Digital Commons Network^™

A Marriage Program To Strengthen And Support Marriage Relationships At The Multicultural Community Of The Milton Keynes Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Augustus Cafuema Lawrence

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. Marriage is an important institution and adjusting to it may be a challenge. More so, intercultural married couples have their own set of challenges. Here, like any other marriage, intercultural married couples face instability by endeavoring to accommodate each other’s style of life derived from the family of origin. Intercultural married couples are dyads that are made up of male and female couples with different cultural background. Moreover, settling in a new location or uprooting from one country to another poses an ever greater likelihood of encountering problems because intercultural couples hold even more diverse value systems, beliefs and …

Promoting Spiritual Growth Among Camp Counselors Through Camping Ministries, Edmund E. Heinrich

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. Many churches realize that large numbers of their young people are not engaged in their congregations. In response to this trend, churches look to local conferences for help. Unfortunately, few conferences have developed models for engaging, equipping, training, and retaining young people.

Method. Develop a program at Leoni Meadows camp to increase the effectiveness in developing leaders who are more fully committed to Jesus Christ through camping ministries.

Result. Increased the spiritual awareness among camp counselors, creating a desire for many to develop a deeper relationship with God and share His love with others.

Conclusions. Camping ministry is unique …

A Christian Servant Leadership Model And Training For The Adventist Church In France, Olivier Rigaud

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. French history (the French Revolution) has shaped a country considered as one of the most secular in the world. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in France is profoundly affected and challenged by this environment. With 11,617 members among over 65 million French in 2010, the penetration ratio is very low (0.0185%) and a deep malaise is felt in the French churches. Reports indicate a lack of consecration, internal conflicts, discouragement of isolated churches, a lack of vision, and spirituality in decline. Today, the Adventist Church is unknown, despite its efforts in communication and visibility. Many change efforts have also been …

An Equipping Strategy For Numeric Growth At The Denver Korean Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Young Uoo Suh

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. The numeric growth of the Denver Korean Seventh-day Adventist Church has been stagnant at best for the last seven years (1997-2004), with an annual growth rate of about 3 percent during this period. Yet, during this same period the Korean immigrant population in the city of Denver has grown to approximately 20,000; thus, the church is failing to reach a growing target population. A primary contributing factor to this lack of numeric growth seems to be the church’s reliance on the pastor to do all of the evangelistic work. And the lay leaders were not properly equipped and trained …

Developing A Discipleship Strategy For The Dunamis Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Brooklyn, New York, Donnieval Walker

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem. The Dunamis Seventh-day Adventist Church has evolved from a church that, historically, was passionately spiritual and nurturing to one that seems to have lost its sense of identity and mission. The result is an inertia that manifests itself in a breakdown in communication, the inability to translate the gospel into the “language” of the community, and a general decline in spiritual commitment. Although some progress has been made in the recent past, there is still a gap between missional demands and practice. This appears to be symptomatic of the deeper issue of failing to experience the meaning of discipleship …

Salt And Light: Best Ministry Practices For Community Impact By Tanzanian Churches, Geoffrey Peter Majule

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Mi'kmaq And French/Jesuit Understandings Of The Spiritual And Spirituality: Implications For Fait, Terry Lance Leblanc

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Missiological Implications Of Nebuchadnezzar’S Dreams, Sung Ik Kim

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

God's Mission To The "Nations" And Hindus: Three Old Testament Narrative Models, Andrew J. Tompkins

Master's Theses

Background to the Problem. The world’s religions outside of Christianity have still hardly been touched by the gospel. This is especially true of Hindus, which make up the third largest religious group in the world. The time for new understandings and approaches is long overdue. -- Problem. The challenge of understanding how to present the God of the Bible to Hindus in a meaningful and lasting way continues to perplex the mission-minded person. For centuries this challenge has been present, and yet the gap between Christians and Hindus in many ways appears to be increasing. This study looks at God’s …

Identification By Spirit Alone: Community-Identity Construction In Galatians 3:19-4:7, Susaan Liubinskas

The Asbury Journal

Interpretations of Paul's letter to the Galatians have tended to focus on its theological content, particularly Paul's attitude toward the Law and Judaism Moreover, the question of how the theological portion of the epistle relates to the paraenetic section (Gal 5:13---6:10) continues to vex interpreters. However, the author notes that the position of Jews and Gentiles within the Christian churches is ultimately a question of identity. Accordingly, the goal of this study is to perform a sociological analysis of Gal 3:19--4:7, drawing upon aspects of social identity theory, in order to analyze Paul's method of constructing community identity in terms …

