Religion Commons^™

She Is To Remain Silent, Joya Schreurs

Student Work

"Women are not only prevented from exercising the full range of their spiritual gifts, but grapple with the message this sends about their worth as church members and simply as humans."

Posting about women in ministry from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/she-is-to-remain-silent/

Holding Close Both The Wonder And The Wounds, Kevin Timpe

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Brian Brock’s recent Wondrously Wounded is a welcome addition to the growing theology of disability literature. Despite its many virtues, I think Wondrously Wounded runs the risk of distorting the Church’s identity with regard to how it has responded to disability. Drawing on Hilde Lindemann’s work on ‘holding’ and ‘letting go’ of identities, I try to strengthen Brock’s call for the Church. Our collective work toward the realization of the gospel requires that together we hold the Church’s wounds, and not just its wonders, as part of the narrative we recount.

Leadership Succession In The Missionary Baptist Church, Roger Bush

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Leadership succession planning is often overlooked in many church organizations. Failure to create succession strategies causes organizations to face uncertain futures during leadership transitions. An absence of succession planning can repress an organization’s financial growth, congregational morale, and spiritual growth, and in some cases, result in permanent dissolution. The purpose of this project is to examine the state of leadership succession planning within the Kenansville Eastern Missionary Baptist Church Association. This thesis project employs surveys and comprehensive interviews of senior pastors of local churches within the Kenansville Eastern Missionary Baptist Church Association to explore succession planning and leadership transitions perspectives. …

Maintaining A Biblical Worldview: Mitigating Emerging Syncretism With Worldly Philosophies Through Focused Instruction In Christian Theology, Scott Kendal Leafe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are granted a “new nature” that enables them to develop thinking, a worldview, based on the mind of Christ. Unfortunately, since every person’s worldview is continually being modified, it becomes ever more challenging for believers to keep their thinking consistent with Scripture. Therefore, this action research thesis assumes consistent participation in focused teaching on fundamental doctrines and theologies of the Christian faith is necessary to develop and maintain a cohesive biblical worldview. This research project comprised the teaching of a five-part Bible study course at a local church in eleven consecutive forty-five-minute classes on …

Theological Truths That Divide Us And Engaging In Disagreement Well, David Westfall

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Eternal life is an eternal fellowship, a communion of difference gathered into perfect oneness through the working of the blood-bought Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­oneness in the body of Christ from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/theological-truths-that-divide-us-and-engaging-in-disagreement-well/

Migrating And Amplifying Ministry To Online Platforms To Pursue The Great Commission, Daniel Elnaam Bagaas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The COVID-19 crisis was unexpected by the universal church. The current pandemic revealed that the universal church and many local churches were not prepared for its’ accompanying challenges or to adapt in general. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, churches across America were required to temporarily cease in-person public gatherings and later to reduce the number of participants once in-person meetings were allowed again. This scenario caused many churches to have to adapt to the current circumstances to continue ministering. The purpose of this DMin research project is to amplify Sonrise Church’s online ministry presence and determine if it garners greater engagement …

Fidelity In Institutional Structure: Divine Family Formation And The Variance Of Church Amid Dysfunctional Behavior, Terrence Lyne Toliver

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There has been a rift in the providential establishment of our Lord. Humanity is indulgent unto sin and the family is suffering. Disobedience and selfishness have blinded humankind into a false sense of reality. The fallacy has taken the place of divine order in the chosen avenues into humanism depicted as science, technology, philosophy, cultism, and any other route devoid of Christ. Therefore, this in-depth study seeks to dispel or to bring to light a revelation of where humanity rests in the grand scheme of contemporary life. Two notions of preponderance present themselves, to forgo selfishness and to embrace righteousness. …

Impacts Of Network Training On Church Revitalization, Timothy Alan Houston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Does the impact of executive team training in church networks enhance problem-solving at the local church level and develop theologically informed theoretical practices? The action research project addressed the question that if the staff at Harvest Network received instruction in biblical principles of church revitalization, the expected result might be that the network team may become better equipped to serve the churches of the network. Four primary themes emerged from the literature research: barriers to church revitalization; detrimental pastoral leadership; church revitalization culture; and organizational team training. The designed intervention included interviews, focus groups, participant observations, reports, surveys, instruction, and …

Palestinian Evangelical Christian Music In Bethlehem, Israel/Palestine, Abby Smith

Senior Honors Theses

Often the story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is portrayed as Jewish vs. Muslim, Hebrew vs. Arab. There is little room in the international dialogue for minorities such as Arab Christians. Though Palestinians have a rich culture of Arabic musical and poetic heritage, they are unable to produce their own new songs. In this study I interviewed three members of Immanuel Evangelical Church on their experiences and opinions on local Christian worship. The findings show that Palestinian Christians may feel unable to write worship music because of a prevalent feeling of inadequacy and a lack of musical training. I propose several …

Christian Identity Meets Identity Politics: A Lutheran Approach To Political Engagement, Michael Hanson

