Religion Commons^™

Spiritual Intelligence: The Next Intelligence Tool For Conflict Resolution Practitioners?, Peter Tokar

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Spiritual intelligence is currently being utilized with positive results in many professional communities, yet it is practically unknown within the conflict resolution and peacebuilding communities, at least by name. Recent national polls have demonstrated a high percentages of Americans still embrace a spiritual dimension to their humanity. Although church attendance has been on the decline for the past couple decades, polls show that even the Millennial Generation and GenZ are still interested in spirituality, though in a non-ecclesiastically organized way. Although significant sensitivities remain in society and culture concerning the separation of church and state, literally millions of Americans …

Leadership Skills And Strategies, And Their Effect On Processing Change In Light Of The Grand Prairie Seventh-Day Adventist Church Building Project, Danail G. Tchakarov

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem.

The Grand Prairie Seventh-day Adventist Church is one of the oldest Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the state of Texas, and as such has given birth to numerous other congregations. Over time, however, the makeup of the surrounding community slowly changed and no longer reflected that of the church. Because of language, cultural, and socioeconomic differences, the church was slowly becoming irrelevant and incapable to minister to its immediate community. The building was 57 years old and in dire need of repairs. Adding to the challenge was the fact that the 1.88-acre property was completely surrounded by other properties; space …

A Marital Growth Program For Adventist Couples In The Susanville And Quincy Churches Of The Nevada Utah Conference, Emmanuel Laporte

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Despite the U.S. Government viewing the marital union as the foundation of the family and of society, statistical data indicates that marriage is on decline with divorce and separation remaining a primary solution to marital ills and fewer young people choosing to marry. To complicate matters, studies reveal that Christian marriages, including Seventh-day Adventists, do not fare any better than those of the general population. However, research also shows that marital education efforts can and do make a difference in increasing spousal satisfaction and offsetting desires to separate or divorce.

Method

In the scope of this project I set …

Discipleship Coaching For Empowering Members At Norwalk Seventh-Day Adventist Church, John W. Strehle Jr.

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Based on members' feedback, there were concerns of judgmental and critical attitudes at the Norwalk Seventh-day Adventist Church. A study in 2009, “Christ’s Mission in Norwalk” by Monte Sahlin, Senior Consultant for Center for Creative Ministry, indicated a need for personal involvement in the Norwalk church in meeting the challenges of one another and the community. Yet, the judgmental and critical atmosphere was limiting the lay involvement. Likewise, the Natural Church Development (NCD) survey confirmed in 2014 that Loving Relationships was a minimum factor for the Norwalk Church. The survey showed that the community was not relying on friends …

A Follow-Up Program For Public Evangelism Using Online Discipleship In The Indiana Conference, Eric Freking

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Traditional Adventist public evangelism in North America typically sees a large drop in attendance of new converts or potential converts shortly after the meetings end. I have personally held or been a part of around thirty evangelistic series in the past twenty years and have seen this pattern in each of them. The consequences are the loss of new or potential members, who, given more interaction with the evangelist, may assimilate into the church.

Method

An online discipleship program was created and launched in the Summer of 2020 in Indiana. Its purpose was to educate the participant on how …

Leadership Strategy For Sustaining Mission-Focused Vision In Years Seven To Ten Of Crosswalk Fellowship, Boyan Levterov

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

In January 2007, my wife and I led a core team of passionate Christian believers to start Crosswalk Fellowship as a parachute church plant. The plant was a part of the local Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventist church planting initiative. The project had a successful start and reached the high standards to qualify for church status in the Texas Conference in less than one and a half years. Crosswalk continued to experience steady growth during the first five years of existence; However, in year five, people escaping crises happening simultaneously in the other two existing English Seventh-day Adventist churches …

Wholistic Stewardship Revitalization Strategy At Pueblo First Seventh-Day Adventist Church Rocky Mountain Conference, Anton Kapusi

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

During the last decade, I observed, in my role as pastor and director, that many churches were overcome with a low level of members-involvement throughout the Conferences I served, especially in the current local churches I pastor, reflected in spiritual discouragement, indifference, and apathy. Upon closer observation of the Pueblo First local church members' relationship and collaboration, I found that only the worship service and two Bible study groups were functioning, with about a dozen individuals in total attending. Some other ministries were also functioning, like the ACS and ACS Disaster Relief, in addition to the church building and …

Apologetic-Based Curriculum Addressing Intellectual Skepticism Among Young Adults In Knoxville, Tennessee And The Surrounding Areas, Bryan Laue

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

In the Knoxville community, young adults who lack biblical knowledge and confidence struggle to accept question and answer Bible study guides without additional intellectual support. This struggle by young adults is attributed to a lack of knowledge and trust in the Bible as the Word of God. In addition, I have observed that when young adults read the Bible, it evokes feelings of alienation and distance from the spiritual conversation when underlying doubt in the Bible is present. One contributing factor is the lack of extra-biblical apologetics within question and answer study guides.

