Religion Commons^™

Monastic Missional Pilgrim Communities In Liquid Modern Spain, Garrick C. Roegner

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation answers the question of how to start spiritual movements amongst young adults and university students in Spain. It begins by examining the current cultural context of present day Spain, exploring why Christianity is in decline. In the Introduction it argues for understanding Spain as being characteristic of Bauman’s liquid modernity. Here the dissertation adopts Bauman’s typologies of liquid modern society being populated by tourists and vagabonds, constantly on the move, but without destination. Chapter One discusses the need for community as the base structure for mission and the importance of missional theology (missio Dei) before suggesting missional communities …

People With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Heal With Story, Donald M. Twist

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation claims there is a growing inability within American culture, due to continuous technological connectedness and lack of physical community, to move beyond treating the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to actually healing it. I assert that by reestablishing community through storytelling, sufferers can experience deeper healing. Section One defines the nature of PTSD and its symptoms, while incorporating various academic and ministry-related viewpoints. Section Two delineates what has been done to treat PTSD and why simply treating symptoms is not enough. Section Three is the heart of this dissertation and discusses how our current communities and technology …

Journeying With Jesus: A Transformational Discipleship For Canadian Chinese Churches In Toronto; A Paradigm Shift, Suzan Kam-Shan Ho

Doctor of Ministry

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He charged His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Bill Hull comments that in a fast-food, instant-access generation, true discipleship is often substituted by a superficial community experience and a program-driven approach to faith which requires …

Restoring Burnout Millenial Ministry Leaders Within A Western North American Digital Society, Richard S. Rhoads

Doctor of Ministry

A growing number of emerging Millennial leaders between the ages of 22 and 35 are burning out, leaving ministry, and subsequently not returning. Emotional drain, physical fatigue, and an underdeveloped formation mark these individuals. My research studies the digital age and it's unique impact on Millennial burnout and the subsequent leaving of ministry. Spiritual formation is offered as a corrective and preventative lifestyle, while simultaneously being important to the restoring of young burnt out ministry leaders. Section 1 describes the landscape of burnout among Millennial leaders, highlighting the emerging generation and their unique relationship with burnout. Section 2 surveys burnout …

Emerging Young Adult Spiritual Formation: A Developmental Approach For An Intergenerational Church, Frederick R. Fay

Doctor of Ministry

There is a growing disconnect between young adults and the church. Research into this specific and recent phase of life shows how cultural trends have shaped the spiritual lives of emerging adults. This dissertation claims that the loss of relevancy of the church for young adults is rooted in how the church has either capitulated or ignored these trends. Section 1 addresses the current immature faith that is endemic in many contemporary churches. The church’s history and the culture within which it is embedded are examined. Section 2 describes other approaches to spiritual formation of young adults. Section 3 asserts …

Mind The Gap: The Relevance Of Contextualization For The Training Course Fresh X-Der Kurs By Kirche2, Sandra Bils

Doctor of Ministry

In Germany, the Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers and the Roman Catholic diocese of Hildesheim are partnering in the ecumenical network. Searching for an appropriate endeavor, which supports the emergence and Kirche2 sustainment for new forms of being church, they were encouraged by the fresh expressions movement in the UK and their training model, mission-shaped ministry. The use of this foreign material in Germany needs adaptation. Hence, this dissertation enfolds the relevance of contextualization and seeks to reflect the adaptation process, following the main research question: How can the Fresh-X course by Kirche2 adapt the foreign material for the context in Germany …

Liminal Spaces: A Narrative Spirituality Of The Bible, Thomas J. Rundel

Doctor of Ministry

Liminal space is a place in-between what was and what will be. It is crucial for ongoing Christian formation. However, the Evangelical Church currently has no space for supporting those in liminality. Evangelical theology and practice actively discourage those in liminal space. As a result, Christian maturity is frustrated. Future leaders and contemplatives are endangered. This dissertation explores how the Evangelical Church could acknowledge, support, and educate those in liminal spaces.

