Religion Commons^™

Encouraging Conversation: Sharing The Oral History Of Nepalese Refugees Through Dialogical Preaching To Inspire Intercultural Collaboration, Matthew Clark

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Clark, Matthew J. “Encouraging Conversation: Sharing the Oral History of Nepalese Refugees through Dialogical Preaching to Inspire Intercultural Collaboration.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2025. 286 pp.

The project attends to the context of Ascension Lutheran Church in St. Louis, Missouri, where a minority group of church members are refugees from Nepal. As Ascension grows in ethnic diversity, however, much of the congregation has only a shallow multicultural level of engagement, where different cultural groups are only aware of each other as they exist parallel to one another with limited interaction.

The project seeks to answer the …

Is There Such A Thing As A Selfless Deed?, Mary Beth Pollema, Anneka Pollema

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"... we must check our motives to ensure that our service flows from a source of obedience, gratitude, gladness, humility and love for God and others."

Posting about serving others to bring glory to God from In All Things, an online hub that offers insight into maintaining and faithful and orthodox Reformed Christian worldview while fearlessly engaging in every aspect of contemporary life – until all is made new.

Is There Such a Thing as a Selfless Deed?

Sexism In African And African-American Pentecostalism: A Black Liberation Perspective, Evelyn G. Okeke

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation explores the scourge of sexism in African and African-American Pentecostalism within the context of a critique of Black Liberation Theology, including the many challenges the intersection of race, gender, and class poses for Black clergywomen seeking leadership roles in the Pentecostal church, their courageous attempts to tackle this problem, and the extent to which sexism has permeated the Pentecostal Church and contributed to the marginalization of Black clergywomen in that community. The broad issue is whether women qua human beings can represent Christ, to which question this study answered yes.

Sexism has harmed Black clergywomen in multiple ways, …

Restoration For Pastors: Embodied Art, Prayers, And Poetry For Healing And Resilience, Bryan H. Kim

Doctor of Ministry

The Perilous Role of the Pastorate in the American Church

Top-tier leadership in any ministry organization is, by and large, a dangerous endeavor in the American Church, with the role of pastor being the most dangerous. Peter Drucker, business, and management expert, states the four most challenging jobs in America are the following: President of the United States, hospital administrator, a university president, and a local church pastor.¹

The Struggle Despite Seminary Training

Despite traditional seminary training pastors in non-denominational churches feel ill-equipped to cope with daily, seasonal and heartache stressors, leaving them wondering if they are accomplishing anything …

Black Women Healing From Gender-Based Violence: Christ-Centered Approaches For Transformative Holistic Wellbeing, Tanya Jahwar

Doctor of Ministry

The Women’s Leadership and Resource Center states, “Gender-based violence against Black women has always existed in the US. From historical accounts of chattel slavery to analyses of present-day society, Black women have endured multiple forms of violence including labor …, sexual …, medical … and … exploitation.”³² This dissertation will provide important research about gender-based violence against Black women and girls and will conclude with Christ-centered approaches for transformative holistic wellbeing. Do laws that prevent violence enable more violence? In the fact sheet published by the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, it is noted that, “Experiences of abuse do …

Antiphons Of Iron And Blood: The Inspirations Of Tolkien's Poetry, Patrick J. Lyon

Journal of Tolkien Research

The new book, The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond, is a fascinating new look into a trove of previously unpublished Tolkien poetry. One of these new poems, “Ferrum et Sanguis,” includes an interesting series of addenda and subtitles written by Tolkien that give insight into the origins and inspirations for the poem. Furthermore, the interpretation given by the editors in their commentary on the poem misses the specific reference and applies it to a different source. The real source for the poem is very likely found in the Advent Vespers of the …

Blue Momma, Why Are You So Blue: A Trauma-Informed Theological Approach To Systematically Oppressed Black Mothers In Memphis, Tennessee, Valerie Houston

Doctor of Ministry

This dissertation discusses the effects of systemic oppression on the well-being of Black mothers in Memphis, Tennessee. It posits that systemic oppression causes trauma that negatively affects Black motherhood and familial stability. Research shows that maternal mental illness may negatively affect child development, behavior, and cognitive and socio-emotional development.³ Black literary history has revealed the importance of Black mothers for family development.⁴ It has shown how Black mothers used religion to support themselves emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually during times of travail.⁵ This work theorizes that a trauma-informed theological approach will liberate Black mothers in Memphis, Tennessee, from …

Hoeksema, Herman. I Believe: Sermons On The Apostles’ Creed. Jenison, Mi: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2023., Rebecca Huffman Givens

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

The Persian-Period Archaeozoological Finds From Tel Ya‘Oz (Hebrew, Pp. 45*–47*), Moshe Sade

'Atiqot

The archaeozoological finds comprised the bones of domesticated sheep/goat and cattle, and mollusks.

