Digital Commons Network^™

A Reformation Is A Terrible Thing To Waste: A Promising Theology For An Emerging Missional Church, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reconciling The Believing Nonbelonger: Readiness To Reach And Receive Lost Sheep, Robert E. Sachs Jr.

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This study examines and explains readiness of reconciling with believing nonbelongers from 284 respondents in two categories of 139 systematically selected ELCA congregations in the western United States that received adults during 2001-2005. A concurrent-nested, mixed-method design integrates biblical-theological missio Dei and missio ecclesia foundations with Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Stages of Change and Parshall’s Contextualization Spectrum. Chi-square crosstabulations, simple logistical regression, and Centering Resonance Analyses show: faith of origin, worship attendance growth trend, regional location, population size and growth trend, clergy and lay partnership, and programmatic emphasis has significant effects on the readiness of congregations and respondents to receive the unaffiliated.

Congregations As Systems For Empowering Missional Leadership: A Lutheran Hermeneutic For Leading In Mission, Terri Lynn Martinson Elton

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

What are the cultural dynamics within a congregational system that are vital to the empowering of missional leadership? Do Lutherans have anything to contribute to the missional church movement in the United States? These two questions were primary for this dissertation and emerged out of two gaps identified in the missional church literature. Seeing congregations as complex, open systems, missional leadership within congregational systems was studied using a grounded theory, qualitative research approach. The five ELCA congregational systems in this study were identified by their peers as excelling in helping their faith community discover their calling as disciples of Jesus …

Under The Cross Of Christ: Hispanic Ministry In The Missouri Synod, Lcms

Artículos obra entre Hispano/Latinos

BRTF-En – LCMS (June 2006)

What Is Essential In Lutheran Worship?, Steven D. Paulson

Faculty Publications

Martin Luther’s simple definition of worship remains valid: “nothing else” need ever happen “except that our dear Lord himself may speak to us through his holy Word and we respond to him through prayer and praise.” The essential moments of public worship are reading, preaching (including the presence and proclamation of Christ in the sacraments), and prayer.

Danish Churches And Congregations In Indianapolis, 1868-1885, Barbara R. George

The Bridge

A look at the population make-up of Indianapolis and Indiana during the time period from the end of the Civil War (approximately 1865) until the 1880s shows that the Danes had little impact in the relatively small Indiana immigration picture. Indiana was less influenced by foreign born than any other northern state. Although ranking ninth in the number of German-born residents in 1880, Indiana ranked thirteenth in the number of foreign born, and was sixth in total population. As a state it was not particularly aggressive in promoting itself as a viable destination for immigrants, and ranked only in front …

Things Which Had Grown Are Being Made New: The Revitalization Of Missional Intent In The Diocese Of Oregon, George Thomson Hemingway

Doctor of Ministry

The problem addressed in this paper is to find out if the application of missional principles in the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon can revitalize this diocese, direct the diocese to missional ends, and provide applications for similar situations in other dioceses. This investigation assumes that the existing infrastructure of the diocese has intrinsic value for mission if it can become focused on God's mission as its primary end. This approach assumes that the diocese has been and perhaps still is distracted by matters of secondary importance such as maintenance of existing facilities, issues of power, lack of trust, and cultural …

The Trinitarian Dna Of Christian Worship: Perennial Themes In Recent Theological Literature, John Witvliet

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Trinitarian theology has considerable implications for Christian worship. On the assumption that doctrine and liturgy are inextricably intertwined, my interest is to isolate and clarify the links between the doctrine of the Trinity and the theology and practice of worship, and thereby to explore the basic "grammar" or "DNA" of Trinitarian worship. My procedure will be to identify briefly five unique though inter-related themes, five "kinds of Trinitarian discourse," and to explore the resonances or corollaries of those themes in work on the theology and practice of liturgy. By choosing to offer an overview, my goal is to present this …

“The Winnable World”: Session Two Manhattan Christian College, October 1981, Donald Mcgavran

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

In 1981, Donald McGavran presented a series of lectures at Manhattan Christian College. Over the next few journals, we will publish this series in a continuing effort to honor McGavran and his legacy of Church Growth Missiology. This is the second in the series.

Opportunities Amidst Challenges: Denominations And Rural Ministry, Alvin Luedke

Faculty Publications

The changing social, economic, and religious landscape of rural communities offers denominations an opportunity for demonstrating renewed relevance to congregations in those areas, as denominational leaders and structures help rural congregations identify and meet the mission challenges they now face.

Towards An Ortho-Doxological Missional Ministry, John R. Guerre

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews

Swedish American Genealogist

No abstract provided.