The Bible repeats three liminal themes which create a paradigm of ongoing Christian formation. The themes are desert/wilderness, pit/grave, and exile/pilgrimage. The desert/wilderness is a liminal space, the grave/pit …

Intimate Partner Violence In The Black Church: Bridging The Gap Between Awareness And Policy Development, Carlos Jermaine Richard

Doctor of Ministry

The perennial problem of intimate partner violence (IPV) has gained national attention due to the increased awareness efforts of advocates, law enforcement, government, education, and social service agencies. This awareness serves as the catalyst for the upsurge in legislation, law enforcement involvement, and incarceration of abusers. Although the secular community has strategically implemented tactics and policies to combat abuse, the Black church continues to experience challenges with awareness and effective stratagems to address the issue. Further, the issue of domestic violence in the Black church has significant impact on women who suffer intolerable mistreatment at the hands of their abusers. …

Toward A Corporeal, Biblical Narrative: A Study In Church Transformation, David C. Scafide

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation claims that church leaders can enact healthier church-wide transformation when changes are processed on the narrative level of culture. As the church’s narrative is transformed, the church lives out her new identity more readily and with less resistance. Chapter 1 defines key terms and examines the state of current transformation models and why they are not having widespread impact in transforming churches. Without understanding underlying narratives, church leaders face unnecessary resistance resulting from the attempt to impose changes that are not assimilated by the narrative of the church. Chapter 2 demonstrates how people always live out their perceived …

Disillusionment: An Unexpected Friend Of Spiritual Formation, Alicia Britt Chole

Doctor of Ministry

Is spiritual disillusionment a foe or a friend? Avoidable or inevitable? A failure or a teacher? Our answer will greatly impact our spiritual journeys. This dissertation defines spiritual disillusionment as the act (-ment) of removing (dis-) false spiritual ideas (illusions), and explores the origin, substance, and purpose of spiritual disillusionment through the insights of scholars and Christian writings. Far from being a foe, spiritual disillusionment is a welcome, ancient ally of spiritual formation.

Throughout the ages, mystics have viewed disillusionment as a wise mentor toward intimacy with God. By abrasively removing layers of inaccuracy and self- protection, spiritual disillusionment can …

Sacred Nakedness Narraphor: The Untold Story Of Shame & Glory, Daniel J. Donohue

Doctor of Ministry

Shame and glory appear to be binary opposites inextricably tied within Scripture. As such, addressing one without the other is comparable to addressing slavery without mentioning freedom. Accordingly, the only way a counselee’s shame and glory can be healed and revealed is if both are held open to God and other people. Herein lies the problem: counselees hide vulnerability for fear of being ashamed, thus veiling the glory of their life. How, then, can a counselee feel more trusting of God and safer with people so their shame and glory can be healed and revealed? The thesis of this dissertation …

Take It To The Bridge: The Arts Of Interfaith Peacebuilding, Sharenda Roam

Doctor of Ministry

This writing argues that the arts go beyond dialogue to affect and enhance interfaith peacebuilding, understanding, and cooperation. My research focuses on the three Abrahamic Faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with an in-depth analysis of music and peacebuilding amidst Jews and Arabs in Israel. Specifically, I discuss the use of music as a bridge of understanding between cultures and share examples of other types of art as well. This research also adds to the limited amount of theory, analysis, and writing in the subject area of peacebuilding and the arts. Section One introduces the terms and ideas surrounding the topics …

Re-Imagining Eros: Dare To Fall In Love With God, Christopher Peter Lindstrom

Doctor of Ministry

The twenty first century has a myriad of issues that people are passionate about, from sports to social concerns such as Habitat for Humanity. For example, consider when Apple introduces a new iPhone, people will sleep overnight outside the Apple store to be one of the first to obtain the new product. The question that I pondered over the last ten years is why aren’t Christians clamoring with the same type of energy when talking about their relationship with God? The pre-biblical Greek understanding of agape has become amplified in the manner in which Christians live out their faith. The …

Potential Worldview And Behavioral Transformation Within The Ugandan Lgbt And Evangelical Context, Phil Smart

Doctor of Ministry

To fulfill the mission entrusted to believers by God and shown through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the same principle of loving others unconditionally is the Church’s mandate. Unfortunately, Ugandan traditional worldviews, compounded by outside influences, have contributed to bringing this self-proclaimed, Christian nation to a point of worldwide recognition and reprimand because of its destructive anti-gay legislation and oppression of the LGBT community.1 Focusing on the struggle between Ugandan evangelical leaders and their response to those with same-sex orientation, this dissertation seeks to investigate the use of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) as a tool for mitigating the destructive attitudes and …

In His Disciple Making Ministry, How Did Jesus Christ Determine What To Say And/Or Do?, David A. Toth

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation answers the question, “How did Jesus Christ ascertain what to say and do in his disciple making process?” The thesis is that Jesus Christ used the immediate life circumstances of his disciples to determine what he would say and/or do in the process of his disciple making. Jesus was remarkably effective in terms of quality and quantity leaving behind disciples who reflected his lifestyle and commitment to the mission of God and who powerfully reproduced themselves. The research supports the thesis as a partial answer and reveals three additional dimensions that significantly informed Jesus Christ’s disciple making approach. …

