Christian Denominations and Sects Commons^™

Luther's Understanding Of Grace And Its Implications For Administration Of The Lord's Supper In The Lutheran Church Of Christ In Nigeria (Lccn), Yelerubi Birgamus

Master of Theology Theses

This thesis will describe Luther’s understanding of grace and its centrality for the Lutheran understanding of the Lord’s Supper. The thesis will also describe and analyze theological and pastoral problems of withholding the sacraments to non-communicant members by the LCCN, which claims to follow after Luther’s teaching. This thesis is not anti-church discipline, but rather, will argue for a better form of church discipline than withholding the Lord’s Supper from the excluded members of the church. The thesis will also provide some suggestions for a better form of church discipline than withholding communion from excluded members of the church. This …

Celebrating The Congregational Anniversary: Planning The Congregational History, Part 3, Paul Daniels

Ask the Archivist

This article provides answers to some common questions that arise when planning a congregational history.

Celebrating The Congregational Anniversary: Planning The Congregational History, Part 2, Paul Daniels

Ask the Archivist

This article discusses style and tone considerations of planning a congregational history.

Celebrating The Congregational Anniversary: Planning The Congregational History, Part 1, Paul Daniels

Ask the Archivist

This article discusses deciding scope, audience, and format of composing a congregational history, as well as determining the capacity for completing such a project.

Some Basics Of Document Retention And Records Sampling, Paul Daniels

Ask the Archivist

No abstract provided.

Ask The Archivist: What Makes A Useful Church Archives?, Paul Daniels

Ask the Archivist

No abstract provided.

The Elca By The Numbers, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Five Hundred Years Of Reformation: A Joint Commemoration, Dirk G. Lange

Faculty Publications

In the sixteenth century, Catholics and Lutherans frequently not only misunderstood but also exaggerated and caricatured their opponents in order to make them look ridiculous. Now, the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity have produced a liturgy for a joint commemoration of the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation.

Planning For 2017: Reformation Resources For Your Library, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

This survey of recent and forthcoming books relating to the Reformation seeks to help readers to navigate the deep waters of this literature and to find useful volumes from which to “drink.”

Preaching John 8:31-36: Reforming Contexts Then And Now, Karoline M. Lewis

Faculty Publications

The Gospel reading for Reformation Sunday is always John 8:31–36, yet preaching on this passage tends to overlook the critical contexts in which this pericope is located. Preaching John 8:31–36 on Reformation now will demand a careful analysis of the role of the passage in the Fourth Gospel, both as a means by which to respect its literary integrity as well as invitation to how it might shape a new hermeneutic for a new day.

Lutherans In North America, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Mission Of The Church: Its Misconceptions And My Proposal And Claim, Horacio Castillo

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

Cultivating Biblical Imagination Through Preaching, Edward N. Kay

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Explores the ways preaching can help increase familiarity and comfort with scripture so people are able to interpret their daily experiences and lifetime milestones with God’s story revealed in the Bible. The importance of narrative is explored, especially in relationship with competing narratives in today’s world. A variety of forms of interactive preaching are explored to evaluate the ability of the sermon to increase biblical imagination: biblical storytelling, people talking to one another, and writing down reflections to act on in the future. Sermons were preached in multiple ELCA congregation in a variety of contexts.

Exploring The Effectiveness Of Field Preaching Evangelism In The United Methodist Church, Paul D. Johnsen

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Explores present-day versions of John Wesley’s field-preaching. Wesley preached in fields, at marketplaces and in a variety of other outdoor settings. Field-preaching requires pastors to take their preaching ministry beyond church buildings. This thesis considers the effectiveness of pastors who preach at restaurants, coffee shops, bars and in rented spaces. It also evaluates the cost of these efforts. It argues that reclaiming this historic Methodist practice helps reach a population and demographic currently not served by most United Methodist congregations.

Mystagogical Preaching In The Episcopal Church: Connecting Sermon And Liturgy, Daniel John Justin

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Seeks to determine the effectiveness of mystagogical preaching for communicating the theology of the Episcopal Church as it is presented in the liturgies of the Book of Common Prayer. Mystagogy is a liturgical theology leading worshipers deeper into the mysteries of the faith as they are experienced in the liturgy. This study uses an action/reflection research method seeking to determine participants understanding of the liturgical rites in question prior to the sermon and if that understanding changes after hearing a mystagogical sermon. Surveys including both quantitative and qualitative questions are used to measure effectiveness of this style of preaching.