Buildings Of The Persian, Hellenistic And Early Roman Periods At Khirbat Kabar, In The Northern Hebron Hills (Hebrew, Pp. 49*–71*; English Summary, Pp. 205–207), Yuval Baruch

'Atiqot

Two buildings were exposed. The northern building comprised rooms surrounding a central courtyard; the pottery finds from this building date from the Persian period, and chiefly, to the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods (first century BCE). Only two rooms survived of the southern building, which apparently opened to a courtyard. Many storage-jar sherds were found, seemingly in situ. On two of them, Aramaic letters were incised before firing. An Achaemenid-style conical glass seal was unearthed, depicting a hero or a ruler holding flanking lions. This building may have had an administrative or storage function. Three tombs were uncovered in proximity …

Drinking Vessels (Rytha) From Tel Ya‘Oz (Hebrew, Pp. 25*–37*; English Summary, Pp. 203–204), Irit Ziffer, Raz Kletter, Orit Segal

'Atiqot

Three drinking vessels (rytha) were found in the Persian-period building at Tel Ya‘oz: an almost complete human-headed rython and two animal heads, of a ram and a lion. The anthropomorphic rython is undoubtedly the most extraordinary of the three. It is a local adaptation of an Achaemenid vessel that was used at royal banquets. Its Egyptian appearance might suggest that is was created by an Egyptian working on the Levantine coast, or by a Levantine trained in Egyptian iconography.

Petrographic Analysis Of The Persian-Period Ceramic Assemblage From Tel Ya‘Oz (Hebrew, Pp. 39*–44*; English Summary, Pp. 204–205), Amir Gorzalczany

'Atiqot

Thirty-nine samples of Persian-period wares were selected for analysis, and five petrographic groups were identified. The overwhelming majority of the assemblage was of non-local provenance. Several ranges of import were discerned, and it seems that the import-trade-exchange patterns at the site were oriented overseas or toward the Phoenician coast.

A Persian-Period Building From Tel Ya‘Oz (Tell Ghaza) (Hebrew, Pp. 1*–24*; English Summary, P. 203), Orit Segal, Raz Kletter, Irit Ziffer

'Atiqot

Thirty-nine samples of Persian-period wares were selected for analysis, and five petrographic groups were identified. The overwhelming majority of the assemblage was of non-local provenance. Several ranges of import were discerned, and it seems that the import-trade-exchange patterns at the site were oriented overseas or toward the Phoenician coast.

Chemical Study Of Basaltic Hopper-Rubber (Olynthus) Mills From Naḥal Tut And ‘En Hofez (Pp. 197–200), Irena Segal

'Atiqot

Four basalt stones of hopper-rubber (Olynthus) mills were sampled for chemical analysis; two were found at Naḥal Tut and two, from ‘En Hofez. All were dated on the basis of stratigraphy to the second half of the fourth century BCE. The chemical examination established that the millstones from Naḥal Tut were manufactured in the area of Nisyros, in the Aegean region.

Petrographic Analysis Of The Pottery From Naḥal Tut (Pp. 191–195), Amir Gorzalczany

'Atiqot

Nine samples of Persian-period wares were selected for analysis. Five petrographic groups were identified, pointing to the presence of local wares, close-range imports from the Carmel shore and long-range imports from the Aegean area or western Cyprus. It seems that the trade or exchange patterns at Naḥal Tut Site VIII were oriented overseas

Naḥal Tut (Site Viii): A Fortified Storage Depot From The Late Fourth Century Bce (Pp. 131–189), Yardenna Alexandre

'Atiqot

Excavations at the site revealed a large building complex, comprising casemate walls built on bedrock around a large central courtyard with corner towers. It was a well-planned and well-fortified complex, located at a strategic point. The complex was occupied for a brief period of time, at the very end of the Persian (Achaemenid) period and the very beginning of the Hellenistic period (c. 350–325 BCE). It was destroyed by a violent destruction, which claimed human victims. The destruction was dated by a single bronze coin of Alexander III to 336–323 BCE. The pottery finds at the site were homogenous, including …

The Archaeozoological Finds From Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 121–125), Moshe Sade

'Atiqot

Archaeozoological remains from the Middle Bronze Age and Persian period were discovered in the 1996 excavations at Tel Mikhal.

The Kurkar And Hamra Genesis Of The Northern Hill Of Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 127–130), Eldad Barzilay

'Atiqot

The geological environment of the site is composed of mobile sand, kurkar, hamra and grumosols (swelling and cracking clay soils) sediments of the Quaternary Hefer formation.

The Flint Tools From Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 117–119), Hamoudi Khalaily

'Atiqot

The Early Bronze Age is represented at Tel Mikhal by three Canaanean sickle blades and retouched blades, products of the Canaanean industry.

A Lead Amulet Of Nefertem From Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 109–111), Amir Gorzalczany

'Atiqot

A lead amulet representing the Egyptian god Nefertem (nfrtm) was found at Tel Mikhal, very close to the edge of the northern hill, in a fill over what seems to have been a small circular Persian-period shrine

The Stone Anchor From Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 113–115), Jacob Sharvit

'Atiqot

The anchor is a triangular shaped flat slab of limestone with rounded corners and one unfinished elliptical hole. It seems to belong to the ‘weight anchors’ group.