God's Focus On The Fatherless: A Lens To Inform Spiritual Impact In The Local Church, Dwight David Croy

Doctor of Ministry

This study concentrates on God’s focus on and vision for the fatherless as an informal lens from which local churches may measure and implement ministry impact and outreach principles. As a pastor and a military chaplain, I see many young people who are fatherless to the third and fourth generation. The ministry of the present day Church is limiting its impact because it does not see the fatherless as God sees them. Here the question is asked, “What in God’s exhortation of supporting the fatherless are churches to incarnationally infuse into their local outreach to the community?” The claim is …

A Simple Cup Of Coffee: What Starbucks Can Teach The Church About Hospitality In How We Reach Our Neighbors, John Austin Hinkle Jr.

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation explores a local church’s implementation of Christian hospitality through the examination of a local Starbucks coffee house that successfully offers hospitality to its customers both in and outside its community. A critical problem facing mainline churches today is a decline in overall membership and worship participation. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has experienced a significant decline over the last 40 years. This decline is now being experienced even in larger evangelical churches. In this dissertation the researcher plans to explore whether a local Presbyterian Church can more effectively reach out to its neighboring community by renewing and implementing outward …

The Buzz About The Church: Re-Imagining Discipleship Through A Theology Of Beekeeping, Matthew Todd Thomas

Doctor of Ministry

"The Buzz About The Church: Re-Imagining Discipleship Through a Theology of Beekeeping", creates and awareness of the root problems of why the church has not passed on its sacred faith to future generations. Historically, some contributors to non-transmission have been Gnosticism, the Enlightenment, Consumerism and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. The dissertation also focuses on movements which have sprung up in response to a declining church like the Emergent Church Movement and Missional Church Movement.

This dissertation argues the solution to the problem is reestablishment of the practice of discipleship as Jesus modeled. Beekeeping is used to reimagine the model of discipleship. …

Serving And Following: Setting Aside Leadercentricity, D. David Kessler

Doctor of Ministry

For the past three decades, the evangelical church of America has welcomed and promoted a ministry ethos that is fad-driven, predominantly business-minded in its operation, and leadercentric in its implementation. This is the case even though there is no consistent definition of leadership and no Biblical mandate that justifies its continued reign. This dissertation argues that such a focal point is inconsistent with the example and mandate of Christ for those on a journey with him. He is the leader of the Church and all others that share differing levels of responsibly within his Kingdom are followers. He is the …

Accessible Spiritual Practices Through Classic Forms Of Prayer, Clyde Vernon Hartline

Doctor of Ministry

But Jesus often withdrew to the lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16

When God-followers feel distant and disconnected, they often describe their experience as a “lonely place.” The feeling of being distanced from God is exacerbated by a lack of knowledge on how to resolve the distance. Retreats and resources might help one reconnect with God; however, the means for connection is often housed in the deep recesses of books or is hidden in the teachings of spiritual sages far away on desert retreats. Simple classic prayer practices remain largely unknown in evangelical circles as a result of inaccessibility, unfamiliarity, …

Using Storytelling (Including Image, Metaphor And Narrative) In Cross-Generational, Cross-Cultural Twenty-First Century Evangelism, Rick D. Mckinney

Doctor of Ministry

Generational and cultural diversity within twenty-first century society has created great challenges to both professional clergy and laypersons in communicating the gospel. In addition, a postmodern, post-Christian culture has created a hostile environment for those sharing the message of Christ using the formulaic, propositional evangelism methods of the Twentieth century. Section One of this dissertation will elaborate on the problem. Section Two discusses why these methods, written primarily for a period of time when Judeo-Christian absolutes and regard for the sacred were staples in society, are increasingly ineffective. As the church struggles with a steady decline in its membership, the …

The Multiple Intelligences As Holistic Spiritual Formation In Youth Ministry, Grant E. Carey

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation claims that there is a great need for holistic spiritual formation in the lives of the adolescents that are part of our churches. Section 1 describes the influence of postmodernism and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism on our teenagers, especially as they go through an intense time of change and development. Because of this awkward developmental stage, adolescents are often thought of in ways that are mostly untrue, which creates myths that are explored and debunked in this section. Section 2 explores recent trends and programs in youth ministry that have been used for bettering spiritual formation in the lives …

