Digital Commons Network^™

Full Issue, Volume 36, Issue 1

Landas

No abstract provided.

Safeguarding And Homosexuality, James Mctavish,

Landas

The Church is actively working to promote and build up a culture of safeguarding. Those most vulnerable to abuse need care and protection. Sexual orientation is an important element to consider in safeguarding, as there are specific risks for homosexual persons, and persons with same-sex attraction (SSA) frequently experience abuse. In a sensitive and respectful way, this article examines the background elements regarding homosexuality and abuse and gives specific details that can help in formulating a vision of safeguarding that takes into account the specific reality of persons with SSA.

Re-Examining What I Have Been Taught About Ruth And Naomi As An Asian And Asian American Woman: A Re-Reading Of Ruth Through A Postcolonial Womanist Lens That Calls Asian And Asian American Christians To The Ministry Of Reconciliation And Biblical Justice, Eunice Lin-Sawyer

Seattle Pacific Seminary Theses

As a Singaporean Chinese woman who only moved to America in middle adulthood, I discovered that one’s context(s) and the particularities of place and positionality significantly shape one’s reading and interpretation of Scripture. This thesis engages in a transnational reading of portions of the Ruth Narrative (RN) and exposes the hidden normativity of Whiteness and Eurocentric theology that has shaped how Ruth is interpreted within the Asian and Asian American Evangelical Church. It also explores the implications of taking seriously one’s social-religious contexts and developing a lived theology that accounts for one’s personal narratives, life experiences and embodied particularity. To …

A Discipleship Model For Oral Preference Learners: Specifically Related To The Turkana People Of Kenya, Theresa Lynn Pottenger

Doctor of Ministry

The Turkana people of Kenya are primarily oral learners, processing information in oral ways. Oral learners are completely reliant on what they hear, see, and experience because they cannot or choose not to read.¹ Missionaries from highly literate western cultures unwittingly burdened these oral learners with literacy dependent teaching methods and discipleship practices. This has particularly left Turkana Christian leaders with few options for deepening their own Christian spirituality or leading others in discipleship. Additionally, a cultural disconnect between western spiritual categories taught by the missionaries and Turkana spiritual categories have left several Turkana spiritual needs unmet. The Turkana …

Papers Of Walter Sawatsky Arc2024-007 - Finding Aid, Ats Special Collections And Archives

Finding Aids

The Papers of Walter Sawatsky offer a rich and expansive archival collection that documents the development of Christian mission, theological education, and ecumenical engagement across Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and global contexts from the mid-20th century to the early 21st century. The collection provides extensive primary source material on the religious, political, and institutional transitions that shaped global Christianity during and after the Cold War.

Comprising over 200 folders of material, the collection includes international correspondence, subject files, reports, literary manuscripts, and financial records. Key themes represented throughout include post-Soviet religious transformation, Orthodox-Protestant relations, global missiology, and the …

Report From The Encounter Of The Strategic Alliance Of Latin American Seminaries (Salas) Conference- August 20-22, 2024, Medellín, Colombia, Luis Eduardo Ramírez, The Committee For The Drafting Of Memories

The Asbury Journal

Convened by the One Mission Society (OMS) and Asbury Theological Seminary (ATS), with the collaboration of the Fundación Universitaria Seminario Bíblico de Colombia (FUSBC), representatives of the seminaries founded by OMS in Latin America gathered in the city of Medellín, Colombia on August 20-22, 2024. Representatives included: FUSBC, Instituto y Seminario Bíblico de Londrina (ISBL), Seminario Bíblico de Cuenca (SEMBEC), Seminario Bíblico de México (SEMBIMEX), Seminario para el Reino de Dios (SEMIRED), Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela (SEMWESVEN), and Seminario Teológico El Camino (SETEC)1, along with other sister ministries (SEMISUD, EMM, AIEMCR, SMJW, Impacto Latinoamericano, and IML). All of these organizations …

Latina Mothering As Diaspora Mission : The Role Of Latina Immigrant Mothers In The Religious Identity Formation Of The Next Generation, Rebekah R.S. Clapp

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Prolegomena To Contextual Theology : The Dialectical Relationship Of Scripture And Experience, Sochanngam Shirik

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Symposium: From Coming Out To Coming In: Roundtable Conversation Among Southeast Asian Queer Theologians, Michael Sepidoza Campos, Jayeel Cornelio, Erich Von Marthin Elraphoma, Joseph N. Goh, Jerlo M. Jaropillo, Joshua Marasigan, Kristine C. Meneses, Irene Nainggolan, Kakay Pamarán, Lizette Tapia, Amadeo Devin Udampoh, Wan Wei-Hsien

Development Studies Faculty Publications

Through a roundtable conversation via Zoom, teachers, pastors, and graduate students discussed the place of gender, citizenship, and faith in their identity formation and social accountability to articulate a hermeneutical lens specific to Southeast Asian contexts that shape and critique queer identities. These participants—primarily ministers, theological students, and seminary formators—engaged in organic, fluid, and multifocal turns to capture experiences that undergird the realities of women and LGBTQIQ+ people of faith in the region.

