Religion Commons^™

Convergent Commensality: Towards Generational Reconciliation Through Differentiated Table Felowship, Daniel Proffitt

Doctor of Ministry

The generation gap, as it is classically defined, maintains postures of ideological polarization between generational cohorts. In a congregational context, the pendulum of societal projection diagnoses obvious differences in generations as a means of dealing with systemic anxiety inhibiting differentiation.

The temptation of self-reactivity, destructively compensating for a lack of self- identity – through blame, shame, control, and escape/chaos – results in overgeneralization of the generation gap as a response to formational violations of love and trust, and a perpetuation of unresolved anxiety that leads to homeostasis of the generation gap. The family systems model frames generational research as a …

An Enlivening And Concrete Life-Together: Discovering A Fresh Rootedness In The Gospel For Local Organizations And Families In A Global Economic And Postmodern Consumerist Culture, Charles Estanol

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation claims that the transmission of the gospel falls short in postmodern rural life because the message has not meaningfully integrated with community life as a whole and asserts that the witness of the church must employ a greater connectedness to local culture to affirm a rootedness in the gospel. Section 1 describes the abstract nature and influence of the global economy and postmodern consumerism, highlighting the growing negative effects on rural communities, families, and ultimately the witness of the gospel. Section 2 surveys a range of Christian organizations in today’s society analyzing how they can become polarized, absorbed, …

Mind The Gap: Navigating The Pitfalls Of Cross-Cultural Partnership, Ashley Purcelle Goad

Doctor of Ministry

Living Waters for the World is an organization that trains hundreds of mission teams to install clean water systems in Haiti and beyond; however, many of these projects lay in disrepair: unused, despite the best of intentions of the American volunteers. Section One examines current problems of many existing partnerships in Haiti. Americans tend to have a skewed interpretation of what the word “partnership” means or what partnership connotes in a cross-cultural context. This results in an American organization providing a service or product for a community, which at first glance, seems positive, but, in fact, results in a lack …

Crossing The Great Divide: Advocating For Cultural Intelligence In The Training Of Missionaries To Navigate The Missiological Implications Of Globalization, John Mitch Arbelaez

Doctor of Ministry

Globalization has brought about many missiological implications that directly affect missionaries serving in cross-cultural situations. Though globalization may appear to be bringing the world together, cultural differences and cultural diversity continue to persist causing more cultural conflicts as people from different backgrounds continue to collide with one another. Today’s missionaries need a trusted metacultural framework to rapidly adapt and contextualize the Gospel message into the multiplicity of cultural nuances swirling in the kaleidoscope that is globalization.

In Section One, missiological implications due to globalization such as cultural homogenization, hybridization, secularization, consumerism, McDonaldization, migration, and new religious movements, are discussed as …

Theocentric Vision: A Model For The Discernment Of Congregational Vision As Spiritual Formation, Kurtley Elliott Knight

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation addresses the cultivation of a theocentric model of vision discernment that is spiritually formative for evangelical churches. This author will make the case that contemporary evangelical models of vision development possess an anthropocentric orientation that is individualistic, future-focused, and derived from business practices, thus subverting the spiritual formation of congregations. How then can congregational vision be shaped in a way that is spiritually formative for the faith community as a whole? This writer will posit that congregational spirituality will increase through the adoption of a theocentric model of vision discernment.

Chapter One sets the direction of the dissertation …

Leaving Decline And Towards Growth: Discovering The Keys To Church Regeneration In South Wales, Elizabeth M. A. Linssen

Doctor of Ministry

This paper highlights the current spiritual climate of Christianity in Wales today, calling for urgent attention to certain deficits within the Church. Section one begins by examining the claims of secularists who believe that Christianity is in a terminal condition in Britain, and whether that is an accurate view. We then progress by looking for signs of new life in UK churches and what it actually means to be a healthy church.

