Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

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, …

Evangelistic Preaching Essentials: Inviting The Next "Yes", Julie Ann O'Hara

Doctor of Leadership

Churches within the seventy-eight districts of the USA/Canada Region of the Church of the Nazarene do not have consistently effective evangelistic preaching. Evangelistic preaching is central to the denomination's historical identity, rooted in the holiness tradition of gospel proclamation that invites response. Educational pathways for ordination provide limited exposure to evangelistic preaching, relying instead on local-level practice, and opportunities are frequently limited. Consequently, many developing preachers enter ministry with passion but little experience in evangelistic proclamation.

Research conducted in response to the NPO highlighted several insights. First, growth in preaching requires repeated practice, not simply exposure to content. Second, practice …

Addressing Pornography Use Among Christian University Students: A Small Group Study Curriculum, Jeffery P. Styer

Doctor of Leadership

In the world of 24/7 access to the internet, it has been determined that Christian universities have students who struggle with a habit of viewing pornography impacting current and future relationships, with God, self, and others. These students graduate and are sent out into the world where they continue to struggle with pornography use and its accompanying guilt and shame. It is an injustice for the university and the church (worldwide) not to address this problem.

Research for this project confirms that pornography use is an issue both inside and outside the church. Christians are quick to identify pornography as …

Cultivating Trust, Communication, And Collaboration: A Relational Leadership Design For Intercultural Collaboration In Nouakchott, Mauritania, Elysse Audrey Burns

Doctor of Leadership

Foreign-led initiatives operating in Nouakchott, Mauritania, encounter challenges in collaborating effectively with local communities, hindering the growth of sustainable, locally driven leadership and contextually relevant initiatives. This doctoral project investigates how relational dynamics shape intercultural collaboration and responds through the development of a structured relational leadership certificate program grounded in the Mauritanian context.

Using documented discovery workshops and one-on-one interviews with Mauritanian and international practitioners, the research identified recurring concerns regarding decisionmaking authority, communication clarity, and the distribution of responsibility within foreignled initiatives. Participants described patterns in which expectations were inconsistently communicated, local voices were unevenly integrated into decisions, and …

Welcoming Hospitality, Adam Cheney

Doctor of Leadership

This project seeks to cultivate a deeper practice of welcoming hospitality. It addresses the core problem that the community of Rochester, Minnesota, lacks welcoming hospitality between Evangelical Christians and Somali Muslims, minimizing our common humanity. The project aims to invite Christians into a biblically grounded posture of hospitality toward their Somali neighbors.

Rooted in both research and lived experience, this work sits at the intersection of Evangelical ministry, support for refugees and immigrants, and community engagement. Throughout the research process, I observed the deep need for marginalized voices to be heard and understood. The study identifies four primary barriers contributing …

Entry Nr. 487 Kossola, Aaron Spencer Fogleman, Robert Hanserd

500 African Voices

No abstract provided.

Emptiness Is Enlightenment: Two Interpretations Of Nāgārjuna's Middle Way As Buddhist Soteriology, Isabella R. Sullivan

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the soteriological implications of Nāgārjuna’s doctrine of emptiness (śūnyatā) as presented in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (MMK), or Root Verses of the Middle Way. While Nāgārjuna’s radical denial of intrinsic existence (svabhāva) is widely recognized as a masterful critique of metaphysics, modern scholarship remains divided on whether this "right view" can sufficiently ground the Buddhist Path to Liberation. This project centers on a comparative analysis of two prominent modern interpretations: Jay Garfield’s semantic anti-dualism and Giuseppe Ferraro’s anti-metaphysical realism.