Public Theology For Global Development: A Case Study Dealing With "Health" In Africa, Gregg A. Okesson

The Asbury Journal

This article makes a simple assertion. The problems faced by global societies require a multi-disciplinary approach, in which theology actively engages other disciplines, such as politics, health, economics, science, and cultural studies, for the purposes of helping the Church of Jesus Christ accurately represent "the fullness of him who fills everything in every way" (Eph 1:23). This reflects the writings of John Wesley and involves a process of reinterpreting the Asburian heritage of "the whole Bible for the whole World" for relating the Gospel to such issues as poverty, disease, famine, ecological disaster, and other facets of development crisis. In …

Journal In Entirety

The Asbury Journal

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Essays

Anticipating Change: Missions and Paradigm Shifts in Emergence Sam Law

Identification by Spirit Alone: Community-Identity Construction in Galatians 3:19-4:7 Susann Liubinskas

Public Theology for Global Development A Case Study Dealing with ''Health'' in Africa Gregg A, Oktsson

Poetry as the Handmaid of Piety: Hynms as a Catalyst for Human Development in Early Methodism Brian Yeich

A Macarian-Wesleyan Theology of Mission Matt Friedman

Impacting the Orienting System: The Role of Theological Education in Influencing Socio-cultural Images of God Anne K. Gatobu

The Tabernacle and Contextual Worship Craig Keener

The Journey to God: Union, Purgation and Transformation …

Christian Sensitivity In Interreligious Relation, Paul D. Numrich

The Asbury Journal

This essay reflects on the implications of my mandate to guide seminary students "to think creatively and responsibly about how to proclaim the Christian gospel in multi-cultural contexts with a sensitivity to interfaith perspectives." I ask the question, What does it mean for Christian seminarians--and Christians generally--to engage adherents of other faiths with sensitivity to their perspectives? I offer a general definition of "sensitivity" and distinguish Christian sensitivity from other kinds, in that it is informed by the revelation of God in Jesus Christ and the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit in the living heritage of the Christian faith. …

Volume 24 — Christian Theology And Social Relevance: Ethical, Economic And Social Implications Of Solidarity, The Ecumencial Association Of Nigerian Theologians

Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology

No abstract provided.

Entitlements And Catholic Social Teachings, Arthur F. Mcgovern

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Is "Nontheist Quakerism" A Contradiction Of Terms?, Paul Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Mormonism In The Methodist Marketplace: James Covel And The Historical Background Of Doctrine And Covenants 39–40, Christopher C. Jones

BYU Studies

Joseph Smith received two revelations in January 1831 (Doctrine and Covenants 39 and 40) directed to one "James Covill." Joseph and his scribes noted that Covill "had been a Baptist minister for about forty years." Historians discovered nothing about a Baptist minister named James Covill, but documents unearthed by the Joseph Smith Papers Project revealed that he was actually a Methodist minister. This sliver of information opened the door to information about a very well-known Methodist minister in upstate New York by the name of James Covel.

Christopher Jones mines this Methodist vein productively and pieces together a short biography …

The Rise Of The New Apostolic Reformation And Its Implication For Adventist Eschatology, Trevor O'Reggio

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Missiological Research Design / Edgar J. Elliston [Book Review], Boubakar Sanou, Gyeongchun Choi

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Evangelicals And Structural Injustice, Evangelical Advocacy: A Response To Global Poverty

Papers, PDF Files, and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Theologies And Practices Of Nonviolence And Social Change, Evangelical Advocacy: A Response To Global Poverty

Syllabi

SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/thadhorner/Desktop/EA/Nonviolence%20&%20Social%20Change%20Syllabus%20.doc

The Arab Spring (2011) reminded the world both of the power of nonviolence to bring about social change and of the significant costs involved. In this course we will explore the theological and biblical resources in Christianity that support as well as interrogate nonviolent praxis and aggressive nonviolent direct action. We will discuss the spirituality of nonviolence, alternatives to both passivity and violence, justifications of violence and revolution, coercion, responsibility vs. faithfulness, and the pragmatic realities of refusing to kill people in order to improve one's socio-political-economic situation or in order to protect life.

