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Articles 481 - 510 of 1703
Full-Text Articles in Religion
Redeeming Pastoral Evaluation: A Comprehensive Approach To Annual Pastoral Evaluation In A Congregation-Led Church, Drake Andrew Caudill
Redeeming Pastoral Evaluation: A Comprehensive Approach To Annual Pastoral Evaluation In A Congregation-Led Church, Drake Andrew Caudill
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Surrendering to the biblical mandate and God's call to pastoral ministry produces profound joy. However, pastoral burnout intensifies, and pastors leave the ministry at a staggering rate. Adding to the pressure of pastoral ministry, many churches implement an annual pastoral performance review policy. Imitating secular employment performance reviews, many churches base successful pastoral ministry on numerical metrics, performance goals, and preaching effectiveness. The researcher evaluated various pastoral evaluation forms across different denominations. Additionally, the researcher investigated the biblical theology of pastoral leadership. The action research project aimed to design a comprehensive, intentional, and biblical pastoral evaluation strategy for a congregation-led …
Millennials In The Marketplace: Transitioning From Marketplace Discipleship To Relational Discipleship At New Life Community, Marcus D. Steele
Millennials In The Marketplace: Transitioning From Marketplace Discipleship To Relational Discipleship At New Life Community, Marcus D. Steele
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This action research project seeks to resolve the problem of marketplace discipleship superseding relational discipleship among the millennials connected to New Life Community, a house church ministry in Hilliard, Ohio. For ministry gatherings at New Life Community, such as worship services, there was a noticeable decline in overall participation from the largest demographic of the ministry, the millennial generation. However, when there were ministry gatherings specific to marketplace initiatives that focused on career and entrepreneurship, most, if not all, of the millennials participated. This selective participation by millennials resulted from ministry gatherings that were too infrequent and needed more opportunities …
The House That Love Builds: An Allegorical Interpretation Of The Song Of Songs, Tricia Lee Kline
The House That Love Builds: An Allegorical Interpretation Of The Song Of Songs, Tricia Lee Kline
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Over the last two hundred years, natural interpretations of the Song of Songs have become predominant among scholars. Shying away from the earlier, sometimes fanciful, allegorical interpretations of ancient Jewish and Christian interpreters, these modern-day scholars have argued that the plain sense of the text is of an ideal marriage relationship between a man and woman, and that the Song of Songs is simply a picture of the beauty of love and sex. This dissertation challenges this more modern view and argues again for an allegorical interpretation in which the man represents God and the woman represents His faithful covenant …
Pastor's Cultural Intelligence And Personal Character Influence Within Youth Ministries, Linwood J. Sealey Iii
Pastor's Cultural Intelligence And Personal Character Influence Within Youth Ministries, Linwood J. Sealey Iii
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Within this study, the logic was to understand the natural development of cultural Christlike character traits among youth pastors who serve in the 6th-12th grade youth ministry loneliness environment. The sample population comprised between 22 church pastors within the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The sample included participants with different experience levels in pastoral and bi-vocational pastoral ministries. The guiding rationale was that the pastor's cultural Christlike character should be a positive factor in their ministry in the loneliness environment of the youth they serve. The sample covered the geographical settings within rural, suburban, and city environments. A purposive …
A Phenomenological Study Of Church Revitalization In Coastal North Carolina, Paolo Engle Santos
A Phenomenological Study Of Church Revitalization In Coastal North Carolina, Paolo Engle Santos
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Pastors and ministry leaders share the important responsibilities of church growth and revitalization. This research focused on overcoming decline and moving towards a season of strength and multiplication. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore church growth and revitalization within Southern Baptist churches in coastal North Carolina. The theory guiding this study was Rainer's (2020) central thesis about revived churches, which suggests that churches must adapt to cultural shifts and actively engage with the changing world. The study sought to gain insights into the perspectives and mindsets of full-time pastors and ministry leaders regarding numerical expansion, spiritual awakening, …
A Correlational Study Between Spiritual Bible Reading And Spiritual Formation Of Leaders Of Pentecostal Churches, Mark Kwablah Buku
A Correlational Study Between Spiritual Bible Reading And Spiritual Formation Of Leaders Of Pentecostal Churches, Mark Kwablah Buku
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This study aimed to understand the nuances of spiritual Bible reading and how it connects to the spiritual maturity of Christian leaders. The lack of spiritual formation in Christian spiritual leaders motivated this research. Literature abounds with spiritual reading, biblical engagement, interpretation methodologies, and the spiritual formation of Christian leaders. However, only a few studies exist on how people engage with the Bible. There is no empirical data on how biblical interactions impact spiritual development. The theory that guided this study was Jack Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory. With a quantitative survey methodology and non-probability sampling, data was collected from 91 …
