Digital Commons Network^™

Tár, Sherry Coman

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Tár (2022), directed by Todd Field.

Ordering Gospel Textuality In The Second Century, Jeremiah Coogan, Jacob A. Rodriguez

Jesuit School of Theology

This article interrogates how several second-century figures ordered a pluriform Gospel corpus. Focusing on approaches to Gospel plurality visible in the Epistula apostolorum, Tatian the Syrian, Irenaeus of Lyons, and Ammonius of Alexandria, we argue that a number of Christian readers—across the Roman Mediterranean, from Alexandria to Gaul and from Syria to Rome—employed similar approaches. Drawing on evidence for second-century reading practices, we demonstrate continuities in both textual practices and conceptual frameworks that illuminate Gospel reading and writing. These figures engaged Gospels in multiple dimensions—horizontal juxtaposition of parallel material and vertical coordination of narrative sequence—in order to map relationships between …

The Watering Place™: Creating Space For Spiritually Dehydrated And Hurried Women, Donna M. Cox

Doctor of Ministry

NPO Statement and Ministry Context: The Watering Place™: Creating Space for Spiritually Dehydrated and Hurried Women seeks to address the NPO: In a speedy, frenzied world, women need [a] space to pursue healing, spiritual connection, be refreshed, and be empowered to grow into the fullest expression of themselves. This project grew out of my position as founder of Doxology Ministries International, Inc., a 501c3 religious organization. For over fifteen years, I have been leading retreats focusing on women.

Key Insights: The Doctoral Project allowed me to explore issues facing women more deeply, particularly conditions impacting women’s health, such as the …

Moved To Compassion: Envisioning Parables In The Gospel Of Luke, Patrick J. O'Kernick

Dissertations (1934 -)

The primary goal of modern parable studies seems to be objective, more or less impersonal, interpretations. The subjective experience of the reader, the ways in which real readers are active and personally engaged in their encounters with parable texts—these things have hardly been addressed. Moreover, narrow views of reception activity have yielded narrow views of the parables themselves. Why, after all, read a parable firsthand? This is the central concern of my study. From reader response criticism, education-oriented reading research, cognitive psychology, and cognitive literary studies I derive what I call an Envisionment-Development Model of Reading (EDMR). According to EDMR, …

The Southern Baptist Convention’S Perception Of Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Compared To African American Pastors’ And Leaders’ Lived Experiences, Jeffrey J. Wallace

PhD in Organizational Leadership

The study of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is complex and multilayered. Similarly, the study of DEI within an ecclesiastical and ecumenical Christian movement like the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has its challenges. Challenges and tensions surrounding the SBC, relating to women's leadership issues, the infiltration of partisanship and politics in the pulpits, racial injustice flashpoint moments, and the lack of ethnic diversity in a crucial leadership position have impacted the overall lived experience of African American pastors and leaders. This phenomenological study explored the Southern Baptist Convention's perception of diversity, equity, and inclusion compared to African American pastors’ and …

Healthy Souls And Steady Hands: A Relational Model For Soul Care Of Rural, Assemblies Of God Pastors, Nathaniel E. Rhoads

Doctor of Ministry

The NPO: Pastors and their spouses, of rural, Assemblies of God (AG) churches, need a relational structure for sustainable soul care to maintain a healthy spirituality and ministry. Pastors expend great energy caring for the welfare of others through acts such as teaching, counseling, and visiting. But who provides care for pastors? How can pastors take care of themselves? If the souls of pastors are dry, disordered, and dismayed, their relationship with God and service to the church suffers. Pastors in rural communities, typically in small congregations, face particular challenges, especially from geographical isolation and expectations of church growth. In …

Public Opinion And Support On Physician Assisted Suicide, Emma Gottschalk

Political Science Theses and Capstones

I investigate the connection between public opinion and physician assisted suicide, using data in the SPSS data set from 2021. The strength of support a person feels towards PAS and what influenced that view is studied, religious affiliation, age, sex, education level, income, race, and region are considered in the study. The data set was collected through surveys that willing persons over the age of 18 completed. I analyze who is more willing to support PAS and why. I find that religion has a huge impact on public support for PAS, while other factors like education, sex, age and race …

