Digital Commons Network^™

Commencement 2016, Taylor University

Commencement

The program of the 2016 Annual Commencement of Taylor University, May 21, 2016.

The Return Of The Prophetic Ministry Of The Western Church Within The Context Of Liberation Theology And The Prophets, Cedric D. Starr

Life of the Scholar Multidisciplinary Conference

While there may still be churches in the West that take up the prophetic call against injustice their voices are the minority. Generally speaking, the prophetic church in Western Christendom is dead. Its prophetic voice has become mute. Its prophetic vision has diminished. Its prophetic call has vanished from the ears of its members. The Western Church has lost its prophetic role in the Global World. The prophets of the West have vanished. However, the prophetic call has been taken up by a new church tradition that rises upward from the ruin of oppression. The Southern Church of the developing …

Festival Of Pentecost Series C 2016, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

This PDF comments upon and proposes sermon ideas for the Festival of Pentecost, Series C.

Commencement Convocation Exercises - May 2016, Prairie View A&M University

Commencement and Convocation Exercises

No abstract provided.

The Perceived Need For Spiritual Development Among Female Church Of Christ Students At Harding University, Anessa Westbrook

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This work explores how female students perceive their need for personal spiritual development. In a male-dominant structure, women may question their need to develop spiritually. Three areas of college life were investigated to see how they influenced female students’ perception of their own need for spiritual development: pre-college experiences, classroom experiences, and co-curricular religious activities. The research questions focused on these three areas in an effort to identify what was most effective in achieving spiritual growth among female students from a Church of Christ background. A survey was conducted among a sample of 610 sophomore female and male students.

Results …

A Narrative, Missional Approach To Discipleship And Spiritual Growth, Travis A. Sharpe

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

All Christians have the desire to grow in faith and knowledge of God. The difficulty is that most do not have the tools to help them accomplish the task. While churches desire to help their members grow in faith, many have never created an intentional plan to make spiritual formation possible. While there are a multitude of ways this could be accomplished, one avenue would be for churches to implement an intentional discipleship program. A discipleship program that combines a missional/narrative reading of scripture with spiritual disciplines has been shown to help participants grow in spiritual formation and join the …

Through The Lens Of The Cross: Cruciformity As A Model For Teaching Ministry, Benjamin D. Pickett

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

As the contemporary church travels deeper into the postmodern era, modern methods of education and catechesis have remained. In this paper, a foundational set of principles drawn from Michael Gorman’s analysis of Pauline spirituality—known as “cruciformity”—is examined and presented as a lens to inform and support the teaching ministry in churches. Gorman’s thought provides a fresh way to understand the central theme of Paul’s correspondence to the first century churches.

The paper begins with a brief explanation of the current conditions regarding the adult education ministry of churches and then examines Gorman’s cruciform patterns of faith, love, power, and hope, …

Easter 7 Series C 2016, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

This PDF comments on the readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Series C, and offers up sermon ideas.

The Lightbringer: A Novel, Brett L. Butler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Lightbringer is about a collision of two worlds: the world of a contemporary South Florida town and the magical world of Zariel, bringing with it the universal threat of the Terra. Childhood friends, Breck and Tom, are thrown into the middle of an ancient conflict between the Terra—a collection of alien races that have been transformed by darkness—and the forces of good. After an encounter with a magical pool of golden water, the boys must learn to use their new abilities to protect against the growing Terranox army. In the midst of their struggle, however, a mysterious companion—the Lightbringer, …

A Biblical Hermeneutic For Dominion: Domination Vs Stewardship, Nancy Opstad Weldon

Obsculta

In his encyclical, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis argues that modern anthropocentrism has contributed to the valuing of technical thought over the dignity of the natural world with grave environmental consequences. Over a half-century earlier, Lynn White Jr. offered a similar criticism, stating that the dualism existing between humans and nature allows Christians to exploit nature for their own end. This paper turns to scripture to explore how an intertextual understanding of the original Hebrew may help reframe what it means for humans to have dominion over the natural world.

Jude's Enochian Apocalypse, Lucian Lopez O.S.B.

Obsculta

Jude’s was an apocalyptic imagination much like that of the writer of Revelation, but he had no need to write his own apocalypse. In his brief epistle, written sometime before 62 CE,¹ Jude revealed that the apocalyptic imagery fueling his own mythos was none other than that of Enoch and various other ancient stories of the Hebrew people.

