Digital Commons Network^™

The Dialectics Of Mission: Between Vanhoozer And Kärkkäinen [Review] / Elmer A. Guzman., Boubakar Sanou

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

Love Is! A Journey Of Grief, Grace, And Gratitude [Review] / Frank M. Hasel., Angelika Kaiser

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

Mission Refocus: A Strategic Realignment Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Worldwide Mission Effort In The Context Of The Three Mission Refocus Windows, Erton Kohler

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church emerged as a worldwide missionary movement committed to proclaiming the everlasting gospel to every nation, tribe, language, and people. Throughout much of its history, the Church demonstrated a strong commitment to cross-cultural mission and the establishment of an Adventist presence in territories with low or no access to the gospel message. However, as the Church expanded globally in membership, institutions, organizational structures, and administrative responsibilities, a gradual shift in mission priorities occurred. Increasing attention to institutional maintenance and regional demands often reduced emphasis on frontline mission territories and populations with no or low Adventist presence. …

Loving Legalists? How Adventists Simultaneously Embrace God’S Love And Adhere To Legalistic Beliefs, Petr Činčala, Duane C. Mcbride, René D. Drumm

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Based on analysis of the data from the 2017–2018 Global Church Member Survey (GCMS), this article investigates the unique combination of legalistic and loving beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of Seventh-day Adventists. It shows how widespread and culturally variant their beliefs are in relation to legalism while they generally believe in and serve a God with loving characteristics. This article highlights the degree to which cultural influences correlate with legalistic beliefs and how legalistic beliefs relate to the experience of negative emotions and a lack of self-worth/unhappiness.

Transforming Pathfinder Acculturation Gaps: Confronting Intergenerational Cultural Conflict Between First- And Second- Generation Immigrants With Family Strengthening Workshops Among Scottish Mission Pathfinders And Their Parents, Njabulo King Ndlovu

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The immigrant population in the UK is rapidly increasing along with correlated increases in the membership of both the British Union Conference (BUC) and the Scottish Mission (SM) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Scottish Mission Pathfinder clubs (SMPCs) have many immigrant children. However, as immigrants’ home culture comes into continuous contact with the British culture, acculturation gaps between first- and second-generation immigrants tend to form naturally as a result of the differing pace with which these two generations acculturate. Adolescents are generally thought to adapt quicker. Parent-child miscommunication and disagreement on critical matters such as values, beliefs, and …

Healing The Trauma: Toward A Missiology For Contemporary Russia, Yuri N. Drumi

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

This article addresses the trauma of Stalinism from the standpoint of a missiological reading of Luke 4:16-21. This programmatic sermon of Jesus at Nazareth, whose meaning is unfolded in the larger context of Luke-Acts, is of primary importance for the current Russian culture, which is suffering from the consequences of a time when its culture was warped by the forces of the demonic realm. The rationale for using Luke-Acts in a post-Soviet theology of mission and the cluster of theological theses that underlie Jesus’ program of liberation are both foundational for a missiological paradigm intended for post-totalitarian Russian society.

The Effectiveness Of Theological Education To Grow Disciples In The Unorganized Territory, Chung Yin Mak

Dissertations DIS

Problem

In the past three decades, China has imposed serious restrictions on theological education in the Unorganized Territory (UT). The Adventist Church has endeavored to address this challenge by seeking various means of equipping its leaders through both formal and informal theological education. This study is needed because these attempts have never been reviewed in light of advancing the church’s mission especially in the area of discipleship.

Methods

Duce and Cameron (2013, 16-143) proposed the use of questionnaires, participant observation, interviews, focus groups, and documentary analysis in order to conduct theological research. Multiple research methods were utilized (Creswell 2014, 16; …

Holistic Community: The Key To Real-Life Discipleship, Petr Činčala

Faculty Publications

The word “discipleship” carries different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. Holistic community provides a natural environment in which people can learn cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally. In this way, discipling in the context of community (small groups) enhances and strengthens behaving and believing, as well as belonging. Additionally, a deeper understanding of the three-fold revelation of God (i.e., the Triune God, who is by nature a communal, relational God) helps us better understand how holistic small groups foster the growth and support of believers, encouraging them to bring others into God’s family. The way the members …

Jericho: A Case Study For 21st Century Urban Evangelism, Gideon Petersen

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

An Analysis And Comparison Of The Missional Doctrinal Hermemeutics Of Kevin J. Vanhoozer And Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, With Emphasis On Their Notions Of God, Eschatology, And Mission, Elmer Guzman

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a dissertation abstract by Elmer Guzman.