Psychopathology Or Possession: How Ghanaian Pentecostal And Charismatic Christians Understand Mental Illnesses And How Perceived Understandings Vary Depending On If They Are Current Students Or Not, Jamila L. Taffe

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research investigates the perceptions held by Ghanaian Chrsitians from Pentecostal/Charismatic churches about mental illnesses. The data collected was done through a qualitative method of acquiring information. Interviews were conducted alongside intensive research of existing scholarship that addressed religion and mental health within Ghanaian culture. A total of 5 in depth interviews were carried out with participants ranging from the ages of 20-35. Three participants were current university students at the University of Ghana while the other two were non-students but held degrees. The objective was to make comparisons between the student and non-student groups about their knowledge about mental …

The Role Of Story In The Creation And Life Of Man, Leah Ginion

Senior Honors Theses

Story was created by God as a vehicle for the revelation and glorification of Himself. Man, made in the image of God, was created as an innate storyteller. The world was created through story, and story is how it progresses and is sustained. As such, story is the foundation of all culture and the most natural and effective method of human communication. Research points to all of man’s stories being derivatives of the Great Story: the metanarrative of Scripture. Exploring man’s relationship with story reveals his place within the metanarrative and ultimately provides evidence for the existence and active presence …

Worshipers At War: The Church’S Call To Praise On The Frontlines, Keely Cox

Senior Honors Theses

As spiritual warfare wages on and battles are constantly fought, the worship leader must understand the power of worship the Church wields in the love and strength of the Lord. In order for the role of the worship leader to be fully recognized and understood as a significant part of the body of Christ, its unique history must also be examined. It can be seen in the appointment of the Levites to the ministry of the Israelite tabernacle and their leadership on the battlefield. It can be found in first-century Christian leaders who persisted to praise the one true God …

Monetary Muddles: Money And Language, Ethics And Theology, Tyler Womack

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation offers a theological critique of political economy by turning to Wittgenstein in order to re-think what “criticism” is and can be. It diagnoses the current state of critical discourse about money as incapable of properly dealing with the confusions or illusions such criticism identifies as intrinsic to our ways with money and economic production and exchange. The dissertation argues that while political economic critiques and heterodox theories of money rightly challenge the economic orthodoxy’s individualism and its illusions of an apolitical money and an autonomous market economy, these “social” critiques are caught in a Geltungslogik that dichotomizes “value” …

The Troubles On The Brink Of Recurrence: Northern Ireland In A Post-Brexit World, Emma K. Bohner

Student Publications

The Troubles were a difficult and trying time for Northern Ireland beginning in the 1960s. The subsequent decades were filled with turmoil and violence, mainly centered in Belfast amongst the Protestant and Catholic groups. In 1998, peaceful means to ending the Troubles were accomplished through the Good Friday Agreement. The accord established peace primarily through implementing a new power sharing government, ending direct rule by the British, disarming the paramilitary groups and creating a soft border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The European Union was a critical asset in negotiating terms for peace. The aid of the European Union helped …

Praying While White: Preparing The Soil For The Work Of Antiracism, Laura Boysen-Aragon

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Racism, White supremacy, and Whiteness are deeply ingrained in U.S. society and in our U.S. Catholic Church. White U.S. Catholics are infected with these sins, even our prayer can be tainted. We, who continue to benefit from White privilege and who are descendants of those who created White supremacy, are responsible for bringing an end to its reign with God’s help. In order to heal, we must recognize our sin and repent. Repentance is deeply rooted in our tradition and is a necessary spiritual practice for White U.S. Catholics to prepare the soil for individual, communal, and systemic changes to …

About The Great Commission Research Network (April 2023), David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Metrics And Measurements In Church-Based Research, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

