Digital Commons Network^™

Factors That Produce High-Capacity Leaders Within The Church, Daniel O. Floyd

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Population is exploding, and yet the church, in some areas, is declining. High-capacity leaders, who can lead large groups of people toward gospel advancement, are needed now more than ever. The research question that this project seeks to answer is: what are the factors that produce high-capacity leaders within the church? The topic of leadership boasts a wealth of research; however, there is a gap in the research regarding what it takes to develop a highcapacity leader, as defined in this project. The research questions are answered through a qualitative phenomenological study that involve interviewing eight pastors who are leading …

Developing A Church Planting Growth Strategy For Growing Metropolitan Communities In The United States, Aaron R. Burke

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The United States is becoming increasingly urbanized. The metropolitan areas are thriving with new residents and new industries. While the cities are growing, the church is declining. The church has a problem to solve. How do we plant rapidly growing churches in growing metropolitan areas? The focus of this doctoral dissertation is to present rapidly growing church plants as a solution to the declining church attendance in the metropolitan areas of the United States. Not only do new churches need to be planted, but these new churches need a strategy for growth. I found this strategy by researching five rapidly …

The Origins Beliefs Of Christian College Students, Emily Wilkinson

Senior Honors Theses

Many studies have focused on creation and evolution in academia, origins beliefs and biblical interpretation, and how students respond to origins challenges. The author then conducted a phenomenology of Christian college students’ origins beliefs, factors that influence those beliefs, and impacts that the beliefs have on students’ lives. Methods included a 44-Item Big Five Inventory and semi-structured interviews. Participants were eight residential undergraduate students at a Christian university who were currently or previously in a creation studies course. Results indicated that all participants held to young-earth creationism, and that family, Christian faith, education, personality, and academic major influenced the development …

“Lift Up Your Eyes”: Case Study Of Journey Church, Tucson, Jim Roden

Great Commission Research Journal

The receptivity principle of church growth discerns who in the local population is generally responsive to the gospel. The biblical warrant for this principle is seen in Jesus’ instructions to his disciples (Mark 5:11) and in Paul’s ministry (Acts 14:19-20). Donald McGavran emphasized, “Evangelism can be and ought to be directed to responsive persons, groups, and segments of society…. Correct policy is to occupy fields of low receptivity lightly.” The experience of anxiety typifies gospel-receptive groups; when their anxiety dissipates, their gospel receptivity diminishes. The special-needs population and those who are close to them experience unrelieved chronic anxiety that predisposes …

A Mixed-Methods Case Study Of Spiritual Formation And School Induced Stress In Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists During Hospital Residency, R. Dawn Whybrew

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Student registered nurse anesthetists in hospital residency undergo a rigorous schedule. For Christian nurse anesthesia students, spiritual formation may suffer due to the stressors of anesthesia residency. The purpose of this mixed-methods case study sought to understand and describe the perceived influence of participation in spiritual formation opportunities during nurse anesthesia hospital residency on students’ spiritual formation level as well as their ability to handle stressors of hospital residency. In phase one of the study, the researcher conducted a purposeful convenience sampling of 54 Junior and Senior students in a quantitative quasi-experimental design. In phase one, the participant's spiritual formation …

The Qualities Of The Worship Leader Perceived To Engage Others To Serve In Worship Ministry, Dawn H. Cochran

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The person serving in the role of the worship leader represents one of the primary positions of leadership within the Church. In the corporate worship setting, the worship leader is entrusted with the responsibility of fostering an atmosphere that is conducive to active participation, but may lack the proper skills needed to accomplish this task. This thesis project proposes that the worship leader must demonstrate the essential qualities necessary to engage others to serve in the worship ministry. This project will focus on four specific qualities that are crucial in this process: character, capability, commitment and chemistry. Through the examination …

A Study On Development Of Evangelism Training Program For Evangelistic Small Group Leader 전도 지향적 소그룹 리더를 위한 전도훈련 프로그램 개발에 대한 연구, Myungchul 장명철 Chang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to emphasize that small groups in church need to pursue evangelism and introduce an evangelism training program for evangelistic small group leaders. Korean churches have several types of small groups. All small groups, however, need to pursue evangelism, because an evangelistic small group is a biblical model for a small group. The growth of a small group solely depends on the leader. Therefore, an effective evangelism training program for leaders must be developed in order to nurture evangelistic small groups. This project will address four major types of small groups in Korean church¬—home cell …