Christian Leadership Development's Contribution To Transforming Zimbabwean Society : A Study Of Faith Ministries' First-Generation Leaders And Their Successors (1994-2023), Dwight S.M. Mutonono

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Bruce L. Bauer

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

Doing theology is really a very simple process that involves prayerful reflection as one searches for biblical principles to guide in deciding how to approach and handle everyday issues.

Retired Missionaries And Faith In A Changing Society, Carmel Gallagher

Books/Book chapters

Retired Missionaries and Faith in a Changing Society offers a sociological study of the Irish missionary diaspora. It draws on a series of interviews with female and male Catholic missionaries, mainly nuns and priests, who have worked in Asia, Africa and Central and South America, and who have returned to live in Ireland. The chapters provide unique insight into their experiences, exploring how they have navigated life-course changes in the context of changing church and changing societies. Retired missionaries have several vantage points from which to communicate their understandings, having worked across cultures and encountered some of the most challenging …

Factors Influencing Conversion Of Cambodian Muslims To Christianity, Thomas W. Seckler

Witness

No abstract provided.

The History Of Graduate Theological Education At Oral Roberts University, Larry Hart, Bill Buker

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article traces the history of graduate theological education at Oral Roberts University from its initial inception in 1963 up until 2018 when a significant transition occurred. Special attention is given to the rebirth of the seminary in 1976 under the leadership of Jimmy Buskirk and the following seasons of its evolution under subsequent deans. From a seminary approved by the United Methodist Church to train candidates for ministry in that denomination to one reflecting a primarily Pentecostal ethos to its current role of serving the Spirit-empowered Movement, the Graduate School of Theology and Ministry (GSTM) has maintained ecumenical diversity …

Our Contributors

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Pantayong Pananaw Bilang Dulog Sa Teolohiyang Pilipino (From-Us-For-Us Perspective As An Approach To Filipino Theology), Mark Joseph Santos

Mabini Review

Colonial and elitist theology have been dominating the Philippine theological landscape for a very long time. This is a kind of theology that is Western and thus alienated from the reality of Philippine society, and written in English and therefore cannot be comprehended by the people. Because of this, a large part of theology as an academic discipline is still irrelevant to the Filipino context. One of the instruments that can serve as an antidote to this problem is the use of Pantayong Pananaw (From-Us-For- Us Perspective) as an approach. Through Pantayong Pananaw, Teolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Theology) can enrich itself …

House Churches (Full Issue)

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

House Churches In The New Testament: Contextual, Theological, And Missiological Perspectives, Boubakar Sanou

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

For most of the first century, private dwellings shaped the Christians’ community life. Evidence to this phenomenon is found in the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of Paul. According to Acts 2:41, the Early Church numbered more than three thousand members after Pentecost. When the synagogues became off limits to them, meeting in private homes became a practical necessity for worship, fellowship, service, and mission (Acts 2:46; 5:42). In four of Paul’s epistles, he explicitly references private homes as the gathering places for early Christians (1 Cor 16:19; Rom 16:3-5; Col 4:15; Phil 2). The epistles are better …

Book Review: New Funding Models In Global Mission: Learning From The Majority World By Tim Welch, John Cheong

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

African Ethnopolitical Rivalry In A Public Theological Lens: Building Bridges Between The Luo And Kikuyu, Dan Kidha Kidha

The Journal of Social Encounters

This research explores African ethnopolitical rivalry within a public theological framework, aiming to build bridges between the Luo and Kikuyu communities of Kenya. It argues that as a community enterprise, theology should engage with the public and be concerned about the wellbeing of God's people. Ethnopolitical conflict is a major impediment to human flourishing in sub- Saharan Africa, causing loss of life, displacement, and fractured identity. The paper draws on practical and public theologies to understand the lived contexts of human experience and argues that a robust interdisciplinary approach is necessary to uplift those affected by ethnic conflicts. As an …

Canadian Lutheran History Sources And Resources Presentation: Remembering For The Sake Of The Gospel, Karen Kuhnert

Consensus

This Article is from a three-part presentation delivered in Webinar 2 (November 15, 2022) of the Webinar Series “For the Sake of the Gospel” hosted by the Remembering Today for the Church of Tomorrow Project in partnership with Martin Luther University College and Lutheran Theological Seminary. The presentation featured images, some of which are presented herein.