From there, we turn to the great commission Jesus Christ entrusted to His church prior to His ascension, and look at the relationship between growing healthy disciples of …

Engaging Critical Thinking: Teaching Christian University Students How To Improve Their Thinking, Cedrick Valrie

Doctor of Ministry

Students in Christian university classrooms across North America largely lack the valuable skill of critical thinking. Such a skill can often appear as a daunting and lofty task that is reserved for scholars or those with a high IQ. Both faculty and students may feel uncertain of what it is, thereby avoiding it altogether. The primary intent of this dissertation study is to explore and explain critical thinking concepts that faculty can use to help their students improve their thinking about academics and about life. This study is secondarily designed to address the institution’s role in encouraging this process. It …

Down To Earth Leadership: Influencing Communities Through The Virtues Of Jesus Christ, Deve Persad

Doctor of Ministry

While Canadian culture has changed significantly over the last 40 years, Christian leadership development has failed to keep pace. Today’s leaders must learn to apply the Gospel through their lives and ministries into communities that are undergoing constant change as a result of increasing multiculturalism, religious pluralism, and mounting pressures of social diversity. There is a long line of short-tenured Christian leaders that have previously made attempts at leadership without taking time to understand the benefits of focusing on the key virtues from the life of Christ in order to navigate the complexity of the various systems, structures, and competing …

Learning To Listen: Leadership Lessons From North American Indigenous Voices, William P. Dobrenen

Doctor of Ministry

What difference does it make that Indigenous peoples were destroyed by Western colonial hoards, often in the name of God? What can be learned from the voices of Native Americans who understand traditional values and pre-colonial leadership practices? How can these voices be lifted up into twenty-first century conversations concerning cultural and leadership issues in a post-modern world? Are these voices worth listening to? What are they saying? This paper proposes a call to pay attention to traditional ways of thinking that need to be renewed today, particularly for individuals and organizations that are weary of faddish leadership rhetoric that …

Veiled Glory: How Conservative Anabaptist Women Reflect The Feminine Image And Glory Of God, Elaine V. Yoder

Doctor of Ministry

Through the lens of the metaphor “Veiled Glory,” this dissertation explores how a traditional conservative Anabaptist view of the feminine reflects specific aspects of God’s image and glory. Drawing from Scriptures that detail feminine aspects of God’s image, such as mother, mystery, wisdom, and a Jewish rabbinic and mystical understanding of the Shekinah glory of God, one discovers significant feminine images of God threaded throughout the biblical account. Embracing these aspects of God’s image can bring personal identity and shalom, a Hebrew word describing a deep inner peace and sense of wellbeing, to women belonging to traditional Anabaptist communities.

Section …

Revitalization Of Moderate Baptist Churches, George Hambric Brooks

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation examines church revitalization in Moderate Baptist churches that are experiencing decline. It looks at various models and principles that can be addressed by church leadership to help revitalize a congregation. Section 1 describes the problem of decline in church attendance since the 1950s. It looks at the natural Life Cycle of church. Special attention is paid to Moderate Baptists, especially the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and its formation and separation from the Southern Baptist Convention. Section 2 examines the problem. The problem of decline in churches has existed for numerous years. This has led to new innovations and attempts …

Aging Baby Boomers, Churches, And The Second Half Of Life (Challenges For Boomers And Their Churches), Terry L. Nyhuis

Doctor of Ministry

Growing numbers of Baby Boomers are experiencing a transformation in their values, perspectives, and beliefs. As a result, they no longer fit in their churches. This dissertation proposes that, for many, this is an indication of healthy spiritual growth from the First to the Second Half of Life. This is not a problem to resist or fix; it is growth to celebrate, adjust for, and enter into.

Section One develops a typology of the First and Second Halves of Life based on work by Richard Rohr, James Hollis, John W. Fowler, and Ken Wilber.

Section Two describes the Baby Boomers …

Hospitality And The Kingdom Of God: Our Invitation To Join The Work Of Restoration, Shannon Frances Garvin

Doctor of Ministry

Hospitality engages a world imagined by God, taking on the heart of God, and choosing to live in ways responsive to the
active presence of God in the world. Hospitality, by nature, is subversive as it restores creation through seemingly minor
and simple actions which effect healing, health, and wholeness. Practitioners of hospitality take on the ministry of Christ
fashioning their lives and choices after his, attending to the needs of others, trusting in the abundance of God, and living
in rhythm with God’s work in the world. Hospitality engages the Table Ministry of Christ in the world inviting all …

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 …

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 …

The Prophetic Hope Of Emerging Adulthood: Emerging Together Toward An Abundant Life, Adam David Pallay

