Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Means Of Grace As Formative Holiness: The Role And Significance Of John Wesley's Spiritual Formation Practices In The Pursuit Of Christian Holiness For The Church Of The Nazarene, Aimee Stone Cooper

Doctor of Ministry

Within the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition broadly, and the Church of the Nazarene specifically, occasional confusion, distrust and skepticism has arisen concerning “spiritual formation.” Some of the underlying issues may reflect a lack of understanding regarding what Christian spiritual formation is and is not, where the language comes from, what is meant by traditional Christian disciplines of formation, and how those practices relate to holiness theology and sanctification.

The purpose of this dissertation is to thoughtfully and practically engage this subject through the lens of John Wesley, for whom the means of grace are a practical marriage of God’s work and our …

Developing An Applied Semiotics Of Prophetic Perceptuality, Mark John Chironna

Doctor of Ministry

In John 5:19, Jesus defended the healing at the Pool of Bethesda and disclosed his capacity to see and perceive, in real time and from his inferiority, his Father’s activities. Jesus informed his accusers that they would witness even “greater works.” In John 14:12, he said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” These “greater works” would be possible because Jesus ascended to the Father and poured out upon them his Spirit, the …

Our Flight From Death Is Killing Us: Applying A Psychological Framework To A Christian Understanding Of The Human Condition, G. Mark Griffith

Doctor of Ministry

Our awareness of mortality motivates us to subconsciously act in ways that are damaging. This dissertation engages the problems to individual and communities generated by our unexamined awareness of death. This awareness motivates us to attempt to flee death's grasp—even though we know there is no escape. The flight from death robs us not only of our ability to live full lives but also robs us of our ability to faithfully follow Jesus into the world. At times, we even distort religion and use it to shield us from death. Faith practices can be manipulated to draw us away from …

Towards A Holistic Practice Of Christian Formation: How Ignatian Spirituality Can Help Evangelicalism, Eric Mark Haskins

Doctor of Ministry

Evangelical Christianity has a history of cultivating a predominantly cognitive focus to Christian formation leading to shortcomings for the emotive and ethical aspects of our lives. Ignatian Spirituality offers an alternative to the limits of cognition through its holistic approach to Christian formation. The Ignatian formational practices of Scripture reading, prayer practices of the Examen or imaginative contemplation and The Spiritual Exercises foster a fully embodied experience with Jesus. This is accomplished through engaging our head, heart, and hands to ever growing levels of awareness and thereby responsiveness to God’s presence in the everyday moments of our lives. Through exploring …

Under One Roof: Authentic Leadership As A Way Of Retaining G2 Leaders In An Intergenerational Church, Matthew Robert Edwards

Doctor of Ministry

This project applies Bowen Family Systems Theory, the theology of Martin Buber, and authentic leadership theory to
the problem of retaining G2 leaders in an intergenerational church. Intergenerational churches function like
intergenerational families, therefore healthy relationships between G1 and G2 adults in them should mirror those of
parents with their adult children. When intergenerational churches do not function like this, G2 leaders are likely to feel disempowered and leave to plant their own churches.

Chapter one offers a biblical basis for the claim that intergenerational churches function like intergenerational families.In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul referred to the church as the …

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Baptism As Beginning In Christ, And Becoming Like Christ, Eric E. Peterson

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation involves applied research, relying on the foundation of sacramental
theology, to answer the question, "What is the sign that has the power to help people
embrace not only a sacred self-identity, but to live holy, meaningful, and abundant
lives in a largely broken and sacrilegious world?" Beginning with a review of the major
and various assumptions people have historically adhered to in the pursuit of a good
life, the dissertation proceeds to argue for the superiority of a sacramental
perspective. Employing a semiotics of baptism, chapter two provides a critical analysis
of the opposing forces of "cultural baptism" …

Biblical Hospitality: An Environment For Leader Development, Joanne L. Holz

Doctor of Ministry

The Salvation Army in the southeastern United States is currently facing challenges with retention of its ordained leaders called Officers. Causes for post- commissioning defection center around the need for changes in the context in which training and learning occurs. This study examines the need for Biblical Hospitality as an environment that hosts transformational opportunities and creates the context needed for leadership development across the system and within individuals in the U. S. A. Southern Territory.