The Contribution Of Paul Hiebert To Folk Religion: A Missiological Study Among The Dendis Of Northeast Benin, Michée Badé

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

Completed in September 2022 with the department of Practical and Missional Theology of the University of the Free State, South Africa.

How To Engage Voluntary Spirit Possession Rituals In Mission: The Case Of The Dendi Adorcism Ritual, Michée Badé

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

Missionaries face unique challenges when confronted with spirit possession rituals. Because not all spirit possessions are regarded as negative in some cultures, some spirit possessions are sought through adorcism rituals. Such spirit possessions are considered advantageous for the individual or the community. Contrasted with exorcism which is to expel or bind troublesome or uninvited entities, adorcism creates or strengthens beneficial ties between the possessed person and the spirits (Openshaw 2020:6).

This article seeks to show that the practice of adorcism rituals, as is the case among the Dendi people in the northern part of Benin, presents a unique challenge to …

An Analysis And Comparison Of The Missional Doctrine Hermeneutics Of Kevin J. Vanhoozer And Veli-Matti KäRkkäInen, With Emphasis On Their Notions Of God, Eschatology, And Mission, Elmer Arrais Guzman

Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen’s and Kevin J. Vanhoozer’s theological method, in order to understand its structural elements, and thereby to facilitate comprehension of their missional doctrinal hermeneutics, and the ramifications of those hermeneutics for the construction and development of Christian theology. Missional doctrinal hermeneutical models conceive the missional dimension of doctrine in various ways. Some privilege the maintenance of theological identity cohering with the foundational sources of theological authority. Others privilege theological constructions that assimilate the context and the missional situational framework of understanding. This dissertation strives to examine the diverging missional hermeneutics of Kärkkäinen and Vanhoozer, the foundational …

History Of Contextualization, Youssry Guirguis

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Missio Dei As Hermeneutical Key For Scriptural Interpretation, Boubakar Sanou

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

Seventh-Day Adventist Biblical Hermeneutics For Mission In Islamic Contexts: Five Foundational Principles, Wagner Kuhn, Esther Happuch

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

Towards A Theology Of Bi-Vocational Mission With Missiological Applications To Creative Access Cities, Abner Perez Dizon

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Bi-vocational mission is not only an innovative and useful model to use in creative access cities. Even though this approach may not be for everyone, and even though Paul himself saw the need for church-supported mission, this chapter has shown that the model itself is biblical. In order for this approach to be effective, however, it needs to be grounded on a strong belief in the mission of God, an understanding of the Great Controversy, willingness to obey the Great Commission, an implementation of the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, and a sound theology of work."

Toward A Post-Religious Urban Theology: The Missionary Movement Ethos In Secularized Contexts, Marcelo E. C. Dias

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"An urban theology should be the center of conversation with the current post-religious context that takes into serious consideration people’s search for meaning and the new spirituality in this age. Perhaps popular culture can give clues about contemporary meaning-making as well (Shannahan 2014:207-217). On the one side, history assures that an urban setting does not need to feel like a threat to the Christian faith. “Early Christianity was primarily an urban movement. The original meaning of the word pagan (paganus) was ‘rural person,’ or more colloquially ‘country hick.’ It came to have religious meaning because after Christianity had triumphed in …

Creating Communities Of Belonging For Authentic Youth Evangelism, Daniel M. Duffis

180 Symposium Publications

No abstract provided.

Towards A Biblical Spirituality: Dwelling With God Through The Exodus Sanctuary-Covenant Structure, Silvia Canale Bacchiocchi

Master's Theses

Problem

Biblical spirituality was challenged from the very start of the Christian church by competing spiritual ideologies of philosophical origins. Because the interpretation of spirituality has focused on exegetical and doctrinal approaches (micro and mesohermeneutical levels), the grounding biblical macro-hermeneutical level of its basic presuppositions has been ignored. Yet this is the level that gives ultimate meaning to the meso and micro levels. This oversight constitutes a giant roadblock to understanding and experiencing true biblical spirituality, the consequences of which are devastating both for the individual believer (Matt 7:23), as well as for the mission, unity, and growth of the …

Dynamics Of Leadership And Followership, Boubakar Sanou

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Constructing A Theology Of Relational Life Through The Themes Of Creation, Incarnation, And Re-Creation As An Alternative To Current Categories Of Religions, Andrew Tompkins

