Religion Commons^™

The Importance Of Bridging The Generation Gap Within Grace City Church: A Plan For An Intergenerational Discipleship Program, Keila A. Boychak

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The generation gap exists within the local church. The purpose of this praxis problem was to address the lack of intergenerational ministry in the church and create an intergenerational discipleship program to start the process of bridging the generation gap. The researcher intended to study the generations that are involved within Grace City Church and better understand how to reach them. In following Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (1969), the researcher planned to create a practical program that assisted in gaining participants, who are among various generations and are currently members of the congregation. Through the implementation …

Edification And Evangelism Through Worship Leadership, Donald G. Wolf

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

To gain Christ worshipers, evangelism is the church’s most significant commission. Disciples of Christ are commanded to preach the gospel: Mark 16:15. However, the church's edification through worship leadership produces the heart for evangelism in God’s people to be evangelists. This multiplies the ministry of the congregation to their world. This paper addresses the components of successful leadership that help people to be edified and evangelized in through the integrity of the gospel presentation through worship, specifically American evangelical worship leadership. Adaptive approaches must be considered as cultures evolve while retaining the accurate theological gospel message. Recorded historical commentary and …

Action Crisis Intervention Response, Dwayne Pine

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Establishing a peer-to-peer mental health intervention program for healthcare workers at Henry Mayo Hospital is imperative for addressing stress, anxiety, depression, job burnout, and compassion fatigue. The growing mental health crisis among healthcare workers, leading to a significant number leaving the industry due to lack of support from management, underscores the urgency of this initiative. This action research project emphasizes the need for such a program in conjunction with the established Mental Health First Aid. While the latter provides tools to recognize a mental health crisis, it lacks holistic approaches to aid healthcare workers in immediate crisis mode. The project …

Understanding The Characteristics Of The Artistic Temperament In A Local Church Through The Eyes Of The Choir Members And The Lens Of Scripture: A Case Study, Deborah A. Mcilrath

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Madness has long been associated with musical geniuses, known as temperamental musicians with uncomfortable mood swings that often border on manic depressive episodes. Secular studies show parallels between musicians with an artistic temperament (AT) and bipolar/manic depressive disorders. Many church choir members and church leaders expect church music directors to be more expressive, but if negative characteristics associated with an artistic temperament (AT) emerge during rehearsals, such as anger or moodiness, conflict is inevitable. This is a phenomenological qualitative study of the characteristics associated with AT in a local church through the lens of Scripture. The purpose of this research …

An Examination Of Employee's Perceived Level Of Their Leader's Religiosity As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between An Employee's Religiosity And Job Satisfaction, Brad Carney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an employee’s perceived level of their leader’s religiosity moderates the relationship between an employee’s level of religiosity and job satisfaction. The participants in this research study were recruited through the utilization of a snowball sampling method, primarily leveraging Liberty University’s doctoral student email list and social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Participants in the study were required to be 18 and older and had been employed under their current leader for a minimum of one year. The total sample size was N=65. The researcher used a quantitative self-reporting survey …

Authenticity And Worship Technology: An Evaluation Of The Use Of Prerecorded Vocal And Instrumental Tracks In Worship In Augusta, Georgia, Susan R. Burgess

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Every week, congregations in Augusta, Georgia, gather for corporate worship. A common practice among these congregations is incorporating pre-recorded music technology in their services. Technological advancements have significantly transformed the worship landscape. In this performance-oriented culture, the focus at times shifts from congregationally focused praise to a worship stage production, overshadowing the importance of biblical and authentic worship. This phenomenological case study investigates the lived experiences of worshipers in Augusta, Georgia, focusing on the perceptions of authenticity of worship when pre-recorded music is used. The study involved 15 participants from the Central Savannah River Area, examining their perspectives on authentic …

Insurgency Apologetics: Refuting The Claims That Christianity Is A White Man’S Religion, Brian L. Gadson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research project, with the utmost respect for the participants, aims to assess the ability of the members of Prince of Peace Missionary Baptist Church to counter the claims of Black religious identity cults, Black conscious community, and Black atheists who assert that Christianity is a religion that belongs only to White people. The study's main objective was to design an African-American church curriculum that addresses the purpose of this research. The new training curriculum aims to offer essential information to church members about the ancient African connection to Christianity that existed long before the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The …

The Impact Of Colonization, The Problem Of Evil, And The African Traditional Religion Worldview On Biblical Hermeneutics In West Africa, Christopher Blay

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research paper delves into the complex relationship between colonization, African Traditional Religion (ATR), the problem of evil, and their impact on interpreting biblical texts in West Africa. The study explores how historical colonization, cultural beliefs rooted in ATR, and the existential question of evil have shaped the lens through which Millennials and Gen Z in West Africa engage with Christianity.

