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Articles 121 - 150 of 1619

Full-Text Articles in Religion

A Phenomenological Study Of Church Polity And Its Impact On Pastoral Leadership And Congregational Health, Travis L. Biller Mar 2024

A Phenomenological Study Of Church Polity And Its Impact On Pastoral Leadership And Congregational Health, Travis L. Biller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is reported that deacon-led churches produce conflict and high pastoral turnover (Harbuck, 2018; Payne, 1996). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how a church governance structure impacts a pastor’s ability to lead, the health of the church, and pastoral retention. The experiences of pastors from deacon-led churches were evaluated for clusters of meaning and compared with the experiences of pastors who serve under an elder-led model of leadership. Nine interviews were conducted—five pastors from deacon-led churches and four from elder-led churches. This study approached the phenomenological design from an interpretive, or hermeneutical approach to understand the …


The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence In Online Education For Recruitment, Retention, And Sustainability Of Religious Organizations, Gordon Vaill Barrows Mar 2024

The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence In Online Education For Recruitment, Retention, And Sustainability Of Religious Organizations, Gordon Vaill Barrows

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation explored the applicability of AI chatbot technology in the context of a church environment where it was used to promote an accessible and engaging online learning platform for education and ministry training. The primary objective was to develop an AI-powered chatbot to increase recruitment, improve retention, as well as support organizational sustainability as it relates to church membership. The research includes a comprehensive literature review on AI chatbot technology and its relevance to online education within the context of a religious organization. The literature review establishes the fundamentals for a theoretical framework, exploring the association between educational technology, …


Impact Of Worldview Development On Spiritual Vitality In Evangelical Protestant Churches: A Phenomenological Study, Nicholas Jared Curtis Mar 2024

Impact Of Worldview Development On Spiritual Vitality In Evangelical Protestant Churches: A Phenomenological Study, Nicholas Jared Curtis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The need for a biblical worldview is important in the church since only ten percent of Americans (17% in the church) have a biblical worldview (Foley, 2017, paragraph one; Barna, 2017, paragraph twenty). This is directly connected with one’s spiritual growth in the church as relationships help form one’s worldview which in turn will form one’s values and actions (McDowell and Wallace, 2019). The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the perceived impact of biblical worldview development on spiritual development in the church for pastors who oversee discipleship at doctrinally conservative, Evangelical Protestant churches in Texas. At this …


Ecclesial Identity And Mission : Perspectives From Three North Indian Churches And 1 Peter, Matthias Phurba Sonam Gergan Feb 2024

Ecclesial Identity And Mission : Perspectives From Three North Indian Churches And 1 Peter, Matthias Phurba Sonam Gergan

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Review Of Dr. Beth Felker Jones’ Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction To Thinking And Living Theologically, Caleb Gordon Jan 2024

Review Of Dr. Beth Felker Jones’ Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction To Thinking And Living Theologically, Caleb Gordon

Liberty Theological Review

This review of Practicing Christian Doctrine provides a helpful overview of Dr. Jones’ articulate survey through major Christian doctrines and related Christian practice. This resource serves as a succinct, formative primer to Christian theology with an aim at orthopraxy for the maturing Christian.


Review Of Know. Be. Live., Cory T. Branham Jan 2024

Review Of Know. Be. Live., Cory T. Branham

Liberty Theological Review

Born between 1995 – 2012, America’s young and emerging adults are known as “Generation Z.” As with nearly everything they are involved in, a shorter version of that label is available as simply Gen Z, or Gen Z’ers. Generally speaking, Gen Z’ers were raised by Millennials but have had life and social interactions going as far back as the Baby Boomer Generation (those born near the end of World War II and into the mid-sixties). In “Know. Be. Live.,” the combination of what has been handed down to them by previous generations, and the current state of cultural, …


"Together On God’S Mission" [Review] / Hildreth, D. Scott., Michelet William Jan 2024

"Together On God’S Mission" [Review] / Hildreth, D. Scott., Michelet William

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review


"The Struggle To Stay: Why Single Evangelical Women Areleaving The Church" [Review] / Gaddini, Katie., Heidi Olson Campbell Jan 2024

"The Struggle To Stay: Why Single Evangelical Women Areleaving The Church" [Review] / Gaddini, Katie., Heidi Olson Campbell

