Digital Commons Network^™

Church Growth Through Social Welfare In South Korean Churches: Its Situation And Reformation Plan, Insu Kang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to help church's growth by observing, analyzing and applying the situation of Korean church's social welfare programs. Korean churches are getting interested in social welfare and operating social welfare programs voluntarily to help the neighbors. They are spreading gospel of Jesus and growing through social welfare activities. However, many churches are struggling to find suitable social welfare programs for them. The author will examine the meaning of church social welfare and biblical basis and compare social welfare situation of Korean churches and American churches to research and apply for suitable programs for Korean churches.

Survey Of Best Practices For The Development Of Online Religious Communities, Daniel Charles Doody

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to determine the procedures to develop an Internet-based online church and seminary. Ultimately, the research will define the tools, technologies, and best practices of building religious online communities to better serve the unchurched, church members and seminary students. Research will address the shared resources common to both the online church and seminary for evangelism, teaching and training. The findings of the study will also result in the creation of an implementation guide for the future development of other religious online communities.

The Effects Of An Afterschool Program On Standardized Testing And Behavior Of Middle School At-Risk Students In A Rural County In Georgia, Tracy Deanna Horton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect an afterschool program had on middle school at-risk students' standardized test scores and behavior. The study examined students who participated in the 21st Century Community Learning Center afterschool program at two similar schools in a county in Northwest Georgia. Data were compiled for the two school years, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. The researcher compared students' math and reading CRCT scale scores from before and after they attended an afterschool program; the number of office referrals for students from before and after they attended the afterschool program were also compared. The researcher …

Examining The Effects Of A National League For Nursing Core Competencies Workshop As An Intervention To Improve Nurse Faculty Practice, Robin Renata Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Due to the complex challenges facing schools of nursing, a research study was implemented to introduce nurse faculty at one small rural northeastern Tennessee school of nursing to the NLN Core Competencies for Nurse Educators. Utilizing Kalb's Nurse Faculty Self-Evaluation Tool as a pre- and post-intervention test, 30 nurse faculty members participated in a quasi-experimental quantitative study and focus group interview. Clinical adjunct staff members participated in a test-retest process to establish tool reliability with somewhat mixed results. The overall study demonstrated that participants did exhibit a significant increase in knowledge and ability of the NLN Core Competencies for Nurse …

The Experiences Of Principals Establishing Special Education Programs In Christian Schools, Gary Cookson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As public school principals articulate policies and implement procedures for the establishment of special education programs, the same programs are not always provided in Christian schools. The question is raised as to why Christian schools do not provide these services. This phenomenological study investigated the experiences of Christian school principals who have implemented special education programs in their schools. Through the use of interviews, the principals indicated the efforts involved in implementing changes in the school and noted challenges in dealing with reluctant staff members. Principals described the academic and social rewards of providing these services, as well as the …

The Development Of A New Performance-Based Test For Measuring Emotional Intelligence: Humility-Empathy-Assertiveness-Respect Test, Hitomi Makino

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A critical review of literature revealed a lack of performance-based Emotional Intelligence (EI) test which assesses core relationship abilities. The purpose of this study was to attend to this need by developing a new measurement, the Humility-Empathy-Assertiveness-Respect Test (HEART). As a preliminary investigation, this study explored psychometric properties of the HEART. Support for the Discriminant validity was obtained as it correlated with the IQ test as well as other EI tests that differ in various aspects from the HEART. Support for the convergent validity was partially obtained as the empathy subscale correlated with relationship satisfaction and attachment avoidance. While revisions …

Administrative Leadership In Three Small, Private Tennessee Colleges: Working Groups, Real Teams, Or Both?, Michael Nichols

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Diversity of knowledge and multiple perspectives are characteristic advantages of group leadership as compared to transactional or bureaucratic forms of leadership. When groups are engaged in administrative functions, they are more likely to realize a higher level of performance and more relevant and innovative solutions than may be achieved by a single administrator. Existing research on administrative groups primarily assessed decision-making and functional performance from an either/or perspective, yet both simple and complex thinking and functioning have been found to exist concurrently within organizations and groups. This study examined administrative group leadership in three small, private colleges in the state …