Through an analysis of historical sources, scholarly works, and academic articles, this paper highlights how these factors have contributed to a decline in interest in Christianity among the youth in the region. The paper also emphasizes the importance of …

Church Adoption: Three-Pronged Elements That Support The Revitalization Of Coastal Church Battery Park Location In Virginia, Michael Christopher Bard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The church is God’s plan for delivering the good news of Jesus Christ’s finished work on the Cross. This finished work is evidenced through the bodily resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15). In the US a steady decline in church attendance has been prevalent over the past three decades and church buildings are either near empty or closing. This research explores the concept of church adoption merger in hopes of one avenue that would promote revitalization of local fellowships. Though multiple elements are supportive in revitalization this research explore three elements that should lead towards centralizing the church on Christ. …

An Examination Of “The Vine” Motif Through The Lens Of The Old Testament, The Books Of John And Revelation, And Peripheral Extrabiblical Sources, Ellsworth C. Huling Iv

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Motifs and themes are interchangeable, used in everyday speech, and common in scholarly literature. Some scholars view motifs and themes as the two most used forms of narrative repetition. “The vine” motif contains multiple meanings throughout the Old and New Testaments. Sometimes, “the vine” readers misunderstand motif-specific referents. Research on “the vine” motif can clarify those specific passages of Scripture that utilize this motif. The interpretation of Scripture is not easy to understand without a proper understanding of the vine motif. Throughout Scripture, especially in the Old Testament, Israel is “the vine.” In the Gospel of John, Jesus is “the …

Pastoral Perceptions Of Formal Mental Health Training In The Black Church, Monique Bethea-Covington

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This purpose of this phenomenological study is to broadly explore the role of the Black Church in providing mental health support by facilitating linkages to professional mental health services by exploring pastoral perceptions of mental health through examination of their experiences with church members. Ten African American pastors of Black Churches in North and South Carolina completed semi-structured, qualitative interviews describing their backgrounds, attitudes, and their mental health experiences within the church. Many of the respondents reported having members of their congregation disclose challenges or difficulties with their mental health. Most of the pastors reported that they understood the need …

How Parents Established Foundations For Biblical Worldview Development In Elementary-Age Children Who Graduated From Bw Leadership Institute, Wendy Bernstein Griffin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to explore how evangelical Christian parents established foundations for biblical worldview development in their elementary-age children (5-10) so that a model of this process could be created. This study also examined the value of a parental organizational partnership. The participants in this study included evangelical Christian parents who possess a biblical worldview and their emerging adult children who are also evangelical Christians who maintain a biblical worldview and who graduated from Biblical Worldview Leadership Institute within the last 6 years. The theory guiding this study was Sire's (2015) three-dimensional concept of …

Shaping Worldviews: Helping High School Seniors Manage The Influence Of Social Media, Geoffrey Michael Janes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The rapid development of technology in recent decades has brought with it many unforeseen challenges. This project focuses on the challenge of learning to manage the influence social media has on worldviews. Young people are consuming information on social media with little or no instruction on how to discern what is real or true. Worldviews are being shaped by influencers who proclaim ideological messages that are often in conflict with a biblical Christian worldview. As with any tool, social media in the hands of a trained user can be used powerfully for good. Without a proper understanding and awareness of …

Messaging The Mission: Developing And Implementing A Messaging Strategy For The Mission Statement Of Monticello Christian Church, Tanetta S. Dawson-Snyder

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This DMIN thesis project focuses on the inherent need to strategically message the mission statement of the Monticello Christian Church to its leaders, thus preparing them to relay it to the congregation for greater unity in fulfilling the misso Dei. With a focus on the educational training model, the study examines how the application of acquired knowledge empowers a church body to embrace a singular missional purpose. The training sessions were designed to help leaders utilize their cognitive and spiritual gifts to comprehend the depth and width of the missional message statement and adeptly communicate it to others. The research …

Understanding Millennial Women Worship Leaders’ Perceptions Of Full-Time Ministry Through Their Lived Experiences, Katie Sheree Lenehan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Millennials are the largest employed generation. Yet, with more women in vocational worship ministry than ever, roadblocks remain for Millennial women seeking to thrive and last in this sphere. There becomes a need to understand the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical challenges uniquely facing the Millennial woman worship leader, for these challenges are not necessarily new but certainly are unique in ferocity and how they present themselves to the Millennial woman. Understanding Millennial women worship leaders’ lived experiences becomes vital in retaining and promoting healthy ministry practices that enable long-term vocational success.

