Digital Commons Network^™

A New Rural Missiology: Bringing Hope To Forgotten People In Forgotten Places, Steve Swinburne

Doctor of Ministry

The social, economic, and religious landscape of rural America has changed. Rural America is experiencing brokenness and misplaced hope, yet rural churches are often ignored in terms of missional priority and resources by the Protestant church. However, the biblical story shows that God cares for rural people, and they have not been forgotten by him. A new rural missiology must be developed in order to do for rural ministry what Tim Keller and other urban theologians have done for city ministry in the 21st century. A new rural missiology will motivate Protestant churches to resource rural churches, dignify the call …

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Of Women And People Of Color In Leadership In The Wesleyan Tradition, Trisha Welstad

Doctor of Ministry

The majority of Wesleyan denominations began with theological belief rooted in social action, particularly as it pertained to abolition and women’s equality. Though their beginnings were radical, today the same groups are primarily homogeneous, representing a largely white congregational and leadership demographic, predominantly led by white males. With a historical theology of diversity and inclusion, this research seeks to understand why women and people of color are excluded from leadership roles in the Wesleyan Tradition and how it may affect the future of these denominations. Methodologically, this analysis utilizes research from Deloitte Insights as a template for gauging organizational effectiveness …

Rising To Heaven: The Ideology Of Progress And The Semiotics Of Church Growth, Len Wilson

Doctor of Ministry

Congregational growth remains a dominant model for pastoral ministry in a USAmerican, United Methodist context today. Yet producing sustained growth has proven to be immensely difficult. Ongoing quantitative and qualitative analysis of cultural attitudes toward Christianity today show that the long-standing vocational emphasis on growth has not proven fruitful.

The claim of this work is that the ongoing problem of church decline is not strategic, but semiotic: the basis for continued congregational decline comes not from faulty planning but from a problematic conflation of growth with improvement. For many, Church Growth is influenced by a definition of human and social …

A Neo-Free Methodism: Shadow-Work As A Model For Racial Justice, Liz Simmons

Doctor of Ministry

The increase of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States is on a trajectory to shift the demographic of the Church over time to majority non-white. Because of the abolitionist spirit of its genesis, Free Methodist church contexts have the historical and theological foundations to become hosts for multicultural communities and culturally engaging conversations leading to racial justice. The homogeneous demographic of many Free Methodist churches today, however, results in blindness toward privilege and resistance toward social engagement, reinforcing an insulated identity narrative.

Particularly in rural and suburban areas where the surrounding demographic is shifting at a slower rate, …

Demographic Changes And Faithful Response: Helping Presbyterian Churches Flourish Into The Future, David G. Watermulder

Doctor of Ministry

The problem that this dissertation seeks to address is that in an increasingly diverse society, Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) churches do not reflect the true racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the changing context in which they are located. This paper explores how PCUSA churches in American suburban areas can better understand themselves in order to be equipped to engage with an increasingly multicultural and globalized environment. The future health and witness of PCUSA churches will be enhanced and deepened through actively learning about cultural differences and preparing members and leaders to do ministry faithfully into the years ahead.

Section …

Eldercare In China: Lessons From The Trenches - One Organization's Experience Planning, Training, And Consulting To Open A Continuing Care Retirement Community In Beijing, Mark A. Steele

Doctor of Ministry

The need for not for profit organizations to develop new paradigms to care for the elderly is increasingly important, given the challenges of a rapidly aging population across the globe; and particularly in China. Concerns related to this growing age wave are compounded by political and social shifts within society. Over the past few decades, China has experienced immense demographic shifts and changes in terms of long-term care needs for older adults. For example, a recent report by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics published that there was an estimated 185 million people over the age of 60 (Shobert, Senior …

A Missiology Of With: The Catalyst For Missionary Effectiveness In The 21st Century, Jennifer Williamson

Doctor of Ministry

The world is a very a different place than it was a century ago, and while the modern missionary movement has slightly evolved through time, many of the accepted standards and approaches are predicated on realities that no longer exist. Global connectivity, the ease of travel, and shift of the global center of Christianity mean that practices which may have been effective even fifty years ago are becoming outdated and fruitless. Nevertheless, mission agencies continue to employ these archaic practices, burning-out missionaries, alienating nationals, and wasting Kingdom resources.

