liturgy: Is Having A Deacon Anything More Than A Decoration?, Thomas O'Loughlin

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Ascension Of The Lord - 17 May 2026, Errol Lobo

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

A Project To Prepare Women As Theological Educators In Papua New Guinea And The Solomon Islands, Jenny O'Brien

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam - Rev. Dr Russell Hardiman

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Twenty-Third Sunday In Ordinary Time - 6 September 2026, Andrew Doohan

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

The Epiphany Of The Lord - 4 January 2026, Pina Ford

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Significant Women: From Spiritual Narratives To Modern Advocacy, Mary Melissa Henderson

Doctor of Ministry

Significant Women addresses the need for congregational advocates who support and empower women in ministry. This advocacy is rooted in a renewed perspective on women’s roles within both Scripture and the modern church.

Research reveals that tradition, rather than theology, is the primary catalyst for gender limitations in the Church—often driven by a fear of disrupting established operations. Another key insight is that Jesus acts as the "antithesis of patriarchy," intentionally elevating and empowering women to carry the Gospel. While academic resources are plentiful, a significant "white space" exists for non-academic resources designed for laypeople and everyday churchgoers. Stakeholders most …

Good Grief: Implementing Solace And Support Of Bereavement Ministry Within A Resource-Constrained Church In Chicago, Illinois, Celeste Haynes

Doctor of Ministry

Grief is a universal human experience that occurs at some point in everyone's life. This body of work explores the various benefits of implementing a bereavement support ministry in a resource-constrained church in Chicago, Illinois. The research will outline how a bereavement ministry can offer emotional support, spiritual guidance, and provide educational resources, community building, outline a budget proposal, and a grant opportunities, partnership with local agencies, training for volunteers, and practical help to bereaved members in a church, as well as the bereaved community.

Bereavement is an inevitable part of the human experience, and churches have historically served as …

Everyone's Table: Growing Polycultural Leadership Through Mutually Facilitated Peer Learning, Joel Bert Zantingh

Doctor of Leadership

Despite multiculturalism being an official policy in Canada since 1971, significant challenges remain in achieving genuine belonging among immigrant communities, particularly within leadership structures. This project responds to the marginalization of diasporic and newer-to-Canada leaders within evangelically aligned Canadian organizations, focusing specifically on leadership culture.

Grounded in biblical and theological scholarship that advocates for unity amid cultural diversity, this project articulates a normative and interpretive framework rooted in the Christian theological tradition. It also integrates insights from sociological and organizational studies that examine power, ethnocentrism, and the psychological experiences of visible minorities within dominant cultural contexts. I found how implicit …

Women In Leadership Seminar Series, An Integrated Approach, Diane B. Tuttle

Doctor of Leadership

Need Problem Opportunity (NPO) Statement

Women of faith aspiring to leadership positions in the nonprofit sector need to be strategically equipped with specialized knowledge, experience, and interpersonal awareness.

Key Insights That Emerged From Research

When this journey began, I envisioned my project focusing on executive leadership transitions in nonprofit organizations. However, through interactive discovery in this doctoral program, I realized that the scope was too narrow. Women at different career levels wanted to learn, grow, and have opportunities to connect with other women. This led me to develop a seminar series intended for women interested in personal and professional growth. …

5.4.1. Cultivating Cross-Generational Leadership, Shela Ammani Sullivan

Doctor of Leadership

Need Problem Opportunity (NPO) Statement

In the current corporate landscape, there is a lack of effective leadership models for the developing Millennial and Gen Z leaders.

Key Benefits from Research

Research and prototype testing yielded several key discoveries. While digital formats such as vlogs and ePlaybooks offer accessibility and relatability, the strongest outcomes emerged from in-person engagement. Stakeholders’ feedback emphasized the importance of relational depth, experiential learning, real-time feedback, and recommended digital supplements to enhance accessibility and reduce costs. These findings confirm that leadership development initiatives must integrate adaptability with relational practice to achieve sustainable and meaningful impact. The project …

Beyond Rugged Individualism: A Narrative Intervention For Men Languishing In Isolation, Chad Edward Warren

Doctor of Leadership

My NPO (Need, Problem, or Opportunity) addresses the problem that an exceptional number of men in Northwest Montana languish due to prolonged social and emotional isolation.

Across my research, the key insight was that isolation is sustained not only by personal circumstances but also by the cultural narratives that form men’s identities and expectations. Stories function as “maps of meaning,” shaping what men perceive as strength, weakness, and the good life. In this context, rugged individualism, understood as a self-reliance and isolation narrative that prizes toughness and minimal dependence, can foster admirable grit while also reinforcing shame around vulnerability, help-seeking, …