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Robert A. Traina: Teacher, Scholar, Saint, William J. Abraham

The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies

No abstract provided.

Strategy To Implement And Evaluate A Health And Wellness Program In The Inner-City Of Benton Harbor, Michigan Through The Harbor Of Hope Church, Imasiku Mubita

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The data from the Berrien County Health Department (2011b) shows that the city of Benton Harbor has unusually high prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. In addition, the city is a food desert and residents lack good healthcare coverage which helps to exacerbate these lifestyle diseases among its inner-city residents. Also, the dearth of healthy food intake plus the lack of exercise further hampers the community's health.

Method

A nine-week health-wellness program was opened to the community through the Harbor of Hope church in Benton Harbor. During this program community members had their biometrics screened at the beginning and …

Training, Equipping, And Deploying Teenagers For Preaching With A Prophetic Emphasis At The Plantation Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Iosif Salajan

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Teenagers were not integrated in the preaching ministry of the Plantation Seventh-day Adventist Church. Their involvement in the worship service revealed challenges in publicly expressing their faith and spiritual experience. The absence of training, equipping, and deploying teenagers for preaching ministry contributed to their low retention and their lack of representation in the leadership of the church.

Method

Between August 2018 and May 2019, under the coordination of the researcher, preaching mentors offered teenage mentees from the Plantation Seventh-day Adventist Church a complete learning cycle called sermonic process. It started with producing the sermon, continued with practicing the sermon …

Developing Spiritual Disciplines In Youth And Young Adult Leaders Through Mentoring At The Peachtree City Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Nathaniel E. Elias

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Peachtree City Seventh-day Adventist Church (PTC) leadership and parents of teenagers expressed concerns regarding the lack of spirituality and church involvement of their youth and young adults. Church appointed youth and young adult leaders had not received consistent spiritual equipping to share with the youth and young adults of the church. Youth ministry primarily focused on recreational fellowship and lacked spiritual focus. The church approached the associate pastor to provide spiritual equipping for youth and young adult leaders.

Method

Six church nominated youth and young adult leaders participated in a 10-month mentorship program that equipped them with spiritual …

Increasing Effectiveness And Efficiency Through A Collaborative Evangelism Strategy Within The Georgia-Cumberland Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Victor Maddox

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

There were a number of organizations, ministries, and individuals throughout the Georgia-Cumberland Conference (GCC) territory engaged in various forms of evangelism which include health education, literature distribution, media presentations, community service, Bible instruction, etc. All had some level of success. Personal observations of these efforts revealed a redundancy in programing, uncoordinated planning, insufficient record-keeping, inadequate follow-up on interests generated, and failure to build upon the results of previous evangelistic meetings within the GCC.

Method

The goal was to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the evangelism process in the GCC through the coordination of evangelistic meetings between organizations, …

A Strategy To Coach Pastors To Revitalize Declining Churches In The Carolina Conference And Other Seventh-Day Adventist Conferences In The United States, Brad Cauley

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Many English-speaking Seventh-day Adventist churches are in an attendance decline or plateau in the United States. Specifically, the investigator found that 56% of English-speaking churches within the Carolina Conference of Seventh-day Adventists were in decline when comparing the five-year attendance mean for 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 using annual average attendance data. This discovery was alarming. Simultaneously, however, the population was growing in many of these communities. More intentionality was needed to stem the tide of attendance decline. These churches were in need of revitalization, but many of their pastors lacked the natural temperament and/or support needed for revitalization to occur. …

'We Were Hoping': The Emmaus Road Encounter As A Novel Approach To Faith-Science Dialogue, Harold A. Laurence V

Seattle Pacific Seminary Theses

This thesis proposes a novel paradigm for faith-science dialogue, drawing a Biblical analogy between two disciples’ Emmaus Road encounter with the risen Jesus (Luke 24:13-35) and contemporary faithful scientists wrestling with narrative conflict between the findings of science and the confession of faith. For science’s reading public, science serves as an alternative mythmaking discourse, whose narratives may indeed conflict with faith. This thesis proposes that theology ought to deploy Biblical preaching to resolve such narrative conflicts. To guide this process, this thesis proposes that Jesus’ two responses to the troubles of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) …

Supervisor Experiences Mentoring Therapists-In-Training On Issues Related To Religion/Spirituality Among Lgbt Clients, Stephanie Kolhei

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There are known issues related to religion and spirituality (R/S) among the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population, such as identity struggles, religious abuse, and internalized homonegativity. Many therapists are uncomfortable incorporating R/S into therapy, with poor training and supervision identified as a possible rationale. The purpose of this study was to explore supervisors’ experiences mentoring therapists-in-training on issues related to R/S among LGBT clients as well as supervisors’ level of preparation to mentor this area. The integrated affirmative supervision model (IAS) and multiple dimensions of cultural competence (MDCC) conceptual frameworks drove the development of this study. A generic …

Witchcraft Accusations: A Challenge For Families, Communities, And Churches In Africa, Boubakar Sanou

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“He Denieth None That Come Unto Him” The Mormon-Jewish Relationship During The Holocaust And World War Ii, Erica Lauren Shaw

Online Theses and Dissertations

The Church of Latter-day Saints of Jesus Christ stumbled into fruition and global recognition after decades of oppression and resistance from its contemporaries. Despite its rocky beginnings, the Church’s membership remained largely friendly to anyone who expressed interest in their gospel. Among those whom they shared a positive relationship with were the Jewish people. The research presented here explored the history of that relationship from its doctrinal significance to its greatest test: the Holocaust and World War II.

