Digital Commons Network^™

The Top Ten Challenges Facing Churches In 2023, Edward E. Moody Jr.

Great Commission Research Journal

This article summarizes the results of a study conducted by the Great Commission Research Network seeking to identify the top challenges facing churches in 2023. The results are similar to other recently conducted studies, emphasizing challenges related to evangelism and young adults.

Great Commission Research Journal Spring 2023, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Young Adult Attrition In The American Church: The Suspected Causes And Suggested Cures, Randall M. Morrow

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Young adults in America today are deciding that the Church is no longer relevant, so they are choosing to drop out in increasing numbers. Their disaffiliation from communities of faith is also harming their personal faith. This observation is irrespective of Church denominations; their exodus occurs in most faith groups, including Catholic, Mainline Protestant, Evangelical, and Pentecostal/Charismatic denominations. Consequently, the future vitality of the Church is threatened. Why does this problem exist, and what can be done to intervene and change the downward trajectory? What should Christian parents and ministry leaders do differently to achieve a higher retention rate of …

Covid-19 Crisis: Shifting Educational Leadership Toward A New Normal - A Case Study, Emily C. R. Ellwood

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

This study examines the lived experiences of educational leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research has often pointed to the role of educational leadership and its relationship to the quality and well-being of a school’s culture and climate. Recently the coronavirus has created a crisis on a magnitude the world has never seen that has globally altered human interactions and created an educational new normal. Literature is quickly seeking to examine the impact on education, and while much of its effect is yet to be seen, this study advances the understanding of crisis leadership, distinct from crisis management, during the …

The Diamond, March 31, 2023, Dordt University

Dordt Diamond

• Front Page: The FLAME Club Travels to Minneapolis for Spring Trip; Student Employees of the Year to be Awarded; Common's Celebrates Nutrition Month
• News: Pray for Syria; Easter Break Plans
• Feature: Upcoming Women's Ministry Events; Dr. Zhu Leaving to Further Pursue Research; Education Costs Around the World; The Heavens Declare the Glory of God and So Does Watercolor
• Opinion: The Chocolate Milk Mile - Community Through Pain; The Break After Breaks; Main Street Follow-Up; A Bit of Warm Change
• Arts & Entertainment: Out With a Bang - John Wick: Chapter 4 Review; Go to the …

A Gentle Whisper: Restorying The Narrative Of Eleven Ministers To Create A Collective Voice In The Battle Against Burnout, Darrel Sears

DMin Project Theses

This March 2023 Doctor of Ministry project thesis at Lipscomb University investigates how there has been much research poured into the subject of burnout over the last fifty years and how its effects take a toll on an employee’s emotional, physical, and mental health. Burnout is especially prevalent in helping professions like human services, nursing, social work, psychology, and criminal justice to name a few. Vocational ministry, also a helping profession, has received its fair share of attention pertaining to burnout. Countless hours and hard work concerning stress management, clergy outpatient therapy, emotional contagions, self-care practices, spiritual-care practices, and a …

Best Practice Spiritual Formation Models In The Christian Hybrid Church, Crystal Deneene Stalling

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore best practice spiritual formation models and the perceived effectiveness of spiritual formation in the hybrid church community brick-and-mortar and online church settings for individuals in Christian hybrid churches. The concern was whether the churches effectively implemented best practice models through their traditional brick-and-mortar locations and digital platforms that would cause individuals within the Christian community to experience spiritual formation. Spiritual formation is generally defined as “the holistic work of God in a believer’s life whereby systematic change renders the individual continually closer to the image and actions of Jesus Christ” (Pettit, …

The Role Of Military Chaplains And Effective Spiritual Care For Strengthening Military Marriages During Deployments, Carl Michael Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Military chaplains provide spiritual support and counseling to the military populations alongside conducting religious services. As a military process, chaplaincy operates as a liaison between military personnel, mental health professionals, and clinical marriage counselors. In this context, the military population is extensive and consists of military personnel, military chaplains, and their civilian families. It must be acknowledged that various service-motivated challenges confront these individuals. For instance, military marriages are threatened by lengthy deployment and family separations. Therefore, it is significant to contextualize military marriages’ coping, survival, and strengthening as most contemporary researchers have focused on this subject. Most studies have …

New Embodiments Of Ancient Wisdom: How Green Spiritual Practices Of Simplicity Can Meaningfully Integrate Faith And Environmental Justice Among Emerging Adults, Falon Barton

DMin Project Theses

This March 2024 Doctor of Ministry Project thesis at Lipscomb University explores how green spiritual practices of simplicity provide opportunities for spiritual formation and missional participation, especially for emerging adults. This project synthesizes the biblical and theological foundations for creation care, overviews the sociology of emerging adulthood, offers a framework for Christian simplicity, and investigates how green spiritual practices of simplicity impact the lived experiences of average followers of Jesus. Through interviews with 20 participants between the ages of 18 and 35, this study outlines what green spiritual practices of simplicity are and offers an analysis of themes that demonstrate …

Review Of Catholic Peacebuilding And Mining: Integral Peace, Development, And Ecology, Selina Gallo-Cruz

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Bishops Of Peace, Daniel Philpott

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

“Maybe I’M Just Too Damaged”: Revisiting Clergy Reasons For Leaving The Profession, Wesley D. Cohoon, Jessica Smartt Gullion

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Vocational ministry is a unique profession for several reasons, not the least of which is the needed “calling from God” for Evangelical ministers. After someone receives this call, they begin their formal seminary training, which usually includes a 90-credit-hour master’s degree. Despite the sense of divine calling, time, money, and commitment, the number of people who leave vocational ministry is alarming. In leaving the profession, ministers experience guilt and a sense of moral failing, in addition to the waste of time and money spent accruing the correct credentials in seminary. In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews of former ministers …