Unveiling God In Counseling: The Compatibility Of Christian Theology And The Modern Therapeutic Process, Kelvin Jamaal Mack

Senior Theses

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the compatibility of Christian theology and a modern therapeutic process informed by secularism. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate that the conceptualization of an active God in the therapeutic process is essential for counselors and clients who adhere to the Christian faith. This conceptualization is either missing or altered by therapeutic processes that operate under the worldview assumptions of secularism. This is what is described as the veiling of God. To explore this issue, a four-tiered analytical approach has been invoked. First, a brief history of secularism and its major …

An Abundance Of Good Things : Paul Ricoeur's Cultural Imagination And A Phenomenology Of Deuteronomism, Tad C. Blacketer

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Equipping Ministry Leaders For Service At Mount Calvary Baptist Church, Vodricka L. Epps

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis project will examine the congregational need for ministry leaders to develop leadership skills. Mount Calvary Baptist Church, located in Hopewell, Virginia, serves as the framework of this investigation. The problem addressed by this research is derived from ten ministry leaders currently serving at Mount Calvary who have servants’ hearts but lack leadership skills to develop their ministries. With adequate training and continuing education, leaders are more equipped to lead ministries. Without leaders who are adequately equipped to lead ministries, it is difficult for the church to carry out its mission and remain active. The findings of this research …

Comparisons And Contrasts Of Topical And Expository Preaching At The First Free Will Baptist Church Of Tampa From 2005 - 2015, Will Beauchamp

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study compares and contrasts two styles of preaching (Topical and Expository) at the First Free Will Baptist Church from 2005 – 2015. The objective of this study was to find if one method of preaching is more effective, biblical, and preferred for a congregation. The strategy for this mixed research is to deploy multi-choice questions to capture quantitative data on the impact of the sermons on the listeners, and an open-ended question on the application aspect for qualitative data on the listeners’ responses. Based on the results of the listener response questionnaire, recommendations were given based on the sermon …

Lay Leader Development And The Model Of Christ: Intentional Small Group Organization For Multiplying Groups At Green Acres Baptist Church, Michael Wayne Gossett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a strategic process for leader development utilizing small groups at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas. The development of lay leaders will determine the efforts of starting and sustaining small groups and ministry efforts in the local church. The structure of groups and the strategy to develop leaders should be a replicable system formulated within biblical parameters. The biblical research is concentrated toward the methods practiced by Jesus with his disciples. Biblical discipleship is examined for the purpose of assessing adequate organization that cultivate leader development and group multiplication. Effective small …

A Study On The Awareness And Practice Of The Elderly Welfare In The Church: Focused On The General Assembly Of Presbyterian Church Of Korea In Gumi City 교회 노인복지에 대한 인식 및 실천방안 연구: 예장합동 구미노회 소속 교회를 중심으로, Young Moon Jang (장 영 문)

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Facing the aging society, the Korean church has made various initiatives and efforts to realize quality social welfare for the elderly and has contributed greatly to society by expanding welfare facilities and operating and implementing various programs. Nevertheless, it is true that there are no specific measures to evaluate specific details and that the role of the church has been relatively undervalued. What the researcher noticed while studying the social welfare field professionally as a pastor was that the Korean church is not aware of its role and importance despite its considerable benefits and influence to the nation and society …

Footnotes: Religious Parenting + Mt. Rushmores, Bob Turner

Footnotes: Curated Resources for Ministers

No abstract provided.

"Christian Traditions, Culture, And Law": An Update And A Few Reflections, Robert F. Cochran Jr.

Pepperdine Law Review

Using Richard Niebuhr’s description of Christian approaches to culture, this Article examines the way Christians approach law, focusing on developments over the last 20 years. During that time, synthesists have continued to develop natural law, seeking an understanding of law based on shared human goods and reason, an approach that can generate a common approach among people of all faiths and no faith. Conversionists, including those on both the political left and right, argue for changes in law that will reflect Christian understandings of the good. Separatists (including many former conversionists) argue that American culture and law have become so …

A Call To Relational Leadership Arising From A Shared Eschatalogical Vision, Skip Bell, Gyeongchun Choi, Stanley E. Patterson, David K. Penno