Hear Me Roar, Abigail R. Seethoff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Hear Me Roar, a compilation of personal essays interspersed with short forms, grapples with the nuances of compliance versus autonomy in the context of the male gaze, beauty standards, and pop culture. The collection also explores what it means to treasure something—another person, an object—and how to express and deepen that affection.

Religious Freedom And The Churches: Contemporary Challenges In The United States Today, Richard W. Garnett

Journal Articles

A crucial, but often overlooked, dimension of the human and constitutional right to religious freedom is the autonomy of religious institutions, associations and societies with respect to matters of governance, doctrine, formation and membership. Although the Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed this autonomy in the context of American constitutional law, it is vulnerable, and even under threat, for a variety of reasons, including a general decline in the health of civil society and mediating associations and a crisis of confidence and authority caused by clerical sexual abuse and churches’ failure to respond to it.

The Communitarian Work And Vision(S) Of Robert Cochran (And Thomas Shaffer), Richard W. Garnett

Journal Articles

Professor Robert Cochran's work and thought were powerfully shaped by those of his friend, mentor, and teacher, the late Professor Thomas Shaffer, a towering figure in the religious lawyering movement. A leading theme in Shaffer's writing, one that has continued through and been developed in Cochran's, is "community." This Essay explores and unpacks this theme and highlights several ways that the idea of "community" functions in their vision of the lawyer 's role and vocation.

Seventh-Day Adventist Mission

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Achieving Balance In Ministry, Anthony J. Headley

Heritage Material

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Jesus' Approach To People Through "Teaching And Healing" On The Faith Of People In Jesus Christ And On Their Relationship To The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Armin Danz

Master's Theses

The problem underlying this study is the slow but steady decline in membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Numerous missionary efforts in the past have not been able to change this trend. However, an approach that summarizes the work of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew has not been followed: Namely that Jesus taught people about the Kingdom of God and healed them through prayer. Both church historical sources and modern research suggest that wherever the biblical example of Jesus was followed closely it had a positive influence on the growth of churches. …

Historical – Grammatical Analysis Of Worship In Spirit And Truth, Steven Sunthang

Theses

Since the creation of humankind, God interacts and communicates with them, blessing them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and have dominion over the creation (Gen. 1:28). God provides clear instructions how to approach him and their surroundings. The method of approaching God is later called “worship.” Over a period of time, humans learned “worship” by themselves, without necessarily following the proper guidelines from God. As a consequence, certain form of worship displeased God. Later, God who became flesh in Jesus (John 1:14) set the rule for worship, that is, “in spirit and truth,” a phrase that is subject …

Islam, Emad Hamdeh

Publications

Islam, the religion of 1.2 billion people around the world, provides its followers guidance on how to live according to God’s teachings. The word “Islam” means submission, and in this context, refers to voluntary submission to will and teachings of God. The word Islam stems from the same root word as “peace” salām, by submitting to God one finds inner peace in this world and eternal peace and happiness in the next.

Creating And Conveying A Christlike Culture: More Than A Job, Elder Dale G. Renlund

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Thank you, Sister Johnson, Sister Evans, and Sister Haws for singing and accompanying the hymn “Savior, Redeemer of My Soul.” I am here to declare what Sister Johnson just sang, those remarkable words by Elder Orson F. Whitney: that our Savior and Redeemer is the only One whose mighty hand can make us whole. He is the only one who can fill with sweet a bitter cup. Our united prayer is that we all can come to be in perfect harmony with Him and be fit for the life above. That is what I would like to talk about.

A Jershon Classroom, Scott Royal Bagley

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

A powerful tool for recruiting students can be our classroom environment. The scriptures give us a wonderful example of this idea. After the people of Ammon are given the land of Jershon, they are soon joined by religious refugees from among the Zoramites (Alma 35:6–9), fugitives from among the Lamanites (Alma 47:29), and Lamanite wartime prisoners (Alma 62:17, 27–29). The people of Ammon accept all of these people as their own. But the question is this: what was it about the people of Ammon that attracted these societal refugees? As we examine the people of Ammon and how they cared …

Full Issue

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

Words Of Wisdom: New Generations And New Challenges, Ryan T. Cragun

Mormon Studies Review

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like many other denominations, is facing a number of challenges at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Should women play a more prominent role in the religion?1 Can the LDS Church accommodate lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals?2 Do transgender and queer individuals even fit within Mormon cosmology and conceptions of gender?3 Will the LDS Church adjust its standards to reflect modern norms relating to clothing, body modification, sexual activity, pornography, and masturbation?4 Does the LDS Church have an answer for the enormous wave of secularization that is leading to declining interest in …

Acts Of Meaning, Resource Diagrams, And Essential Learning Behaviors: The Design Evolution Of Lost & Found, Owen Gottlieb, Ian Schreiber

Articles

Lost & Found is a tabletop-to-mobile game series designed for teaching medieval religious legal systems. The long-term goals of the project are to change the discourse around religious laws, such as foregrounding the prosocial aspects of religious law such as collaboration, cooperation, and communal sustainability. This design case focuses on the evolution of the design of the mechanics and core systems in the first two tabletop games in the series, informed by over three and a half years’ worth of design notes, playable prototypes, outside design consultations, internal design reviews, playtests, and interviews.