This dissertation proposes cross-cultural collaboration as the needed paradigm for missionary effectiveness …

Contextual Intelligence: One Intelligence To Serve Them All, Michael Adam Beck

Doctor of Ministry

The purpose of this paper is to explore the phenomenon of Contextual Intelligence (CI) and suggest a Contextual Intelligence Framework (CIF) for its cultivation in local churches. This will be accomplished by learning from both practitioners of pioneer ministry and inherited congregations, as well as researching the literature. While possessing CI has been shown to be a critical competency for leaders across multiple fields, it is yet to be explored theologically or assessed for practical application ecclesiologically. Amid symptoms of decline, a new breed of leaders first identified by the Church of England as “pioneers,” are planting “fresh expressions of …

Women In Church Leadership: Raising The Awareness Of Women's Contributions To The Kingdom Of God In The Christian Reformed Church, Mary Walker

Doctor of Ministry

The official position of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) is that all congregations in the CRCNA may allow women to serve in the offices of minister, elder, deacon, or commissioned pastor. The problem is that 70 percent of the congregations remain convicted complementarians and do not call women into office. The debate over the biblical, historical, theological, philosophical, and ethical arguments for allowing women into leadership positions has so far failed to convince those 70 percent who are opposed to the idea.

In the Reformed tradition, the Word is principally taught with expository preaching. Doctrine is paramount. …

A Story, Metaphor, And A Matrix For The Truly Rural Church That Grows Christ Followers In An Uncertain Future, Lon Hider

Doctor of Ministry

The Church is always one generation away from extinction. There are larger trends that jeopardize the future of rural churches in my area. Evidence suggests there will not be enough Millennials to keep these rural churches viable. The rural churches built themselves on the “world-as-it-used-to-be.” But this world is fading with younger generations. Current approaches are unlikely to keep the ship afloat.

The “world-as-it-used-to-be” distorted the biblical narrative culminating in Christ. This story does not have weight with younger generations. If followers of Jesus in a rural context can embrace the correct biblical narrative, they can grow in their humanity …

The Melody Of Mutuality: Integrating Theological And Psychological Principles For Egalitarian Churches To Better Support Marriages, Jennifer J. Dean-Hill

Doctor of Ministry

The dynamic combination of the unique characteristics of man and woman have been described by author Carolyn Custis James as The Blessed Alliance. Yet power struggles, misunderstandings, and unmet expectations often plague the particular struggles of modern marriages therefore creating a demand for marriage therapists and psychological modalities that seek to rectify the conflictive divide among the genders. Marriage therapy has provided tools and methods for marriages to resolve their differences, strive for a relationship of equity, and develop a culture of mutuality. These new and improved marriages attend egalitarian churches, only to discover the gender wars are still being …

Rethinking Evangelism As Discipleship: Equipping Followers To Live Incarnational Lives Outside The Walls, Lisa A. Willey

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation explores how local churches can help lay people live incarnational lives of reaching out and connecting or building relationships in their communities with the potential to share the gospel. To live an incarnational life means to allow Jesus to live through you in a way that changes your life and allows you to do what you otherwise could not do on your own. To live the life of a disciple or follower fosters a missional mindset and the desire to build relationships. To spring off of Len Sweet’s concept of MRI (Missional, Relational and Incarnational)1 I will explore …

Rethinking Foreign Missions: How Churches Can Engage In Global Missionary Work Without Leaving Their Communities, Stuart Alan Cocanougher

Doctor of Ministry

For three hundred years, the modern missions movement has established a paradigm in which evangelical churches, denominations, and parachurch agencies have recruited, trained, funded, and sent missionaries around the world. Taking seriously Christ’s command to reach the nations with the gospel, U.S. churches spend millions of dollars each year to send a few select missionaries to faraway nations, while most Christians are not engaged in cross-cultural ministry. But the world has changed. Now there are millions of foreigners living in the United States. I propose that evangelical church leaders consider a new strategy that involves training American Christians to minister …

Narrative-Based Visual Theology For Oral Learning Pastor Training, Raymond Neu

Doctor of Ministry

In the realms of popular education, literates hold the day, yet they are not the majority. Even in our highly-advanced world, non-literates or oral communicators, still comprise the largest class of potential learners awaiting an education. The problems they face are complicated and challenging. Physical and financial access to education stop most oral communicators before they even start. If they had access to a local educational institution, more massive hurdles await, including literacy itself followed closely by lack of attention to the learning styles of oral learners. Yet there is hope. When educators determine to address the unique needs and …

Working Priests: Improving The Care For Vineyard Bivocational Pastors, Aaron Peterson

Doctor of Ministry

The number of Vineyard bivocational pastors in the US Vineyard church is unknown, and although pastoring bivocationally is common, there is a current lack of resources available to meet their unique challenges. The Association of Vineyard Churches, USA has improved from where it used to be, but they are currently not where they want to be in terms of caring for Vineyard bivocational pastors. This dissertation explores the current bivocational situation in the Association of Vineyard Churches, USA and argues that the Vineyard needs to take better care of Vineyard pastors who work jobs outside their churches. This project shows …

The Spirit-Led Coach: An Alternative Approach To Athletic Coaching, Sean Silverii

