Digital Commons Network^™

Creating New Expressions Of Worship Gatherings Within Existing Churches, Eric K. Baker

Doctor of Ministry

It is my claim that multiple expressions of worship gatherings must be created to connect generations to Jesus. Worship "services" are the face of many churches, but according to recent studies many people are leaving the American church at a rapid rate.1 Many issues surrounding the decline of the American church exist, but my claim is that many young adults feel disconnected from many Sunday morning worship experiences. Many have attempted to fix this problem by creating evangelistic ministry teams, by moving churches from the mega church model to the house church model, and even by removing the mass gathering …

Becoming Fully Human: Re-Imagining Christian Discipleship For An Emerging Generation, Vincent A. Beresford

Doctor of Ministry

It is my claim that followers of Jesus in the United States are suffering from missional amnesia and are seemingly unaware of their increasingly ineffective approaches towards Christian discipleship and evangelism. It seems the Church has forgotten why they exist? Simultaneously, an emerging generation watches how the Christian faith is being played out in the United States, and has arrived at the conclusion that the "organized church" has missed the point. The world has changed and the Church's lack of response clearly indicates grand delusions of denial. The unique Christian sub-culture who were once the "natives" in the United States …

2010 L'Ami Yearbook, George Fox University Archives

Yearbooks

Yearbook for George Fox University. 135 pages. Black and white with color senior portraits.

Gender In Professional Psychology : Differences In Professional Activities And Perceived Benefits , Rachael D. Kerns

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

No abstract provided.

Denominational Support For Clergy Mental Health, Bobby L. Trihub, Mark R. Mcminn, William C. Buhrow, Thomas F. Johnson

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

To date, minimal research has addressed the actual services provided to maintain the mental health of leadership in the church. Three major Protestant denominations were consulted within this study, including a total of 434 pastors across the United States. Among these three denominations, a range of services are now being offered to support clergy, with services such as time off, prayer support groups, and clergy retreats among the most valued, adequately provided, and utilized. Still, clergy do not see the provision of services as fully adequate, and report a number of obstacles to utilizing services. Generally, the most highly rated …

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper, October 14, 2009, George Fox University Archives

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of George Fox University.

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper, April 8, 2009, George Fox University Archives

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of George Fox University.

Youth Ministry In The Emerging Culture, Joel Dietrich

Doctor of Ministry

Youth ministry is a relatively new endeavor for Christianity in the West. In its short history, youth ministry became a major aspect of Christian churches and Christian activity. This project focuses on youth ministry in the emerging culture. The problem is that an increasing percentage of Americans leave their Christian faith behind when they enter adulthood. The paper examines the latest research into the emerging culture and youth ministry, and it provides a practical approach to youth ministry in the emerging culture. The thesis is that youth ministries can connect effectively with teenagers through missional, relational, incarnational, and intergenerational strategies …

Stories From Thirty Years Of "Celebration Of Discipline", Howard R. Macy

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

A chapel talk given at George Fox University on the 30th anniversary of Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline.

Atonement In Hosea And The Prodigal Son: Relationality As Personhood And The Being Of God, Stephen Sherwood

Seminary Masters Theses

My project will provide a survey of traditional atonement metaphors, with a particular emphasis upon contrasting penal substitution with a covenantal relational understanding of the atonement, and will then posit that a covenantal relational approach is ideal for resonance with a postmodem audience.

I will seek to determine whether any single biblical metaphor or cluster of metaphors provides an interpretive matrix for all discussion of the atonement in a way that is both biblically faithful and conceptually accessible to a postmodem world. I contend that atonement discussions in typical evangelical contexts may be both biblically insufficient and culturally inadequate and …

Atonement In Hosea And The Prodigal Son: Relationality As Personhood And The Being Of God, Steve Sherwood

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt from Introduction: "My project will provide a survey of traditional atonement metaphors, with a particular emphasis upon contrasting penal substitution with a covenantal relational understanding of the atonement, and will then posit that a covenantal relational approach is ideal for resonance with a postmodern audience.

