Digital Commons Network^™

Adventures In Churchland: Discovering The Beautiful Mess Jesus Loves, Dan Kimball

Doctor of Ministry

A growing number of young adults (those in the 18-30-year-old age range) are not
engaging, becoming involved or entering into the church of America. An increasing
number of those who grew up attending church are leaving after their high school years.
I have observed this as a pattern when visiting churches and talking to church
leaders across America. Statistics are showing this as seen in studies such as Dave Kin-
naman’s research and writings from the Barna Research group and Ed Stetzer’s research
from LifeWay Christian Resources. This is a very significant problem because if the
church loses connection with …

How Women Plant Churches, Marykate Morse

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

No abstract provided.

The Great Hand-Off: Empowering Effective Leadership Succession From Baby Boomer To Gen Y Leaders, John Stumbo

Doctor of Ministry

A new generation of passionate young leaders is arriving. Their commitment to Christ shows signs of vitality through fresh expressions of faith. However, is the church of North America-primarily led by Boomer leaders-ready for them? It is my claim that many of today's churches can thrive into the next decades as insightful and courageous Boomer leaders begin now to prepare for healthy leadership succession. Practical and realistic changes can now be made by Boomer leaders to facilitate an effective hand-off to Generation Y leaders. However, if intentional efforts are not made by the leaders who currently hold the positions of …

Organic Disciple Development: Purposeful And Practical Mentoring As An Answer To Twentysomethings Leaving The Local Church In The Postmodern Context, Jerry W. Payne

Doctor of Ministry

The thesis of this paper is that mentoring twentysomething followers of Christ as part of an organic disciple-development process will mitigate the frustrations caused by the attractional growth model and increase the effectiveness of the church in this postmodern context. This thesis will be supported by introducing practical methodologies, integrating theological reflection, and incorporating biblical precepts.

Chapter one provides an overview and working definition of the attractional church model. It provides a brief, but detailed, history of the attractional model and examines it through the lens of three distinct time periods (pre-modern, modern, and postmodern), tracing the model from the …

Mission Fields Across The Street: Sending And Supporting Simple Church Planters As Local Missionaries, Rick Shrout

Doctor of Ministry

Churches in North America are ineffective in reaching their smTounding neighborhoods when those neighborhoods are populated predominately by people who embrace a postmodem lifestyle and worldview. One of the reasons for this ineffectiveness stems from an ecclesiology that leans heavily upon institutional stmctures and methods that fly in the face of postmodem sensibilities. This problem is addressed by proposing partnerships of established churches and denominational agencies with simple church planters as a way for traditional churches to play an active role in supporting a missional presence in an emerging culture through planting simple churches.

Section 2 introduces the problems and …

Mobilizing Christ-Followers For Kingdom Ministry, Shonnie Scott

Doctor of Ministry

No abstract provided.

The Good Soil Process: A Strategic Missional Process For American Institutional Churches, Keith Tilley

Doctor of Ministry

The Primary Readers: Christian laity and clergy who are interested in learning about the increasing institutionalization of American mainstream denominations and the problems associated with maintaining such large corporations. They include those who have a burden for postmodern 21st century North America as a mission field and wish to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ effectively. The two project artifacts will specifically be contextualized for smaller to mid-size rural East Texas communities of faith. Much of the history and denominational traditions drawn upon in this written statement will be influenced by United Methodist heritage and experience but provided for …

Rethinking Missions: A Pathway For Helping The Next Generation To Fulfill Christ's Great Commission, Jon Olson

Doctor of Ministry

No abstract provided.

Not My Church! (Chapter 5 Of Grappling With Faith: Decision Cases For Christians In Social Work), Clifford J M Rosenbohm

Faculty Publications - College of Social Work

"You're not acting as my church acts!" church social worker Sandy Potts exclaimed. "In fact, you're not acting as His church would act!"

Peter Wilson, Senior Executive Director of Creekside Christian Church, and Rita Kimball, an assistant from human resources had just informed Sandy that she was being terminated. They had given the same news to others on the church staff as they met at fifteen minute intervals; another pair of administrators was doing the same in an adjoining room.

"Thou Hast Given Me A Body": Theological Anthropology And The Virtual Chruch, Travis Pickell

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Introduction

There is no denying the absolutely revolutionary effect of digital and Internet technology on society in the twenty-first century. For many people, the Internet provides an instant connection to friends, family, colleagues, workstations, entertainment media, and other valuable (or completely trivial) information. As a result, the world is becoming more networked, opportunities for entrepreneurial growth are more widespread, and the speed and efficiency of everyday life is increasing rapidly.2 Add blistering growth in digital Smartphone technology, which effectively turns every mobile phone into a web-connected personal computer, and one can easily see that “connectivity” is quickly becoming the new …

That They May Be One: Spiritual Formation And Its Locus In Community, Phillip G. Carnes

Doctor of Ministry

American Christians, as a whole, lack a spiritual maturity that infuses the whole of their lives with Christlikeness. Additionally, Americans suffer from an epidemic of loneliness. These two problems are related. We will demonstrate that American Christians lack spiritual maturity, in part, because they have privatized their faith and made spiritual formation an individual endeavor. Furthermore, we will show that spiritual formation is best located and grounded within a community context. Humans are social creatures. It is becoming ever more widely recognized that social isolation and loneliness are root causes of much psychosocial dysfunction. Humans do not function well if …

Christian Mission In Post-Communism: Missiological Implications And The Bulgarian Context, Viktor Kostov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

It Takes A Missional Order To Raise A Leader: "Order-Ing" Leadership Communities For Life Transformation And Missional Impact, Daniel L. Steigerwald

Doctor of Ministry

The times in which we live in the West grow more complex from year to year. This presents a problem, as church and para-church leaders find themselves increasingly less prepared to meet the demands of "missional leadership," that is, leadership that exemplifies and passes on the passion, practices and perspectives conducive to fostering growth in God and fruitful missionary engagement with his world.