Brain-Based Worship: Re-Membering The Mind-Body Connection, Paula Champion-Jones

Doctor of Ministry

Historically, it has been believed that Christian formation occurs primarily in the context of worship. Because both traditional and contemporary worship services are routinely structured around the skills of persuasive rhetoric and logic, most worship services effectively ignore the impact of experiential, embodied knowledge. Recent research in neuroscience has proven that humans are sensory-motor-emotional-thinking beings who learn best when body, brain, and emotions are simultaneously engaged. A fresh paradigm for teaching, brain-based leaning, is proving to result in learning that is more memorable, more likely to result in long-term change in the behavior of the learner, and more likely to …

Sustainable Faith: How The Neuroscience Of Emotion Promotes Spiritual Transformation, Christine M. Mutch

Doctor of Ministry

Current research indicates that well-intentioned practices and programs aimed at forming people into the image of Christ are not producing the intended results. One roadblock is the misunderstanding and lack of value placed on the role of emotion in the transformation process. The purpose of this dissertation is to present neuroscience research about the integral role of emotion in one's life, and suggest practical ways to capitalize on emotion to effect transformation.

Chapter one describes the goals of spiritual formation, in contrast to current attitudes and practices of those inside and outside the church. It provides a basic introduction to …

Theosis: The Core Of Our Ancient/Future Faith And Its Relevance To Evangelicalism At The Close Of The Modern Era, Michael Paul Gama

Doctor of Ministry

Contemporary American Evangelicalism is in a state of flux. Serious thinkers are even suggesting that with the confluence of postmodernity and the rise of the Millennials, what Evangelicalism is currently encountering is not simply change, but crisis. In light of a widespread exodus of many Millennials from traditional Evangelical churches, crisis seems an apt description. I discuss the current condition of Evangelicalism and reach back to the patristic fathers for a remedy, which I suggest, is a fitting spiritual medicine for the contemporary movement. But this "reach back" is not simply an historical exercise, but is complemented by the thinking …

The Great Co-Mission: A Postmodern Missiology, Greg G. Glatz

Doctor of Ministry

The Great Commission has often been interpreted as a directive to colonize people and subject them to our agenda. We interpret “make disciples of all nations” as make other parts of the world Christian the way we are Christian. We interpret “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” as compelling them to repudiate any beliefs or practices that conflict with our understanding of Christianity. We interpret “teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” as indoctrinate them with creeds and catechisms. As a postmodern pilgrim, I want to …

Technefication: The Art And Craft Of Utilizing Technology In Spiritual Practices, Patrick J. Sehl Jr.

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation claims there is an underutilization of technology in the church resulting in the bifurcation of the sacred and secular and asserts that the church needs to leverage the power of mobile devices to integrate spiritual practices and everyday life. Section 1 enters the discussion of technophobia and its effect on relationships with God and with others. Section 2 names a few ways the church has attempted to help people integrate spiritual practices into their daily lives through hiring a Spiritual Formation Pastor, encouraging involvement in small groups, and developing Bible apps. These attempts have taken great steps forward; …

Sending Students: Addressing Barriers University Students Face In Going To The World As Missionaries, Shane Sebastian

Doctor of Ministry

"The Bible recounts how God has used people of all ages and backgrounds to advance His purposes. Many of the most remarkable events of the biblical story involved young people. It should not be surprising to find that in recent centuries, many of the greatest things God has done to fulfill the Great Commission have been done with university students." —David Howard

University students on campuses today will be leaders tomorrow. According to recent statistics, there are approximately 150 million college students in the world today, roughly 2% of the world’s population. Though this may be a small fraction of …

Male Call: The Role Of The Church In Awakening Young Men To Their Vocational Purpose, Thomas G. Shaw

Doctor of Ministry

Many young adult men are struggling in their transition from adolescence to adulthood. Unique challenges converge in their quest for vocational discovery and career choice. The church is largely ignored as a guide as they make choices about work and career. Christian churches have been slow to provide practical guidance in faith and work; especially for disciples with an interest in professions and careers outside Christian ministry. There is a need for an informed church to guide young men so that they may reach their potential through the discovery of calling and vocation. I propose that the church must assume …

Missional Communities: Equipping Churches To Reach Their Local Context, Robert Glen Parker

Doctor of Ministry

In the Northeast region of the United States, surveys suggest church participation is steadily declining. We contend that a primary reason for this decline is that churches have become insular and exclusive, leading to a failure to meet the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of their communities. The problem raises the question, "How do churches move beyond exclusivity to engage in relevant ministry within their local communities?" Throughout the Bible, God is the initiator of a relationship with humanity. God created Adam and Eve, and set out a redemptive plan to restore them to right relationship when their connection to …