I will seek to determine whether any single biblical metaphor or cluster of metaphors provides an interpretive matrix for all discussion of the atonement in a way that is both biblically faithful and conceptually accessible to a postmodern world. I contend that atonement discussions in typical evangelical contexts may be both biblically insufficient and …

Where Are The Twenty-Year-Olds? Tools For The Church To Connect And Retain A Generation, Lars Rood

Doctor of Ministry

A generation of young people are losing their connection to the church today. Research by the Barna Group shows that "61 % of students who were active in church during their teenage years disengaged during their twenties."1 Many churches struggle to adequately connect with and retain the twenty-something generation. This inability to connect stems from changing culture, technology, new worldviews, and a lack of formal training in institutes of higher education. Raised with the Internet, instant messaging, cell phones, and hundreds of television channels, this generation is undoubtedly well informed. Yet many churches no longer speak their language. I believe …

Prostitutes, Prodigals And The Story Of God's Embrace, Steve Sherwood

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt: "This book has been stewing inside of me for a long time. When I was sixteen years old, I sat in a living room in Round Rock, Texas at a Young Life meeting and heard a college kid tell the story of Hosea and Gomer and then say, "God loves us like that." I'd never heard anything like that and I now know that Hosea was not a story regularly told in Young Life. I have no idea why my Young Life leader chose it. Regardless, that image has stuck in my head for almost thirty years.

Other experiences …

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper, April 16, 2008, George Fox University Archives

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of George Fox University.

Youthbuilders: 1974-2008 Building A Student Leadership Model, Denis Eldon Bell

Doctor of Ministry

The YouthBuilders is an itinerant group of students, ages 18-24 who volunteer for one year of community life and personal growth. They train and serve in what is now a co-operative opportunity sponsored by the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada and the Canadian Conference of the Brethren in Christ Church.

After thirty-three years the YouthBuilders' adventure is just completing its tenth season of tour, involving the 13th and 14th teams, having trained 58 students in this model of leadershop development.

The practical application of this Doctor of Ministry dissertation is to investigate · · the history of this movement and …

Movies As The Vernacular Of Adolescence, Jacob Youmans

Doctor of Ministry

Audience: The primary audience/user of my project will be Christian teenagers with a desire to share their faith in a missional way in the vernacular of their peers. I also hope the project will be a resource for those who minister to and work with teenagers and desire to connect with them as well as inspire them to go out and be the church to their friends that do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

I hope my users will have more confidence in sharing their faith and will learn skills to talk about the sacred in the …

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.

An Epistemology Of Hope: A Modest Theory Of Knowledge For The (Post) Evangelical Church, Jeffrey Norman Tacklind

Doctor of Ministry

The problem that I will be addressing in this dissertation is the chasm that is growing between the evangelical church and the emerging church pertaining specifically to the epistemological differences between the two. My hope is to provide a theory of knowledge that will bridge the gap in such a way that it will preserve what I believe to be the virtues of both sides of the discussion. I will propose an epistemology that will hold to both the more evangelical commitment of an objective reality, while at the same time honestly facing the limitations to the modern quest for …

Hidden Under A Bushel? Evangelical Journals In An Era Of Web-Based Communications, Gregory A. Smith

The Christian Librarian

Evangelicals face significant obstacles as they seek to make their publications accessible to potential readers. This study measures the extent to which evangelical scholarly journals have made their contents available in electronic form. Thirty-five journals – all active, refereed, evangelical in perspective, and published in English – were chosen for analysis. Two serials management tools and individual journal Web sites provided data regarding electronic accessibility. Twenty-six of the journals are available in some electronic form – most commonly in one or more aggregated databases. Evangelical information professionals could play a significant role in helping to make additional evangelical journal content …

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 …

The Kingdom Of God: An Ancient/Future Ontology Of Leadership For The Twenty First Century Church, Stephen A. Campbell

Doctor of Ministry

The Church is facing a crisis ofleadership. For the past several hundred years the Church has embraced an ontology, or basic understanding of the nature ofleadership, based on a modern interpretation of the world. With the emergence of the postmodern world, Church leaders need to embrace a new, ancient/future ontology ofleadership based on Jesus' teachings on the kingdom of God. This will enable the Church to be relevant in the twenty-first century. Chapter two will evaluate Jesus' teaching regarding the kingdom of God. This examination will reveal four characteristics of that kingdom which will serve as the basic framework for …