Doctor of Ministry

I am studying hope within Emerging Adulthood in order to bring clarity to the cultural conversations surrounding Millennials and faith so that emerging adults can have the tools to move toward and experience an abundant life. The conversation around Emerging Adulthood is often limited to the Millennial generation. This is problematic because it paints Emerging Adulthood as a rebellious generation rather than a natural stage of human development. Within this generation framework, emerging adults are viewed as needing to be fixed and/or assimilated; therefore, their voices and contributions get minimized until they decide to fall in line with the status …

The United Methodist Church And The Willingness To Embrace Change: Attracting Members Of The Emerging Generation And A Return To Vitality, Jody Glenn Ray

Doctor of Ministry

Christian culture within the United States has been experiencing phenomenal change related to shifts in the larger U.S. culture, as well as shifts taking place in the Church. As such, five sets of research questions were presented in this phenomenological study. These consisted of - What is the current state of the Church? Is the Church divided doctrinally, theologically, and in areas regarding polity? If so, what is causing this division? What are the primary causes of the decline in membership currently being experienced by the United Methodist Church? What are the greatest challenges facing the Church? What are the …

The Warrior Journey: A Hope Enhancement Intervention For Veterans With Combat-Related Ptsd, Wesley H. Fleming

Doctor of Ministry

Veterans with combat-related PTSD often report a loss of hope due to their traumatic experiences. Chaplains and mental health practitioners seek to improve functioning among veterans suffering from mental health disorders, but need common language and methods to work together toward clinically meaningful gains. Among all the theories of hope reviewed, Hope Theory most closely supports criteria established to provide a framework from which interventions can be developed to increase hope among veterans with combat-related PTSD. Further, Hope Theory principles align with biblical theology, providing opportunity for collaborative efforts between Christian chaplains and clinicians to develop and use interventions based …

Breaking Barriers That Divide Christians And Muslims In Nigeria And Building A Redemptive Relationship, Frederick Chukwuma Obodoagha

Doctor of Ministry

Although Nigeria is a secular state, religion functions there as an expression of political identity and figures prominently in conflicts over resources, land, and political offices. Increasing clashes between religious groups, predominantly Muslim and Christian, have taken the nation from what used to be peaceful coexistence to violent disharmony. In this atmosphere of fear and hate, Christians are called to be peacemakers, building redemptive relationships with Muslims. This dissertation explores practical ways of forging peaceful Christian-Muslim relations. The introductory chapter describes the religious conflict in Nigeria, demonstrating how religious, communal, ethnic, and social divisions degenerated into violence as a result …

Community Interventions In Kenya Providing Care And Support For Orphaned Girls In High School And College Aged 14-24, Joy Eunice Wambui Mindo

Doctor of Ministry

This is a project manual that looks into the growing problem of orphans in Africa. There is great need to establish community interventions that provide care and support for orphaned girls. Orphan female adolescents experience reduced education opportunities and adaptive coping strategies when they have no home in which to receive nurture and support. They are therefore very vulnerable to early marriages, teenage pregnancies, sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Such women between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four are usually in high school and college, making life long decisions that would affect their future. They go through physical body and …

Young Adults Leaving The Church: The Tie To Intentional Spiritual Mentoring Among Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Teens Through Youth And Confirmation Ministry, Serena Alexandria Pace

Doctor of Ministry

Previously churched Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS)1 young adults are leaving the worship community post confirmation and post high school. Is this truly what is taking place? If so, what structures within churches and youth ministries might contribute to this problem? In order to address this problem, it is proposed that the lack of youth mentorship ministry, especially of teen-agers in the church, contributes to the problem. Worship communities can help ensure that young adults stay connected by establishing mentor relationships during the confirmation and teen years.

Sustainable Church Planting: A Missional Approach, Brandon Hempel

Doctor of Ministry

In my experience with church planting today, there is a concern for its sustainability due to financial constraints, leadership burnout, and results. The purpose of this dissertation is to discuss the problems therein with traditional church planting and to also lay the foundations for a more sustainable church planting option through the vehicle of missional community. My intentions are for my local Wesleyan conference to benefit from this work as it has been constructed through the culmination of my research and study as well as my own practical ministry experiences as a church planting pastor. While church planting is not …