Christian Denominations and Sects Commons^™

Editorial, Journal Editors

Eruditio Ardescens

No abstract provided.

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 48 No 2 - November 2013), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: The Two-Kingdoms Doctrine and the Mission to Islam by John Bolt - 198 / Neo-Calvinism, Pluralism, and the Challenge of Islam by Richard J. Mouw - 207 / Universality and Dualism: Herman Bavinck and the Debate on Whether to Civilize the Dutch East Indies through Missions or Education by George Harinck - 217 / Neo-Calvinism and Pan-Islamism: Kindred Movements Against Liberal Imperialism? by Clifford B. Anderson - 234 / John Calvin and Musical Instruments: A Critical Investigation by W. David O. Taylor - 248 / The Covenant-Idea as the Heart of Hebrews and Biblical Theology: An Original Contribution …

Conservative Holiness Pastors' Ability To Assess Depression And Their Willingness To Refer To Mental Health Professionals, Andrew Graham

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the willingness and ability of Conservative Holiness pastors to assess depression and their willingness to refer to mental health professionals. Eighty-six pastors completed a four-part survey that measured diagnostic accuracy, willingness to refer, attitudes toward mental health, perceived competency to assist, recognition of need for help and confidence in mental health professionals. Demographic characteristics and case study responses were investigated through analysis of frequency data; relationships with demographic variables were analyzed using Spearman's rho and independent t-tests; relationships with variables derived from the scales were analyzed using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation. Analyses found …

Developing A Congregational Care Model: Mount Olive Baptist Church, Donna Robinson Mack-Tatum

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a layperson based Congregational Care Ministry Model to assist the pastor of large congregations. The topic was chosen as a means of addressing the need for the pastor of the Mount Olive Baptist Church to have assistance with meeting the needs of the congregation. As the congregation increases in size, it has become increasingly more difficult for him to visit the sick, counsel, minister to the bereaved, preach, and teach. While there are other ministries that assist in various ways with these tasks, this ministry will enhance the efforts that are already …

The Symphony Of The Trinity : Tuning In To The Father, Son And Holy Spirit For Congregational Renaissance, Richelle Wagner Sampl

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Biblical Eldership And Leadership, Ira Lee Rosalita

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Emerging Adults : Inviting And Incorporating Them Into The Body Of Christ, Deann Halligan Anderson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Elder Selection: Engaging The Monterey Church Of Christ In A Collaborative Elder Selection Process, Benjamin D. Pickett

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the outcomes of a project intended to foster greater collaboration at the Monterey Church of Christ in its selection of elders. The intervention involved the engagement of the Monterey Church in a process that involved multiple steps. These steps involved engagement with teachers in the context of a teacher training seminar, with Bible classes in a series of Bible lessons, and with elders, elder nominees, and their spouses in order to discern the perceived degree to which Monterey members participate in the elder selection process. The Bible lessons presented an alternative model for theological …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 48 No 1 - April 2013), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: The Imitation of Christ as Illumination for the Two Kingdoms Debate by John Bolt - 6 / "Abraham had two sons": Augustine and the Allegory of Sarah and Hagar (Galatians 4:21–31) by Wendy Elgersma Helleman - 35 / Jonah 1:9—An Example of Elenctic Testimony by Carl J. Bosma - 65 / Missionary Ecclesiology in an Age of Individualization by Stefan Paas - 91 / From a Neo-Calvinistic to an Ecumenical Theology of Religions: The Development of the Theologia Religionum of Johannes Verkuyl by Rudolph Edward Stiemer - 107 / Pierre Viret on War and Peace by Robert D. …

Justified By Faith: The Upper Susquehanna Lutheran Synod And The Pennsylvania Natural Gas Fracking Controversy, Lena R. Connor

Pomona Senior Theses

An exercise in applied Christian ecotheology, this thesis focuses on a community of Lutheran church bodies (ELCA) in North Central Pennsylvania as they grappled with natural gas hydraulic fracturing in the summer of 2012. In the paper, I employ a combination of theological, environmental, historical, and ethnographic research methodologies to ground my analysis of how this synod of Lutherans to date has approached the fracking boom. My primary research question is: How might the Upper Susquehanna Synod of the ELCA--as a representative body of 131 Lutheran churches that are steeped in tradition--use its history, community involvement, theology, and church structure …

La Sagesse Et L’Adversite – Wisdom And Adversity, Yann Opsitch

Language and Literature

What can we learn from the biblical text concerning the relationship between wisdom and adversity? How can we apply this to our lives in the 21^st century?