Litigation To Access Health Services: Ally Or Enemy Of Global Public Health?, Alexandre A. Martins, Sydney Allen

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Some scholars and global health advocates argue that litigation is a strategy to advance public health care, especially in those countries that do not have specific legislation to guarantee access to basic health care services. However, strategic litigation has another side, known as judicialization of the right to health, particularly present in the Latin American region where most countries incorporate the right to health into their constitutions, but their citizens still struggle with health disparities.

Objectives: Considering these two perspectives on litigation in health care, this paper examines the phenomenon of litigation in health care and its impact on …

Effect Of Religious Support And Perception Of Available Social Support On Seeking Formal Psychotherapy, Adaeze W. Akubueze

Masters Theses

This study sought to investigate the relationship between perceived availability of social support and religious support on willingness to seek professional mental health counseling. Sixty-five (41 females and 18 males, 6 gender unspecified) students at Eastern Illinois University completed measures of religiosity (the Duke University Religion Index; DUREL), perceived availability of social support (the Late Adolescent Social Support Inventory; LASSI), religious support (from God, from religious leaders, from fellow religious participants; the Multi-Faith Religious Support Scale; MFRSS) and willingness to seek counseling (Willingness to See a Counselor scale; WSC). Religiosity did not play a significant role in influencing the willingness …

How Thick Is The Stained-Glass Ceiling?: An Exploration Of Heteronormativity In Religious Circles, Hannah Rae Smothers

Masters Theses

The 2012 National Congregations Study found that only 11.4% of the total clergy in the United States were women (ARDA 2012). As the congregation size grows, that number declines further, with data indicating only 3.4% of congregations with 1,000 or more members have a female leader. The number of women religious leaders increased by less than one percent between 1998 and 2012. These statistics work well to outline a phenomenon for female religious leaders, their inability to break the stained-glass ceiling. Many religious groups in the United States allow women to become ordained leaders. However, some of the largest religious …

African American Women’S Use Of Spirituality To Cope With Intimate Partner Violence, Vanessa S. Barnes Bey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread public health problem in the United States (U.S.) linked to physical, mental, emotional, and psychological problems for women who experience it. Previous researchers indicated that African American (AA) women in the U.S. experience more severe effects from IPV than women in other ethnic groups in the U.S. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to identify and report AA women’s lived experiences of using spirituality to cope with IPV who were not actively engaged in organized religious practices during the time of the abuse. Semi-structured audiotaped phone and face-to-face interviews were used …

Clinician Experiences With Religious, Spiritual, And Nonreligious Beliefs In Psychotherapeutic Interactions, Carolyn Rochelle Cowl-Witherspoon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Psychologists are ethically bound to respect the belief systems of their clients while practicing within appropriate boundaries of competence regardless of whether they hold different beliefs than their clients. Further, though there may be a disparity between clinicians’ and clients’ beliefs, most clients expect meaningful integrations of religious and spiritual beliefs, values, and traditions into psychotherapeutic interactions. To meet the needs and expectations of a religiously or spiritually oriented client base, psychologists must maintain appropriate levels of competency within this complex domain. But clinicians are hindered by inaccurate, incomplete, or inconsistent levels of education and training specific to the ethically …

Assessing The Health Of An Established Urban Church To Develop A Strategic Plan For Growth, Alfonse Javed

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The health of a church is solely dependent on the health of its leadership. The more the leadership becomes imitators of Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2), the more the church resembles the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). This work seeks to determine the kind of healthy church leadership, which generates a healthy church culture for multiplying disciples. The purpose of this study is to assess the health of an established urban church in midtown Manhattan, and to evaluate the perception that one large church is more effective than multiple churches in order to discover an evangelistic approach that may help this and …

Transitioning To A Televised Worship Service Via Internet To Provide For The Continued Existence Of A Small, Declining Congregation, Clifford L. Herd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Prince of Peace (POP) congregation, Ft. Payne, Alabama has less than twenty members and is struggling to survive. POP needed another option for her continued existence and sustainability as a small, declining congregation. Utilizing Internet technologies, it was possible for this small congregation to connect with a host congregation to receive their worship service and message on a large screen television. The thesis project investigated if POP congregation could make a transition from a live person-led worship service/message to a televised worship service/message to enable them to continue to worship and survive as a congregation. The congregation was prepared to …