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review


Strength In The Midst Of Loneliness: An Ecuadorian Christian Woman’S Experience Of Widowhood, Elis Damarys Carrión Flores, Christian Bermeo Valencia Jan 2024

Strength In The Midst Of Loneliness: An Ecuadorian Christian Woman’S Experience Of Widowhood, Elis Damarys Carrión Flores, Christian Bermeo Valencia

The Asbury Journal

In Ecuador, most cases of widowhood correspond to women, many of these believers. Although I cannot prove that this is certain in all cases, my experience has shown me that many widows feel alone and unprotected at some point in their life. This article reflects on the biblical affirmation that God is close to the afflicted and the weary to strengthen them (Ps. 34:18; 73:26), and focuses on the feeling of loneliness that accompanies widowhood, doing this in light of the Word of God and my own personal experience. The essay has four parts. In the first two, we contextualize …


Report From The Encounter Of The Strategic Alliance Of Latin American Seminaries (Salas) Conference- August 20-22, 2024, Medellín, Colombia, Luis Eduardo Ramírez, The Committee For The Drafting Of Memories Jan 2024

Report From The Encounter Of The Strategic Alliance Of Latin American Seminaries (Salas) Conference- August 20-22, 2024, Medellín, Colombia, Luis Eduardo Ramírez, The Committee For The Drafting Of Memories

The Asbury Journal

Convened by the One Mission Society (OMS) and Asbury Theological Seminary (ATS), with the collaboration of the Fundación Universitaria Seminario Bíblico de Colombia (FUSBC), representatives of the seminaries founded by OMS in Latin America gathered in the city of Medellín, Colombia on August 20-22, 2024. Representatives included: FUSBC, Instituto y Seminario Bíblico de Londrina (ISBL), Seminario Bíblico de Cuenca (SEMBEC), Seminario Bíblico de México (SEMBIMEX), Seminario para el Reino de Dios (SEMIRED), Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela (SEMWESVEN), and Seminario Teológico El Camino (SETEC)1, along with other sister ministries (SEMISUD, EMM, AIEMCR, SMJW, Impacto Latinoamericano, and IML). All of these organizations …


Symposium: From Coming Out To Coming In: Roundtable Conversation Among Southeast Asian Queer Theologians, Michael Sepidoza Campos, Jayeel Cornelio, Erich Von Marthin Elraphoma, Joseph N. Goh, Jerlo M. Jaropillo, Joshua Marasigan, Kristine C. Meneses, Irene Nainggolan, Kakay Pamarán, Lizette Tapia, Amadeo Devin Udampoh, Wan Wei-Hsien Jan 2024

Symposium: From Coming Out To Coming In: Roundtable Conversation Among Southeast Asian Queer Theologians, Michael Sepidoza Campos, Jayeel Cornelio, Erich Von Marthin Elraphoma, Joseph N. Goh, Jerlo M. Jaropillo, Joshua Marasigan, Kristine C. Meneses, Irene Nainggolan, Kakay Pamarán, Lizette Tapia, Amadeo Devin Udampoh, Wan Wei-Hsien

Development Studies Faculty Publications

Through a roundtable conversation via Zoom, teachers, pastors, and graduate students discussed the place of gender, citizenship, and faith in their identity formation and social accountability to articulate a hermeneutical lens specific to Southeast Asian contexts that shape and critique queer identities. These participants—primarily ministers, theological students, and seminary formators—engaged in organic, fluid, and multifocal turns to capture experiences that undergird the realities of women and LGBTQIQ+ people of faith in the region.


Coverage Of Charity In The Pr Activities Of Ukrainian Churches, Yuliia Kondratiuk, Oleksandr Mosienko, Lesia Zaiko, Nadiya Yablonska Jan 2024

Coverage Of Charity In The Pr Activities Of Ukrainian Churches, Yuliia Kondratiuk, Oleksandr Mosienko, Lesia Zaiko, Nadiya Yablonska

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Information technologies have an active impact on the development of the information society. The paradigm shift in humanity's communication capabilities has occurred with the active use of Internet technologies, which has accelerated the communication process in modern society. Societies are modernizing due to the widespread use of Internet communication to transmit information. This outlines the undoubted value of the possibility of rapid interaction between organizations and the public. The purpose of the article is to study the content and central areas of public relations (PR) activities of Ukrainian churches, analyzing the example of the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church …