Persian-Period Metal Finds From Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 93–107), Sariel Shalev, Kamil Sari

'Atiqot

More than 100 metal objects dating to the Persian period (fifth–fourth centuries BCE) were unearthed in the excavations at Tel Mikhal. The assemblage included weapons (arrowheads); tools and implements (e.g., knives, needles, nails and tacks); weights; jewelry (bracelets, fibulae, pins and spatulae); a Tanit figurine; and an Egyptian amulet. The arrowheads were of the Irano-Scytic type, made of tin-bronze. All the arrowheads were left as cast, without mechanical treatment. Among the tools and implements, nails form the largest group; they were made of unalloyed copper and tin-bronze. The ten fibulae found at the site were made of tin-bronze; all underwent …

Stamped Amphora Handles From Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 89–91), Donald T. Ariel

'Atiqot

Three stamped amphora handles were recovered from the excavations at Tel Mikhal. Two are Rhodian, while the third is most likely the handle of a Samian amphora.

Petrographic Analysis Of Two Ballast Stones From Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 67–69), Amir Gorzalczany

'Atiqot

Both ballast stones were reused in a Persian-period installation. Their analysis revealed that they were of plutonic material, thus pointing to a distant provenance, perhaps in the Cyprus area. The stones were probably loaded on a merchant ship on its way from the eastern Mediterranean to the Tel Mikhal anchorage.

Coins From Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 71–88), Donald T. Ariel

'Atiqot

Thirty-eight coins were found in the excavation on the Northern Hill at Tel Mikhal, 33 were identified: 18 isolated coins, and 15 coins that formed part of a Persian-period hoard. The isolated coins are mainly of the Persian period, probably deriving from one phase of occupation that began in the second quarter of the fourth century BCE. The war between Ptolemy I and Antigonus possibly marks the end of the Persian stratum. The later numismatic evidence at the site indicates that the Northern Hill may have been occupied only during the Seleucid period. The hoard comprises Athenian-style tetradrachms, dating to …

Petrographic Analysis Of The Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) Pottery (Pp. 57–65), Amir Gorzalczany

'Atiqot

Thirty-six vessels were submitted for petrographic analysis, most of them from the Persian period and several from Middle Bronze Age II. Several wasters from the kilns were analyzed as well. The results point to a large variety of pottery types in the Persian period, which were divided into three main groups: local products; short- to medium-range distance imports; and long-distance imports. These finds parallel those identified at other southern coastal sites, which show an overwhelming amount of imported pottery.

The Pottery From The Iaa Excavations At Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 21–56), Lev Arie Kapitaikin

'Atiqot

Three main assemblages were identified in the pottery from the IAA excavations at Tel Mikhal: Persian coarse wares, imported pottery and pottery from three kilns (Area B1). The Persian wares, including mortaria, stands, kraters and jars, date to the later part of the Persian period (450–300 BCE). The imported Persian-period wares include decorated sherds of Cypriot or Eastern Greek origin, Attic pottery and undecorated imported vessels, such as amphorae and mortaria, dating to the last three quarters of the fourth century BCE. The pottery from Kiln 461 includes forms typical of the Persian period and miniature-sized (votive?) Persian-period vessels. Kilns …

The 1996 Excavations Along The Northern Hill At Tel Mikhal (Tel Michal) (Pp. 1–19), Amir Gorzalczany

'Atiqot

Excavations on the Northern Hill at Tel Mikhal revealed rich finds, in stark contrast with the poorly preserved and scant architectural remains. The earliest settlement here dates to prehistoric times, continuing into the Middle Bronze Age, when a ceramic industry operated at the site. In the Iron Age, settlement was sporadic, and mainly winepresses were unearthed. Toward the end of the Persian period, the area functioned as an industrial area for pottery production and a metal industry, as well as an area for storage and commerce. In the Hellenistic period, the site was also used for industry and storage. No …

The Approach Of The Noble Qur’An In Rooting The Personality Of The Young Man And Highlighting His Qualities (Semantic Study) Cave Man And Luqman's Commandments To His Son), عبدالله علي عبدالرحمن أبو السعود

Al-miʿyār

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the meaning of personality and youth in the Holy Quran, shedding light on two models of Quranic verses that talk about young people or describe their situation (the young men of the cave and the advice of Luqman to his son). The study then highlights the ideal qualities that the Holy Quran seeks to instill in the emerging generation and the blameworthy qualities that should be avoided. This is to shape their personalities and influence their present and future. The study also draws from the interpretations of scholars that serve these …

A Paradigm Shift In Disciple Making And Church Administration: Administrating Ministry Programs With A Knowledge Management System, Patrick Patterson

Doctor of Ministry

Christian discipleship is on the decline in the United States, according to the Barna Group.¹ The Barna Group “identified Christians who were both being discipled and discipling others as those who are fully engaged in discipleship community. Just over one in four U.S. Christians (28%) fall into this category. Another 28 percent are being discipled but are not helping others grow closer to Christ”.² A contributing factor is that the churches in this study do not appear to be effectively leveraging information and knowledge systems to aid with ministry decisions. The adoption of integrated knowledge management systems that …