The Six Pillars Of Character In 21st Century Newbery Award Books, Gail Nelson Bones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative content analysis was to determine how the The Six Pillars of Character as defined by the Character Counts! Curriculum are exemplified in 21st century Newbery Award books (2000- 2010). A team of 5 reader/coders, all experienced educational professionals, examined each of the 11 titles in order to investigate opportunities to explore with students the Six Pillars values of caring, citizenship, fairness, trustworthiness, respect, and responsibility. Data collection consisted of frequency counts for positive and negative examples of the characteristics. Coders also responded with rich description in their evaluation of themes and the suitability of each …

Biblical Strategy And Shift To Spiritual Driven Church Growth, Chang Kyu Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to present the biblical standards, principles, components, and methods of spiritual discipline for 21st century churches' conversion from human efforts and programs oriented church growth to spiritual driven church growth like an early church. The early church is a best model as a spiritual driven church. Modern churches are trying to build like the early church. The biblical study of the early churches in Bible and the results of survey of growing churches in Washington area will give biblical concepts and methods to make the spiritual driven church.

Engaging Postmoderns In Worship: A Study Of Effective Techniques And Methods Utilized By Two Growing Churches In Northern California, Jon Paul Lepinski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to provide effective methodology for engaging postmodern worshipers. Bethel Church and The Stirring, both located in Redding, California, were the target churches for this study. Each of these culturally-relevant churches was researched for the period of five weeks and data was collected through personal interviews, worship observations, and questionnaires. The findings of this study have produced numerous techniques for appropriately engaging postmoderns.

An Effective Strategy For Leadership Development In The Cell Church, Dea Hee Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to understand the cell church and leadership development in the cell church, and invent an effective strategy for leadership development in the cell church through literature research and a case study of New Covenant Fellowship Church (NCFC). The case study will focus on the strategic process for leadership development at NCFC. This thesis will also analyze and evaluate the current situation of NCFC based on responses to a questionnaire survey from 140 leaders of NCFC, its historical documents, and its website. This thesis intends to develop healthy spiritual cell leaders who have characteristics that …

An Effective Leadership In Raising Evangelical Leaders For Korean Churches: A Case Study Of C. Daniel Kim's Leadership, Sangho Seo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to illuminate the process and results of how one man facilitated the transition from a denominational church leader to become an "evangelical leader." The man is C. Daniel Kim at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. The researcher of this project was a student and was assigned one of committee members, serving Korean Baptist Church of Lynchburg under his evangelical leadership. Based on literature reviews, surveys, and personal perspectives this paper will delineate influences of C. Daniel Kim's leadership as evidenced by Korean graduates.

A Strategy Of Promoting Health In The Local Church, Kichun Yoo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis project is to find out the strategy of promoting health in the local church setting, mobilizing healthy church checkup. This thesis is primarily concerned with understanding the Church as designed by God. If church matters, church health is to be ensured. To ensure a healthy church, this project tries to see the Church from the perspective of Biblical theology, researching the nature of the Church in connection with the Kingdom, and identifying God's plan with the Kingdom. As a basis of evaluation, the author sees Rev. 2-3 as a standard for measuring church health. The …

An Analysis Of Rev. Oak, Han-Hum's Sermons, Dae Shik Yoo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

An accomplished preacher, teacher, and church-planter, Rev. Oak, Han Hum was the pastor of Korea's famous Sarang Community Church, which he founded with less than 50 members but grew under his leadership to over 80,000. In an attempt to better appreciate Rev. Oak's success, this thesis will analyze Rev. Oak's sermons, giving special attention not only to his preaching techniques and style but also his mindset, philosophy, and attitude toward his pastoral responsibility. Unquestionably, his passion for and commitment to preaching the Word of God, was a significant part of his ability to connect to his congregation through his sermons. …

Factors Influencing Korean Immigrant Fathers' Involvement With Adolescent Children: The Mediating Effect Of Father Identity, Chan Young John Park

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study used an exploratory cross-sectional structural equation modeling (SEM) design, in which 376 Korean immigrant fathers were administered measures of Father Involvement, Father Identity, Acculturation, Marital Satisfaction, and Religious Commitment and a demographic questionnaire. The surveys were administered primarily in Korean church environments throughout an 18-state region. The primary purposes of this study were to test a model for factors influencing Korean immigrant fathers' involvement with their adolescent children and examine the mediating effect of Father Identity on Father Involvement. This study also aimed at finding the most influential factor on Father Involvement through a general linear model (GLM). …