To better understand the characteristics of specific churches and phenomena that occur across churches, various metrics and measurements can be used to describe them. Measurements must be meaningful and appropriate. Quantities involving people, finances, objects, or events are most frequently counted, but other measures may include behaviors, traits, skills, knowledge, and abilities of individuals. Measuring phenomena is necessary to understand how phenomena are related to each other. Measuring attitudes and beliefs are especially important because many ministries in churches are designed to influence these (e.g., preaching and teaching). However, from a Christian perspective, our motivation behind our measuring is important. …

Growing And Declining Churches Face Different Challenges: A Statistical Analysis Of The Top Ten Challenges Facing Churches Study, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

The data behind the study The Top Ten Challenges Facing Churches (Moody, 2023) is presented and analyzed with a focus on differences between growing churches and non-growing churches. Church leaders (N = 129) indicated how difficult they believed it would be for North American churches to overcome 50 potential challenges. For most challenges, no significant difference between the church leaders from growing and non-growing churches was detected. However, church leaders from non-growing churches viewed 1) attractiveness of programs, 2) retaining young adults, 3) youth programs, 4) small group participation, and 5) effective strategy as more difficult challenges to overcome than …

A Bibliometric Analysis Of The Great Commission Research Journal 2009-2019, Glenn R. Wittig

Great Commission Research Journal

The Great Commission Research Journal, the subject of this investigation, is a relatively new journal with roots in the past. It is a successor to two previous publications from the American Society for Church Growth. A bibliometric analysis of the journal’s first ten volumes is presented on two levels. The first is a content analysis of the surface features of the publication such as the authors’ education, academic credentials, and employment, the number of full-length articles published, the subjects covered in each article, and other features such as the average length of articles, number of footnote references, and number of …

The Love Effect: Crossing Our Divides Together Into Flourishing, Lang Charters

Doctor of Ministry

NPO Statement: In a polarized, “us” versus “them” society: How do we embrace and cultivate the richness of ourselves, recognize the goodness of “others,” and come together as one diverse human family; wherein, we grow into greater individual and collective flourishing?

Key Benefits or Insights from Research: The clearest, most helpful insight from my research and reflection is that “strengthening” one’s ability to be in relationships, is much like strengthening one’s muscles. Getting stronger physically, isn’t easy. It takes sweat, perseverance, and effort. You have to wisely push your limits in safe and healthy ways. Relationships, especially when it comes …

Trust, Scripture, And The Spirit As Core Values Of Evangelism In A Chinantec Village In Oaxaca, Mexico, Eliseo Arce Hernandez, Ashley Stamper

Great Commission Research Journal

The paper provides both a rationale for an approach to evangelism and a practical, replicable ministry model focusing on three core values (trust, Scripture, and the Spirit) in order for churches and individuals to effectively fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), particularly in cross-cultural contexts. A case study using this model in an indigenous Chinantec community in Oaxaca, Mexico, is presented. In contrast to modern evangelistic strategies that emphasize speed and numbers, this model and field example offer an alternative approach to church planting, an approach with a long-term focus and a goal of mature disciples and healthy churches.

Perspectives On Psychosis From Dharmashala’S Tibetan Community In Exile, Teddy Daniel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

What is psychosis? The term itself is relatively recent. Yet clinicians and religious figures have tried to explain ‘psychosis’ from pathological and nonpathological perspectives for hundreds of years. From an allopathic, medical standpoint, psychotic disorders are devastating diseases. Up to 3% of the world’s population struggle with hallucinations, delusions, and cognitive impairments that make it difficult or impossible to function in society. Tibetan Buddhism does not have an exact analogue to the clinical term ‘psychotic disorders’. Nevertheless, Tibetan medicine understands some cases of psychosis as pathological. For instance, the Tibetan word smyo nad (སྡོ་ནད་) roughly translates to madness. Yet in …