In chapter one I identify this problem both from the vantage point of my own leadership journey and also from that of Christian leaders in general. I then propose my thesis: Amid the complexities, distractions and pressures …

Faith And Practice: A Book Of Christian Discipline 2009, George Fox University Archives

Faith and Practice

Faith and Practice: A Book of Christian Discipline, Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Church 2009. Publication of the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends.

Northwest Yearly Meeting Of Friends Minutes, 2009, George Fox University Archives

Northwest Yearly Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, previously known as the Oregon Yearly Meeting.

Finding Life: An Organic Model Of Renewal For Existing Churches, Thomas E. Rester Jr.

Doctor of Ministry

Statistics reveal most existing mainline churches are small, declining, and unable to minister effectively in their current environment. Rising stress is the result for these congregations. For mission and ministry to continue in many of these places, the stress must become an opportunity to release a deeper organic understanding of identity and ministry within the fluid postmodern context.

Chapter 2 presents biblical materials from the book of Acts. Focusing on Acts 15, we discover that in a moment of fil"eat stress and confusion, the church was able to e change and evolve to find new life in the midst of …

Worldview: The Missing Dimension Of Evangelism In Post-Communist Society, Sergei Golovin

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

For a while Christians considered the Soviet Union to be a great potential mission field; nevertheless when the door for missions opened wide, it happened unexpectedly. Despite thousands of missionaries and millions of dollars invested immediately in spreading the gospel in the post-communist world, after a short-term tide, church growth declined back to pre-perestroika level. The research made during that period demonstrated that the so-called awakening had nothing to do with the biblical concept of repentance (i.e. a radical change of a person’s worldview). An explanatory model of the worldview transformation dynamics in post-communist society is developed as an attempt …

Baptist Union Council Meets In Moscow, William Yoder

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Northwest Yearly Meeting Of Friends Minutes, 2008, George Fox University Archives

Northwest Yearly Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, previously known as the Oregon Yearly Meeting.

Igniting A Parent-Church Movement In The Congregations Of North America, John C. Bangs

Doctor of Ministry

Guided by the misleading church planting metaphor, North America's churches do not establish thriving new congregations in sufficient numbers to evangelize emerging generations effectively. A better metaphor is needed. In order to reach and disciple emerging North American generations effectively, a church parenting culture must be created in North American churches. The purpose of this project is to provide a book designed to motivate potential parent-churches to conceive, birth, and nurture daughter congregations. Section 2 establishes the priority of starting new churches in the evangelistic task. The section also demonstrates that existing churches do not establish a sufficient number of …

An Ethnically Well-Mixed Christian, Peter Kuzmič

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

On Inter-Church Dialogue In Serbia - Current Situation, Luka Ilić

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Building An Ethos Of Discipleship For Transition In The Twenty-First Century, Greg J. Boulton

Doctor of Ministry

The tension between old and new tears at the heart and soul of the church in the United States. For example, does the church focus on building new churches and allow old ones to die? Do church leaders develop a more effective ethos that renews the hearts and minds of Christians in old and new churches? This paper deals with how leaders can develop an ethos that sustains discipleship in the life of its members. It is the thesis of this paper that long-term members of the Christian faith can be revivified through a biblical discipleship process. The paper explores …

Czarist Missionary Contact With Central Asia: Models Of Contextualization?, David M. Johnstone

Publications from Student Life & Spiritual Life

Although the Western church knows little of these ventures, Russian Orthodoxy in fact has a rich missionary heritage. There have been instances of great courage, passion, and cultural sensitivity in Orthodox attempts to bring the Gospel to the Muslim peoples. I outline here some of the context and features of these missionary endeavors.

Exploring A New Paradigm For Evangelism In The Emerging Culture, Michael Mcnichols

Doctor of Ministry

It is my claim that evangelism has become focused on the proclamation of a message that is presumed to be an accurate expression of the biblical concept of gospel. Evangelism within the evangelical community, perceived primarily as proclamation, has become a specialized function of the church. It is too often separated not only from the normative experience of the average Christian but also from the idea of discipleship, or spiritual formation. There are possible solutions to this problem, such as more training, increased efforts at city-wide crusades, more seeker-oriented services, continuation of church planting, a stronger focus on those "gifted" …

Religion Classes In State Institutions In Post-Soviet Russia, Joseph A. Loya O.S.A.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Via Media : The Necessity Of Deeper Theological Refection For The Genuine Renewal Of Church In The Emerging Culture And Context / By Jason Clark., Jason Clark

Doctor of Ministry

No abstract provided.

Resource Reviews, Phyllis Fox

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Www.Church: Consulting With 19th And 20th Century Congregations In A 21st Century World, Earl James Price

Doctor of Ministry

A new pastor is called and excitement is high. Both the pastor and the congregation begin this journey with high hopes and expectations. Yet too often things get off track quickly and people are left wondering what happened and why aren't things going in the direction we hoped? The problem comes from a failure to understand the unique nature of a faith community. Understanding the nature includes an understanding of the roles of and the relationship between values, vision and mission in charting a course to the future of their ministry together. This failure in understanding also presents itself when …

Northwest Yearly Meeting Of Friends Minutes, 2005, George Fox University Archives

Northwest Yearly Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, previously known as the Oregon Yearly Meeting.