A Study Of The Conflicts Within Churches That Lead To The Termination Of Pastors Within The Southern Baptist Convention, Accompanied By A Proposal Of Preventive And Interventional Solutions, Donald Quentin Hicks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Since 1984, LifeWay of the Southern Baptist Convention has collected data through the Pastoral Ministries division of LifeWay from state conventions to determine how many pastors were being fired each year from their churches. They discovered that approximately two hundred pastors were being fired from their churches each month. Leader Care was formed in 1996 in order to find solutions to this problem. Throughout the last decade some progress has been made educating and helping churches and ministers in conflict, as well as ministers and their families who were terminated from the churches they served. In 2008, LifeWay disbanded LeaderCare, …

What Every Christian High School Student Should Know About Islam: An Introduction To Islamic History And Theology, Bruce Kelly Forrest

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In 2006, sixty-one percent of the young adults of America felt that Islam was a peaceful religion. Fifty-six percent had a favorable opinion of Islam and fifty-one percent feel Islam teaches respect of others. Only ten percent felt prejudice against Arabs and Muslims. Some, perhaps, are encouraged by these numbers, for it appears that our young adults are growing up to be a very tolerant people. Most of our youth, after all, have repeatedly been told by our national leaders, "Islam is a peaceful religion." If this is true, why should we not reciprocate? In some ways, this is very …

An Analysis Of The Evangelistic Impact Of The Baptist Bible Fellowship International, Billy Hamm

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current literature demonstrates that very little material is available to describe the mission and effectiveness of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. Research reflects that for the last half of the 20th Century, BBFI was a formidable movement among Fundamentalists in its independent Baptist doctrinal position and its evangelistic zeal. It was also determined that the BBFI has struggled to maintain its growth patterns and should reassess its original purpose and identity though it still appears to be the largest expression of Fundamentalism in America. Both historical and empirical research methods are used.

The Influence Of Pastor Dongwon Daniel Lee’S Preaching On The Growth Of Global Mission Church, Eun Bok Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There were many studies on the preachers and preaching styles, but only a few were done by analyzing one preacher. In his analysis method for the preaching style, Sung Young Chung presented three critical measuring parts: Interest, Clarity, and Dynamic Influence. The researcher selected a pastor, Daniel Dongwon Lee, as a sample of the current study because he is one of the leading preachers in Korea. The researcher analyzed 26 of his sermons with the measuring parts listed above. As a result, Pastor Daniel Lee had good results for each element. For the Interest part, his using illustrations with humor …

The Demise Of Compassion: A Casualty Of A Changing Culture, Donald Grady Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There are numerous forces that influence and/or impact churches. The various effects of culture have become one of the greatest forces that churches and pastors are facing. Dealing with various cultures have always been a challenge for society and the church. Now, more than ever, the church needs to take a close look at the effects of cultural influence. Unfortunately, many churches are embracing cultures that are not consistent with the teachings of the Scripture. This project will address one such issue: The Demise of Compassion.

Effective And Economical Outreach And Evangelism For The Small To Medium Church, Stanley Wayne Kesler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Pastors of small to medium size churches face a dilemma. Without exception, when asked in what areas they feel inadequate, inevitably one of the prominent deficiencies mentioned is outreach and evangelism. Many feel like they cannot compete with big-budget, high-attendance churches. Honest appraisal shows that most are facing attendance patterns that are declining or flat. Faced with the current economic depression, many churches experience a decrease in giving, and salaries, benefits and programs are either frozen or cut. What's a pastor to do?

The purpose of this project is to provide pastors of small to medium size churches with not …

A Balanced Biblical Approach To The King James Only Controversy, Aulton Bruce Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study is designed to approach the present translation controversy from a biblical perspective by demonstrating that, by creating King James Only doctrines not found in the Scriptures, King James Only advocates deny both the sole authority and complete sufficiency of the Scriptures. Their unbiblical assumptions about the King James translation and its underlying texts transform the debate from a debate over translations into a critical doctrinal debate over their acceptance of a dual authority created by their man-made doctrines and their refusal to submit to both the moral and ethical authority of the Scriptures.