The Soul Of A Leader: A Case Study In The Theory And Development Of A Reflective Instrument, Shelby Coble, Carson Reed

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This case study details the authors’ work to fulfill a consultative request from an elder group to do significant self‐reflection about their spiritual life and their practice of being good leaders. In response, the authors developed a rationale for considering resilience and spiritual vitality while exploring congregational leadership as vision work, relational work, and administrative work. With this theological grounding, the authors prepared an instrument that measures the capacity for resilience and spiritual vitality in the life of lay leaders. The instrument also creates reflection around three dimensions of leadership. The survey categories included: spiritual and personal life, a leader’s …

A Practical Theology Of Created Space: Contextualized Theology For Pastoral Crisis Ministry, Gabriel Fisher

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This is a practical theology of created space that attends to the questions raised by critical incidents and contexts by cultivating dialogue among experiences, beliefs, perceptions, and theology. This confessional approach works from the conviction that God is active and present within our experiences and that we are called to participate in the compassionate ministry of Christ. A created space represents a holding pattern of listening and dialogue where attention is given to the other person’s experiences, beliefs, present concerns, and our own formed center using the resources of spiritual theologies.

Lost In The Cloud: Advancing Inclusive Learning And Teaching, Benjamin Ajibade

Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Vista: March 16, 2023, University Of San Diego

USD Vista (1965-)

No abstract provided.

Developing A Community Chaplaincy Ministry: Through A Need Satisfaction Care Model For A Native Language Church, Shanti Samuel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Believers in Jesus Christ are mandated to "go" into the world, and caring for people is part of the seeking. God has provided models and processes of His care in the scriptures. A chaplain holds spiritual care functions outside the church's four walls on the field. Unfortunately, many Asian Indian Americans in the booming immigrant population have not received care. Therefore, this action research thesis assumes need-based church training to build a culture-sensitive model of care to provide care. This research project explored the causes and impediments to care through participative sessions with the spiritual care provider volunteers of the …

Newsletter Catholic Deaf Of Detroit, March 2023

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Detroit, MI

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit Finding Aid

The Banner - V. 158, No. 3 - (March 2023), Christian Reformed Church In North America

The Banner

No abstract provided.

Christ In The City, Skip Bell

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Reformed Worship (Rw) 147 - Ascension / Pentecost (March 2023), Reformed Worship Editors

Reformed Worship Magazine

Editorial: Christ has Ascended, the Spirit's Come...Now What? by Joyce Borger....2

The Fruit of the Spirit: Connecting Ascension and Pentecost by Joyce Borger....3

Prayer for the Fruit of the Spirit by Hilary Ritchie....10

Ascension and Pentecost by Brian Hehn....11

Songs of Young and Old by Michael Huerter....14

Worship Series: Psalm 23 by Bethany Besteman and Kathryn Ritsema Roelofs....18

Q&A: Preaching Culture by John D. Witvliet....29

Listening to the Book We Love....31

For Pastors: Pulpit Care by Scott Hoezee....34

The Apostles' Creed and the Christian Year by Faye Dykema....36

Worship and Mission …

Increasing Conceptual Clarity Of Act Interventions For Burnout: A Novel Workshop For Women In Ministry, Lydia Hogan

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

The purpose of this study is threefold; to address a gap in the literature concerning mechanism of change of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) interventions for burnout, to create an evidence-based burnout intervention for women in ministry, and to propose a theory of burnout etiology and recovery. Participants in this novel 6-week online ACT-based workshop showed significant improvement in burnout, particularly those who endorsed higher pre-intervention burnout. Change in burnout scores was inconsistently mediated by changes in psychological flexibility across dimensions of personal burnout, work burnout, and client burnout as measured on the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Findings of this study …

An Inward Mission Of The Fourth Gospel And Its Reflection In The Ge'ez Rite Divine Liturgy, Brother S. Bdeho

Theses

Various themes of the Fourth Gospel have been explored by scholars. The exploration of its concept of mission and worship is also present. However, the missionary method and its inseparability from worship have not been examined adequately. This thesis examines this unique feature of the Gospel in three major sections. First, the Catholic Church’s contemporary teaching on mission is reviewed based on Ad Gentes (AG) and Redemptoris Missio (RM), which offer the core teaching. The findings show the ad extra missionary praxis is inspired by the s Gospels (AG) while RM shows a move towards ad intra missionary praxis inspired …

Illinois: A State-Of-The-Art Model For State Immigration Rulemaking, Camilla Mroczkowski

DePaul Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Chaplains And Hospital Staff Stressors: A Qualitative Framework, Teresa Rangel, Alexa Powell, Sarah Sumner, Kavya Vaitla, Karen Colorafi

Providence Nursing Research Conference 2023 – Present

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Frequency Of Hospital-Based Chaplain And Nursing Interactions, Sheila Doucette

Providence Nursing Research Conference 2023 – Present

No abstract provided.

Nurse Professional Quality Of Life And Chaplain Interactions, Rose Timmerman, Dawn Bock, Sherri Mendelson

Providence Nursing Research Conference 2023 – Present

No abstract provided.

Folder 04: Letter From Church Council Of Hollen, The Netherlands [Transcription, Translation], 1840, Van Raalte Collection

Box 10 Family-Corr (COLL300)

No abstract provided.

Hand In Hand, Spring 2023

Hand in Hand

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Milwaukee, WI

Hand in Hand Finding Aid

Gardner-Webb Offers Cybersecurity Major Online And Face-To-Face, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of individuals employed within the cybersecurity sector is slated to grow 31% by the year 2029, which far exceeds the average for all other occupations. In anticipation of the demand for these jobs, Gardner-Webb University is introducing a cybersecurity major in the traditional undergraduate (TUG) program and Gardner-Webb Online.