Christian Denominations and Sects Commons^™

Premarital Preparation Within The Home, School, And Church As Perceived By Adolescents In The Lake Union Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Ernest James Stevens

Dissertations

Problem. In today's society increasing stress and problems face the traditional Judeo-Christian marriage and family. Adolescents are being confronted with these problems as a result of the continuing rate of divorce and internal stress within family relations. The Seventh-day Adventist church has historically emphasized the importance of marriage and the family. However, as the Christian marriage and family face changes in today's society, there is a need for greater awareness of the factors which influence the premarital preparation of adolescents. The purpose of this study was to research adolescents' perceptions of their premarital preparation. The primary hypothesis of this …

The Concept Of Contextualization And Its Implications For The Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Education In India, Melchizedek M. Ponniah

Dissertations

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist chruch in India operates in a rapidly changing pluralistic context and a predominantly Hindu culture. Response to the emerging opportunities and demands suggest the reconstruction of theological education in more contextual terms. It is imperative that the institutions and practice of ministry be shaped and evaluated in terms of the manifold functions to be performed in the varegated and highly differentiated cultures within which the Adventist church functions.

Method

This study utilized the historical and descriptive methods. Literature was reviewed to gather concepts related to the concept of contextualization and contextualization of theological education.

Conclusions

1. …

Study Of The Attitudes Concerning Church Standards Expressed By Seventh-Day Adventists In Relation To Selected Personality Traits, Hampton Eugene Walker

Dissertations

Problem. This study attempted to explore whether or not traits of personality accounted for differences among Seventh-day Adventists, predicting attitudinal tendencies of either strict or lenient adherence toward traditional church standards.

Methodology. This study utilized the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, Form C for measuring personality variables, and a Likert-type scale which was developed to measure attitudes of adherence to six Adventist church standards within a sample of 447 Seventh-day Adventists. The relationship between the sixteen personality variables and each of the six attitudinal variables toward selected church standards (i.e., diet, dress, entertainment, Sabbath keeping, sexual activities, and divorce and remarriage) …

Frederick Griggs, Seventh-Day Adventist Educator And Administrator, Arnold Colin Reye

Dissertations

Problem. Frederick Griggs was a pivotal figure in the development of Seventh-day Adventist education. As an administrator he was influential in clarifying educational goals, defining the scope of the educational program, and building the structure and organization necessary to achieve and maintain an educational system. Despite his considerable contribution to Adventist education, there has been no comprehensive investigation of his life.

Method. This study has investigated Grigg's life from the perspective of his work as an educational administrator. A historical-documentary method of research has been used. Major sources have been collections of official correspondence; minutes of committees, boards, and faculties; …

Indonesia Union College : A Historical Study Of A Seventh-Day Adventist Institution, Rajoaman Nainggolan

Dissertations

Problem

The first Seventh-day Adventist training school established in Indonesia was the Netherlands East Indies Training School (Indonesia Union College after 1962) founded in 1929. The school has since grown considerably and achieved university status, but no comprehensive history of it has been written. This lack points to a need for a systematic examination of the development of Seventh-day Adventist higher education in Indonesia. This study reconstructs the history of this institution from 1929 to 1970.

Method

The documentary-historical method, based on published and unpublished materials, was used. Materials included books, periodicals, school bulletins, minutes of the Indonesia Union Mission, …

Planning A Needs-Assessment-Based Approach To Continuing Education Programs For Seventh-Day Adventist Clergy In The Eastern Africa Division, Baraka G. Muganda

Dissertations

Problem. This study attempts to determine the extent to which the needs-assessment-based approach to educational planning can be validated and used in planning continuing-education programs for the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) ministers serving in the Eastern Africa Division (EAD).

