Digital Commons Network^™

Dynamic Expansion: An Exploration Of Hospitality And Its Application To Foster Children And Families In Crisis, Sean Dean

Doctor of Ministry

The concept of hospitality has many applications. This dissertation is an exploration of hospitality using the American foster system as an example of how hospitality can be applied to an at-risk group.

Chapter 1 looks at the state foster care. There is an exploration of the two main reasons children enter foster care: neglect and drug offenses. Lastly, there is a look at the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study and how its results are contributing factors to the current state of foster care in the United States. Chapters 2 and 3 delve into the concept of hospitality, what it is …

Invitational Vulnerability: Practices That Increase Communal Resiliency By Nurturing Belonging Across Difference, Jenn Rombeek Burnett

Doctor of Ministry

The mental health crisis, rising individualism, polarization and conflict aversion are key factors preventing Canadians from building the bonds necessary for individual and communal flourishing. Communal Christian resilience will be characterized by love across differences. Drawing on psychology and neuro-theology, this paper suggests communal practices of eating, play, service and prayer will contribute to reducing anxiety, moving responses from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic region of the brain. By activating neurogenesis and utilizing storytelling to encourage neuro-coupling, collaborative meaning-making can effectively build resilient communities.

The table facilitates exchange that encourages personal histories and cultural expressions to be shared. It provides …

Calvin Theological Seminary Academic Catalog 2021-2022, Calvin Theological Seminary

Seminary Academic Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Investigating And Increasing The Efficiency And Effectiveness Of The Children’S Ministry At Victory Church Of Melbourne, Florida, Stanley R. Patton

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the children’s ministry at Victory Church of Melbourne, Florida, a growing multicultural and multigenerational church. Conversations with the children’s ministry team, parents, child participants, and the senior pastor of Victory indicated that changes needed to be implemented in order to grow the ministry. This project used a case study methodology, focusing on a church with similar demographics as Victory, to discover the underlying factors needed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Victory’s children’s ministry. To test the working theory that an increase in resources, team leadership, …

Ignatian Leadership And Place-Based Learning, Rebecca Murray

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

In An Ignatian Method of City Dwelling (2011) John M. Staudenmaier, SJ notes that “Ignatius teaches that prayer is geographical at its core.” On his own journey of leadership, Ignatius himself learned much about the lives of others, and of himself, through the particular places he visited (often for much longer than he intended). By focusing on a specific geography, place-based community engagement can foster Ignatian leadership as it encourages faculty, staff and students to journey with a community in their own home. Because this unique way of engaging the community emphasizes depth of engagement over breadth, it is …

Assessing The Quality Of Proactive Congregational Care For The College Avenue Church Of Christ, Kent M. Jobe

Harding School of Theology Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

A Reader's Guide To Youth Ministry, Jeremy D. Smith, Steve Bonner, Walter Surdacki

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Youth ministry scholarship over the past 20 years has offered an array of works impactful to scholars, parents, church leaders, and youth workers. Because of the growing number of robust writings, we have compiled an annotated bibliography intended to guide this wide range of readers in overview of the most impactful works for youth ministry scholarship and practice.

Does Christian Faith Impact Loneliness?, Jeffrey M. Kelly

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Loneliness is on the rise within the United States, particularly within younger adults ages 18-37 (Bruce et al 2019). Although much is known about the negative dimensions of loneliness, and some about protective factors to help ease loneliness, the potential impact of religious and spiritual beliefs and behaviors on loneliness remains largely unexplored. This study focused on the relationship between a committed religious faith and perceived feelings of loneliness among university students. Participants include 1,182 undergraduate students from George Fox University who participated in the National College Health Assessment (NCHA). Religious commitment was evaluated using a supplemental 6-item self-report measure …

Experiencing God: Engaging Elementary-Aged Children In Corporate Worship, Laura Rushing Hancock

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The engagement of children in meaningful worship has been neglected, despite the investment of modern churches in essential safety protocols and digital media in children’s ministry. The twenty-first-century consumerist mindset is driving worship design, essentially undermining the worship leader’s role as the shepherd of a child-centered and Christ-focused approach. Many churches are neglecting the biblical instruction to cast vision and express value for children’s corporate worship. A sense of awe and wonder is notably absent in many corporate services designed for children. Drawing upon biblical principles, educational theory, and corporate worship practices throughout history, this qualitative historical study seeks to …

Chrysostom And Luther On The Intergenerational Character Of The Faith: Retrieving The God-Designed Parental Role In The Transmission Of The Faith To The Next Generation, Charles Samuel Voigt Ledebuhr, Charles Samuel Voigt Ledebuhr Mr.