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

The book of Revelation contrasts two distinct approaches to leadership. This article describes these approaches and concludes how Christians should practice leadership today. The two approaches are traced from the rebellion in heaven, through creation, and the life of Jesus, with a focus on Scripture’s apocalyptic messages. This study is needed because leadership in the church profoundly affects the church’s witness and accomplishment of mission. Faithfulness among God’s people in the last days can only be experienced when leadership is practiced according to God-honoring principles. This article concludes that the loving, non-coercive, relational dynamic—demonstrated by the Lamb’s leading during the …

Complete Issue

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

Discipleship In A Digital Age: Leveraging Multimodality And Digital Networks, Jennifer Miles

Doctor of Ministry

Advancements in communication technology, particularly since the Internet Age, have impacted culture in several fundamental ways. Cognitive and psychological changes have changed how people seek and understand knowledge. The development of horizontal networks made of both space of places, physical locations, and space of flows, Internet locations,1 has reshaped academic, social, and political spheres. The rise in entertainment to transfer information has shifted society’s focus to one of experience and service in everyday life. These changes have impacted the institutional church through a reduction of individuals self-identifying as Christian and in behaviors traditionally considered Christian.

In response, the church has …

The Cost Of Team Leadership In Mark 6:7-13: A Sanctifying Work, Brian C. Legg

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

The Correlation Between Pastors’ Leadership Style, Their Organizational Change Commitment, And Their Organization’S Readiness For Change, Jerusha Smith Drummond

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this non-experimental correlational study was to determine whether a relationship exists between pastors’ perceptions of transformational leadership, pastors’ organizational change commitment, and their organization’s readiness for change, controlling for gender, age, education, tenure, and geographical location of lead pastors in the South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC) churches. Leadership and change are intertwined; thus, pastors’ commitment to organizational change and their organization’s readiness for change highlights dynamic leadership in the management of church life. The pastor must possess a leadership style that moves the church toward organizational change while keeping parishioners in attendance. The study answers the following …

Reforming Christian Higher Education: Why Christian Colleges And Universities Need Reformation Theology, Javier Garcia

Pro Rege

Editor's Note: Dr. Garcia presented this paper at the Prodigal Love of God Conference, in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Canons of Dort, April 2019, sponsored by Dordt University and co-sponsored by the Lilly Fellowship Program, as a regional conference.

Incomparable? : Authenticating Criteria In Historical Jesus Scholarship And General Historical Methodology, Kevin B. Burr

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Early Christian Responses To Persecution And Their Implications For Christians In Northern Nigeria, Yakubu Tanko Jakada

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Theological Education Of Seventh-Day Adventist Women In Nigeria, Harriet O. Ikhane

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Bruce L. Bauer

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Death And Ancestors In Light Of The Old Testament, Richard M. Davidson

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Ancestors And Death

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Spirit Possession In Luke-Acts And Modern Eyewitnesses : An Analysis Of Anthropological Accounts As Evidence For The Plausibility Of The Lukan Accounts, Joy L. Vaughan

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Judge Jesus: Interpreting Jesus’ Role As Judge In The Gospel Of John Through An Early Jewish Mindset, Jeremiah Stallman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Jesus proclaimed that the Father gave him the authority to judge because he is the “Son of Man” (John 5:22, 27). This proclamation is spoken to an immediate Jewish audience that would have had preconceived theological beliefs concerning eschatological judgment and messianic expectation. However, these are not the preconceived beliefs of the modern reader. The modern reader of the Gospel of John will better understand John’s presentation of Jesus’ words concerning his role as messianic judge through an Early Jewish interpretive lens. The first century Jew in John’s audience would have been infused with two to three centuries of preconceived …

Congregational Hymn-Singing At The Weimar Seventh-Day Adventist Church: A Case Study, Erwin Gabriel Nanasi

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Throughout the New Testament and the history of the church, congregational hymn-singing has been utilized to edify Christians in worship. Although congregational hymn-singing has been an integral part of Christian worship, many 21st century Christian denominations have departed from this practice. Utilizing contemporary worship music instead of hymns has become the norm. The purpose of this study was to understand the characteristics and benefits of congregational hymn-singing. Using a qualitative case study, this research attempted to determine the efficacy of congregational hymn-singing on perceived theological insight, emotional wellness and group unity at the Weimar Seventh-day Adventist church. The subject church …