Antonio Camnahas, The Catholic Mission In The Lesser Sunda Islands - Indonesia Under The Society Of The Divine Word (Svd). From One Apostolic Prefecture To Two Apostolic Vicariates (1913–1942), Paul B. Steffen Svd

Asia Pacific Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

"¡Que Viva El Cristo Negro De Portobelo!" Ismael Rivera's 'El Nazareno' As An Exercise In Grassroots Theology, Rafael Nieves-Rosario

Journal of Hispanic / Latino Theology

No abstract provided.

Our Contributors

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

We Are Kamea Christians Not Because We Sing Like Berrien Springs Christians: Towards A Methodology Of Developing A Biblical Theology In Context, Unia Api

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

This paper attempts to demonstrate a methodological approach to doing theology in context. A lot of homogenizations of Western Christianity have very much impacted the way we do church in Melanesia (Pacific Islands). This trend motivated me to ride on the wave of Melanesian thinkers to make theology relevant in the Melanesian context. Title: Exploring

The Nigerian Tiv Concept Of Ya Na Angbian As A Corrective To The Misinterpretation Of Subdue And Have Dominion In Genesis 1:26, Christopher Terhemen Bologo

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

The Tiv people of Nigeria have a social-political philosophy, Ya na angbian, which they have been practicing since the pre-colonial period. The social-political philosophy promotes justice, fairness, harmony, and peace through a fair and equitable distribution of what belongs to the Tiv people. This thesis argues that the Ya na angbian concept of the Tiv people can be applied to the relationship between human and non-human beings. This work maintains that it can lead to human beings’ care for non-human nature.

The first outstanding conclusion of this research is that the Ya na angbian social-political philosophy can correct misunderstanding …

Life And The Renewal Of The Christian Community: Infant Baptism And Inculturation In The Context Of The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Héritier Ofabwe Kinzamba

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

This thesis is part of the liturgical inculturation process that has been taking place in the local Church of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the 1960s, one of whose treasured expressions is the Roman Missal for the Dioceses of Zaïre, an inculturated ritual of Mass. In this work, I aim to contribute to extending the special rite for the Dioceses of Zaïre to include the celebration of infant Baptism. I use a hermeneutical method and an anthropological model of contextual theology to interpret and analyze the foundations of the Roman Rite for the Dioceses of Zaire, the Church’s …

Towards A Holistic Reconciliation In Africa, N’Guessan Kouacou Augustin Koffi

Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations

Reconciliation is a relevant topic in the world and especially in Africa, which has a thirst for peace and justice, yet is plagued by ongoing crises. Many African countries have tried to build social trust for a living together. On the Church's side, Catholic Social Teaching, through Africae Munus, clearly articulates Africa's thirst for reconciliation, justice, and peace. Various African church leaders and laypeople have been engaged in the reconciliation and conflict transformation in Africa. Even though some progress has been made, people are still disappointed at the ongoing violence and social injustice in many parts of the continent. This …

Online Vs On-Site: Navigating The Tension Between Curating Content And Cultivating Connections For Children In The Post-Pandemic Church, Mckinzie Marcus

Senior Honors Theses

The common Christian cliche “church is not a place, but rather a people” was challenged by the Coronavirus pandemic of early 2020. With the traditional means of assembling in physical spaces unavailable, congregations worldwide resigned themselves to adapting their in-person programs into internet assemblies. As churches step into the post-pandemic era, it is important to consider the implications of this forced shift, especially as it relates to children’s ministry. A consideration of traditional messages and trending methods is necessary. Twenty-first century children’s ministries must seek a healthy balance between curating content and cultivating connections for the children in their churches.

Who Is To Blame? African Feminism, Human Rights, And Sexual Violence Against Izintombi (Virgins) In South Africa, Goodness Thandi Ntuli

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article highlights the intensifying prevalence of sexual violence in South Africa, which affects women including izintombi (virgins, also known as Zulu maidens). Ubuntombi (virginity) traditionally represented a typical identity marker of young-womanhood in the indigenous lives of Zulus. As an aftermath of colonialism and imperialism, the cultural importance of women’s virginity faded into the past with only sporadic survival in some rural areas of South Africa. For some reasons, it was visibly revived together with virginity-testing as public events in the 1980s and 1990s. The practice of virginity-testing was criticized by some scholars, human rights and gender activists, who …