Beyond Galilee: The Shift In Focus Of The Ministry Of Jesus Culminating At Caesarea Philippi, Kathryn Erin Dreesen
Beyond Galilee: The Shift In Focus Of The Ministry Of Jesus Culminating At Caesarea Philippi, Kathryn Erin Dreesen
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
A study of the travels of Christ leads to new insights about his ministry and ministry foci at different times in his life. By segmenting the life of Christ into three major portions – public ministry, private ministry, and mixed-focus ministry – the reasons behind Christ’s different attitudes toward crowds and miracles and his different emphases in his sermons become clearer. Portions of the Gospels are better understood with this segmentation. The locations that Jesus traveled to and stayed in also play a part in understanding his motives. At times, Jesus was keen to show himself to the crowds, doing …
Pastoral Prose And Civic Engagement: Crafting The Call To The Public Square, Christopher Ian Thoma
Pastoral Prose And Civic Engagement: Crafting The Call To The Public Square, Christopher Ian Thoma
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This thesis explores the relationship between creative writing techniques employed by pastors and congregational engagement in the public square. The central thesis posits that if pastors incorporate creative writing methods in extended weekly communications with congregants, then the necessary factors for engagement in the public square will be fostered, leading to attitudinal shifts demonstrated by increased congregational interest or participation in civil affairs. Through an extensive literature review, the thesis fairly examines historical and contemporary views of church and state, the Two Kingdoms doctrine, concepts relative to public square participation, Christianity’s waning cultural influence, communication science, developmental theory, literature familiarity, …
Building Bridges: Connecting The Disconnected To God And Others After Counseling, Jonathan W. Terry
Building Bridges: Connecting The Disconnected To God And Others After Counseling, Jonathan W. Terry
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Previous research reveals that building bridges is not a new concept, but most of these topics do not involve the combination of relationships and counseling. Building Bridges is a metaphor for building healthy relationships. All participants were willing volunteers and were ensured anonymity. Twenty-three participants signed up for the workshop, and nineteen received a certificate of completion. The inspection report questionnaire and self-reflection homework assignment were used to introduce some vital tools for spiritual journaling, self-accountability, and self-assessment for each participant. The problem at FBC-GA is the relational disconnection caused by shame, guilt, and unresolved hurt that remains an inward …
A Study Of Followership In An Organizational-Wide Change Of The Ministry Of Child Evangelism Fellowship, Michelle M. Russell
A Study Of Followership In An Organizational-Wide Change Of The Ministry Of Child Evangelism Fellowship, Michelle M. Russell
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The influence of Child Evangelism Fellowship saw a significant increase across the United States of America after an organizational change following a 2001 Supreme Court case ruling. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the role of followership on the change and followership principles that emerged during the change that was implemented following the ruling Good News Club v. Milford Central School on the Good News Club ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship. Organizational change was defined as intentional actions promoted by leadership and intentional actions taken by followers who took advantage of the rights guaranteed by the ruling. …
The Lived Experiences Of Secondary Christian School Administrators As They Work To Foster An Environment Conducive To Student Biblical Worldview Development: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Margaret E. Pope
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of Christian school secondary administrators as they foster an environment conducive to student biblical worldview development. The theory guiding this study is Leithwood’s iteration of transformational leadership, as it recognizes the influential role school leaders play in the motivation and growth of teachers. Additional consideration of Erdvig’s model of biblical worldview development in evangelical Christian emerging adults was used as the conceptual framework recognizing that the faith elements of worldview formation are unique and relevant to the topic of the study. The central research question was: What …
Developing A Pathway For Ministry Leaders At Southside Church Of The Nazarene, Reginald David Phillips
Developing A Pathway For Ministry Leaders At Southside Church Of The Nazarene, Reginald David Phillips
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This action research project created a leadership development pathway to produce more ministry leaders at Southside Church of the Nazarene. A five-step leadership development pathway culminating in discipleship integration was designed and implemented. This pathway produced a statistically significant increase in the number of new leaders in one quarter of a calendar year compared to the quarterly average of new leaders in the previous three years. Data was collected through surveys, interviews, and roundtable discussions, and reviewed by multiple researchers to help remove bias.