Method

An apologetic-based curriculum was designed …

Intentional Discipleship: Using A Personal Growth Plan With Microgroup Support As A First Step In Creating A Culture Of Discipleship At The University City Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Ryan Lee Ashlock

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

There is a general lack of understanding and practice of discipleship within Western Christianity. This lack of discipleship can be observed within the University City Seventh-day Adventist Church. Many Christians view their relationship with Jesus as something that affects the afterlife but has little effect on the present. There is a grave need for the church to have a culture of discipleship in which people are encouraged to have a daily and lifelong connection with Jesus.

Method

Building on conclusions drawn from theological reflection and a review of relevant literature, an intervention was developed that sought to draw church …

An Evangelistic Approach To Children Of The Brantford Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Brantford, Canada, Alexander Gietsel

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Over the past five years (2015-2020) the Brantford Seventh-day Adventist Church has experienced a decline of baptism among young people ages 10-14. Some of them have been involved in church programs, and some have attended the local Christian school. According to Barna (2003a), children are more ready to accept Jesus at ages 10-14. At Brantford Seventh-day Adventist Church, this is the average range of the children. This church has more than 80 families and more than twenty-five children at that age group. After many of them leave for high school, they lose interest in baptism and in following Jesus. …

Training Local Church Leaders To Study And Teach The Bible Inductively At Manteca Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Bruce Blum

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Seventh-day Adventist churches in Northern California are experiencing a trend toward larger districts and fewer pastors per capita. A decreasing pastoral presence means that local churches are more dependent on volunteers to lead out in the spiritual care and feeding of the church family. In this setting, much depends on the competence of volunteers who teach the Bible. Most of these volunteers have not had the benefit of formal training in hermeneutics, biblical languages, or effective teaching methods, yet they are called on to facilitate Scripture study that leads to inspiration, engagement, and transformation.

Method

I proposed in this …

Developing And Implementing A Community-Based Hospitality Awareness And Training Program In The Green Bay Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Titus Naftanaila

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Most churches in North America usually consider themselves as welcoming and friendly to guests and existing church members. However, they may excel in programs and ministries, but visitors evaluate many as uncaring and cold. During my 25 years of ministry, I personally have pastored three mid-sized Adventist churches where a constant number of guests confirmed the difference of perception. The inhospitality of the church deprives the guests and the new converts of the essential benefits for emotional and spiritual growth with a direct impact on the retention rate.

Method

A community-based hospitality awareness and training program was developed and …

A Strategy To Manage Members Expectation Of Pastor's Work In Multicultural Churches In Birmingham, England, Steve Palmer

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

2017 the North England Conference administrators evaluated my ministry, and although they were satisfied with my work, the feedback from some of the church members indicated dissatisfaction. It was evident that the diverse ethnic and cultural groups had different expectations of the role and responsibility of the pastor. It was difficult for me to do fulfill all their expectations.

Method

The research method employed in the design of this project was a qualitative one. It explored the question under examination by using semi-structured interviews, questionnaire, mentorship training, discussions, pastors' expectations, and cultural intelligence seminars. The semi structured interview and …

God, Others, And Ourselves - The Stories We Tell And The Meaning We Make: A Narrative Approach To Adventist Mission In The South England Conference Of The British Union Conference, United Kingdom, Wayne B. Erasmus

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

A disconnect exists between the Adventist Church in the United Kingdom and its wider context as evidenced through the reduced number of accessions coming from the majority population and from second, third, and subsequent migrant generations. This present study was to propose and trial a worldview awareness training experience.