A Question Of Plain Dealing: Josiah Cotton, Native Christians, And The Quest For Security In Eighteenth-Century Plymouth County, Douglas L. Winiarski

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

In the wake of King Philip's War (1675-76), Wampanoags throughout the "Old Colony" - Plymouth, Bristol, and Barnstable Counties in southeastern Massachusetts - struggled to pick up the pieces of a culture shattered by violence and warfare, riven with internal dissension, and plagued by economic exploitation and English racism. As several revisionist studies have shown, Indians like Ned turned to Christianity to combat the social and economic challenges confronting their communities during the first half of the eighteenth century, but they did so in complex and at times contradictory ways. The tenant families at Plain Dealing, for example, consigned their …

Notre Identité Vincentienne Aujourd’Hui, À La Lumière Des Constitutions : Évaluation Et Défis

Vincentiana

No abstract provided.

Our Vincentian Identity Today In Light Of The Constitutions: Evaluation And Challenges

Vincentiana

No abstract provided.

Bajo La Cruz – Centro De Estudios Hispanos, Justo González, J. A.O. Preus Iii, Douglas Groll, Aurelio Magariño, Gerald Kieschnick

Artículos obra entre Hispano/Latinos

Bajo la cruz – Centro de Estudios Hispanos (June 2004)

A History Of The Ordination Of Women In The Episcopal Church, And Its Effects On Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialog, Cynthia M. Reynolds

Doctor of Ministry

Our Lord Jesus Christ prayed that those who share in His calling "may become completely one" (John 17:23 NRSV). Unity is a major goal of many Christian denominations, both within those groups and with other churches. The second half of the twentieth century was an extremely active period of dialogue between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church. However, the question of authority has been a significant roadblock in this quest for ecumenical recovery. Traditional faith practices in each church are determined by markedly different models for arriving at final decisions in matters of doctrine. By way of an …

A History Of Women In The Episcopal Church, And Its Effects On Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialog, Cynthia M. Reynolds

Seminary Masters Theses

Our Lord Jesus Christ prayed that those who share in His calling "may become completely one" (John 17:23 NRSV). Unity is a major goal of many Christian denominations, both within those groups and with other churches. The second half of the twentieth century was an extremely active period of dialogue between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church. However, the question of authority has been a significant roadblock in this quest for ecumenical recovery. Traditional faith practices in each church are determined by markedly different models for arriving at final decisions in matters of doctrine. By way of an …

Vincentiana Vol. 48, No. 4-5 [Full Issue]

Vincentiana

No abstract provided.

Identifying Barriers To An Apostolic Ethos Within Park United Methodist Church, Michael B. Allen

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

"Not The Bloom But The Root:" Conversion And Its Consequences In Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missionary Discourse, Jonathan J. Bonk

Yale Divinity Library Occasional Publications

No abstract provided.

Reinstalling The Spanish Component: The Journals Of Don Diego De Vargas, New Mexico, 1691–1704, John L. Kessell

New Mexico Historical Review

No abstract provided.

A Way Of The Soul: The Use Of An Introductory Course In Christian Spirituality As A Path Towards Personal Ministry In The Local Parish, Newton W. Kerney

Doctor of Ministry

Committed laity in the local parish seek ministry opportunities with depth and purpose. The use of an introductory course in Christian spirituality as a tool towards personal ministry is one way to develop a more vitalized lay ministry within the local parish.

A definition of spirituality is proposed and used as a backdrop for the development of a course curriculum. The dissertation examines spiritual formation concepts in the Old Testament and New Testament with an eye to their application in daily life. Martin Luther's spirituality as expressed in scripture, catechism and hymnody is explored along with the spiritual formation concerns …

2002 Report Of Gifts (88 Pages), South Caroliniana Library--University Of South Carolina

University South Caroliniana Society - Annual Report of Gifts

No abstract provided.

58th Annual Pepperdine Bible Lectureship -- Shaped By The Cross: Great Themes From I Corinthians (2001), Jerry Rushford

Pepperdine Bible Lectures: Programs

Program booklet for the 58th Annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures, held at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, May 1-4, 2001. The Pepperdine Bible Lectures is an annual event hosted by Pepperdine University featuring a wide variety of lectures and classes on topics and themes in the Bible and Christianity.

Jerry Rushford, Lectureship Director

Bill Henegar, Kelli Isaac, Patty Atkisson, and Bridget Wooton, Lectures Team

The Return Of The Congregation: Missional Warrants, Patrick R. Keifert

Faculty Publications

The new era of mission in North America warrants the return of the congregation as the primal location of the study of theology at every level of theological education, including schools of theology.

The Concord, Luther Seminary

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Growing Up As A Pastor's Child-The Pressures And Positives Of Living In A Clergy Family System, Stephen Juergensen

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Through research and personal interviews, this project explores the lives of pastors' children and their responsibilities in light of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, the pressures they face in the clergy family system, and positive aspects of their lives that come with their unique lifestyle. Included is a retreat for pastors' teenage children which has been developed as a method of helping pastors' children cope with their lives in constructive ways, understand the pressures they experience, celebrate the positive aspects of being pastor's children, and grow personally and spiritually as they reaffirm their essential identity as baptized children of God.

A Tale Of Two Organs: Henry Erben And Apalachicola, Florida, Robert C. Delvin

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Vision, Summer 1999

Vision

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in USA

VisionFinding Aid