The inquiry evaluates these perspectives against the doctrinal frameworks of the Four Noble Truths, dependent …

Finding Meaning And Value In Old Age, Jane Nell Morgan

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed finding meaning and value in old age. The research conducted explored barriers to achieving meaning and value and how to overcome those obstacles. The research specifically focused on senior adults who reside in a Christian-based assisted living home located in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. In response to this problem, the researcher studied the lives of three older biblical characters, Jacob, the author of Psalm 71, and Anna, and reviewed relevant literature on barriers senior citizens face today. In addition, research included the damaging effects older adults face when they fail to find meaning in their lives and …

Spirituality And Psychological Well-Being In College Students: Does Resilience Mediate This Relationship, Kevin C. Snow, Jessica Starken, Lindsay A. Phillips

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Given continued challenges of college transition and recent changes (e.g., COVID) leading to increased use of college counseling services and past studies exploring spiritualty/religion and resilience pertaining to psychological well-being (PWB), this study explored the relationship between spirituality, resilience, and PWB in college students. Three scales, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Daily Spiritual Experience Scale, and the Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale, were used to measure the relationship between spirituality, resilience, and PWB. Results of this study showed support for the relationship between spirituality, resilience, and PWB in college students. Results also lend support for future research exploring therapeutic incorporation of spirituality …

A Cause Sprinkled With Blood: The Life Of Owen Lovejoy, Abolitionist, Pastor And Congressman, Owen Bryant Lovejoy

Books

No abstract provided.

Altars Of Freedom: Forty Devotions From The Asbury Community For A Nation’S 250th Year, Chris Kiesling, Robert Danielson

Books

No abstract provided.

Walking Through The Valley Of The Shadow: A Pancreatic Cancer Journey, Don Butterworth

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

Entry Nr. 134 Isaac Anderson, Aaron Spencer Fogleman, Robert Hanserd

500 African Voices

No abstract provided.

Scandal And The Late Ancient Christian Historian, Jennifer Barry

Cultural and Philosophical Inquiry Articles

This article argues that scandal functions as a key narrative technology in late ancient Christian historiography. Rather than treating scandal as anecdote or moral failure, ecclesiastical historians use it as a structured way of arranging deviant bodies, contested practices, and moments of exposure to produce claims about Christian truth. Through recurring controversies, this study traces how biblical stories are reworked by authors such as Eusebius, Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret to stabilize doctrine, police boundaries, and articulate Christian identity. Across these writers, scandal emerges as a method of historical control, not merely a record of past conflict but a means of …

Cultural Logics In Agriculture: A Critical Christian Perspective, John Hill Price, Travis Ryan Pickell, Paul Capel, Kyungsoo Yoo, Dominic Christiensen, Marie Culhane, Tyler Dick, John Deen, Erik Watkins

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Imagine a precocious, driven, and empathetic undergraduate student. She has discovered a passion and a talent for biochemistry, and wants to apply to graduate school to pursue agronomy, with the goal of returning to her rural community home after graduation. She loves science and nature; she is also a committed Christian. She has a vague sense that these things are connected, but she isn’t sure how. And to be honest, the people around her in college do not always believe these two parts of her identity are compatible. Nevertheless, she plans to pursue graduate studies and hopes her faith will …

Examining Leadership Accountability Standards And Protocols In The U.S. Church, Grace E. Emmert

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project addresses the current condition of accountability standards and protocols in the U.S. church. This research focused on U.S. Protestant denominational and nondenominational churches. First, a review of the Scriptural mandate for leadership accountability was examined through a study of the specific impact accountability played in the leadership failures and successes in the lives of Kings Saul and David throughout Books of 1 and 2 Samuel. Second, a literary review examined current formal leadership accountability standards and protocols in the U.S. Protestant church. This review encompassed surveys and polls from the last fifteen years, church censuses, theological journals, …

Understanding And Avoiding Institutional Betrayal Of Congregants When Accusations Of Domineering Pastoral Leadership Are Made, Jonathon R. Hansel

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines institutional betrayal within evangelical churches as experienced by congregants who reported concerns about domineering pastoral leadership and encountered minimizing or dismissive responses from church elders. Institutional betrayal, understood as harm that occurs when trusted institutions fail to respond protectively to wrongdoing within their own systems is examined as a distinct and compounding form of spiritual and relational injury.
The study employed a qualitative research design consisting of two primary data sources: (1) an anonymous online survey of congregants who self-identified as having experienced harm following reports of domineering pastoral leadership and (2) semi-structured interviews with church elders …

Part 2: Performances In Shakers At The Center: Manifesting Spirits & Spectacles In Nineteenth-Century America, Douglas L. Winiarski

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Introduction to Part 2 of Shakers at the Center: Manifesting Spirits & Spectacles in Nineteenth-Century America