Advocacy And Human Rights, Evangelical Advocacy: A Response To Global Poverty

Syllabi

This course is designed to prepare Christian leaders to identify entry points for engagement in social justice advocacy in the context of the global struggle for human rights/justice. In order to approach such advocacy from a uniquely Christian perspective, participants will examine the Christian witness to the state (at all levels) and evaluate the role followers of Jesus have in walking with the oppressed to seek justice for them. Case studies from a variety of Christian and secular organizations will highlight the various levels at which advocacy can occur.

The Origin Of The Eschatological Feast As A Wedding Banquet In The Synoptic Gospels: An Intertextual Study, Phillip J. Long

Dissertations

The Problem. The problem this dissertation seeks to address is the origins of the wedding banquet imagery in the teaching of Jesus. Frequently, scholars will state that the image of a wedding banquet was a common messianic image in the first century. However, other than Isa 25:6-8, sources for the image of a banquet for the messianic age in the Hebrew Bible are sparse. Yet the image of a banquet clearly appears in the Synoptic Gospels in both the actions of Jesus as well as his teaching. Because the metaphor of a wedding banquet is not found in the literature …

God And Integrity: A Case Study Of Walter C. Kaiser Jr. And Norman L. Geisler, Augustin Tchamba

Dissertations

The God of the Bible is sometimes portrayed as using and condoning deceit to achieve His purpose, especially when human life is at stake. Two evangelical scholars, Walter C. Kaiser Jr. and Norman L. Geisler, with a shared theological heritage, differ in their interpretation of Exod 1:15-21 and Josh 2:1-7 that addresses the ethical issue of lying to save life.

This dissertation not only refutes the claim that God uses and condones the use of deceit to achieve His purpose, but also clarifies biblical argument for His integrity. The study provides answers to a number of questions. First, what causes …

A Study Of Warfare Theodicy In The Writings Of Ellen G. White And Gregory A. Boyd, Martha O. Duah

Dissertations

The problem of evil has been an issue for all religions over the centuries. But it is a crucial issue for theism because of its affirmation of the co-existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God and evil. Theologians and philosophical theologians have developed a plethora of materials in response to the problem. However, according to critics, none of the responses in and of themselves adequately deals with theism's problem of suffering and evil. As a result, this study explores the warfare theodicy, a Christian response to the problem of sin, suffering, and evil, which seems to have been neglected …

The Concept Of Divine Love In The Context Of The God-World Relationship, John C. Peckham

Dissertations

The love of God is central to God's relationship to the world. This dissertation addresses the conflict of interpretation between the transcendent-voluntarist and immanent-experientialist models regarding divine love in the context of the God-world relationship by applying a canonical methodology. Chapter 1 introduces the background, purpose, problem, scope, and plan of study as well as the final-form canonical theological method employed in the investigation. Chapter 2 briefly surveys the historical theology of love, tracing the central conceptions of divine love and the God-world relationship by selected, highly influential thinkers. Chapter 3 presents and analyzes the irreconcilable interpretations of divine love …

"Clothes Make The (One Like A Son Of) Man": Dress Imagery In Revelation 1 As An Indicator Of High Priestly Status, Ross E. Winkle

Dissertations

Problem . The Epistle to the Hebrews is the only document in the New Testament that explicitly describes Jesus as a high priest. The purpose of this dissertation is to ascertain whether or not the book of Revelation, in particular, in John's description of the "one like a son of man" in his inaugural vision (1:12-16), implicitly presents Jesus as having a high priestly status.

Method . This study focuses on Revelation since it is the work closest to Hebrews in terms of its rich cultic imagery, and it analyzes Revelation's first chapter since that is the part of Revelation …

A Delphi Study Of The Biblical/Doctrinal Knowledge That Ministers Of Christian Churches/Churches Of Christ Consider Essential For Spiritual Development, Jeffrey D. Derico

Dissertations

Purpose and rationale of the study . The primary role of the minister is to spiritually lead others and facilitate their spiritual growth. Traditionally, biblical and doctrinal teachings have played an essential role in this process. Sadly, two recent trends have worked against this pastoral role. First, research indicates that Americans and many Christians are less and less biblically literate. Second, spiritual growth scholars have observed that church leaders seem less and less prepared to convey biblical knowledge that can systematically and effectively guide others in their spiritual growth.

Christian spiritual growth literature establishes a functional and necessary connection between …

Disturbing Divine Behavior: Troubling Old Testament Images Of God [Review] / Seibert, Eric, Lael O. Caesar

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

Developing Pastors' Understanding And Practice On Biblical Financial Stewardship: The Key To Impacting The Growth Of The Bible Christian Fellowship Church Of Indonesia, Tandi Frederik Randa

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.