There is a return to Biblical Hospitality, which is finding its place in multiple areas of life with life-transforming opportunities and results. For the …

Richard Baxter's Paradigm For Pastoral Spiritual Formation, Robert W. Hyatt Jr

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation outlines the thoughts of Puritan pastor Richard Baxter regarding the spiritual lives of clergy and applies his thoughts to those in ministry today. Though Baxter lived some 400 years ago, his passion for the spiritual formation of pastors and concern that their lives preach the same message they delivered from the pulpit is relevant to pastors in any age, not least in our own. Section 1 describes broadly the state of those in ministry today. Section 2 describes the often “business-like” approach many take to ministry and its shortcomings. Section 3 traces some of the themes of Baxter’s …

Spiritual Disciplines Of Early Adventists, Heather Ripley Crews

Doctor of Ministry

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the Biblical spirituality of the early Adventist Church in order to apply the spiritual principles learned to the contemporary church. Though it is God who changes people, the early Adventists employed specific spiritual practices to place themselves in His presence. Research revealed five main spiritual disciplines that shaped the Advent leaders and by extension the church. The first is Bible study: placing the Holy Scriptures as the foundation for all beliefs. The second is prayer: communication and communion with God. The third is healthful living: treating the body well so God’s work …

On Finding Jesus: A Review Of The Cnn Episodes, Paul N. Anderson

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

The Rule Of St. Benedict Contextualized For Southeastern University, James C. Owen

Doctor of Ministry

The goal of this project is to synthesize Benedictine spirituality into the context of Southeastern University (SEU). Chapter one explores the problem of an inadequate model of Christian formation at Southeastern University, a Christian liberal arts school affiliated with the Assemblies of God. A historical model of spiritual formation was sought to provide a contemplative counterbalance to Southeastern’s activist mode of formation. It is the thesis of this work that Southeastern University’s process of spiritual formation can be greatly enhanced by synthesizing the theological insights and spiritual practices from the Rule of St. Benedict.

Chapter two examines Mark 4, the …

Self-Mirroring Through Broken Pieces: Jesus Among The Comfortwomen, Sunggu Yang

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Once again, there is an emotional eruption and political commotion in South Korea after the Japanese and Korean governments announced their diplomat “deal” on the Comfort Women on December 28, 2015. The official agreement includes a formal apology and a compensation of $8.3 million from the Japanese government. There is one important condition also included in the agreement; that this resolution should be “final and irreversible” this year onward. On the surface, the deal seems good—formal apology and some monetary compensation finalized. But then, why the emotional eruption and vehement opposition, especially from the Korean Comfort Women rights activists? In …

Faith And God (Chapter 3 Of "Reflections: Virginia Woolf And Her Quaker Aunt, Caroline Stephen"), Kathleen A. Heininge

Faculty Publications - Department of English

"Beyond the bulwark of family, for both Caroline Stephen and Virginia Woolf, the institution of the Church was central in fostering a patriarchal fortress that kept women in an inferior position. For Caroline, turning away from the church tradition of her forefathers led her to the Quaker tradition as a way to honor both her God and herself as a woman. For Virginia, that same impulse led her away from the church as well, and although she did not embrace the tenets of Quakerism, much of her work is certainly imbued with a Quaker sensitivity to mysticism and spirituality."

Faith And Practice: A Book Of Christian Discipline 2016, George Fox University Archives

Faith and Practice

Faith and Practice: A Book of Christian Discipline, Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Church 2016. Publication of the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends.

Were Any Of The Founders Deists? (Chapter 5 Of The Wiley Blackwell Companion To Religion And Politics In The U.S.), Mark David Hall

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

Excerpt: "Scholars and popular authors regularly assert that the founders were deists. For instance, historian Frank Lambert asserts that the “significance of the Enlightenment and Deism for the birth of the American republic, and especially the relationship between church and state within it, can hardly be overstated.” Law professor Geoffrey R. Stone similarly contends that “deistic beliefs played a central role in the framing of the American republic … [and the] founding generation viewed religion, and particularly religion’s relation to government, through an Enlightenment lens that was deeply skeptical of orthodox Christianity.” For a final example, the dean of American …

Columbanus And The Easter Controversy: Theological, Social And Political Contexts (Chapter 6 In The Irish In Early Medieval Europe), Caitlin Corning

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

Excerpt: "Determining the correct date for the celebration of Easter involves important theological and practical considerations. Since there was no universal agreement about the manner in which these considerations should be addressed it is not surprising that the dating ofEaster became contentious, causing controversy and conflict in the church for centuries. When Columbanus (d. 615) arrived on the Continent in the late sixth century, he brought with him an older system for dating Easter that was different from the one in use in Rome or the Merovingian churches. Within a few years, the two sides were debating questions of authority …

