Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Book Review: L.E.A.R.N. Evangelism Handbook: Giving Away The Greatest Gift By Marshall Windsor, Sanejo Leonard

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Remission: Rethinking How Church Leaders Create Movement By Gary Comer, Jim Roden

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Something Old, Something New: How New Churches Are Embracing Liturgy, Winfield Bevins

Great Commission Research Journal

The movement toward ancient church tradition has been well documented; however, there has also been a steady rise of new churches that are embracing church tradition and liturgy. The first part of this article will examine the history behind this movement and the factors that have contributed to its development. Next, it will look at four case studies of new churches that are embracing liturgy, which I refer to as neo-liturgical churches. It will end with an exploration of the promise that this may hold for reaching young adults.

Musical Worship: The New Sacrament?, Elsen Portugal

Great Commission Research Journal

Music has been present in the worship practices of Christian communities as far back as the early days of the Church. Its presence has not been merely tolerated but intentionally integrated into liturgical practices, sometimes reflecting practices under the old covenant, and at other times adopting other shapes. Music’s meaning and power have also been variously evaluated by theologians and laypeople through the centuries. In certain segments of Christianity, music has even developed a theological relationship to concepts of sacrament. Such a relationship has penetrated the “worship event” in the latter part of the twentieth century and has frequently become …

That All May Hear: How Indigenous Church Music Encourages Church Growth In Africa, Trevor Yoakum

Great Commission Research Journal

This article demonstrates how indigenous church music can be an effective tool in promoting healthy church growth. After defining indigenous church music through the insights of ethnodoxology, the author explains how it engages local hearers through their own conceptual categories. This cognitive interaction is relevant in that it augments comprehension of biblical themes and content. But it also impacts hearers through the various levels of their worldview. The article ends with a case study of how a consortium of African theological institutions and IMB missionaries are developing orality-based indigenous music to teach, refute heresy, and evangelize the continent.

Ethnic And Confessional Relations In Cross-Border Regions: A Comparative Analysis Based On Sociological Research, Vasyl Balukh, Yurii Lopatynskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The study deals with the issues of confessional issues (religiosity), freedom of conscience, state-church relations, interethnic relations, cultural identity, and language use in cross-border regions of Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to find common features in the relations between different nationalities and representatives of the multi-confessional environment of the two cross-border regions of Ukraine and to identify the specifics of each of them in solving the most important life problems of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional relations. The method of sociological research is a survey that contains 44 questions of mixed type. The research was carried out by the Center …

The Song Of Cuba’S Great Awakening: Music In Baptist Worship And Witness, Michael Sharp, Ed Steele

Great Commission Research Journal

From the 1990s to the present, Cuban Baptists have witnessed a time of unparalleled church growth. During that time frame, musicians have participated in ministries aimed at church growth by organizing largescale public musical events, compiling a Cuban hymnal that included indigenous Cubano worship songs, developing new programs of leadership training for church musicians, and employing music in missionary projects both at home and abroad. This article explores what can be learned from the Cuban Baptists’ experience regarding music as an effective tool in evangelism, the value of musicians reaching musicians as a mission strategy, the importance of ethnodoxology in …

Evaluating The Role Of Empowering Leadership And Church Health, Brent Colby

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of empowering leadership on overall church health. This quantitative study evaluated data collected by Natural Church Development from Assemblies of God churches in the United States between 2006 and 2016. Examining results from 361 churches and 9,619 surveys, this research answered questions relating to the statistical significance of empowering leadership on overall church health, the statistical significance of empowering leadership as a predictive domain of church health, and the most statistically significant predictor of church health. The one sample t-test, binary logistic regression test statistic, and multiple linear regression test …

Guest Editor’S Foreword: Religiosity In Contemporary Ukraine, Nataliia Ishchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Excerpt: "The issues of civilizational identity became paramount to the social existence of the church in the decade of revolution and war (2010-2020). This decade has become the most heroic and, at the same time, the most tragic one in the history of modern Ukraine, for its people and its churches. The Maidan and the Revolution of Dignity (late 2013 to early 2014) gave the people of Ukraine great hopes and expectations for the choice of a European future. The annexation of the Crimea by Russia and the ongoing war in the east of Ukraine, as planned by the Kremlin’s …

Episcopal Sermons In The Library Of Appalachian Preaching, Robert Ellison, Larry Sheret

English Faculty Research

The Library of Appalachian Preaching provides online access to sermons preached in Appalachia, or elsewhere by preachers with ties to the Appalachian region. This article, in a newsletter published by the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church, discusses Episcopal sermons that are currently in the Library, and some that will be added in the very near future. 