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Identity politics has become a frequently referenced and much maligned term used to describe a trend in political engagement in the early 21^st century. Identity politics is employed across the political spectrum and has critics on both the left and right in the United States. Christian Identity Meets Identity Politics examines the contours of identity politics to understand and consider the concerns which lead neighbors to engage in identity politics, accounts for the needs of those neighbors who are denied God’s gift of justice through the state, considers criticisms leveled against identity politics within the greater view of Western …

Understanding Motivations To Attend Various Sized Churches: A Study Using Family Communication Patterns, Expectancy Violations, And Anxiety To Predict Church Attendance, Molly Bradshaw

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Two separate studies were conducted to examine whether communication variables impact religious views and church attendance. For the first study, 228 students from a large Southeastern university completed a web survey. The second study was a web survey of 204 adults that was conducted via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTURK). Both surveys were sent out to determine one’s motivations to attend a small, medium, or large church using family communication, anxiety, expectations, and religion variables as predictors. Family communication, anxiety, and expectancy variables were positively correlated to many aspects of religious views. Hierarchical regression models utilizing demographics, family communication, anxiety, expectancy …

Social Media As A Tool For Evangelism Among Youth And Young Adults, Trisney Bocala

Student Research

This research aims to answer the question of which social media platforms youth prefer and what types of content they prefer. Using data collected from a quantitative survey, this research seeks to identify the most-used social media platforms and most appealing formats of content so that Seventh-day Adventist churches, media organizations, and digital missionaries can more effectively utilize social media as a tool for evangelism among youth, defined as 15 to 24 years of age.

Equipping God's People At The Campbell Street Church Of Christ, Danny Sorrell

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project was designed to meet a need to equip God’s people at the Campbell Street Church of Christ for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ. The intervention involved the formation of a team of people to design a strategic plan to address this need. The design team met for a series of one-hour sessions in the spring of 2020. Each session brought together different sources of theological reflection, such as lectio divina, prayer, theology of equipping from Ephesians 4, and theology of the body of Christ from 1 Corinthians 12. In addition, design …

The Man Up Retreat : An Instrument Of Defense Against Absentee Fatherhood, Jaime Faberlle

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Competency-Based Education For Ministers In The Wesleyan Church : Best Practices For Educators, Erik L. Ireland

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Now, Tomorrow Is Leaving Yesterday : Departure Of Campus Youths From Church, Ayobamiji Joseph Oluwagunna

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Plan To Unify Generational Worship Divisions Through The Development And Implementation Of A Biblical Philosophy Of Generational Worship, Leonard L. Tomlin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Westside Baptist Church is a multigenerational Southern Baptist Church with an established culture of dynamic musical worship. Throughout the last four decades, this congregation has flourished in its weekly engagement of musical worship. Westside's musical worship styles are generally comprised of traditional hymns, southern gospel, and praise and worship music. While the church has maintained a reputation of first-rate worship music, the last decade has revealed a growing division among the congregation's generational worship style preferences. One generation of the church longs to worship with the songs that they grew up with, while another generation prefers to grow up with …

Seasons Of Change : Navigating New Beginnings And Endings Within The United Methodist Church, Wade Killough

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Holistic Transformation : The Importance Of Faith And Works In Major Christian Communities Of The Kathmandu Valley, Thakur Prasad Paudel

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Discipling With Purpose : Best Practices In Light Of God's Telos For Discipleship, Leighton St. Aubin Mcfarlane

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

21st Century Class Meeting : Wesleyan Discipleship With Software Facilitated Blended Learning, Michael Koho Larbi

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Discipleship Band : Evaluating The Transformative Potential And Best Practices For Seedbed's Model Of Discipleship Bands Among Students At Asbury University, Mark A. Benjamin

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Development And Evaluation Of A Wesleyan Internship Model, Creating A Discipleship, Renewal, And Lay Leadership Training Pathway, Mark Cheetham

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Ministry Formation Of Emerging Christian Leaders : Equipping Emerging Leaders To Minister Among The Marginalized, Sithembiso Hlophe

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Biblically Based Parenting Style In Anglican Church Arochukwu, Johnson Chibueze Onuoha

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Us-Based Ghanaian Methodist Young People : Improving Their Participation In And Commitment To Church, Samuel Osam-Duodu

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Growing Female Leaders : Best Practices In Identifying And Mentoring In The Htb Network, Sarah Mcdonald Haden

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Addressing Health Disparities Among African American Women In Mecklenburg County : A Mixed-Method Study On The Village Heartbeat Health Promotion Program, Everdith Landrau

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Dealing With Depression : Factors That Contribute To The Presence Of Major Depression Disorder And Its Impact In Hispanic Pastors Of Church Of God In Southeast Region, Nelson Parra

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Church Planting Pastors : Identifying, Assessing, And Recruiting Potential Church Planting Leadership, Paul Marzahn

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.