Kinesthetic Language Learning: How An Accident Led To A Revelation, Travis West, Roger S. Nam, Amanda W. Benckhuysen

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

This essay analyzes a critical incident that took place in a hybrid distancelearning Hebrew language class that was adapting interactive, immersion-style, kinesthetic pedagogy during the week-long face-to-face intensive portion of the class – including Total Physical Response techniques in which students respond to the language with whole-body actions, entering into the world created by the language and the particular biblical text. Memorization, performance, interactive games, songs, and skits also contribute to the immersion-style learning environment. A snafu on the final day of the week led to a serendipitous solution that demonstrated Parker Palmer’s idea of subject centered pedagogy. A brief …

Climatologists, Theologians, And Prophets: Toward An Ecotheology Of Critical Hope, Cherice Bock

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

As people of faith begin to recognize in larger numbers that our relationship with creation is one of the most important challenges facing us today, I find myself pondering what we have to offer the environmental movement. The Christian scriptures begin and end with stories of God and creation: the oft-mentioned creation stories of Genesis 1-2, and the eschatological reflections on the new heaven and earth, and the river and tree of life in Revelation 21-22. (1) In between are the stories of the people of faith, and how we interact with God in the midst of creation. These stories …

Dana Robinson On Hendrik W. Dey’S Afterlife Of The Roman City, Dana Robinson

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

The fall of Rome was an urban affair. Alaric’s sack of the city in 410 CE may have been more emotionally jarring than genuinely disruptive, but its long echo down the corridors of history testifies to the imaginative power that the city of Rome held over citizens of its empire and their medieval descendants. But Rome was not the only city on whose monumental stage the empire played out its fate. The transformations that Late Antiquity wrought were enacted in urban microcosms from Gibraltar to the Euphrates. But even after they ceased to be ruled by a Roman emperor, communities …

Did Saint Paul Take Up The Great Commission?: Discipleship Transposed Into A Pauline Key (Chapter 7 Of Ethics And Ecclesia), Nijay Gupta

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

The term 'discipleship' is pervasive in church language, and for good reason since Jesus had disciples and called them to go out and make more disciples. What is particularly interesting about the ecclesial use of the language of discipleship is how it is used by believers to refer to a kind of general Christian category that would align with what academics call 'ethics'. For many churches, denominations, seminaries, and biblical scholars, discipleship is equivalent to Christian obedience to God.1 A cursory look at denominational vision statements will bear this out. The United Methodist Church, for example, claims, 'The church calls …

Letter From The Editor, Susanna Steeg

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

It is a pleasure to compose a letter to you at the outset of the 2016-2017 academic year. In composing this, my first letter as Managing Editor of ICCTE-J, I envision each of you sitting in front of a screen, scrolling through the latest journal offerings in search of new information or insight. I wonder what brief words I might offer to encourage you in the face of all we undertake to launch a new academic year and deal profitably with life’s many challenges. And I think it is this: we serve a marvelous and sovereign God who loves each …

Book Review: Here I Am: Faith Stories Of Korean American Clergywomen, Rebecca S. Jeong

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

This volume, Here I am: Faith Stories of Korean American Clergywomen is a unique compilation of narratives, theological reflections, and sermons from the eleven Korean American female ministers whose voices and wisdoms have been easily disregarded and overlooked. The particularity of the book has obviously originated from Korean American clergywomen’s distinct experiences; for example, marginalization and racism from the dominant society, immigration and displacement, creative existence in bicultural and multi-religious heritages, ongoing struggling because of cultural prejudice against female leadership, and sexism and ageism in the male-centered hierarchical and patriarchal ecclesiological setting.