The Pauline Concept Of Discipleship As A Model For Addressing The Youth Dropout In The Twenty-First Century United States Of America Church., Jacob Al Hassan

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The dropout rate of more than five million young adults from faith and church in the last decade, who were originally born and raised in Christian homes, has reached a critical point. The Christian community must rethink its discipleship methods in order to impact the youth of today.

The researcher explored the root causes of the problem and identified that the current discipleship assumptions and strategies, rooted in modern mechanistic mass production paradigm do not work. Therefore, these assumptions and strategies must give way to a personally crafted one-on-one relational fatherly mentorship interconnected approach for the faith formation of the …

Healthy Church Multiplication In Modern Churches, William J. Burns

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19 leaves no room for interpretation. The role of the followers of Jesus and of the church is decidedly clear. We are called to make disciples of all nations. An honest assessment of my local ministry context, Access Church, reveals that we, as a church, have fallen short of Jesus’ Great Commission. The intention of this research project is to understand the biblical mandate to make disciples as taught throughout Scripture, study Jesus’ discipleship methods in the book of Matthew, and, ultimately, create a new rubric to help Access Church—and other churches—understand how to measure its …

A Strategic Plan To Assist Pastors In The Succession Between A Mentoring Lead Pastor And His Or Her Mentee, Glen Wolf

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Within the next decade, thousands of churches in America will be transitioning the lead pastoral position from one generation to the next. Most lead pastors are not prepared for this succession. The primary research question driving this project is: Can a strategic plan be developed that will assist pastors in the succession between a mentoring lead pastor and his or her mentee? This question is worth researching for the following reasons: 1) most literature written on the subject focuses on principles and/or practices; 2) most literature written on the subject looks at succession as a whole (congregation, board, et cetera), …

Factors That Produce High-Capacity Leaders Within The Church, Daniel O. Floyd

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Population is exploding, and yet the church, in some areas, is declining. High-capacity leaders, who can lead large groups of people toward gospel advancement, are needed now more than ever. The research question that this project seeks to answer is: what are the factors that produce high-capacity leaders within the church? The topic of leadership boasts a wealth of research; however, there is a gap in the research regarding what it takes to develop a highcapacity leader, as defined in this project. The research questions are answered through a qualitative phenomenological study that involve interviewing eight pastors who are leading …

Developing A Church Planting Growth Strategy For Growing Metropolitan Communities In The United States, Aaron R. Burke

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The United States is becoming increasingly urbanized. The metropolitan areas are thriving with new residents and new industries. While the cities are growing, the church is declining. The church has a problem to solve. How do we plant rapidly growing churches in growing metropolitan areas? The focus of this doctoral dissertation is to present rapidly growing church plants as a solution to the declining church attendance in the metropolitan areas of the United States. Not only do new churches need to be planted, but these new churches need a strategy for growth. I found this strategy by researching five rapidly …

Intellectual Humility As It Pertains To Self-Knowledge, Nicholas S. Grounds

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Origins Beliefs Of Christian College Students, Emily Wilkinson

Senior Honors Theses

Many studies have focused on creation and evolution in academia, origins beliefs and biblical interpretation, and how students respond to origins challenges. The author then conducted a phenomenology of Christian college students’ origins beliefs, factors that influence those beliefs, and impacts that the beliefs have on students’ lives. Methods included a 44-Item Big Five Inventory and semi-structured interviews. Participants were eight residential undergraduate students at a Christian university who were currently or previously in a creation studies course. Results indicated that all participants held to young-earth creationism, and that family, Christian faith, education, personality, and academic major influenced the development …

Development Of Mass Communication Strategies For Church Growth: Engaging American Culture, Abby Hines

Senior Honors Theses

In this analysis, methods of mass communication employed by the church throughout its history will be reviewed. The context for this church study is specifically within American culture. Strategies for the most effective form of mass communication have evolved drastically within the past few years. For the church to properly engage in culture, it must understand the communication strategies that have intentionally or unintentionally been utilized throughout its history. An effective method of mass communication for the church is proposed.