Spiritual Disciplines And Mental Resiliency: The Effectiveness Of Spiritual Coping Mechanisms To Decrease Anxiety And Depression Symptoms, Alysa Lynn Vanderweerd
Spiritual Disciplines And Mental Resiliency: The Effectiveness Of Spiritual Coping Mechanisms To Decrease Anxiety And Depression Symptoms, Alysa Lynn Vanderweerd
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The outcome of anxiety and depression’s symptomology is an ever-rising global economy cost of 1 trillion U.S. dollars, due to medical costs and loss of productivity, leading researchers and clinicians to search for effective cost saving solutions (Chodavadia et al., 2023). Religion/Spirituality (RS) based cognitive therapy treatments are recognized in alleviating maladaptive behaviors and cognitive distortions, offering comfort to the afflicted, hope and belief that God is available for the seeker (Ramos et al., 2018). Therefore, the researcher conducted an internet-based, self-paced intervention of a mixed methods study of a 40-Day Biblical Worldview Educational Treatment Program of a convenience sample …
Pronomian Paradigm: A Pro-Torah, Christocentric Method Of Theology And Apologetics, Gregory Scott Mckenzie
Pronomian Paradigm: A Pro-Torah, Christocentric Method Of Theology And Apologetics, Gregory Scott Mckenzie
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This dissertation sets out to demonstrate the continued validity of the Torah for all believers today. As such, this dissertation attempts to show that discontinuity of the Mosaic Covenant is scripturally, theologically, and philosophically untenable. The thesis of this dissertation is that Pronomianism is the paradigm that most cohesively melds theology and apologetics, through its interpretation of Paul’s words and deeds at the second Jerusalem council, which unveils the Torah’s centrality in New Testament theology, and that Pronomian moral apologetics reveal the Law of God as the only foundation for objective, biblical morality, and the guide to righteous living. This …
God Of The Whole Earth Ministry Church Project: Equipping Church Members To Engage Their Community, Christopher Stevens
God Of The Whole Earth Ministry Church Project: Equipping Church Members To Engage Their Community, Christopher Stevens
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The God of the Whole Earth Ministry (GWEM) Church study investigated how church members can gain confidence to share their faith when properly equipped. Sharing the gospel with others can be a problem for some people. Generally, the lack of skills and knowledge is the biggest problem for some people to share their faith. GWEM Church members were not equipped to share their faith. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to equip participants to share their faith. Skills were taught to help participants develop and use those skills to start meaningful and practical conversations to open up a dialogue …
A New Testament Theology Of God As Father (Abba) As The Hermeneutical Key To The Teaching Of Christ On Prayer In The Gospels, John Joseph Schmelzer
A New Testament Theology Of God As Father (Abba) As The Hermeneutical Key To The Teaching Of Christ On Prayer In The Gospels, John Joseph Schmelzer
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
When Jesus of Nazareth lifted His eyes to Heaven in Matthew 6:9 and taught His disciples to address Yahweh, the covenant God of Judaism as Father (πατήρ, אַבָּא), this was an offense of blasphemy and presumption culpable of death for His Jewish audience; unless it was true (John 5:18). Not only was Father the distinctive and unique term given to God by Jesus, but there is almost universal scholarly consensus that behind the Greek πατήρ is the Aramaic Abba (Αββα, אַבָּא) (Mark 14:36). In both the ANE and Jewish contexts of the Old Testament and first-century Israel, it was unparalleled …
The Impact Of Marriage Immigrants On Worship In The Baptist Church In Korea, Ru Da Ko
The Impact Of Marriage Immigrants On Worship In The Baptist Church In Korea, Ru Da Ko
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This study was designed to investigate the impact of marriage immigrants on the worship of Korean Baptist churches. This study aims to explore how the Korean church, tasked with proclaiming eternal truths in a rapidly changing world, perceives and responds to societal shifts, focusing on demographic changes over almost two decades. Mix-methods research with a Biblical worldview as the comprehensive framework was conducted to examine Korean Baptist churches’ response to demographic shifts in the surrounding locales as well as the worship experiences and expectations of marriage immigrants, who are pointed out as the main factors of this demographic shift. The …
Paul’S Admonition Of False Teaching: A Pattern To Follow, Jeffrey William Hossler
Paul’S Admonition Of False Teaching: A Pattern To Follow, Jeffrey William Hossler
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This dissertation considers Paul’s admonition of false teaching in the Pastoral Epistles and how the instructions and warnings given to Timothy and Titus reveal a pattern of not just corrective measures, but also preventative measures aimed at averting the spread of false teachings to help ensure the church remains grounded in the truth. The apostle Paul instructs Timothy and Titus to appoint qualified elders and deacons, to teach sound doctrine, and to rebuke those who contradict it. The warnings also serve as a corrective measure, urging the leaders to address issues firmly and promptly.
