Digital Commons Network^™

Open Letter Of Protest From Kyrgyz Churches, Kyrgyz Churches

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Flourishing, Not Fear: Why Aren't We Flourishing? (Part I), Marykate Morse

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

No abstract provided.

Sustaining Spiritual Leadership For The Long Haul: The Center For Spiritual Renewal At Barclay College, David O. Williams

Doctor of Ministry

There is no higher calling in the Christian life than the call to serve as a spiritual leader within the body of Christ (pastor, music minister, missionary, etc.). While many of these leaders are functioning quite well in their respective ministries today, many others are leaving vocational ministry at an alarming rate. In section one of this document, an attempt will be made to identify some of the key factors that contribute to this current clergy crisis. A significant number of support services have emerged in recent years in an attempt to address the problem of clergy burnout. Section two …

Resisting A Separatist Position As A “Distinctively Christian Psychology”, Anna Berardi, Nancy S. Thurston

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

No abstract provided.

Teaching Integration Outside The Traditional Classroom, Amy W. Dominguez, Mark R. Mcminn, Gary W. Moon

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Today's educational environment is being transformed by online technologies that open new venues for teaching and make education accessible far beyond the traditional classroom environment. How rrught these changes affect the ways we teach the integration of psychology and Christianity? Three faculty members dialogue about such integration opportunities, advantages, and potential disadvantages.

Ethical Challenges And Opportunities At The Edge: Incorporating Spirituality And Religion Into Psychotherapy, John C. Gonsiorek, P. Scott Richards, Kenneth I. Pargament, Mark R. Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Incorporating spirituality and religion into psychotherapy has been controversial, but recent contributions have argued the importance and provided foundations for doing so. Discussions of ethical challenges in this process are emerging, and this contribution discusses several preliminary issues, relying on the Resolution on Religious, Religion-Based and/or Religion-Derived Prejudice adopted by the American Psychological Association in 2007, as guidance when used with the American Psychological Association’s (2002) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Specifically, this discussion of preliminary challenges addresses competence, bias, maintaining traditions and standards of psychology, and integrity in labeling services for reimbursement. Commentators deepen the discussion, …

Integration In The Classroom: Ten Teaching Strategies, Mark R. Mcminn, Gary W. Moon, Angela G. Mccormick

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Teaching integration involves engaging students as active participants in the unfolding relationship of psychology and Christianity, with a particular focus on integration. Ten specific teaching strategies are offered to help students enter into the challenges and opportunities of integration. The teaching strategies are organized according to Moon's (1997) four directions for integration: practical, personal, classic, and contemporary.

A Project To Foster Spiritual Formation In Online Classrooms, Robert Vaughan

Doctor of Ministry

Online programs are a growing phenomenon in adult education. Many Christian colleges and universities use this method to meet the educational needs of non-traditional students. A drawback of online education is the challenge to address the spiritual needs of students in a virtual environment. This project will propose an approach for fostering spiritual formation in asynchronous, adult online educational programs.

Section 2 will demonstrate the problem of fostering spiritual formation in online environments including the following issues: the demographics of the project, an organizational analysis of the project, and historical timelines of online adult education.

Section 3 will explore how …

The Problem Of Prayerlessness (Chapter 35 Of Giving Ourselves To Prayer), Marykate Morse

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Prayer is probably the core spiritual practice of the Christian faith. Yet, despite the example of Jesus and the early church it is often an anemic part of our lives. A common response to this reality is to label prayerlessness-not taking time to pray-a sin problem. Jesus told us to pray, so we should pray. If we are not praying, the solution is to confess and repent, and then start praying. "Start praying" usually means attending prayer groups, keeping prayer notebooks, and interceding on behalf of others during one's daily quiet time. However, in all my years of teaching prayer …

Recovering Spiritual Direction In The Protestant Tradition, Morris Dirks

Doctor of Ministry

The purpose of this dissertation is to foster a commitment to the development of spiritual direction in the ongoing care of pastors within the Protestant tradition. The need to recover this practice, once well established in the church, is made obvious by the increasing challenges faced in ministry and the spiritual and emotional impact now experienced by pastors. More and more leaders are losing their way as a result of the unchecked stress fostered by the overwhelming expectations, whether real or perceived, which are placed on them. Pastoral responsibilities have been significantly compounded by the increasing programmatic and executive functions …

Unspoken Prayer In Spiritual Formation: Tool Or Trouble, Wayne Lewis

Doctor of Ministry

The questions addressed in this document are: Can unspoken prayer be used in Christian spiritual formation? If so, how? And are there dangers that come with its use? For the purpose of simplicity and utility, the term "unspoken prayer" will refer to prayer that is not verbalized with voice or mind and is prayer offered to God as listening, focused waiting, or thought focused meditation. Unspoken prayer is utilized by Christians in forming a more intimate relationship with Jesus as Savior and Lord. Many terms are used for this type of prayer including contemplative prayer, silent prayer, listening prayer, and …

An Outcome Evaluation Of Marble Retreat's Brief, Intensive Psychotherapy Program, Scott G. Koeneman