Method

A Six Conversation journey experience was devised and presented over a six-week period in the summer of 2021 via Zoom, in line with adaptations due to the COVID pandemic. Volunteer Adventist participants would explore their individual and collective meaning and identity narratives, grow awareness and understanding of other such …

Developing And Testing Concise Evangelistic Videos For Millennials And Generation Z In Columbia, Missouri, Hiram Rester

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Gathering an audience for evangelistic meetings has become increasingly difficult via traditional proclamation approaches. This challenge is even greater among young adults and has been observed where the researcher pastors in Columbia, Missouri. Research shows that technology has changed the way people choose to receive information. This is particularly true of Millennials and Generation Z. Additional strategies must be developed to meet the needs and demands of the digital age, especially by making use of concise online videos. Concise videos need to be developed and tested to aid in engaging with Millennials and Generation Z. Beyond that, it was …

Programa De Capacitacion Para El Desarrollo De Nuevos Secretarios Ejecutivos De Uniones Y Campos De La Division Sudamericana, Edward Heidinger

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

In the territory of the South American Division (SAD), the rate of rotation of leaders in the secretariat area is high, when compared with presidency and treasury. According to the corresponding minutes of the executive committees and constituency meetings of Unions and Fields of the SAD, during the period of 2015-2020, at the Field level, 39% of the changes corresponded to the secretariat, and, at the level of Union, this indicator rises to 47%. In addition to this, there is the challenging reality that the secretariat’s spectrum of action is wide and specialized, and consequently, different from the pastoral …

Utilizing Personality Theory To Help High School Students Find Meaningful Spiritual Growth Practices At Portland Adventist Academy In Portland, Oregon, Jonny Wesley Moor

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The Problem

Some students at Portland Adventist Academy (PAA) struggle to connect with God and many never develop personal habits of connecting with God or learn how to grow into mature relationships with God.

The Method

I developed twelve devotional habits designed for different personality types. Six of the habits focused on prayer and six on Scripture. I taught six religion classes for three weeks, collecting data from 100 junior and senior PAA students. Their ages spanned from 15 to 19: two students were 15 years old, thirty-eight were 16, thirty-eight were 17, twenty were 18, and two were 19. …

A Cross-Cultural And Cross-Ethnic Model Of Integrated Ministry To Second-Generation Immigrant Youth In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Dublin, Dan-Gheorghe Serb

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Dublin, like most major cities in Western Europe, is a multicultural and multiethnic city. Most members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dublin are first-generation immigrants who tend to import their native brand of Adventism into Dublin local churches. Moreover, outside the church worship experience, immigrant members are inclined to gravitate toward mono-ethnic and mono-cultural interactions. Their children are the New Irish and are thus better integrated into Irish culture and society. This situation seems to destabilize young people in the church, with many second-generation immigrant Generation Z youth showing disinterest in church life, and some of them leaving …

Seminario De Evangelismo Urbano Para La Iglesia Adventista Del Séptimo Día Hispana De Delancey, En El Bajo Manhattan, Rafael Omar Lebreault

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Jesus called the church to make disciples of Him among all people groups, and urbanization is a major issue to consider in the fulfillment of that mission. In 1950, only 30% of the world’s population was residing in urban areas; in 2018, urban dwellers were already 55% of the world’s population; and that number is projected to be at 68% by 2050 (United Nations, 2018, p. xix). As the world grows more and more urban, the church needs to be more and more intentional in reaching out to people in urban settlements, in order to reach people where they …

What Is The Sound Of Holiness? The Regulation Of Sound And Silence In Early Medieval Monastic Communities, 600-900, Melissa Kapitan

Theses and Dissertations--History

This dissertation explores how the regulation of sound and silence in the early medieval monastery formed a distinct soundscape imbued with personal, communal, and theological resonances. More narrowly, this investigation focuses on the Frankish empire of the ninth century, which saw a series of monastic reforms led by the Carolingian royal family and ecclesiastical figures and consolidated in imperial legislation and treatises on the monastic life.

These ninth-century reforms witnessed not only the promotion of a single rule and custom to guide monastic life, but also a great flowering of liturgical texts, including the earliest treatises on musical theory. These …

An Analysis Of The Methods Of Interpretation Of The Leviticus 11 Dietary Laws In Second Temple And Early Christian Non-Canonical Sources, Ani Ionut Constantin

Master's Theses

Background of the Research

Numerous commentators and theologians have written in recent centuries about clean and unclean animals. These distinctions are also referred to as dietary laws, and they are found in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. For example, Walter Houston wrote in 1993 in the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series 140 about the prohibition, its explanation, and its implications; Vic Lockman extended the study through the New Testament in 1997 in his work The Dietary Laws of the Bible; and Jordan D. Rosenblum in 2016 in his work The Jewish Dietary Laws in the …

Factors That Influence The Believers In Monze Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church Of South Zambia Conference To Consult Diviners, Ian Chiinya

Master's Theses

Problem

Studies have shown that even after becoming Christians, African Christians maintain their traditional religious practices. Non-Christian studies in Zambia reveal that both Christian and non-Christian Zambians still combine biomedicine with sacred African traditional medicine. The goal of the current study is to identify the variables that lead Monze Central Church Seventh-day Adventist members to consult diviners.