"Shakers, Era of Manifestations, Mother's Work, New Era, Eunice BathrickEunice Bathrick bore witness to the spectacular developments of the Era of Manifestations. She wrote voluminously for the spirits and received dozens of personal messages and gifts in return. She participated in all the ritual innovations of the period, including the Passover feasts at Harvard’s Holy Hill of Zion. And she endorsed the “Sacred Roll” without hesitation. Bathrick’s extensive writings from this period— along with those of hundreds of other Believers—called forth an extravagant new …

I And Ai: Human Personhood In An Age Of Artificial Intelligence, Jonathan A. Powers, Daniel H. Strait

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

Blazing Turquoise And Coral Light Jewels Of Veiled Empowerment: Buddha Ye Shes Mtsho Rgyal (ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚོ་རྒྱལ) And Saint Hildegard Von Bingen In The Lotus Of Ever-Excellent Feminist Dialogue, Janice Leigh Poss

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This Women's and Gender Studies in Religion dissertation seeks to restore awareness of women's religious leadership using the actual embodied experience of Yeshe Tsogyal and Hildegard von Bingen embedded in the philosophical terms Erlebnis (German), Padartha/Bhava (Sanskrit), and srid pa (Tibetan). Brief definitions are: Erlebnis as enthusiastic, lived experience and awareness, Padarthas as categories of real things or actualities, Bhava as the act of emotional or spiritual feeling, and Srid pa as becoming in possibility. Drawing on the above four terms encapsulated in a feminist transnational and intersectional methodological framework, this project reinforces women’s authority and influence in religion as …

John: A Samaritan Gospel, John Colin Stringfellow

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The Gospel of John is enigmatic; scholars have sought to identify its distinctive features. Is it influenced by Hellenistic culture, Gnosticism, Dositheism, or is it an editorial compilation? These distinct characteristics have led scholars to speculate about the intended recipients of the Fourth Gospel. Identifying the audience is crucial in deciphering these distinct characteristics. Why did the author(s) use specific literary techniques and devices? Why were particular stories selected? This dissertation does not seek to dismiss the existing scholarly analyses that have identified the recurring themes and structure of the Gospel of John; instead, it prompts the question, "Why?" Understanding …

Shared Words, Divided Worlds: Moral Language And The Struggle For Meaning At The Claremont Colleges During The Vietnam War, 1965-1969, Haley Freeth

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the Vietnam War-era campus conflicts at the Claremont Colleges as a profound struggle over the meaning and ownership of moral and political language. Rather than interpreting antiwar and prowar activism as expressions of fundamentally opposed value systems, this study argues that students and administrators alike engaged in an ongoing contest to define ideals such as democracy, responsibility, and conscience. Through a micro-historical lens, the project analyzes how these contested vocabularies were invoked, reinterpreted, and performed in protests, counter-protests, and administrative policies. Drawing from a wide array of archival sources—including student newspapers, protest ephemera, administrative records, and visual …

Is A Tridentine Paradigm, And Our Dependence On A Hierarchical Logic Of Priesthood, Driving Our Responses To Scarcity, Joseph Grayland

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Critical And Exegetical Notes And Discourses On The Gospels. Volume 1, Matthew And Mark, Andrew Carroll

Heritage Material

No abstract provided.

Master Plan Of Evangelism – Kurdish Version, Robert E. Coleman

Heritage Material

No abstract provided.

The Fellowship Of A Shared Classic Story, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

What Dordt Taught Me, Sarah Moss, Malachi Myers

The Voice

No abstract provided.

The Many Dordt Ties To Deep Reading, Andrea Dieleman

The Voice

No abstract provided.

John’S Scriptural Testimony (Chapter 3 From Composite Intertextual Allusions In The Prologue And Opening Narratives), Amber Dillon

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

The work of this project picks up where scholarship has left the conversation open regarding the Evangelist’s use of Scripture and its implications for the Fourth Gospel and Judaism through exploring where several Johannine streams intersect in the person of John the Baptist. I propose that his characterization brings together these major conversations and offers another perspective to the discussion regarding the Jewish nature of the Gospel. John the Baptist is portrayed as the archetypal witness to Jesus as his characterization is wrapped up in composite allusions to the Jewish Scriptures. This detailed intertextual weaving is a result of the …