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Ledebuhr, Charles S. V. “Chrysostom and Luther on the Intergenerational Character of the Faith: Retrieving the God-Designed Parental Role in the Transmission of the Faith to the Next Generation.” MA Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2020. 167 pp.

Although hardly anyone would argue against the importance of parents in the faith formation of their children or that God commanded parents to pass on the faith to their children, there is still a clear tendency in the church to concentrate the teaching of the faith around the temple and the pastor rather than giving to the home and the parents the proper attention …

Adolescent Spiritual Formation: Practical Theology As A Filter For Youth Ministry, Jeremy Smith

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

There seems to be a disconnect between the practice and scholars of youth ministry. Historically, the practice of youth ministry has been overly concerned with method, creating multiple approaches, each with its own inherent shortcomings. Responding to this overemphasis on method, scholars of youth ministry have argued for a more theological framework, assuming that the problem lies within a lack of theological education among youth ministry practitioners. In 2001 youth ministry scholarship made a case to place the field of youth ministry under the discipline of practical theology in hopes of grounding the practice of youth ministry in theology. Over …

The Pauline Concept Of Discipleship As A Model For Addressing The Youth Dropout In The Twenty-First Century United States Of America Church., Jacob Al Hassan

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The dropout rate of more than five million young adults from faith and church in the last decade, who were originally born and raised in Christian homes, has reached a critical point. The Christian community must rethink its discipleship methods in order to impact the youth of today.

The researcher explored the root causes of the problem and identified that the current discipleship assumptions and strategies, rooted in modern mechanistic mass production paradigm do not work. Therefore, these assumptions and strategies must give way to a personally crafted one-on-one relational fatherly mentorship interconnected approach for the faith formation of the …

Calvin Theological Seminary Academic Catalog 2020-2021, Calvin Theological Seminary

Seminary Academic Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Navigating Complexity In Our World : Public Theologies For Everyday Life, Gregg A. Okesson, Amanda L. Allen

Academic Books

No abstract provided.

A Reader's Guide To Children's Ministry, Shannon Rains, Jennifer Schroeder, Ron Bruner

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Although the church has long practiced ministry with children, this field of ministerial practice is taking new and exciting shapes in the 21st century. Because of the expanding and substantial body of literature produced in this discipline over the last several decades, we have assembled an annotated bibliography intended to give scholars, practitioners, and church members an overview of the more significant printed work that addresses Christian perspectives on ministry with children.

Global Church Member Research And Adventist Young People, Galina Stele

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

The paper will draw on findings of young people subsamples from the 2017-2018 Global Church Member Survey with the main focus on the 21-35 age group. Young people’s spiritual practices, beliefs, involvement, perception of and satisfaction with the Adventist church will be presented with suggestions for their retention and discipleship.

Psychopathic Personality Traits In Students Entering Helping Professions, Sarah E. Gallup

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Psychopathy is often misrepresented as a sign of criminality and deviance. However, current literature suggests that psychopaths make up approximately one-fifth of the general population. Some people use these characterological traits to their benefit in positions of leadership. In this study, students from a Christian university in the Pacific Northwest were selected to participate in a survey, based upon their chosen major (Business, Psychology, and Religion). It was hypothesized that Business students would have the highest total levels of psychopathy and religion majors would show the lowest levels of psychopathy. Since religion often serves as a protective factor, it is …

Óscar Romero: A Liberative Model For Engaging With The Homeless In Cleveland, Maxwell Linnville

Masters Essays

No abstract provided.

Retaining Second Career Pastors In Recognized Ministry, David L. Carringer

Doctor of Ministry

All Christians are called into ministry through their commitment to Christ and baptism. Some are called into church- or denominationally-recognized pastoral ministry. A traditional way for those called into pastoral ministry would be to follow an educational path of higher education and, upon completion of their studies, entrance into pastoral ministry. There also exists a less traditional path that includes careers and occupations not recognized as church or denominational pastoral ministry. Those who follow this less traditional path will be referred to as a ‘second-career pastor’.

During the transition from a non-ministry career into church- or denominationally-recognized pastoral ministry, many …

The Promise And Purpose Of Love And Belonging In Shaping The Spiritual Destiny Of Sixth Graders, Jim Newby

Doctor of Ministry

The consilience of interpersonal neurobiology and theology is the template for the viscidity of faith throughout one’s lifetime. The congruence of disciplines conclude that what is experienced and believed before the age of thirteen determines how one will live their life. The loss of connection to parents at home and adults within the faith community, is cultivating isolation, loneliness, and the loss of love and belonging in each emerging generation.