Fallenness, Sustainment, And Judgment: Analyzing Coherency In The Thematic Trajectory Of Qohelet, Albert R. Portillo Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study has sought to establish a basis for coherency in Qohelet’s theological appeal by analyzing a thematic trajectory underpinned by the rhetoric of Qohelet’s emphasis on vanity, joy, and judgment. These emphases follow what have been labeled projectile themes, which aim at particular points, carrying the audience from one thought to another. These thoughts are deeply correlated and best recognized as the substance forming Qohelet’s framework from which Qohelet’s teaching flows. In other words, Qohelet’s thoughts, revealed by his thematic emphasis and endpoint, function as an evangelistic appeal to a theological worldview, whereby the minds and hearts of his …

Disciple-Making At St. Louis Baptist Church, Vasquez R. Granberry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In careful reflection, the members at St. Louis Baptist Church need a more structured way to train on disciples making disciples. The purpose of this DMIN action research project is to develop and deliver a structured small group training process for making disciples who will become St. Louis Baptist Church disciple-makers. The current thesis for a Doctor of Ministry degree focuses on disciple-making. The objective is to learn and teach the membership how to become disciple-makers within the St. Louis Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas. Allowing these matters to address disciple-makers will also enable the researcher to discover the topics …

Grounded In Faith: Maintaining And Appreciating A Relationship With God, Oneself, And Others In An Ever-Changing World With New Ears And Eyes, Antoinette Marie Reaves

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The declining Mass attendance and participation in campus ministries at Cabrini University prompted this action research project. It was designed to engage students in guided dialogue defending key Christian doctrines to boost their Mass attendance and deepen their spiritual engagement. By involving seventeen students and employing interviews, focus group discussions, questionnaires, and surveys, the intersection of religion and spirituality among young adults was explored. Insights highlighted the participants’ perspectives regarding declining Mass attendance and disengagement from institutionalized religion. Meaningful dialogue around fundamental Christian doctrines, such as God’s existence and Jesus’ death and resurrection, was fostered to motivate students to increase …

Biblical Choice Model: A St. Augustine-Inspired Approach To Behavioral Economics, Adebukola Adebayo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Economics as defined by Lionel Robbins (1932), is a science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. While human behavior relates to how wants and desires are coordinated given decision-making mechanisms, social customs and political realities of society, the natural end of individual human actions should be eudaimonia (human flourishing). However, since sin has affected both our emotive and cultural plausibility structures, thereby leading to a distortion in our wants and desires and ability to desire the good, this has led to a generation that is self-ruling, self-creating and self-evaluating. The …

A Non-Experimental Quantitative Correlational Study Of Emotional Intelligence As An Effective Tool For Pastoral Leadership, Louis Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Pastoral leadership must understand their obligation to provide and promote healthy relationships in their personal, professional, and church ministries by utilizing the effective tool of emotional intelligence (EI) to become more effective (Goleman et al., 2013; Hendron et al., 2014; Chavous et al., 2023). The concept and usage of EI have experienced continued growth within the secular and academic organizational fields. However, there is little research on EI among the Christian pastoral leadership, the church, its associated ministries, and its educational institutions (Hendron et al., 2014). As noted by scholars, this gap in the literature and the credibility crisis of …

Modern-Day Idol Worship At Life Changers Church: How It Was Identified And Replaced With True Worship Of God, Franzetta L. Ivy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This DMIN project ventures to establish and further a ministry design rooted in God’s Word that instructs, equips, and enhances Christian lives. The project offers a structure by which God’s Word can renew and transform people’s minds. The ten-week project intervention utilized a weekly Bible class, interviews, questionnaires, and observations to collect information from seven participants at Life Changers Church. The purpose was to examine the problem of modern-day idol worship and foster motivation, commitment, and reverence for God by applying spiritual awareness through teaching from an intentionally designed worship handbook. This action-based research project endeavored to link the application …

Print Culture In New York: The Essence Of The Benevolent Empire From 1816 To 1837, Merritt Morgan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Print Culture in New York: The Essence of the Benevolent Empire from 1816 to 1837 is a story that places technological and organizational business innovations at the center of the American evangelical print culture of the "Benevolent Empire" during the Early Republic. After about 1815, during the "market revolution" (western expansion, eastern urbanization, and boom in trade and manufacturing), the business of benevolence boomed in religious publishing that inspired American merchants and prominent businessmen to consolidate hundreds of missionary, Bible, and tract societies. The consolidation process resulted in the creation of national benevolent societies that produced the first wave of …

Documentation For Developing And Managing Multiple Learning Centers As Gospel Outreach Programs In Nyc Chinese American Churches, Alice Tam