The Problem Of Deification Within The Church Context In India: An Implausible Deification, Sadananda Rao Matangi Dec 2023

The Problem Of Deification Within The Church Context In India: An Implausible Deification, Sadananda Rao Matangi

Masters Theses

The self-deification has been the main point on which several related issues have been discussed. No humans are equal with God but are only the servants of God. Even Jesus Christ agreed that the Father is greater than He. The concept of self-deification cannot be used overtly or covertly for self-elevation, Sacro-egoism, Sacro-egotism, self-advantage, or self-probability. On accepting Jesus as one’s personal Lord and Savior, a person may get the blessing of forgiveness of sins, sanctification, salvation, filling of the Holy Spirit, assurance of resurrection, and being with the Lord (on the Second Coming). That does not mean they are …


Imperfect Church, Perfect God, Claire N. Barr Dec 2023

Imperfect Church, Perfect God, Claire N. Barr

Honors Projects

Jesus’ death on the cross demonstrates the most radical act of love. So when the church, which is biblically supposed to reflect Jesus’ love, causes pain and disagreements, there is no doubt as to why people choose to leave, completely stay away from the church, or lose their faith altogether. Despite this, the solution remains in Jesus. Through His ministry represented in scripture, one can see the way in which the church is called to care for the world. Despite this, the church has come short of Jesus’ example, often skewing people’s perspective on Christ. When on Earth, Jesus defied …


Intergenerational Factors That Contribute To Millennial Church Engagement, Parker Sanderson Dec 2023

Intergenerational Factors That Contribute To Millennial Church Engagement, Parker Sanderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Millennial church attendance has declined since the beginning of the new millennium. Intergenerational ambivalence has been known to contribute to this phenomenon. Through this action research, the researcher sought to determine what intergenerational factors have led to millennials’ continued or discontinued attendance within churches. A phenomenological qualitative approach centered around interviews for this study was used to determine these intergenerational factors. The sample was taken from a 1,100-member church in a major Texas metropolitan area. The goal was to help church leaders decrease relational distancing and reduce ambivalent factors to increase millennial engagement in this local congregation.


Grace-Based Faith Discipleship Approach Of Adults In South Rock Christian Church: Addressing The Contemporary Legalistic Lifestyle Of Disciples, Nicholas John Pannone Nov 2023

Grace-Based Faith Discipleship Approach Of Adults In South Rock Christian Church: Addressing The Contemporary Legalistic Lifestyle Of Disciples, Nicholas John Pannone

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Discipleship often evokes different responses. However, contemporary Christians have a faithfulness dilemma driven by the constant messages they hear. This DMIN project seeks to develop and promote a ministry structure that educates, equips, and enriches the Christian life based on God’s grace. The project seeks to provide a framework for participants to be transformed holistically by God’s grace. Often, the members of South Rock Christian Church understand grace as the entry point into salvation, but not the identifying trait of their faithful life in Christ. This action project consists of qualitative research that demonstrates a gap between belief and action …


Worship In Modern-Day Society: Evaluating Music Of Corporate Worship, Lindley Christine Cameron Aug 2023

Worship In Modern-Day Society: Evaluating Music Of Corporate Worship, Lindley Christine Cameron

Masters Theses

Background Church services today incorporate a wide variety of worship music, stylistically and lyrically, depending on the congregation. Some churches place great importance on the gospel being included in the songs, while others focus more on the emotions felt during the songs. While there are churches that maintain an eclectic mix of the two, other churches have a significant imbalance in the worship songs they choose to sing each week. Matt Boswell says, “Every worship experience, in its order and content, is an expression of the congregation’s liturgy. It communicates something about your church, your doctrine, and the order of …


The Decalogue Of Justice: A Covenantal Application Of Biblical Justice, Andrew Mark Adil Jul 2023

The Decalogue Of Justice: A Covenantal Application Of Biblical Justice, Andrew Mark Adil

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation aims to establish a biblical theology of justice (מִשְׁפָּט), ascertaining the commands and references to justice in Scripture are comprehensively and exclusively rooted in the Moral Law of the Torah, summarized in the Ten Commandments, and embedded in the Covenant of Grace (Old and New), making it binding on New Covenant believers and inextricably attached to the church’s Great Commission mandate. To this end, the study examines the concept of justice in the OT and the Moral Law, contrasting Reformed evangelical hermeneutics with the modern iteration of Liberation Theology in connection with the application of biblical justice. Additionally, …