Mentoring As A Catalyst For Change: Creating A Mentor Training Curriculum Using The Servant Leadership Model, Alana S. Freeman
Mentoring As A Catalyst For Change: Creating A Mentor Training Curriculum Using The Servant Leadership Model, Alana S. Freeman
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This dissertation-in-praxis was a response to the problem of a lack of youth involvement at Warren Chapel United American Free Will Baptist (UAFWB) church in Winterville, NC. The Collaborating Coach, Pastor Betty Haddock, and the Collaborating Team were concerned about the church's future amid its aging congregation. The importance of investing in the spiritual formation of the younger generation in preparation for them being mature successors of current leaders is a principle reflected throughout Scripture. The Bible encourages the older generation to teach the younger generation about Godly principles so they will retain what they have learned when they are …
The Evidential Problem Of Assurance: Textual Approach From The Johannine Literature, Derick A. Adu
The Evidential Problem Of Assurance: Textual Approach From The Johannine Literature, Derick A. Adu
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Assurance of salvation is an existential issue that has occupied the center stage of theological deliberations in the Church's history. This dissertation is a quest for epistemic justification. The dissertation examines the conditions that justify and validate claims of assurance of salvation. The research is partly an epistemological quest as well as a textual inquiry. This study utilizes evidentialism, the epistemological concept that what provides epistemic justification is evidence, to reach a reasonable conclusion. The data for the analysis consists of the Johannine literature, that is, the Gospel of John, the three Epistles of John, and the book of Revelation. …
Evaluating Instruments And Strategies For Change: A Pilot Study For Total Life Ministries, Lisa M. Hunter
Evaluating Instruments And Strategies For Change: A Pilot Study For Total Life Ministries, Lisa M. Hunter
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
In times of turbulence and crisis, people and families should look to the church to receive comfort, salvation, spiritual and emotional assistance, and support from the church. Declining rates of prayer and worship church service attendance levels is an issue of major concern. Continually formulating new strategies, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical and theological models are necessary to address this situation. A participatory action research intervention pilot study was conducted at Total Life Ministries church, which comprised a phenomenological study with hermeneutical consistency and a case study essence. The new strategy centered on certain prayer types and ways of praying that …
The Impact Of Psalm Singing In Corporate Worship In The Canadian Reformed Churches: Perspectives Of The Congregants, Jan Frederik Ezinga
The Impact Of Psalm Singing In Corporate Worship In The Canadian Reformed Churches: Perspectives Of The Congregants, Jan Frederik Ezinga
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The Canadian Reformed Churches1 have a rich history of Psalm Singing, which originated in the 16th-century Reformation, continuing the early church and biblical tradition. Their first Synod in 1954 prioritized singing psalms, initiating the development of an English Psalter containing all 150 Psalms.2 After almost seventy-five years, Psalm Singing characterizes worship in over seventy congregations and church plants in Canada and the USA. Despite this tradition and culture of singing psalms in multigenerational worship, General Synods of the Canadian Reformed Churches have received continuous requests to add more hymns or other songs in the past twenty-five years. The arguments tend …
The Stratified Leadership Model Of The First-Century Christian Church, Barton Schuyler Garratt Edsall Iv
The Stratified Leadership Model Of The First-Century Christian Church, Barton Schuyler Garratt Edsall Iv
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
As Christianity enters its third millennium, it faces the sharpest decline in the number of people attending church congregations compared to the total population. In Romans 1:13, the Apostle Paul states that God’s people should not be ignorant that the purpose for leaders within the collective church body, beginning with himself as the example, is so the people’s lives would be fruitful–spiritually enriched and productive. Logic dictates that if the lives of those who attended Christian churches in the twenty-first century experienced and displayed such spiritual quality, attendance would not be declining but contrarily on the rise. Regarding church clergy …
Christ’S Hallel And The Christian’S Hallelujah: A Comparative Analysis Of Jesus’ Last Supper Hymn With Contemporary Worship Songs, Maria Rica Silbol
Christ’S Hallel And The Christian’S Hallelujah: A Comparative Analysis Of Jesus’ Last Supper Hymn With Contemporary Worship Songs, Maria Rica Silbol
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The Last Supper of Jesus Christ and his disciples is one of the most iconic events in Christendom. One of the fewer talked-about scenarios in this historical event is Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26, when Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn before his crucifixion. This study examines the Hallel or Psalms 113–118, which Bible scholars believe was the hymn that Jesus sang with his disciples. The primary themes and emphases of these psalms are identified and coded. The goal of this research is to provide a metric for how the teachings from the Hallel may serve as a reference …