How do the life and teachings of Jesus connect with the biblical concept of wisdom? How does the story of Jesus help us reconstruct our broken lives and identities? Where is the wisdom in biblical hope?

These are some of the questions raised by this book written in French and addressing specifically a French audience.

From Establishment To Innovation: Rethinking Structure In A New Apostolic Age, Dwight J. Zscheile

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of The Growing Healthy Churches Program As A Method For Producing Healthy, Growing, And Reproducing Southern Baptist Congregations, Donald Hardaway

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The current status of Southern Baptist churches in the United States necessitates the development of a strategy for renewal toward health and multiplication. The purpose of this project is to suggest a proven model for local church revitalization through the "Growing Healthy Churches" program developed by Dr. Paul Borden. Based on responses from churches participating in the Growing Healthy Churches program and pastors who have led their churches through the strategies presented by Borden, the project explains the revitalization process, reviews the results, and makes a recommended plan of action for local church renewal through association-led programming.

Leadership Training Program For Shared Leadership Based On Super Leadership At Cheo-Eum Korean Presbyterian Church : A Study Of Christian Leadership, Houng Jin Youn

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 47 No 2 - November 2012), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: All Is Well by Stanley D. Walters - 192 / A Good Sermon Is Hard to Find by Stanley Mast - 215 / Preaching the Creeds and Confessions of the Church: The Case for Theological Literacy by Wilbert M. Van Dyk - 224 / Applying Gracefully by Scott E. Hoezee - 237 / Balancing the Spiritual Diet: Suggestions for Preaching from the Book of Hebrews by Thomas J. Niehof - 248 / Applying Daniel's Messages to the Church Today by Sidney Greidanus - 257 / Scripture and Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary by Arie C. Leder, Katrina M. …

Kingly Authority: Is It Finding A Place In The Adventist Church?, Stan Patterson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study: Traditional Evangelical Friends Pastors With Contemporar Evangelical Pastors For Twenty-First Century Application, Thomas Crawford

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This is a study of the dominant views of traditional evangelical Friends pastors and contemporary evangelical pastors. A comparative study of lifestyle, methods of ministry, and primary doctrinal beliefs is used to discover areas of agreement, differences, and points critical to successful leadership for Evangelical Friends pastors. Being a pastor and denominational leader in the Evangelical Friends Church-Eastern Region for the past 32 years gives the author a critical interest in this study. Every church and denomination wants to effectively reach people for Christ. The author and Evangelical Friends are no different. Academic research is combined with interviews of evangelical …

Extending Story Listening As A Practice Of Communal Formation At The Lake Orion Church Of Christ, Eric R. Magnusson

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the results of a project that explores the potential for extending a practice of story listening as a way of forming community across social circles at the Lake Orion Church of Christ in Lake Orion, Michigan. The intervention involved guiding a group of six participant-researchers, each of whom had previous experience in story listening, through six sessions in the fall of 2011. Each phase of the project was informed by a participatory social Trinitarian theology. The first three sessions were designed to empower participant-researcher pairs to facilitate story listening groups of four to five …

The Application For Church Planting Through The Intercessory Prayer Ministry Of Young Adult Ministry In Choong Hyun Presbyterian Church, Kwang Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis is about researching church planting through the intercessory prayer ministry. This project describes several spiritual awakenings through this ministry. The most important result of spiritual awakenings is that skeptical believers in spiritual life have been changed into positive ones and passive believers have been transformed into active ones. Actually the author as an assistant pastor ministered in Choong hyun Presbyterian Church for almost five years. His wife and he led this ministry for one and half years. The author tried to find out the biblical background related to intercessory prayer through the New Testament, write …

The Initiation Of Growth-Focused Relationships Involving Healthy Accountability At The Carbondale Church Of Christ, Stephen Shaffer

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

After several years of transition, the Carbondale Church of Christ is in the early stages of becoming a spiritual growth-focused community. However, the emerging growth community appears to reflect the prevailing cultural assumptions that growth is a personal, private, and an individual task. To shape this emergent growth culture, this project initiated a group of congregational opinion leaders, organized in pairs, into the practice of growth-focused relationships involving healthy accountability. The initiation involved a theological orientation followed by a four-week healthy accountability praxis.