A Phenomenological Study Of The High-Tech, High-Touch Pastor: Maximizing Personal Ministry In A Digital Age, Shirley Groce May 2023

A Phenomenological Study Of The High-Tech, High-Touch Pastor: Maximizing Personal Ministry In A Digital Age, Shirley Groce

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to explore how high-tech, high-touch senior pastors who practice servant leadership establish and maintain personal contact with their church members and lead them using digital technology. This research was particularly relevant in an era of social distancing required by the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical framework for this study was Greenleaf's servant leadership theory. Ten experienced pastors were interviewed to determine how they balanced the impersonal nature of streaming worship services while maintaining personal contact with their congregations. These interviews were transcribed, and important themes were identified to determine best practices for using technology while maintaining …


Letter From The Chairman: Over One Hundred Years Of Student Publications At Concordia Seminary, Ben Vanderhyde May 2023

Letter From The Chairman: Over One Hundred Years Of Student Publications At Concordia Seminary, Ben Vanderhyde

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

For hundreds of years, in various countries, through various languages, Christian pastors have exhorted their people to lift up their hearts in the liturgy of Holy Communion. Whether or not every church has always used these precise words, the exhortation is universal among Christians. We are called to put our faith and trust in the one who is above us; to set our hope firmly on the one whose second advent is on the verge of dawning; to aim all of our desires and affections toward the one who made us. In short, we lift up our hearts to the …


Pierre Manent: The Empire Of Modernity And The Church’S Response, Hayden Lukas May 2023

Pierre Manent: The Empire Of Modernity And The Church’S Response, Hayden Lukas

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

Manent’s body of work often problematizes the modern conservative impulse to draw on the history of thought with modernity’s conception of history, and this essay will attempt to explain this dynamic. To do this, I will explain the basics of Manent’s account of modernity as a way of evaluating history, drawing on the work of other political philosophers to supplement Manent’s account. Then I will examine how the work of Manent and Emile Perreau-Saussine, with the Catholic response to the Enlightenment, can contribute to the Church’s strategy to engage with the puzzle of modernity. .


Learning The Liturgy With Mr. Miyagi: The Case For Liturgical Catechesis, Benjamin Leeper May 2023

Learning The Liturgy With Mr. Miyagi: The Case For Liturgical Catechesis, Benjamin Leeper

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

Using the narrative of The Karate Kid as a guide, I will demonstrate that Christian formation is a matter of recontextualizing liturgical practices in the daily life of the believer, so that she knows when, where, and how to use the precogni¬tive spiritual habits formed by Word and Sacrament in Christian worship. This understanding challenges prevalent liturgical theology, which tends to assume an automatic connection—or worse, no connection at all— between worship and daily life, by highlighting the necessity of locating for believers the telos of the church’s rites and ceremonies in discipleship. Finally, I will provide concrete examples of …


The Voice Of One Crying In The Wilderness, Megan Kenyon May 2023

The Voice Of One Crying In The Wilderness, Megan Kenyon

MFA in Visual Art

I am a Midwestern, Christian, and feminist artist. I make work about the beautiful, broken, and absurd ways in which American evangelical culture influences lives, especially women’s lives. I’m dragging everything into the light by deconstructing and critiquing the world in which I live, move, and have my being. I do this by harnessing prophetic imagination and incarnational space to shine a light on how patriarchy infects evangelical Christian theology and practice. Using prophetic imagination through photographic self-portraiture and text (my own and found texts using the Bible), I seek to make plain the effects of white, Christian patriarchy on …


Seat At The Table: An Inclusive Ministry To Families And Individuals With Disabilities At Plainfield Christian Church, Lindy Ruth Rader May 2023

Seat At The Table: An Inclusive Ministry To Families And Individuals With Disabilities At Plainfield Christian Church, Lindy Ruth Rader

Christian Ministries Senior Capstone

Churches are called to be a place of welcoming and belonging, but it is common for individuals and families with disabilities to not feel like they have a place in the Church. Seat At The Table is a ministry designed to address this problem and help families feel integrated into the local church. This ministry is a part of Plainfield Christian Church, located in Plainfield, Indiana. Seat At The Table desires to create a space for individuals and families to encounter Jesus and to form a deep and lasting relationship with Him. Along with this, they want participants in the …