¹. Simon J. Joseph, “’Seventh from Adam’ (Jude 1:14-15): Re-examining Enochic Traditions and the Christology of Jude.” The Journal of Theological Studies, NS, Vol. 64, Pt. 2 (2013): 464. Simon J. Joseph is Adjunct Professor of Religion at California Lutheran …

A Change Of Heart: Understanding Spirituality Following A Shift In Values Or Beliefs In Young Adults, Aaron Boggs

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

As a counselor, how does one sit with others who have experienced a dramatic change in their belief system and values? This paper seeks to identify the effects of a significant change in values or beliefs on young adults and the recovery of the spiritual dimension of their lives. Spirituality, defined as an individual's inner process to define their purpose, meaning, and values through a connection to others (which may include God) and themselves, is an increasingly important component to consider in assessment and therapy. The case study of Angela and the personal journey of the author illustrate the psychological …

Easter 6 Series C 2016, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

This PDF comments on the readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Series C, and offers up sermon ideas.

‘Perfect’ In Matt 5:48: A Case For Mandatory Retirement, Kent Yinger

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

The English gloss “perfect” is used less and less to translate Heb tam and Gk teleios in biblical texts referring to human beings (e.g., Noah, Job). Understandably so, since it strikes most readers (and exegetes) as out of place to refer to flawed human beings as “perfect.” In one place, however, this gloss stubbornly persists; namely, in Matt 5:48 (“be ye therefore perfect”). This paper will examine the interpretive background to this translation, possible reasons for its persistence in Matt 5:48, and will suggest alternatives for future translators.

Developing Parental Leadership Through Biblical Love As Expressed In Presence, Communication, And Discipline In The Homes At Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Shelby, North Carolina, M. Lamont Littlejohn Jr.

Doctor of Ministry Projects

A Christian education curriculum was established at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Shelby, North Carolina, to develop parental leadership centered on biblical love. The goal was to train parents to model biblical love in their homes. Relying upon scripture affirming parental leadership in the home, parents were enlisted and participated in a six-week study. Surveys measured experience, involvement, practice, and understanding of biblical knowledge. There was no significant statistical difference between the control group and focus group quantitatively; however, the focus group was also assessed qualitatively by means of theological reflection, presence, communication, and discipline application activities. Final reviews indicated …

Suffering In The Human Experience: An Examination Of The Book Of Job And King Lear, Allison Denton

English Department Student Scholarship

This thesis uses the Old Testament figure of Job and the Shakespearean character King Lear to examine how suffering calls us to question life and its meaning. These works were chosen because of their authors' demonstrated value of life despite their protagonists' pain. This project originated from a desire to answer questions about the meaning of life that had arisen during four years of study at the College of the Holy Cross.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Christian. Pacifist. Assassin?, Emily Larsen

History of Christianity II: TH 314

No abstract provided.

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum: May 2016, Julius T. Medenblik, Jessica Driesenga, Aaron Einfeld, Chris Meehan

Calvin Theological Seminary Forum (2002- )

Articles
3 - From the President: The Challenge and Opportunity of Hospitality by Jul Medenblik
4 - The Consummate Host by Sarah Schreiber
6 - Become What You Are by Mariano Avila
11 - How We Teach Forms People for Ministry by Ronald Feenstra
14 - Welcoming Youth to Deep Places by Jessica Driesenga
15 - Pardon Our Dust by Aaron Einfeld
16 - Earning a College Degree Behind Bars by Chris Meehan
19 - Faculty Publications by Monica Brands
20 - Arie Leder by Bruce Buursma
22 - Calvin Van Reken by Bruce Buursma
23 - Al Gelder by …

Challenging Students At Fort Worth Christian School To Engage The Economically Disadvantaged In Their Community, James Hensley

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This doctor of ministry thesis presents a project in which I led a group of students at Fort Worth Christian School in experiences that challenged them to be more engaged with the economically disadvantaged in their community. The problem I identified at the outset of the project was a lack of such experiences along with troubling attitudes about poverty. Many students initially demonstrated ambivalence or even outright hostility toward the notion of helping people who live in poverty. I found such attitudes to be contrary to the teachings of Jesus and to my central beliefs as a Christian. I believed …

"Continuing To Work Would Keep My Life Normal"- A Phenomenology Of Labor And Work Among Mothers With Cancer, Kimberly Workman

All Theses

In 1989, years after many women had gained acceptance for working outside of the home, Hochschild (1989) coined the term "second shift labor" referring to the double burden of paid and unpaid labor experienced by working women. Hochschild's work highlights social inequality and suggests that the perceived step towards equality that was commonly associated with women's right to work actually had an adverse effect. It resulted in women, especially those with young children, working double shifts' the first one being their paid formal employment, and the second one being the housework at home. However, just as the women's rights movement …