The theological framework of the project involved three main aspects. First, the project used the body image …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 47 No 1 - April 2012), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: Revisiting the Psalm of Jonah by Amanda W. Benckhuysen - 5 / Calvin's Theological Appropriation of His Philosophical Sources: A Note on Natural Law and Institutes 2.2.2 2-23 by Charles D. Raith II - 32 / Vos and Berkhof on Union with Christ and Justification by J. V. Fesko - 50 / Groen van Prinsterer: Godfather of Bavinck and Kuyper by Harry Van Dyke - 72 / It's About Time: Opening Reformational Thought to the Eschaton by Nicholas Ansell - 98 / Reforming Public Theology: Two Kingdoms, or Two Cities? by James K. A. Smith - 122 / …

A Future I Trust In: Identity And Vocation As The Parent-Leader, Karen M. Gieseke

Children, Youth, and Family (CYF) Papers

No abstract provided.

2012 - 106th Annual Summit, "Intimacy", Abilene Christian University, Abilene Christian University

Lectureship and Summit Programs

No abstract provided.

Key Factors Of Faith Development : The Relationship Between Family And Church Factors And Faith Development Of Adolescents And Young Adults In German-Speaking Europe, Alexander C. Schulze

Dissertations

Problem. The church is losing its children. Research revealed that more than two thirds of the next generation leave their congregations during their teens and early 20s. Without these adolescents and young adults the church has no viable future. While the youth are able to make their way without church, the church will definitely not make its way without the youth. The problem addressed in this study is the continuing challenge for church leaders, educators, and administrators to provide the best possible conditions for spiritual and organizational growth in order to retain the next generation.

Method. Observation and anecdotal evidence …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 46 No 2 - November 2011), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: "A Benefit No Mind Can Fully Comprehend": Bavinck's Doctrine of Justification by Dane C. Ortlund - 249 / I Will Pour Out My Spirit on All People: A Pastoral Reading of Joel 2:28-30 from Latin America by Norberto Saracco - 268 / Reading the Bible and Reading Life: Everyday Life Approaches to Wisdom Literature from Latin America by Leopoldo Cervantes-Ortiz - 278 / The Book of Revelation: A Latin American Interpretation by Juan Stam - 289 / The Redemptive-Historical Dynamics of the Salvation of "All Israel" (Rom. 11:26a) by P. H. R. (Rob) van Houwelingen - 301 / …

Doing What The Bible Does, Karoline M. Lewis

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Implementing A Discernment Phase For Those Nominated In The Shepherd Selection Process At The Cinco Ranch Church Of Christ, Aaron Walling

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the results of a project that implemented a discernment phase for those nominated in the shepherd selection process at the Cinco Ranch Church of Christ. Occurring in the fall of 2010, this project involved nominees in a series of six one-hour, thirty-minute sessions designed to establish the theological foundations for shepherding and to explore its practical expression at Cinco Ranch. For the theological component, this project primarily utilized Ephesians 4:11-16, and for the practical side, it incorporated group interactions with those serving as shepherds along with the review of guiding leadership documents. The project‟s …

Episcopal Applicants To Ordained Ministry: Are They Psychological Healthy?, Thomas G. Plante, Christopher Apodaca

Psychology

The current investigation evaluated psychological and personality profiles of applicants to the diaconate and priesthood for several Episcopal dioceses. Applicants included both genders and their ages ranged from 29 to 67 years. A psychological testing battery including the MMPI-2, 16PF, and MCMI-III was administered to 42 applicants between 2008 and 2009 who subsequently entered the diaconate or priestly formation program in the Episcopal Church. Results indicate that these applicants were generally well-adjusted. Findings also suggest some tendency for defensiveness, repression, naïveté, and a strong need for affection, as well as for being emotionally stable, intelligent, trusting, and open to change. …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 46 No 1 - April 2011), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

Articles: A Break with Anti-Judaic Exegesis: John Calvin and the Unity of the Testaments by G. Sujin Pak - 7 / Metaphysics and Justification in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Reformed Theology by John V. Fesko - 29 / A Brief History of Heaven in the Writings of Jonathan Edwards by Robert Caldwell - 48 / The Glory of Spiders and Politics by John Bolt - 72 / Experience, Expression, Understanding: Gerardus van der Leeuw's Phenomenological Method by Richard J. Plantinga - 81 / The Seven Days of Creation by James W. Skillen - 111 / Lost Keys: The Absolution in …

Crafting A Congregational Narrative For The College Church Of Christ In Fresno, California, Jason W. Locke

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a ministry project in the College Church of Christ in Fresno, California. In this project I led the congregation through a narrative crafting process in order to clarify the church’s identity and increase its capacity for mission. In recent decades, the College Church moved away from some of its founding characteristics yet failed to clarify a new sense of identity. It subsequently had difficulty acting with a unified sense of purpose and instead moved increasingly toward fragmentation.

Data for crafting the new narrative came from three weeks of group interviews. My research team conducted these interviews in …