Method

Sections one and two of a questionnaire were created to collect information on the variables that affect going to a diviner. To assess the role and self-efficacy of local church elders in assisting members who have been impacted by demonic spiritual forces, …

Three Miles Per Hour: Shifting From Performance To Heart Orientation Among Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors, Royce A. V. Odiyar

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the presence and impact of performance orientation among Seventh-day Adventist pastors. It identifies multiple factors involved in perpetuating performance orientation and includes strategies to shift from performance to heart orientation in life and pastoral ministry. Using a mixed-method design, this research collected qualitative data via focus groups and quantitative data via an online survey. There was a total of eight focus groups with thirty-three participants, and the online survey gathered fifty-one responses. Focus group participants and survey respondents included both men and women from North America who were ethnically diverse. The research revealed significant concerns regarding pastoral …

The Significance Of Hosea 13:11: A Study Of The Monarchy In Ancient Israel, Tuo Wang

Master's Theses

Problem

In Hosea 13:11, God said that "I gave you a king in My anger and took him away in My wrath." Why did God say that? What is the meaning of this expression? It is obvious that God expressed a negative view in this verse. Regarding the reason, why God held such an attitude, there are four common understandings: (1) because of the sins of the Israelites, (2) because the Israelites did not trust God in demanding a king for themselves, (3) because God wanted to give the Israelites a lesson in their disobedience, (4) because God denied the …

Adventist Culture In The Ussr, Dmitrii Fokin

Master's Theses

Any religion, including Christianity, is not only a system of beliefs and doctrines, but also patterns of behavior that make up a certain culture of its followers. The degree of development of religious culture and involvement in it largely determines the self-identification of members of communities of various denominations. It can be expressed through the following markers: everyday behavior, the presence of specific vocabulary, the formation of oral, musical, visual and written creativity of a particular religious movement. This is true of Seventh-day Adventist culture as well.

Statement of the Problem

However, to date there is no full-fledged study on …

Monastic Landscapes: A New Approach To Columbanian Monasticism, Albrecht Diem

History - All Scholarship

T his contribution proposes different notions of "monastic landscapes" (geographic, political, textual, economic, spiritual) and discusses whether applying them to the monastic movement allegedly initiated by Columbanus may help us to refine or deconstruct the concept of "Columbanian monasticism." Comparing evidence on monastic life in Gregory of Tours' hagiographic and historiographic works with the depiction of monastic life in Jonas of Bobbio's Vita Columbani shows that we can indeed identify a shift from a "landscape with monasteries" in sixth-century Merovingian Francia to a politically integrated "monastic landscape" in the seventh century. However, this does not mean that the fundamental shift …

From The Editor, Robert Danielson

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Women In The Early Nazarene Mission Among Spanish Speakers: Maye Mcreynolds And Santos Elizondo, Stephanie Rountree

The Asbury Journal

This paper examines the early Nazarene holiness mission among Spanish speakers, specifically focusing on two women foundational for this ministry. It argues that with the example and encouragement of Maye McReynolds before her, Santos Elizondo became a trailblazer and minority voice in implementing holistic mission within Spanish speaking communities in El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico at the turn of the 20^th century. Maye McReynolds initiated the Spanish mission of the Church of the Nazarene in Los Angeles, California, where she was instrumental in converting and discipling Santos Elizondo. Elizondo moved out in her own ministry to El Paso, …

Snake Iconography, Mythology, And The Meaning Of The Bronze Snake Image In Numbers 21:4–9 And 2 Kings 18:4, Mark A. Awabdy

The Asbury Journal

This study pursues the question of why Yhwh, who in the Decalogue prohibits the creation and worship of divine images, would order Moses to create a snake image as the mode of healing snake bites in the desert (Num 21:4–9). This question is legitimated as the Judahites subsequently burn incense to Moses’ bronze snake, which Hezekiah destroys as an act of loyalty to Yhwh. Adopting a definition of meaning from symbolic action theory in cultural psychology, this essay explores what the bronze snake image would have meant for the earliest audiences of these stories. In the core of the essay, …

From The Archives: H.C. Morrison- A Man Of Mission?

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.