Exploring Best Practices Of Charitable Organizations : A Case Study Of Social Ministry For Widows And Orphans Of Some Selected Non-Profit Organizations In Kaduna, Nigeria, Mary Dizerkiya Bakut May 2023

Exploring Best Practices Of Charitable Organizations : A Case Study Of Social Ministry For Widows And Orphans Of Some Selected Non-Profit Organizations In Kaduna, Nigeria, Mary Dizerkiya Bakut

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Music Educators As Worship Leaders: The Impact In Music Ministries Led By Music Educators, Patrick Robert Eckelkamp Apr 2023

Music Educators As Worship Leaders: The Impact In Music Ministries Led By Music Educators, Patrick Robert Eckelkamp

Masters Theses

Some of the most competent musicians in local communities are the music educators in local school districts. Since the Bible commands us to play skillfully to God, local music teachers may be an excellent resource for churches. Some churches cannot hire a full-time worship pastor from a seminary or Bible college. In these scenarios, a skilled music teacher looking for additional income and sharing convictions with their church may be a great candidate to fill a vacant worship leader role. Since music teachers primarily study classical and orchestral music, there may be challenges for classically trained music educators leading a …


Analyzing The Relationship Between Pastoral Leadership And Church Attendance In Baptist Congregations In Eastman, Georgia, Michael Carruthers Apr 2023

Analyzing The Relationship Between Pastoral Leadership And Church Attendance In Baptist Congregations In Eastman, Georgia, Michael Carruthers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The reality of the decline of the church is evident in many churches today. What is causing the decline in worship attendance? This research study examined 14 of the 42 Baptist churches in Eastman, Georgia, from the Dodge County Baptist Association, where the average weekly reporting worship attendance during 2018 to 2021 was 50 to 150 in attendance. This research used the survey method, where participants anonymously answered questions regarding their church and pastor. The research study's results objectively prove that pastoral leadership can affect church attendance. Further research can be completed to investigate this connection between pastoral leadership and …


Equipping Covenant Baptist Church To Defend The Bible In A Skeptical World, Harlan Grant Mclain Apr 2023

Equipping Covenant Baptist Church To Defend The Bible In A Skeptical World, Harlan Grant Mclain

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The thesis of this research project is “If Covenant Baptist Church members are taught the reliability of the Bible, they will be equipped to defend their faith to a skeptical world.” The goals of this doctoral thesis are two-fold: to train adequate believers regarding the Bible’s reliability in a skeptical world, and honor God in the process through the equipping ministry of the church in accordance with Ephesians 4:11-16. Seven lessons were researched, formulated, and presented to a small group of believers in Covenant Baptist Church who desired to become more confident in defending the Bible to a skeptic. Entrance …


Women In Silence: Paul's Words About Disruptive Women In Church Gatherings, Charles Davenport Apr 2023

Women In Silence: Paul's Words About Disruptive Women In Church Gatherings, Charles Davenport

Global Tides

This research seeks to understand the meaning behind Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 14:31-35. Paul's direct command, "women should keep silent," seems quite clear on paper, but more context is needed when contemporary churches decide how to apply these words. This article examines three theories: the passage being a rebuttal, the passage being an interpolation, and the passage having significant cultural context. After reviewing the three theories, the proposed interpretation is that Paul's command was to a specific people in one particular cultural context, not a universal command for all churches of all generations.


Believe It Or Not: Discovering The Role Of Marketplace Ministry In Reconciling Race And Religion In The African American Church, Shawn Burgs Apr 2023

Believe It Or Not: Discovering The Role Of Marketplace Ministry In Reconciling Race And Religion In The African American Church, Shawn Burgs

DMin Project Theses

This April 2023 Doctor of Ministry Project thesis at Lipscomb University explores the experiences of African Americans as faith holders in the crux of race, religion, and marketplace and how the interconnectedness of these facets can lend to reconciliation. The purpose of exploring how African American believers experience race and religious reconciliation is a noble goal that seeks to address the challenges faced by many African American believers in navigating their faith and cultural engagement. By examining their experiences, insights, and perspectives, we can learn more about the unique challenges they face and the strategies they employ to overcome them. …