Dissertations

This dissertation argues that current categories of religions are overly reliant on Western Enlightenment-based presuppositions and academic thinking that creates barriers in understanding God’s desire for all people to have abundant life. Many theologians and missiologists utilize these inherited categories without first subjecting them to the biblical canon. As a result, the theological and missiological discourse on religions is often grounded in extra-biblical presuppositions rooted primarily in an overly high view of human reason that do not accurately portray a biblical approach to relational life. These presuppositions do not accurately portray a biblical approach to relational life. I, therefore, compared …

Teología Para La Misión De Los Últimos Días: Asistencia Social Y Desarrollo Humano Como Sabiduría Bíblica En Palabras Y Obras, Wagner Kuhn

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Biblical Perspectives On The Role Of Immigrants In God’S Mission, Charles Van Engen

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"I believe that when we begin to fully understand the Bible’s missiological and instrumental perspectives with regard to the migrant and stranger, we may possibly gain a better grasp of, and live more fully in, the missionary vision expressed in 1 Peter 2. If the church of Jesus Christ truly saw itself as a pilgrim community whose land and nation are not of this earth, then the Christian church would begin to understand that it is itself a community of migrants—ambassadors, yes (2 Cor 5)—but even so, migrants. This perspective is not a purely managerial or activist viewpoint. Rather this …

Insider Movements Among Muslims: Reflections On Their History, Identity, And Theology, Richard Doss

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"The enormity of the task still facing Christian missions is almost incomprehensible. Nearly 4.1 billion people are still in need of the gospel (Johnstone 2014:65). In some ways, the task of reaching the unreached is most difficult among Muslims. With nearly 1.3 billion adherents, Islam represents a significant challenge to the spread of the gospel. Or does it? Given the complex nature of the relationship between Christianity and Islam, could it be that the inability of Christian missionaries to shed the social, cultural, and political trappings of the West and Christendom have limited the effectiveness of the gospel? Might the …

Principles For Effective Relationships With Postmodern People In The Context Of Urban Mission, Bogdan Platon

Papers

No abstract provided.

A Theory Base And Mission-Sending Model For The South American Division Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Silvano Barbosa

Dissertations

Problem

Effective missionary work depends on a combination of three preconditions, equally indispensable: (1) a body of committed and adaptable personnel who are prepared to transmit to another cultural group the relevance of the Christian message; (2) an organization that is equipped to recruit, train, fund, send, and care for such a missionary force; and (3) sustained access to international unreached areas. Throughout its history, the missionary movement has been based on these three factors and the absence of one or more of them has resulted in less than optimum achievement and has sometimes led to failure. In 2014 the …

An Examination In The Role Of Spirituality In The Development Of The Moral Component Of Authentic Leadership Through A Sociorhetorical Analysis Of Paul's Letter To Titus, J. D. Henson

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"this study examined the role of spirituality in the moral development component of authentic leadership in comparison to leadership principles found in the Epistle to titus. the study of moral development was drawn from literature on authentic leadership theory, spiritual leadership theory, and preexisting frameworks of moral agency, self-concept, and the stages of moral development. the exegetical process followed the methodology of sociorhetorical analysis and was interpreted for the moral, ethical, and leadership principles found in the pericope. the study yielded five themes of leadership from which 10 principles of leadership were discovered as found in Paul's letter to Titus. …

The Role Of Spirituality In The Leadership Style Of Organizational Leaders, A. S. Koko

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"the transcendental phenomenology research design was used to investigate the essence or meaning of these leaders’ experiences regarding their spirituality and leadership style as they were currently experiencing it. the knowledge obtained from this study explained spirituality, consciousness, and cognition’s role in leadership style, which can be applied to the fields of sports, politics, organizational management, coaching, mentoring, leadership, employee recruitment, and other areas of society or within any organization where leadership performance is important. the conclusion from this study was that organizational leaders who self-identified as being spiritual demonstrated compassion when relating with their employees and others. these organizational …

Cultural Integration And The Gospel In Vietnamese Mission Theology: A Paradigm Shift, K. S. Nguyen

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"This study argues that it is necessary to present the Christian faith in such a way that it allows the Vietnamese to follow Christ and yet remain within their Vietnamese culture. To do so, the study resonates theologically with what has already been done, and offers some relevant contributions to the Vietnamese contextualization efforts by proposing a paradigm shift in the development of a Vietnamese mission theology which requires it to be both evangelical and Vietnamese."