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The Fellowship Of Christ's Sufferings: Toward A Practical Philosophy Of Worship For Missions In The Latin American Church, Moriah Hope Joseph

Senior Honors Theses

Within Latin America, evil and suffering are ever-present realities that cannot be concealed, and the Hispanic society is aching for relief. Liberation Theology and the prosperity gospel – and their accompanying worship practices – have been offered as tools to help alleviate the experience of suffering. But these theological perspectives and practices have accomplished little in edifying the Church by way of truth. Thus, the call for the modern missionary is to instead preach worship that is a response to the incarnate Christ in suffering. The missionary must advocate for worship practices that provide space for biblical lament, reveal a …

Experiential Truth In Contemporary Worship Environments: The Role Of Late Twentieth And Early Twenty-First Century Worship Music In The Spiritual Formation Of Millennials, Clifford Ernest Lambert Ii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Over the past forty years, the American Church has gone to great lengths to make corporate worship culturally attractive for the purpose of evangelizing the Millennial population. Their main emphasis in accomplishing this has been to shift their approach to culturally relevant modes of presentation.  The main components of this shift have included the style, presentation aesthetic, and lyrical content of corporate worship music.  However, immediately following these methodological shifts has been a disillusionment with the flaws of attractional ministry, leading many to a biblically compromised faith and the espousal of progressive theologies.  A distrust of authority paired with postmodern …

Implementing And Equipping A Fivefold Ministry With Theological Education To Defend And Uphold Biblical Doctrines In The Church, Kara Yvette Harris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

God instructed believers to put forth their best work to rightly handle His Word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). Unfortunately, God’s truth is under attack and has been polluted with false teaching and incorrect understanding of Scripture. It is incumbent on the local church to combat this problem of incorrect biblical teaching head-on. Therefore, this action research project aims to demonstrate that through proper theological training in the church, this problem will be remedied. This action research assumes that arming the local church with theological training will strengthen its core. To this aim, this research project included teaching five theological …

A Reader’S Guide To Worship And Liturgical Studies, David Kneip

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

The history of writing about worship in the Christian tradition is almost as old as the tradition itself, and it shows no sign of abating anytime soon. As a result, readers may find it difficult to know where to begin reading, and how to evaluate books that are popular or otherwise available to them. This annotated bibliography aims to assist readers in navigating the huge field of Christian publishing in worship studies, both by offering specific book recommendations and by demonstrating some of the different sub-categories that one might examine in attempting to choose what to read or study. The …

Non-Traditional Means Of Worship, Courtney Ann Blanchard

Masters Theses

The purpose of worship is to praise the God of all and give Him thanks for all He has done. Based on the Old Testament and the New Testament, one thing is certain: God has always desired to have a relationship with His people. However, it was not until the death, resurrection, and ascension of God’s only Son that believers could worship God freely. Now, worship is unhindered. Jesus Christ broke every chain and has become the bridge-way for all God’s people to have a free relationship with Him. This research paper will uncover the biblical principles discovered in the …

"Making A Better World, Community By Community", St. Norbert College

Jubilee

This article provides real-life examples of how Norbertine beliefs and pedagogies have been used to have a positive impact on various communities.

The Impact Of Lyric Choices On Spiritual Edification, Hanna Jane Byrd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Modern Christian worship music has gained influence within the evangelical community. The words of these songs, sung corporately, have the potential to influence the spiritual lives of church congregants, making it important for worship leaders and songwriters to identify the most beneficial lyrics. Despite numerous opinions about theological and personally relevant lyrics, little research has been conducted on the spiritual effects of lyric content within the lives of Christian believers. Diminutive scholarly inquiry has been limited to historical, theological or qualitative methodologies. Utilizing the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Spiritual Transcendence Index (STI), this quantitative quasi-experimental study …

Ministry Through Musical Performance: Establishing Biblical, Historical, And Pedagogical (Educational) Precedent For The Christian Performing Artist, Lindsey Graham

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As a performing artist, the author suggests in an “American Idol” culture, Christian artists have largely lost their identity as worshipers with a ministry of the Gospel through music. The Christian performing artist has the responsibility to commit to spiritual maturity and personal growth. This thesis project proposes the artist is a communicator of the Gospel through music and seeks to substantiate the Christian performing artist through biblical, historical, and educational rationale and precedent. Biblical rationale of the Christian performing artist is considered in Old Testament and New Testament principle and precedent. Historical rationale and precedent is established through the …

Discipling Worship Leadership: Biblical And Theological Rationale For Discipling Worship Leaders, Byron Spradlin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current worship literature reveals very little guidance to assist Protestant church leaders in training, discipling or mentoring congregational worship leadership. Therefore, this thesis project researched and presents a basic rationale for developing worship leadership discipling curricula strategically targeting the needs related to discipling and training artistic Christians who are called to worship leadership in the local church.

John Wesley‟S Liturgical Revision: A Pattern For Reshaping Worship For Post-Christian America, Lawrence A. Lacher

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Lacher, Lawrence A. “John Wesley‟s Liturgical Revision: A Pattern for Reshaping Worship for Post-Christian America.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2011. 316 pp.

This project seeks to find a solution to the current malformation of Christian Worship in the American church through re-examining John Wesley‟s Sunday Service for Methodists in North America (1784) in order to extract the underlying pattern. That pattern is then proposed as a paradigm that allows for the contextualization of worship while retaining its historic shape, function and purpose.

John Wesley‟s liturgical advices are examined for several reasons. Since the writer is interested in helping those who …

"These Are Written" Toward A Cruciform Theology Of Scripture, Peter Nafzger

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Nafzger, Peter H. "'These Are Written' : Toward a Cruciform Theology of Scripture." Ph.D. diss .. Concordia Seminary, 2009. 244 pp.

This dissertation is an attempt to ground the Christian theology of Scripture in the trinitarian economy of salvation. Rather than approaching the Scriptures with the assumptions, concepts, and categories that have governed the modem "battle for the Bible," this account locates the Scriptures in the theology of the Word of God. In the biblical narrative this Word is found in three forms: Jesus Christ is the personal form of the Word of God who was sent by the Father …

Transmission And Reception Of Blended Family Narratives In The Church Context, Christopher W. Perry

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Strategy For Identifying The Necessary Elements Of A Worship Studies Program, Don Wesley Tuttle

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current literature indicates that little has been written with respect to the development of a systematic program of study for those desiring to lead worship in the contemporary church. The purpose of this project is to identify the necessary elements of a worship studies program geared toward ministry in the contemporary church. Incorporating Biblical research, field studies, and surveys, the project reviews Biblical principles as well as personal perspectives on worship from individuals in the United States and other parts of the world. Based on this information, recommendations are made regarding principles of worship for the contemporary …