Confrontation Of Orthodox Churches In Modern Ukraine: Reasons, Trends And Prospects Of Reconciliation, Nataliia Ishchuk, Oleksandr Sagan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The current canonical and social statuses as well as the relationship of the largest Orthodox churches in Ukraine are considered: the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine emerged on December 15, 2018, as a result of the unification of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and a small number of representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. On January 6, 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in accordance with the decision of the Synod of the Constantinopolitan Patriarchate, together …

“Lift Up Your Eyes”: Case Study Of Journey Church, Tucson, Jim Roden

Great Commission Research Journal

The receptivity principle of church growth discerns who in the local population is generally responsive to the gospel. The biblical warrant for this principle is seen in Jesus’ instructions to his disciples (Mark 5:11) and in Paul’s ministry (Acts 14:19-20). Donald McGavran emphasized, “Evangelism can be and ought to be directed to responsive persons, groups, and segments of society…. Correct policy is to occupy fields of low receptivity lightly.” The experience of anxiety typifies gospel-receptive groups; when their anxiety dissipates, their gospel receptivity diminishes. The special-needs population and those who are close to them experience unrelieved chronic anxiety that predisposes …

Book Review: Jesus Revolution: How God Transformed An Unlikely Generation And How He Can Do It Again Today By Greg Laurie And Ellen Vaughn, H. L. Ward Jr.

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Igniting Hope Among Gen Z, Billy Mcmahan

Great Commission Research Journal

Generation Z is the future of the Church. We need to begin equipping followers of Jesus to welcome them home. This article explores the seven common characteristics of Generation Z. It will also dive into research done among current youth workers from around the country and then provide some strategies on how to engage Generation Z based on that research. About 90 million young Americans fit into the age bracket of Generation Z. As the Church, we need to understand their worldview. As they emerge into adulthood, it will be vital to the health of the Church overall to equip …

The Life Of Donald Mcgavran: Leaving A Legacy, Gary L. Mcintosh

Great Commission Research Journal

As the Church Growth Movement continued to develop, it gained strength and respect. The establishing of the McGavran Chair of Church Growth was a red-letter day, which established the CGM as an academic discipline. Donald and Mary McGavran slowly backed away from direct ministry, but continued to follow the movement’s impact. This except reports the final years of McGavran’s life and ministry

Subversive Christian Allegory In In The Heat Of The Night (1967), Geert Heetebrij

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Unveiling God In Counseling: The Compatibility Of Christian Theology And The Modern Therapeutic Process, Kelvin Jamaal Mack

Senior Theses

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the compatibility of Christian theology and a modern therapeutic process informed by secularism. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate that the conceptualization of an active God in the therapeutic process is essential for counselors and clients who adhere to the Christian faith. This conceptualization is either missing or altered by therapeutic processes that operate under the worldview assumptions of secularism. This is what is described as the veiling of God. To explore this issue, a four-tiered analytical approach has been invoked. First, a brief history of secularism and its major …

Frontmatter (Volume 40, Issue 3)

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Fortieth Anniversary Of Publishing Opree (Ree), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

"Forty years ago in February 1981 the first issue of Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe appeared. The Executive Committee of the now defunct “Christians Associated for Relationship in Eastern Europe” of which I was a member and occasional president supported my initiative to start printing information as one of our tasks is to educate church leaders and scholars with reliable information about the religious situation under communism. Previously a fair number of American church leaders and travelers were misled not only by communist government officials who dealt with religious affairs of their respective countries but even by some …

Disruptive Innovation In The Church : Lead Pastors' Qualities That Change The World, Jon N. Ferguson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Practicing Prayer And Attachment To God : A Study Of Emerging Adult Spiritual Formation, Christopher J. Palmer

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Abundance Of Good Things : Paul Ricoeur's Cultural Imagination And A Phenomenology Of Deuteronomism, Tad C. Blacketer

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.