Pop Spirituality In The Context Of Nepal, Kalinda Benson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this research report, Pop Spirituality in the Context of Nepal, I look to add clarity to what it means to be “spiritual” and how that has been applied historically in context of Nepal. This paper focuses on what has led up to our modern day perceptions on spirituality. In the first section of the paper, I briefly describe what I mean when I say, “pop spirituality” or a “modern spirituality.” I define spirituality and how it differs from religion, a religion, and what secularization is. I want to acknowledge that there are many types of spirituality that exist of …

Person And Society: The Trinitarian Anthropology Of Henri De Lubac, Sara Hulse

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation argues that the Trinity is central to the theological anthropology of Henri de Lubac. Although the Trinitarian dimension of his thought receives scant attention in secondary scholarship, de Lubac insists on the centrality of the Trinity to anthropology from his first public lecture through his final, post-conciliar works. This dissertation further illustrates how de Lubac’s Trinitarian anthropology shapes his anthropological works, concluding that he deserves to be counted among the Trinitarian thinkers of the twentieth century. To make this argument, Chapter One defines Trinitarian anthropology as the application of the Trinitarian mystery to the human person, and sketches …

Measuring Students’ Sense Of School Catholic Identity, Monica J. Kowalski, Julie W. Dallavis, Stephen M. Ponisciak, Gina Svarovsky

Journal of Catholic Education

As a ministry of the Catholic Church, Catholic schools are charged with educating stu­dents’ hearts and minds. Multiple standardized academic tests and other student assessments are available for monitoring both student and teacher outcomes in Catholic schools, but fewer measures exist for considering the school’s faith-related mission. Although tests of student religious knowledge and benchmarks related to specific Catholic elements of the school are available, we do not yet have a robust set of instruments that provide teachers and leaders an understanding of their progress in providing a school environment permeated by Catholic culture and faith. To consider how students …

Raising The Roar: A Case Study Of Early Adolescent Student Voice On Service-Learning And Catholic Identity, April Beuder

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study examined early adolescent students’ perceptions of their service-learning program experiences at one Catholic elementary school in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (ADLA). The purpose of the study was: (a) to understand how the powerful tradition of the Church related to doing works of social justice and outreach was experienced by students in one ADLA Catholic elementary school in the form of experiential service learning, and (b) to explore whether associations exist between the students’ perceptions of their Catholic identities and their service-learning experiences. This study gathered research from student voice and work samples and utilized Carver’s …

Called To Serve: Developing An Understanding Of Pentecostal Pastoral And Practice From Pentecostal Theology And Tradition, Joshua Willaford

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Alongside Pentecostalism’s continued growth in both adherents and influence, there has also been an effort amongst contemporary Pentecostal scholarship to crystalize the ways in which Pentecostal theology and tradition finds its expression in practical theology. At present, too little effort has been dedicated to clearly articulating a theological vision for the role of the pastor in a Pentecostal church in a way that aligns with the movement’s unique contours. The aim of this research was to discover the impact of a presentation of Pentecostal theology and tradition on the development of the pastoral identity and practice of Assemblies of God …

The Top Ten Challenges Facing Churches In 2023, Edward E. Moody Jr.

Great Commission Research Journal

This article summarizes the results of a study conducted by the Great Commission Research Network seeking to identify the top challenges facing churches in 2023. The results are similar to other recently conducted studies, emphasizing challenges related to evangelism and young adults.

Great Commission Research Journal Spring 2023, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Natalia, Dereck Daschke

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Natalia (2023), directed by Elizabeth Mirzaei.

Lars Von Trier’S Cinema: Excess, Evil, And The Prophetic Voice, Jeanette Solano

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a book review of Rebecca Ver Straten-McSparran, Lars Von Trier’s Cinema: Excess, Evil, and the Prophetic Voice (Routledge, 2021).

Disruptive Homiletics: Liberationist Hermeneutics And The Preconditions Of Critical Consciousness, Joel (J.T.) Young

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.