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From Tradition To Transformation: Cultural And Musical Inclusivity In Sda Worship Practices, Alicia Raquel Jones-Lumbuz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines worship inclusivity within multicultural Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the greater Houston, Texas, area, focusing on the experiences of migrants, first-generation Americans, and long-standing members. It highlights how their diverse cultural backgrounds, theological beliefs, and worship expectations shape congregational life. The study fills a gap in Adventist worship scholarship by exploring the lived experiences of worshippers in multicultural settings, particularly the perspectives of migrants whose attitudes toward worship are influenced by cultural heritage and traditional views of reverence. Data were collected through surveys, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic observations. Thematic analysis reveals eight interrelated themes, showing that …

A Practical Theology Of Change: Community-Centered Leadership For Congregational Transformation In Evolving Contexts, Kevin W. Vanhook Ii

Theses and Dissertations

Communities worldwide have been dramatically and rapidly changing, with more of the world’s population expected to live in urban settings by 2030. Christian churches that failed to adapt to their communities’ mergent needs experienced stagnation and decline, while those that survived and thrived rethought their strategies for engaging with their respective communities. Research indicated that churches focusing on achieving and sustaining congregational health and vitality had the potential to defy the prevailing trends of church decline. However, there was a lack of research regarding best practices for doing so. Therefore, this study identified the practices used by ministers of Christian …

Christian Innovation Communities: A Wicked Problem Framework For Church Innovation, Leslie Stewart

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

ABSTRACT

Leslie A. Stewart

Mar 11, 2024

Christian Innovation Communities: A Wicked Problem Framework for Church Innovation

This dissertation uniquely proposes a “Wicked Problem” approach to Church Innovation. It introduces the term Christian Innovation Communities to the Church Innovation discussion advocating for a local and regional innovation ecosystem. The framework for Christian Innovation Communities uses a cross-discipline approach combining adaptive leadership principles, a collaborative systems design approach, asset-based community development principles, pastoral discernment, and missional theology. These are synthesized into a visual, action-driven, practical guide. It shows adaptive leaders how to lead a leadership team through an innovation process. A …

Apostolic And Prophetic Leadership In The Contemporary Church: Applied Study Of The Early Church Model, Jordanna Marie Taffel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The research addresses the application of apostolic and prophetic governance in church plants. Research methods include surveying and interviewing pastors from Every Nation, the researcher’s local church senior and senior associate pastors, and church plant lead pastors. Every Nation is a “global movement dedicated to church-planting churches, reaching the next generation on the campus, and preaching the gospel to every nation.” The sample size is thirteen pastors. The setting was in person and/or via video call. The research includes current, historical, and scholarly literary resources, the Bible, and the local church’s planting materials. The idea of what it means to …

God’S Story, Our Story Telling, Re-Telling And Re-Storying, Kara Carter

Consensus

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Spirituality In The Leadership Style Of Organizational Leaders, A. S. Koko

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"the transcendental phenomenology research design was used to investigate the essence or meaning of these leaders’ experiences regarding their spirituality and leadership style as they were currently experiencing it. the knowledge obtained from this study explained spirituality, consciousness, and cognition’s role in leadership style, which can be applied to the fields of sports, politics, organizational management, coaching, mentoring, leadership, employee recruitment, and other areas of society or within any organization where leadership performance is important. the conclusion from this study was that organizational leaders who self-identified as being spiritual demonstrated compassion when relating with their employees and others. these organizational …

An Elephant In The Household, Susan Higgins

Leaven

No abstract provided.

Images Of The Missional Church : Leadership, Culture, And Practices In Context, Brian Vann Miller

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Leading In The Midst Of Change: A Theologically Grounded, Theoretically Informed Hermeneutic Of Change, Terri L. Elton

Faculty Publications

This essay proposes a hermeneutic of change, grounded in theology and theory, which can inform church leaders’ strategic actions in the midst of change. Drawing from the work of practical theology, it looks at four vantage points proposed by Don Browning: descriptive, historical, systematic, and strategic. The descriptive view offers two insights: God is active and present in the midst of change and God’s people are simultaneously saints and sinners. The historical perspective points out that God has always been in the midst of change, but God’s love and promises for the world have not changed. Systematic theology fuses the …

Transformation Into Mission : A Case Study Of Forest Park United Methodist Church, Derek Edward Russell

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Cl 615 Cross Cultural Leadership, Russell W. West

Syllabi

Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to Create Wealth from Conflicting Values by Charles M. Hampden-Turner, Fons Trompenaars, David Lewis (Illustrator), Alfons Trompenaars. Yale Univ Pr; (November 2000). ISBN: 0300084978To Be Discussed: Odd Chptrs Sep 14 • Mindfulness by Ellen J. Langer. Perseus Publishing; Reprint edition (April 1990) ISBN: 0201523418 To Be Discussed: Sep 21 • Lifting the White Veil: An Exploration of White American Culture in a Multiracial Context by Jeff Hitchcock. Crandall Dostie & Douglass Books; (January 2003). ISBN: 0971901708 To Be Discussed: Oct 12 • Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael …

Cl 615 Cross Cultural Leadership, Russell W. West

Syllabi

• Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to Create Wealth from Conflicting Values by Charles M. Hampden-Turner, Fons Trompenaars, David Lewis (Illustrator), Alfons Trompenaars. Yale Univ Pr; (November 2000). ISBN: 0300084978To Be Discussed: Odd Chptrs Sep 14 • Mindfulness by Ellen J. Langer. Perseus Publishing; Reprint edition (April 1990) ISBN: 0201523418 To Be Discussed: Sep 21 • Lifting the White Veil: An Exploration of White American Culture in a Multiracial Context by Jeff Hitchcock. Crandall Dostie & Douglass Books; (January 2003). ISBN: 0971901708 To Be Discussed: Oct 12 • Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by …

Developing Church-Planting Leaders For The Fountain Of Life Churches Based Upon The Principles Derived From Paul's Speech At Miletus In Acts 20:17-38, Armstrong Kamau Cheggeh

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Cl 615 Cross Cultural Leadership, Russell W. West

Syllabi

• Mindfulness. 10/14 • Lifting the White Veil 10/21 • Divided By Faith. 11/11 • Communicating with Strangers. Due: 11/18 • What Color is Your God? 12/2

Cl 615 Cross Cultural Leadership, Russell W. West

Syllabi

• Michael Z. Hackman, Craig E. Johnson. Leadership: A Communication Perspective. Waveland Press; 3rd edition (June 8, 2000). ISBN: 1577660692 • William B. Gudykunst, Young Yun Kim. Communicating with Strangers. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 4th edition (August 1, 2002) ISBN: 0072321245 • Jeff Hitchcock. Lifting the White Veil: An Exploration of White American Culture in a Multiracial Context. Crandall Dostie & Douglass Books; (January 2003). ISBN: 0971901708 • Michael O. Emerson, Christian Smith. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America. Oxford University Press; (November 2001) ISBN: 0195147073