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis project is dedicated to creating comprehensive documentation for developing and managing multiple learning centers in various Chinese churches in NYC. It is a strategic initiative for the future growth and expansion of the Creator’s Voice Learning Center, and it also builds up a collaborative effort with churches to encourage gospel outreach in NYC Chinese communities. The CV Learning Center has been a pillar of success in NYC Chinatown for over twenty years as a beacon of hope in gospel outreach. However, CV needs assistance to launch its ministry ideology on multiple sites. The project employed two pilot testing …

Establishing A Christ-Centered Understanding Of The Minor Prophets At First Baptist Church, Greenville, Ky, John Michael Galyen

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this action research project is to help members of First Baptist Church Greenville, KY, interpret and apply the Minor Prophets from a Christ-centered perspective. This project measured church members’ understanding of the Minor Prophets as they pertain to Christians today. It also measured attitudes and affections toward the Minor Prophets. A total of eleven people participated in the study. Eight were female; the other three were male. Each participant completed a pre-intervention survey, along with three instructional workshops that focused on biblical exposition, biblical theology, and hermeneutics. An eight-part sermon series was implemented to model the kind …

Implementing A Discipleship Strategy Plan For Lay Leaders At Redemption Baptist Church To Help Them Grow Spiritually, Robermann Dorceus

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Discipleship may not be a requirement for salvation. However, it is a requirement for spiritual development and a command that Jesus has given all His disciples to obey. Christians must understand that they are Jesus' followers with a calling to bring others to Christ. Jesus makes it clear when He calls His disciples to follow Him. He calls them to follow so that they can become disciple-makers (Matt 4: 19). However, some members, mainly lay leaders at the church, whose responsibility is to disciple others, were not trained to disciple others, which creates a burden for the pastoral ministry in …

Equipping Spiritually Mature Men To Mentor The Next Generation Of Leaders, Seth S. Carter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The primary objective of the study was to enhance the operational leadership within the church by implementing a mentorship program. The main target audience consisted of existing ministry leaders who would undergo specialized training to empower them in mentoring the upcoming generation of leaders within the church community. Emphasis was placed on the significance of dedicating resources toward nurturing the spiritual growth of the current leaders, as this would offer valuable insights into effectively guiding the spiritual journey of the future leaders based on solid biblical principles. The project probed into various key themes such as Story, Wisdom, Prayer, Character, …

Missional Leadership: An Instructional Program To Cultivate Leaders Of A Missional Church, Conner Mathias Brew

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this action research project is to design, execute, and evaluate a small group instructional framework that cultivates a missional culture focused on communal discipleship at MVMNT Church, a local church in the Association of Related Churches network, while also addressing a gap in scholarship surrounding the interrelation of discipleship and the missional church. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study leveraged inductive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with survey data to validate the lack of discipleship activity at MVMNT Church and moderate-to-low comprehension of topics related to mission, discipleship, and leadership in the church. This project recommended and …

A Lifestyle Who Is Christ: An Integrative Model Of Spiritual Formation, Katherine L. Pang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The field of spiritual formation is replete with models, ways, and processes, including many that propose the integration of psychology and Christianity and have further examined the psychology of Paul. Yet, none emphasize the impact of neuroscience, our brain function, neurochemistry, and neurobiology integrated with the tools and techniques of psychological science facilitated by the Holy Spirit and scripture-based truths derived primarily from Pauline theology in the Christ-follower for growth in spiritual maturity. A model formulated from Pauline theology, psychology, and neuroscience, as such, is novel within the field of spiritual formation. Therefore, the claim stems from the need for …

The Preeminent Biblical Role Of The Father: A Qualitative Action Research Project, Frank Wilhelm Heilmeier

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Fathers have a biblical role to teach their children commandments, statutes, judgments, and God's Law. The father's duty to teach his children should be handed down from generation to generation. The assumption is that fathers do not teach their children as God commanded. When fathers do not teach their children, they risk becoming an absentee father which leads to fatherlessness, ultimately ending in a broken home. To address this issue and offset this risk, a qualitative action research project was conducted. This intervention implemented two small group training sessions for fathers with children ages six and under. The sessions were …

Becoming A Disciple-Making Disciple Through A Written Guided Plan In A Handbook, Benjamin T. Morrell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis addresses the lack of disciple-making at Richland Heights Baptist Church by implementing a disciple-making plan through a handbook. Churches needing revitalization often lack a disciple-making plan. Historically, Richland Heights had not implemented any New Testament training to develop disciple-makers. The project utilized triangulated methods consisting of a survey, questionnaire, interview, and observations. The observations took place during the implementation of opportunities before and after the sessions in the handbook. These incorporated the researcher's knowledge of the responses in the survey and questionnaire. By having a plan to make disciples with tools, training, and opportunities to implement the lessons …