Wesleyan Missional Small Groups: Three Crucial Attributes, David Werner

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Mixed methods (simple exploratory and participatory action research) study explored ways congregations can draw upon both the United Methodist heritage and the missional approach to foster spiritual formation using small groups that make sense to the postmodern culture and lead to behavior changes.

Three crucial attributes of vital, faith-forming small groups are: creating authentic community (belonging – engaging one another), engaging the Holy Spirit (believing – engaging God), and helping participants make applications to their daily lives (behaving – engaging real life). Congregations must do the hard work of contextualizing these and hold all three together for small groups to …

Led To Lead: Vocational Discernment And Emerging Pastoral Leadership In The Reformed Church In America, Tanner Smith

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This mixed-methods sequential exploratory research project investigates the leadership development practices of two Christian organizations—a multi-site church and seminary—within the Reformed Church in America. The study identifies the best practices of both organizations for building vocational discernment capacity in emerging leaders, and compares the practices of the organizations in an attempt to foster dialogue that leads to collaboration in leadership development efforts.

God’S Uses Of The Law And The Effort To Establish A Constitutional Right To The Means To Live, Marie A. Failinger, Patrick R. Keifert

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Absolving Word : Luther's Reformational Turn, Matthew W. Mccormick

Master of Theology Theses

No abstract provided.

Deep In The Burbs : A Participatory Action Research Project Exploring How The Social Trinity Impacts Spiritual Formation In Suburban Elca Congregations, Steven P. Thomason

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

Deep in the Burbs is a participatory action research project that gathered members from three upper-Midwest suburban ELCA congregations to explore how engagement with the social Trinity might impact the research team’s ideation or praxis of spiritual formation. The research team pursued this question through the practice of Dwelling in the Word—specifically in select passages from the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17)—various modalities of communicative learning, and communicative action projects in the community. The data indicate three major themes that became important to the research team: the essential nature of relationships, the necessity of reflection, and the awareness of the …

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus And The Elca In Dispute: A Time For Humble Listening, Kathryn M. Schifferdecker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

What Kind Of Confession Is The Augsburg Confession?: "I Shall Speak Of Your Decrees Before Kings, And Shall Not Be Put To Shame" (Psalm 119:46), Steven D. Paulson

Faculty Publications

What is the genre of the Augsburg Confession? Knowing this identifies the meaning and use of the document historically and presently. The confession is apocalyptic, despite the disparaging place this genre has held in recent theology. The case comes especially from Martin Luther’s own correspondence of the time and his later recollection of the events given in his 1542 Genesis lectures. In the Genesis lectures Luther connected Augsburg to the conflict Rebecca had come to in the case of primogeniture and Jacob. The first table of the commandments came into strange conflict with the second: the law of authority conflicting …

Martin Luther's Theology Of The Cross In The Face Of The Challenge Of The Neo-Pentecostal Movement And Its Prosperity Gospel Message, Hossana Yohanna

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.

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

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Whatever Became Of Carl Braaten?: Selective Critical Reflections On Carl Braaten's Because Of Christ: Memoirs Of A Lutheran Theologian, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Slow Disaster And A Proposal For Reform, Mark A. Granquist

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Narrative Lectionary, Rolf A. Jacobson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Soli Deo Gloria: A Doxological Hermeneutic Of Mission In Emerging Ministries In The Evangelical Lutheran Church In America, Daniel R. Anderson

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This research project is a grounded theory, ethnographic study of emerging ministries in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Twenty emerging ministries were selected from within the ELCA. Six of those sites were the subjects of indepth site visits by a research team. Eleven additional sites were the subjects of partial site visits and interviews. The data-gathering phase of the research concluded with a consultation with thirty emerging leaders held at Luther Seminary. Four sensitizing concepts were used as lenses in data gathering: Lutheran, emerging, missional, and doxological hermeneutics. Leadership in emerging ministries and emerging ministries as contextual and …

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

Children, Youth, and Family (CYF) Papers

No abstract provided.

Doing What The Bible Does, Karoline M. Lewis

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.