Impact Of Freshman Transition Interventions On Ninth Grade Academic Achievement, Emily Spake Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of various freshman transition interventions on student academic achievement. Specifically, this study aimed to measure academic success by focusing upon ninth grade End of Course Test (EOCT) scores. The data were collected using a researcher-developed survey. After securing permission from all superintendents, the survey was electronically mailed to all high school principals within the state of Georgia. Among participating systems, the survey response rate was 78.4 percent. Based upon expert opinion, the twenty individual intervention items were categorized into three domains. The domain data were analyzed using analysis of variance …

The Revitalization Process In A Small Rural Plateaued Southern Baptist Church, Rodney Merrill Sprayberry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

New Zion Baptist Church is a small Southern Baptist church in rural Northeast Texas. The church has been stagnant for approximately three decades. This project is a record of the journey that the pastor and people of NZBC have traveled towards revitalization. The researcher began this project intent on implementing a strategic plan. However about half-way through the process, after evaluating the culture of NZBC, an intentional shift in methodology occurred. NZBC is a small church and therefore not a rationally structured, task driven, goal oriented organization. Instead it is a relational, biological and organic community. Therefore the process of …

The Effects Of Implementing Bloom's Taxonomy And Utilizing The Virginia Standards Of Learning Curriculum Framework To Develop Mathematics Lessons For Elementary Students, Kristel Williams Hawks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers who developed lessons based on Bloom's Taxonomy and the Virginia Standards of Learning Curriculum Framework saw increased scores on the mathematics benchmark assessment for fourth grade. Two classes taught by different mathematics teachers participated. The mean of the posttest scores for the experimental group in which the teachers developed lessons using Bloom's Taxonomy would be significantly higher than the mean of the group which used textbook bound instruction. An analysis of covariance was conducted, and the hypothesis was rejected. The experimental group would yield significant gains as measured by the …

Filial Therapy With Adolescent Parents: The Effect On Parental Empathy, Acceptance And Stress, Cathy Ford Sparks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of filial therapy training on adolescent parents' parental empathy, acceptance, and stress, and attainment of educational goals. It used a quasi-experimental, non-randomized sample drawn from three different high schools, pretest/posttest design, to measure the effectiveness of filial therapy. Each parent completed a ten week training period using either a filial therapy model or a typical parenting education model. Data included pretest and posttest questionnaires and videotaped sessions of play with their child. Statistical analyses showed a significant difference in seven of the thirteen areas. Parents in the filial therapy group …

Phonological Awareness In The Kindergarten Classroom: How Do Teachers Perceive This Essential Link From Oral Communication To Reading Skill Development, Margaret Catharine Dahmer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This descriptive research study, combining survey and correlation methods, described the perceptions and behaviors of kindergarten teachers in relation to phonological awareness usage in their classroom experience. Current research related to early literacy development acknowledges the significance of phonological awareness in emergent reading programs. The benefits of explicit phonological awareness instruction are well documented in reference to implications for current reading abilities and future academic achievements. The current study was developed to address a gap in current research associated with how kindergarten teachers perceive the importance of phonological awareness, and how this importance is demonstrated in their classroom experience. Participants …

The Effects Of Using Bloom's Taxonomy To Align Reading Instruction With The Virginia Standards Of Learning Framework For English, Charla Faulkner Crews

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the effects of aligning the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) English Framework with Bloom's Taxonomy on student achievement. Changes prompted by No Child Left Behind legislation increased accountability for student success, as well as mandated testing to determine annual academic growth of all students. Documentation supported the need of fourth grade students to improve comprehension skills. The goals of this research were to determine the effects of aligning the SOL English Framework with Bloom's Taxonomy on student achievement and determine the effects of developing reading lesson plans based on the SOL English Framework aligned with Bloom's Taxonomy …

The Senior Pastor's Role And Responsibilities In Leading A Pastoral Staff, Keith Robinson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Senior Pastor's position innately requires that he be able to lead his pastoral staff effectively. Current--and potential--Senior Pastors often enter their ministry assignments with no specific preparation for leading a pastoral staff. The purpose of this project is to enable a Senior Pastor to lead well from both a relationship-oriented perspective and a task-oriented perspective. The content of this project is based on research/literature review and personal interviews with Senior Pastors. In essence, this project might be compared to a manual, providing theoretical information and how-to help for the Senior Pastor.

Developing A Strategy Of Worship For Evangelical Believers Born From 1945 To 1955, Rodney Dale Whaley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This project researched the need for developing a worship ministry strategically designed to meet the cultural, spiritual, musical, and emotional demands of early senior adults, those born from 1945 to 1955. The research question is, "How can the evangelical church meet the worship needs of her members born from 1945 to 1955?"