Yhwh’S Covenantal Dealings With Abraham: A Redemptive-Historical Perspective, Nathan A. Hoefer
Yhwh’S Covenantal Dealings With Abraham: A Redemptive-Historical Perspective, Nathan A. Hoefer
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
Evangelical Christianity is broadly divided into two ways of thinking about biblical covenants. In particular, the division is set in terms of the continuity of the old and new covenants. With this comes the distinction between old covenant theocratic Israel and the New Testament Church. Dispensationalists argue for discontinuity between the covenants and the separation of old covenant theocratic Israel and the New Testament Church. On the other hand, traditional Reformed covenant theology finds a significant amount of continuity between the covenants and less distinction between old covenant theocratic Israel and the New Testament Church. However, beliefs about covenant theology …
The Book Of Ruth: Its Didactic Wisdom Themes, Brian Corn
The Book Of Ruth: Its Didactic Wisdom Themes, Brian Corn
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This dissertation proposes and argues that the Book of Ruth is better situated in Wisdom literature because of its didactic wisdom themes. Prominent wisdom themes will be analyzed and compared intertextually with the Book of Ruth, which provides Ruth’s understanding of YHWH. The research methodology evaluates the intertextuality, or inter-themes, between the Book of Ruth and the Wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes), the primary source. Peer-reviewed sources (scholarly commentaries, academic peer-reviewed journals, and scholarly biblical dictionaries) are used to evaluate and support the findings uncovered in the primary source. Semantic field and range studies are performed with the help …
A Correlational Study Of Culturally Responsive Christian School Leadership And Its Impact On Culturally Marginalized Students, Denecia B. Anderson
A Correlational Study Of Culturally Responsive Christian School Leadership And Its Impact On Culturally Marginalized Students, Denecia B. Anderson
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2022), the Private School Universe Survey (PSS) was given and disclosed that 4.7 million students were served in private elementary and secondary schools in the fall of 2019. Approximately twenty-five percent of private schools in the United States of America are considered conservative Christian schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). Within the conservative Christian schools, 0.7% of the students were American Indian, 5.3% were Asian, 68.6% were white, 11.2% were Black, 9.2% were Hispanic, 0.8% were Pacific Islander, and 4.3% were two or more races. Diversity in conservative Christian schools is …
Preparing Three Southern Baptist Churches In Mason, Tennessee, As Lighthouses Of Hope In Crisis And Disaster: The Intersection Of The Firehouse And The Church House During A Global Pandemic, Brian J. Styer
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) ministry program faces challenges due to limited awareness among Southern Baptist pastors, leading to inadequate promotion and participation. The proposed solution involves providing targeted education, improved advertising, and encouraging local leaders to promote engagement. The project aims to prepare three churches in Mason and Stanton, TN, to serve as Disaster Relief teams through specialized training and courses like ‘Introduction to Disaster Relief.’ The goal is to increase awareness of SBDR, recruit and train new members, and inspire individuals to become endorsed SBDR and Public Safety Chaplains. The project incorporates a theological foundation to integrate …
Biblical Literacy: A Theological Exploration Of What God Says About Women Called To Pastor, Shannel K. Williams
Biblical Literacy: A Theological Exploration Of What God Says About Women Called To Pastor, Shannel K. Williams
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This Doctoral Research Project aims to answer the question, Is there biblical awareness among the congregation about God’s acceptance and call of female pastors? The problem presented identifies a gap in biblical knowledge about women in church leadership due to the lingering effects of patriarchal influence. There may be resistance to church growth due to the uncertainty of the Scriptures, which sanction women to the call of God. This research project proposed to improve the Bible literacy of ten Christian men and women to cultivate spiritual growth and strengthen their theology. Historically, the conservative church taught that the Bible forbids …
It’S All In Your Mind: Mindset And Eternal Destiny, Eric S. Henderson
It’S All In Your Mind: Mindset And Eternal Destiny, Eric S. Henderson
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
A Christian’s mindset is key to his or her ongoing life as a believer. The choice of one’s mindset critically affects almost every aspect of a Christian’s life. This impact occurs throughout the person’s life, because one’s mindset must be chosen continuously. One cannot “set it and forget it.” Satan constantly lurks around to try to draw the believer away from thinking about spiritual things. One’s mindset matters because the focus of one’s mind to a large extent determines one’s eternal destiny. This dissertation will offer support for libertarian free will and the possibility of apostasy, and then examine the …