Book Review: Making Room At The Table: An Invitation To Multicultural Worship, Rebecca S. Jeong

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Making Room at the Table is a collection of essays sharing Christian theologians’ struggles with the 21st century’s emerging theological issue of multicultural worship. This publication is twelve essays written by current and former members of faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary. By adopting the primary metaphor of Christian worship, the Lord’s Table, the writers make an effort to answer these main questions; “How do we celebrate the Lord together by maintaining each unique cultural identity?”, “How do we keep tension between worship that is faithful to our own theological and liturgical histories and worship that at the same time is …

Tongues As A Site Of Subversion: An Analysis From The Perspective Of Postcolonial Politics Of Language, Ekaputra Tupamahu

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

In this article I discuss the close relationship between colonialism and the expansion of language. Language is always politically contested. A language can become an inter­national language today because it has a long history of colonization and subjugation of other groups of people. I analyze the sociopolitical dimension of tongues by engag­ing, among others, linguist Roman Jakobson, philosopher Michel Foucault, and cultural theorist Judith Butler. By placing tongues in the context of the politics of language, I aim to show that the practice of speaking in tongues can be viewed as a strategic subversion and disruption of the regime of …

Towards More Inclusive Schools: An Application Of Hospitality In Parental Involvement, Yvette Latunde

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Parental involvement is a key factor in student success, yet schools struggle with effectively engaging diverse families in the education of school-age students. This article proposes a model of hospitality as a flexible framework for parental engagement. In this model, schools build safe and trusting environments by attending to physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual spaces for parent involvement, integrating inclusion and embrace of differences. The author examines literature on the historical and theological concepts of Christian hospitality—primarily Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Volf’s theory of exclusion and embrace, and Pohl’s reminder of hospitality as a Christian tradition—and explains how practicing hospitality …

Christian Higher Education And Students With Diverse Beliefs: Impacts And Challenges, Elize Celic, Beverly Christian, Andrew Matthes

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The ethos, mission, and values of Christian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are usually grounded in a biblical worldview. Increasingly, Christian HEIs are attracting students who do not share the faith espoused by the institutions they attend. This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of six final-year education students with different belief frameworks to those of the Christian HEI they attended. They were interviewed to determine their perceptions of the transparency of the ethos, mission, and values of the HEI, the impact of the HEI on their lives, and the challenges they faced as students. The data revealed some positive impacts …

Beyond The Inward Light: The Quaker Poet In Community, Bill Jolliff

Faculty Publications - Department of English

It's a privilege to be granted a chance tq address a gathering like this: a room full of people whose Quaker way of life and thought are so very central to their work that they spend time and resources to get together and talk about it. We've been blessed with a common gift, and it isn't a small one.

That said, I suspect I'm not the only one here who sometimes wonders how, or even if, what I do matters. Yet even among you, my group of fellow self-doubters, I must lobby for my own elevated position: as a poet …

Book Review: Between 2 Gods: Memoir Of Abuse In The Mennonite Community, Melanie Springer Mock

Faculty Publications - Department of English

Excerpt: "Metzger’s journey toward this epiphany is a difficult one, and she does not attempt to mollify readers by avoiding distressing details. This is a definite strength in Between 2 Gods. Rather than offer us a pleasant story of healing and redemption alone, Metzger names the many abuses she experienced at the hands of those who should love and protect her, including family members and church leaders. One point made both implicitly in Between 2 Gods, and explicitly by its publication, is exactly this: that people need to acknowledge their abuses for there to be healing; and that stories about …

The Spirituality Of Faith In The Gospel Of Matthew (Chapter In Matthew And Mark Across Perspectives), Nijay Gupta

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Excerpt: "In this essay, I wish to pay respect to Dr. Barton's important contribution to the theological study of the Gospels by looking at the Gospel of Matthew with a similar interest in the First Gospel's spirituality. In his chapter on Matthew, Barton rightly notes Matthew's interest in discipleship, righteousness, purity/integrity, and radical love. To this we will add Matthew's interest in 'faith'. In the study of the Synoptic Gospels in particular, despite the ubiquity of the language of faith, there has been little study of this subject. When it comes to the spirituality of the Gospels, though, there can …

The ‘Evangelical’ Heart Of Pietist Anthony William Boehm, Daniel L. Brunner

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

German Lutheran Pietism, as represented by Philipp J. Spener and August H. Francke’s institutions at Halle, is one noteworthy outworking of the ‘spiritual’ revival during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The foremost proponent of Halle Pietism in England was Anthony William Boehm (1673–1722), whose literary activity became significant in English religious life. This chapter evaluates the ‘evangelical’ nature of Boehm’s Pietist voice in the ‘tunnel period’ between the Restoration and the Evangelical Revival. Using the lens of David Bebbington’s quadrilateral—conversionism, activism, biblicism, and crucicentrism—the article explore the similarities and dissimilarities between Pietism and evangelicalism at the nexus of …