Redemption Of Man And Nature: Environmentalism Through The Lens Of Mainline Protestants And Conservative Evangelicals, Scottie Glen Hill

Honors Theses

This thesis addressed the relationship between the environmental movement in America and Protestant Christianity. Currently, there is an assumption that Christians tend to have attitudes that are adverse to environmentalism. This study investigated the origins of the current narratives while analyzing the various factors that have contributed to changes in this dynamic over time. This was done through an analysis of various primary sources from the late 1960s and 1970s, a critical period of time in which environmentalism and Protestant Christianity became inextricably connected. In 1967, amidst a growing environmental movement, Lynn White Jr. released an essay that criticized the …

Biblical Principles Of Small Group Ministry, Shawn Barr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Small group ministry models abound today, and so do the materials that provide the methodology for these models. However, there seems to be a dearth of resources that connect the methods with a theological foundation. This project will demonstrate the need for examining small groups from a theological aspect, and then examine the principles of biblical community as found in Scripture. These principles will then be measured through surveys of at least fifty participants in small group settings from several churches, including the churches where the author was the small group pastor for the last seven years and where he …

Obligations Of Grace, Mark E. Roberts

Empowered21 Global Network of Spirit-Empowered Scholars

Grace obliges recipients to respond in gratitude and obedience to God, the giver of grace. While the New Testament emphasizes God's grace given through Jesus Christ in a New Covenant with believers, the Old Testament emphasizes grace more than many Christians recognize. Grace is expressed in the Old Testament especially through God's free choosing of Abraham as the "father of the faithful," through divine covenants with Abraham, with the divinely constituted nation of Israel, and with the governing house of David. Such grace abounds when God's covenanted people fail to keep their covenant, yet God, after disciplining the covenant people …

Gospel Encounter With Subaltern India , Stanish Stanley

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

This work examines the role of religio-cultural resources in enabling the transformation of a broken community and people.

In the context of nineteenth and twentieth century British India, an oppressed community in India set out to explore the possibility of challenging and re-defining their own destiny. This oppressed section of Indians who lived in the margins of Indian caste defined society were considered socially and ritually polluting people and were subservient to various socio-economic and religio-cultural biases. The daily life routine of this oppressed community, called the Sambavars (Pariahs) of the Malayalam speaking princely State of Travancore in South India, …

Jesus, The New Temple Mark 11:20–25 In Its Narrative Context, Daniel Jeffrey Berge

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The cursing of the fig tree in Mark has led to myriad readings, and wide-ranging discussions from botany to textual criticism. This work argues that reading Mark 11:20–25 in its narrative context shows that the cursing of the fig tree in Mark should be seen in the light of the previous temple-cleansing scene, signaling the condemnation of the present temple order. However, in 11:20–25, the Marcan Jesus provides his followers with encouragement to have faith that God is still with them despite the condemnation of the present temple order. The very activities that one would have seen as dependent on …

The Pragmatic Constraints Of ἈΛλά In The Synoptic Gospels, Shawn I. Craigmiles

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Dynamics Of Transformative Change Of Lectio Divina In The Context Of Transformative Learning Theory, Joyce M. Chen

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Causal Comparative Analysis Of Biblical Worldview Among Graduate Students Based On Christian School Attendance, David Baniszewski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

One of the primary objectives of the Christian school (K-12) is the development of a biblical worldview in its students. This study examined the impact that these Christian schools had on their students’ biblical worldview development by administering a biblical worldview assessment to graduate students at a private, Christian university (Liberty University). Christian, graduate students in the School of Education at Liberty completed a demographic survey and a biblical worldview assessment. The survey collected information on age, gender, type of K-12 schools attended, profession to the Christian faith, and denominational background. The results of the survey and assessment were analyzed …

Developing A Curriculum Ministry For Widows In The Local Church, Gail Nanez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

An examination of widows in the local church reveals a growing percentage of widows in many churches today, signifying a significant ministry need for widows in the church. An abundance of widows sitting in churches, are not only suffering the grief, and loneliness from their loss, some have lost their only income and sometimes feel neglected or a burden to others. As a biblical mandate, it is imperative that the church, pastors, and counselors take heed to the biblical command of ministering to the comfortlessness and insecurity many widows are facing. This will entail revitalization of the care of widows, …

“Make God Proud!” A Sermon From 2 Thessalonians 1.3–10, Lee M. Fields

Leaven

No abstract provided.