Building A Reformed Life: Recovering John Calvin's Theology Of The Christian Life For The Church Today, Neil E. Trainer

Doctor of Ministry

The problem addressed by this dissertation may be stated as follows: How can members of First Presbyterian Church, and others like it, be assisted in both their understanding of God's plan and their appropriation of God's power for their growth toward maturity in Christ's likeness? To address the stated problem, we propose to recover John Calvin's theology of the Christian life, which understands spiritual formation as the necessary and progressive reformation of the deformed image of God after the pattern of Christ through spiritual union with Christ by the process of repentance. In this light, spiritual formation is viewed as …

Northwest Yearly Meeting Of Friends Minutes, 2007, George Fox University Archives

Northwest Yearly Meeting Minutes

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

E-Learning And The Academy: A New Paradigm For Training Youth Ministry Students, Richard Chromey

Doctor of Ministry

The technological revolution of cyberspace has forced various institutions to reinvent. In recent years, many colleges and universities have converted partially or wholly to distance education or "e-Iearning." However, countless other schools and learning institutions (especially ministry training) remain firmly entrenched within site-based, seat-time, lecture-rooted, modern educational frames.

And therefore, the problem arises: how can cyber technology and on-line educational delivery systems train and equip youth and family ministry students for professional or lay ministly?

The purpose of this work is an investigation of electronic learning in order to propose alternative strategies for future youth ministry education. Ultimately, readers will …

A Seven Strand Cord: Braiding Together Leadership Development For Mid-Adolescents, Richard Barrett Bartlett Ii

Doctor of Ministry

The emerging culture is necessitating different leadership paradigms: preparation of leaders in a "business as usual" fashion is becoming inadequate. Mid-adolescents in churches who are being "called" or "shoulder tapped" as emerging leaders need an intentional process of leadership development.

This paper will recommend leadership development of mid-adolescents through the metaphor of a seven strand braided cord which includes these threads: discernment, an understanding of call, rite of passage events, mentoring, spiritual formation, service/ministry opportunities, and commissioning. The goal of this research is to suggest that these kinds of learning experiences, which the Church could be providing today, will best …

The Cult Of Comfort, Raymond W. Leach

Doctor of Ministry

The tension in which we find ourselves when it comes to the accumulation of wealth and material possessions is a common one for Christians in the United States. This is a natural result of living in a culture that is driven by the pursuit of comfort. It is aggravated by the fact that so many of our tendencies when it comes to money, happiness, and success are conditioned by the world instead of being shaped by the Word of God. We strive for worldly kingship, but we are called to otherworldly kingdom participation. We pursue comfort as defined by our …

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

"The Crescent" Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of George Fox University.

Training Volunteers To Effectively Make Disciples Of Troubled Youth In The Emerging Postmodern Culture, Dwight Spotts

Doctor of Ministry

One of the great opportunities for the Christian community in an emerging postmodern culture will be the renewed potential for incamational ministry to troubled youth. For over a half century the evangelical church in America has failed to significantly impact the problem of delinquency. This has not always been the reality. Yet current research pertaining to the relationship between religion and delinquency shows that when contextual variables are considered the church can have an inverse effect upon delinquency. In other words, the practice of religion does have something positive to offer troubled youth.

While it is has traditionally been assumed …

Professional Psychology And The Doctrines Of Sin And Grace: Christian Leaders’ Perspectives, Mark R. Mcminn, Janeil N. Ruiz, David Marx, J. Brooke Wright, Nicole B. Gilbert

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

What is a professional psychologist to do when a client brings up the concept of sin? To some, sin may seem like a stifling religious relic that has no place in contemporary psychology. But viewing sin from within the Christian faith, and in tandem with the doctrine of grace, can help psychologists understand why sin is such an important concept for many of their Christian clients. Psychologists’ misunderstanding of sin and grace may contribute to relatively low rates of referral from Christian leaders to clinical psychologists, and may sometimes hinder therapeutic progress. Two methods of data collection, involving a total …

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.