Doctor of Ministry

The world of sports is an approximate 620 billion dollar industry, claiming an attendance of a little over 124 million fans in 2016 just within the top five professional sports leagues. In the United States alone, it is estimated 20 to 30 million kids play recreational sports, while another 10 million teenagers play interscholastically each year. With these factors in mind, all forms of power, greed, corruption, violence, selfindulgence, etc. has seeped its way into athletics and culture like a virus. Recently, a bleacher report revealed that findings of an FBI probe into college basketball is expected to be released …

Towards Women Leaders In The Palestinian Evangelical Church, Madleine Sara

Doctor of Ministry

The Palestinian evangelical church needs to proactively address the way in which most male church leaders ignore anointed women leaders who are active in the ministry of the Kingdom. Women have been actively involved in various roles in the church, but their role as leaders has not always been acknowledged officially. In this thesis, I discuss the limitations of women in leadership roles and positions of responsibility, and address the inequality in the manner in which women are treated as well as the opportunities they are offered to advance in leadership in the Arab Palestinian evangelical church. Although the church …

A Cost-Sensitive Model For Revitalizing United Methodist Churches, Kory Knott

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation addresses the topic of church revitalization in United Methodist churches that are experiencing prolonged seasons of stagnation and decline. In particular, it examines various revitalization models so as to determine how well they address the issues related to cost and sustainability. Section 1 describes the state of decline in mainline church attendance over the past 60 years and in particular during the last 15 years in the United Methodist Church. In addition to providing sobering statistics, this section includes a fictional story of a dying church, outlining the costs associated with the root problems that are responsible for …

Centers And Edges: Toward A Dialogic Remedy For The Eroding Missional Footprint Of Ecclesial Organizations In America, Jonathan Allen Spellman

Doctor of Ministry

There is a self-inflicted erosion to the missional footprint of ecclesial organizations occurring when leaders at organizational edges are disconnected. When disconnection occurs, the potential for creativity and innovation resident with that leader is lost to the organization. Disconnection is not only manifest in administrative departure from the organization.

Dialogue is a unique kind of speech/listening event, necessarily differentiated from other types of speech/listening events, which may offer a remedy to the erosion.

Chapter one is introductory. It provides the reader with an understanding of the author’s interest in this subject and presents a clear statement of the ministry problem …

Infusing A Paradigm Of Mission And Multiplication Into The Greater Ohio District Of The Wesleyan Church, Christopher Dyer

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation will explore appropriate methodology for reinvigorating the Greater Ohio District of The Wesleyan Church by creating a new paradigm of mission and multiplication. Statistics show there is a declining number of congregations in The Wesleyan Church of North America, and specifically, within the Greater Ohio District. Local churches are being closed at a rapid rate and multi-faceted congregational multiplication is needed to replace these lost congregations and restore missional presence. The narrative of the District is one of fear, fatigue, and closed-mindedness; discriminatory against church multiplication due to nearly two decades of perceived failed attempts which resulted in …

Making The World A Better Place: The Praxis Of Christian Community Development As A Church Planting And Multiplication Strategy In Urban Poor Communities In The United States, Phillip W. Struckmeyer

Doctor of Ministry

The topic of this dissertation centers on church planting and multiplication in urban poor communities in the United States. The ministry problem being addressed is the fact that The Wesleyan Church denomination does not have a strategy for church planting and multiplication in urban poor communities. In Section One, the complexity of this problem will be explored by: first, considering The Wesleyan Church’s predominantly rural-based, white-evangelical past; second, considering the effects of urbanization and globalization, which have created an increasingly urban, multiethnic, and socioeconomically divided mission field in the United States; and last, gaining a deeper understanding of systemic racism …

Instilling Health And Vitality Into The Third Wave Oraon Churches In Jharkhand, Samuel Stephens

Doctor of Ministry

This study is based on the observation that large numbers of Oraon tribals in the state of Jharkhand, India are embracing Christianity, and an increasing number of small churches in the region is evidenced. The Oraon new believers, however, lack adequate spiritual nurture, resulting in spiritual stagnancy, a leaning to syncretism, and practice of unhealthy traditions. These traits leave the Oraon churches spiritually impoverished and unsustainable. The study seeks to ascertain appropriate measures to infuse and instill such health and vitality.

Chapter one describes the nature of the Oraon people movement first and then places it within its national context. …

Missional Communities: Why They Are Failing And How To Help Them Thrive, Matthew L. Murphy

Doctor of Ministry

Missional communities are failing. Missional communities are failing because they do not contextualize the nature, function, and historical forms of the church. Specifically, missional communities fail due to lack of leadership, gospel proclamation, incarnational living to a particular people, and mission dependence on the Holy Spirit. All of these things stem from not putting the nature, function, and historical forms of the church before modern forms.