Chapter One introduces the deprecating beliefs that are practiced during the first twelve years of one’s life that ultimately lead young believers away from homes and communities of faith and …

Breathing With God: Inhaling God's Spirit, Exhaling God's Reign, Douglas Scott Dent

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This action research project engaged transformative mixed methods to determine the effect of directed interventions on a cohort’s participation with the triune God. “Breathing with God” embraces an inspiring by God, aspiring to be Christ-like, and conspiring with the Holy Spirit. Theoretical lenses included respiration and personality preferences. Biblical lenses included Genesis 11:1-9 (Babel), Psalms 42-43 (the deer pants), Acts 2 (Pentecost), and Romans 12:1-8 (church as body). Theological lenses included spiritual capacity and discipleship. Findings revealed that improved comprehension of personality preferences and spiritual gifts coupled with consistent spiritual practices improved participation and willingness to engage in missio Dei.

Leadership And Faith Formation In Youth Ministry: Explaining The Relationship Between Leadership Experiences And Faith Formation In Middle School Students, Neil A. Christians

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This research project explained how leadership experiences of middle school age students during their time in a youth ministry Confirmation program affected their faith formation. The lenses of Believing, Behaving, and Belonging were helpful in framing a missional view of faith formation. Results revealed these four aspects of leadership experiences to be important to the youth: leadership and helping others are connected, relationships are integral and vital within these experiences, there needs to be an element of fun by making the experience enjoyable and/or meaningful, and leadership experiences bring relevance to a student’s faith both inside and outside of church.

Full Issue

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Indigenizing Mormonisms, Farina King

Mormon Studies Review

Over generations, scholars have emphasized the binary of “Mormons and Indians” using racialized terms.1 This language and approach often overlooks complex dynamics and locally specific identities of peoples and communities that engaged with Mormonism in North America and Central America.2 Since the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, many Mormons have identified Indigenous peoples of the Americas as “Lamanites,” comparable to how white settler colonizers categorized Natives as “Indians.” Although colonizers, including Mormon settlers, used such terms to shape Indigenous identities and populations, individuals and communities appropriated and adapted them.

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: Winter 2019, Amanda W. Benckhuysen, Matthew Cooke, Mariano Avila, Margaret Mwenda

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

3 - God's Plan by Jul Medenblik

4 - Making Immigration Our Problem by Amanda W. Benckhuysen

8 - Trauma, Forced Migration, and the Role of the Church by Matthew Cooke

12 - Latino/ A Evangelical Immigrants in West Michigan by Mariano Avila

16 - Informing, Equipping, and Connecting African Immigrants in Grand Rapids, Michigan

19 - Loving Your Neighbor

22 - Faculty News

22 - New Faces

23 - Other News

24 - Year in Review

Calvin Theological Seminary Academic Catalog 2019-2020, Calvin Theological Seminary

Seminary Academic Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Going It Alone: Political Ethics And The Rights Of Unaccompanied Migrant Children, Hille Haker

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: Summer 2018, Matthew J. Tunninga, Jeffery A. D. Weima, Lyle D. Bierma, Bruce Buursma

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

3 - On the Potter's Wheel by President Jul Medenblik
4 - The Grace of Discipline by Matthew J. Tunninga
8 - Dare to Discipline! by Jeffery A. D. Weima
12 - Practicing Church Discipline: Wisdom from the Field by Jul Medenbik + Sarah Schereiber
15 - What's New @ Calvin Seminary
16 - Phd Program Celeberates Silver Anniversary by Lyle Bierma
18 - Retirement Profile: Michael Williams by Bruce Buursma
20 - Distinguished Missionaries
22 - Distinguished Alumni
26 - Recent Faculty Publications + New Faces

Faith Formation For Families In A Post-Programmatic Era, Susan Megrund

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This thesis project sought to answer the question: What are effective ways for congregations to engage in ways of faith formation that encourage spiritual growth and Christian identity in over-programmed families, so they may see God as an active subject in their daily lives? The research in this thesis included case studies from the current congregation I am serving in, and other selected congregations. While implementing my research, I discovered that we struggle to find the right language around how to address the issue of busy families. When asking colleagues for input, the responses went back to the implementation of …

Better Together: Leadership That Enhances Ministry Collaboration, Kristine K. Bjorke

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This project is an exploratory case study research project of three different collaborative efforts consisting of one or more congregations working together or a congregation and agency working together. Each entity operated independently prior to working together. Collaboration was understood through the theoretical lenses of adaptive leadership and collaboration theory as well as a biblical and theological understanding of the body of Christ and perichoresis. Qualitative research using interviews and focus groups was used to identify how leadership enhances ministry collaboration. Three findings emerged with regard to leadership: flexibility, proactive communication, and external support, each with internal and external indicators.