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Marble Retreat is an interdenominational psychotherapy treatment facility dedicated to ·eating clergy in crisis. Its mission is to facilitate healing and restoration to those who are in ocational Christian ministry through a Christ-centered approach to brief, intensive sychotherapy. The doors of Marble Retreat have been open since 1974. Over the past 33 years, 1arble Retreat has worked with over 3000 clergy in crisis. Recently, Marble Retreat has hanged directorship for the first time in its operation. In 2003, the Board of Directors of Marble ~etreat officially appointed Steven Cappa, PsyD and his wife Patti Cappa, MS, LMFT, CAC II ) …

“The Grand Experiment:” Modeling Adult Learning With Adult-Ministry Students, Laura Simmons

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Adult-learning theory challenges faculty to adapt their teaching to certain characteristics of adult learners, including self-direction: if adults direct the bulk of their lives outside of school, so should they be permitted to direct their own educational experiences. To what extent is self-directed learning an optimal, or even realistic, methodology for seminary teaching? Does it matter what subjects we are teaching? This essay details an experiment with self-directed learning in a seminary ministry class: what worked; what might be altered before experimenting again with this teaching methodology; how it challenges our view of ourselves as faculty to teach in this …

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" …

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper, January 20, 2006, George Fox University Archives

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of George Fox University.

Identity Research And The Psychosocial Formation Of One’S Sense Of Spiritual Self: Implications For Religious Educators And Christian Institutions Of Higher Education, Chris Kiesling, Gwendolyn T. Sorell, Marilyn J. Montgomery, Ronald K. Colwell

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

Utilizing Erikson’s (1963) psychosocial ego identity development theory, 28 qualitative interviews with religiously devout Americans are analyzed to determine different patterns of adult spiritual identity. Following an integrationist approach, we provide response to the question, “What types of identity development are accommodated, promoted, or prohibited by particular models of Christian education and the educational communities that embody them?” Recognizing individual differences in (a) the social and contextual factors that affect identity formation, (b) the way religious doubts are resolved, and (c) what individuals seek from community, we offer important implications for religious educators and Christian institutions of higher education.

Discernment- Corporate And Individual Considerations, Charles J. Conniry Jr.

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Intentional Discipleship: Spiritual Formation As Trinitarian Immersion For The 21st Century, Craig W. Henningfield

Doctor of Ministry

The local Christian congregation is remarkably active. Pastors serve the congregation in a variety of roles. Church leaders meet to plan so that tasks, funds and activities are properly ordered. Church members participate in the various ministries and opportunities offered. Citizens of the local community take advantage of programs designed for them. Christian congregations, sometimes called "religious malls," are busy.

Yet, with all the activity, church members still come and go, complain about the decisions being made, resist changes in their "religious tradition," struggle with various addictions, expect more than is being provided, and wonder how Christianity relates to their …

Baptist Student Ministry: Object Lessons In The New Reality For Denominational Ministries, Nick Howard

Doctor of Ministry

The world in which we live is a world filled with opportunity. It is an exciting time to be alive and involved in ministry. This is especially true for those who minister to the more than 14 million university students on campuses across America today. To work on a university campus is to experience the quickening of the Spirit. There is a very real sense that one is ministering on the cusp of the postmodem world. In contrast with earlier generations of students, the beginning years of the 21st century are times in which students are characterized by an optimism …

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.

Baptist Student Ministry: Object Lessons In The New Reality For Denominational Ministries, Nick Howard

Doctor of Ministry

No abstract provided.

Discernment-Corporate And Individual Perspectives, Bruce Bishop

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

A Covenant Epistemology, Larry Taylor

Doctor of Ministry

The problem addressed in this paper concerns how large, charismatic-type churches practice their ecclesial epistemology. It is the position of this paper that the typical hierarchical approach to leadership has hindered the epistemological process by placing too much responsibility on one person, the senior leader, and too little responsibility on the congregation as a whole. Covenant Epistemology is a response to this problem, by calling on the whole church to function in unity in the discernment process. Its core feature is the covenant that bonds members of a faith community together to a unique commitment to seek collectively knowledge and …

Hoekendijk, Bossey, Hungary, Reverend Laszlo Gonda

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Wynot's "Keeping The Faith: Russian Orthodox Monasticism In The Soviet Union, 1917-1939" - Book Review, Walter D. Ray

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Petrine Ministry And Christocracy: A Response To Ut Unum Sint, Paul Anderson

Discernment Resources

No abstract provided.

Petrine Ministry And Christocracy: A Response To Ut Unum Sint, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Research Training In Explicitly Christian Doctoral Programs, Peter C. Hill, Mark R. Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

The importance of research training at explicitly Christian doctoral programs is suggested on the basis of four reasons: the need to hold science and practice together, the need for skills to evaluate interventions, the need to serve a society with a growing interest in religion and spirituality, and the need to assess the effectiveness of explicitly Christian doctoral programs. A discussion of these issues serves as an introduction to the rest of this special issue that focuses on research training at seven explicitly Christian programs.

A Review Of Seekers Found, #2, Stephen A. Ford

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

A Multicultural Learning Community: Facilitating Faculty Relationships With East Asian Students On An American Christian College Campus, Larry K. Asplund

Doctor of Ministry

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the cross-cultural challenges faced by teachers and East Asian students on an American Christian college campus, and to seek effective ways of facilitating relationships between them. How could I effectively facilitate meaningful cross-cultural relationships between members of the faculty and East Asian students? How is it possible for a Christian college campus to become a multicultural learning community?

My claim is that it is possible to facilitate faculty relationships with East Asian students if a high priority is placed on the Christian value of relationships in community and cultural learning, i.e. learning …