Missional communities will begin to thrive if communities will not just copy forms of other missional churches, but if they will contextualize the nature, functions, and historical forms of the church in their own …

Inner Healing And Deliverance As An Essential Component Of The Discipleship Structure Of The Local Church, Jonathan Lee Shoo Chiang

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation posits that Inner Healing and Deliverance (IHD) is an integral, essential component of the discipleship structure of a local church, contributing much to the spiritual growth and maturity of believers. By “integral” and “essential”, I make the point that IHD is not merely a supplementary ministry, like a “hospital unit” for emotionally wounded or spiritually oppressed believers. Rather, it exists as a ministry that is much more inclusive, for everyone who wishes to receive biblical teaching on life issues, and receive prayer counseling.

IHD brings a believer into an experiential encounter with God. This results in an effective …

Innovation And The Local Congregation: Unleashing The Creative Power Of Communities Of Faith, Dan S. Poffenberger

Doctor of Ministry

Pastors search for ways to help their communities of faith live into their ministry with more impact, creativity and joy. Many are frustrated by the root bound nature of most congregations tightly organized in a hierarchy that limits the ability to be nimble and contextual. At the same time, culture is becoming more participatory, collaborative and creative. Thriving organizations have tapped into this culture by designing their structure to foster innovation. This work offers an examination of such organizations, their leaders and the tools they use.

Chapter One discusses the cultural shifts of connectedness and participation. These shifts have happened …

Spiritual Renovation Through Accountability: A Contemporary Look At John Wesley's Class Meeting And His Admonition To Watch Over One Another In Love, Robert Marshall

Doctor of Ministry

The dissertation asserts that Christ-focused small groups, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, can be a primary means of spiritual transformation while developing a sense of belonging in the Body of Christ. Without these small groups, public Christian worship can be little more than sentimentality. The term, small groups, describes small gatherings of Christ’s followers who “watch over one another in love that they may help each other to work out their salvation.”

Section 1 introduces the topic of a disconnect between the Church’s promise to be a transforming community and the spiritual emptiness and loneliness asserted by many. Three challenges …

Extending The Table: A Strategic Guide Of Missional Renewal For A Declining Congregation, Phillip Vaden Faig

Doctor of Ministry

The Lord took Ezekiel to the Valley of Dry Bones and asked him, “Son of Man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3) Many churches in the large metropolitan cities of North America are looking over the Valley of Dry Ministries and asking essentially the same question, “Can these ministries live again?” The decline of the church in large metropolitan cities of the United States has been dramatic. It is not an unusual sight to drive through a major city and see church buildings that were once filled with congregants either shuttered and repurposed or with only a small remnant of …

Restorying God: Re-Imagining The God Of The Bible And Re-Enchanting Our Neo-Secular Selves, Robert Joseph Burnham

Doctor of Ministry

The Western world has undergone dramatic transformation in the last five hundred years. A premodern world became modern and then postmodern. In the terms of philosopher Charles Taylor, the Western social imaginary—the collection of images and ideas that define human flourishing and guide a populous through daily life—has shifted from one of “transcendent-enchantment” to “immanent-disenchantment.” Christianity, a

once singular Roman Catholic Church, is a diversity of denominations that, despite best efforts and intentions, are watching people of all demographic groups join a mass exodus in body, soul, or both from the church. However, one would be mistaken to denounce those …

An Enlivening And Concrete Life-Together: Discovering A Fresh Rootedness In The Gospel For Local Organizations And Families In A Global Economic And Postmodern Consumerist Culture, Charles Estanol

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation claims that the transmission of the gospel falls short in postmodern rural life because the message has not meaningfully integrated with community life as a whole and asserts that the witness of the church must employ a greater connectedness to local culture to affirm a rootedness in the gospel. Section 1 describes the abstract nature and influence of the global economy and postmodern consumerism, highlighting the growing negative effects on rural communities, families, and ultimately the witness of the gospel. Section 2 surveys a range of Christian organizations in today’s society analyzing how they can become polarized, absorbed, …

Theocentric Vision: A Model For The Discernment Of Congregational Vision As Spiritual Formation, Kurtley Elliott Knight

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation addresses the cultivation of a theocentric model of vision discernment that is spiritually formative for evangelical churches. This author will make the case that contemporary evangelical models of vision development possess an anthropocentric orientation that is individualistic, future-focused, and derived from business practices, thus subverting the spiritual formation of congregations. How then can congregational vision be shaped in a way that is spiritually formative for the faith community as a whole? This writer will posit that congregational spirituality will increase through the adoption of a theocentric model of vision discernment.

Chapter One sets the direction of the dissertation …