Method. The sample of the population for this study was drawn from the SDA clergy and a selected group of laity in the EAD. The data were gathered through a two-part questionnaire. The first part sought the demographic profiles of respondents. The second part was designed to enable the respondents to rank each one of the thirty items for preparation and importance. …

A Study Of Selected Variables Dealing With Continuing Education Interests Of Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors And Judicatory In The North American Division, Penny Shell

Dissertations

Background and Purpose of the Study. The study grew out of an increased Seventh-day Adventist interest in continuing education for ministry in the church's North American Division. This interest had generally been accompanied by a lack of current data for careful planning and development of resources. As a needs assessment, the study sought opinions on continuing education for ministry from the pastors, the local conference presidents, and the local conference ministerial directors in the North American division. The four specific areas covered by the study were (1) subject-matter preferences, (2) learning-situation preferences, (3) motivations, and (4) obstacles. Also covered were …

A Study Of Teacher Motivation In Five Selected Seventh-Day Adventist Colleges In The United States, Allen F. Stembridge

Dissertations

Problem. The purpose of this study was to determine what positive and negative motivating factors affect teachers at Seventh-day Adventist colleges, to determine if these factors are different for public university teachers as identified in a similar study by Morgan, and to determine what factors influenced teachers to accept an appointment at an Adventist college.

Method. Respondents were asked to describe positive or negative incidents that related to their jobs as teachers and to answer twenty forced-choice-structured questions to indicate their level of satisfaction of dissatisfaction. The critical incidents were coded within a set of categories adapted for …

A Comparative Study Between The Black And White Seventh-Day Adventist Seminarians Concerning Their Attitudes And Perceptions Of Their Ministry Relative To Selected Social And Theological Issues, Byron P. Napper

Dissertations

Problem

The integration of theological studies with the practical aspects of the ministry is a desirable goal which the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church seeks to nurture within its seminary. The problem this study addresses is the lack of available data which answer questions related to how the Black and White SDA seminarians approach their ministry in areas of selected social and theological issues. Empirical data were not found to assess the relationship between one's race, age, community, church location, religion and one's response or attitude concerning his social involvement.

Method

From a list provided by the SDA Theological Seminary, 244 …

Goodloe Harper Bell, Pioneer Seventh-Day Adventist Christian Educator, Allan G. Lindsay

Dissertations

The Seventh-day Adventist church operates a worldwide system of Christian education. The pioneer educator who played a most significant part in laying its foundations was Goodloe Harper Bell (1832-1899).

Bell was a public school teacher in central Michigan from 1851 through 1866. He became a Seventh-day Adventist in 1867 and was subsequently invited to open a small private school in Battle Creek, Michigan. The success attending this school encouraged the church to employ Bell as the first teacher to operate a denominationally sponsored school in 1872. The school became Battle Creek College in 1875. Until 1882, Bell taught a variety …

Resource Allocation In Seventh-Day Adventist Elementary Schools: An Educational Production Function Study, Gerald Alan Brown

Dissertations

Problem. Scarce resources and declining student achievement, heighten the need for schools to examine the resource allocation function more closely than ever to ensure that resources are being used most effectively. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of selected school controlled variables on student achievement in Seventh-day Adventist elementary schools and to develop guidelines for the resource allocation function relative to these selected variables.

Method. Thirty schools on both grades three and six served as the population sample. Achievement scores were used as the determiner of school effectiveness. Three basic multiple regression procedures were used in …

The Impact Of Student Evaluative Feedback On The Perception Of The Teaching Faculty At Andrews University, Edmund Siagian

Dissertations

Problem. Educational researchers have little consensus of opinion regarding the usefulness of student evaluations and much less of the use of student evaluative feedback as a means of improving teachers' performance. However, because a movement of educational accountability pervades institutions of higher learning and administrators desire to keep students content, many school administrators periodically assess the performance of their teaching faculty by student evaluation. This study investigates the impact of student evaluative feedback on the perception of the teaching faculty at Andrews University, with the hope that the findings may help resolve whether student evaluation is helpful for improvement of …

A Study Of Parental Attitudes Regarding Secondary Boarding Schools Of The Mid-America Union Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Lawrence Gilbert Kromann

Dissertations

Problem. One of the challenging problems of SDA education in North America is the possible trend of declining enrollment of boarding academies, which have been the mainstay of the SDA secondary school system. It was the purpose of this study to determine if a relationship existed between the declining enrollment and parental attitudes concerning the boarding academies.

Method. A five-page Likert-type scale survey was used to gather information from randomly selected parents of high-school-age students in the Mid-America Union. Seven sub-hypotheses were used to test the major hypothesis which stated there would be a significant relationship between declining boarding school …

William Warren Prescott, Seventh-Day Adventist Educator, Gilbert M. Valentine

Dissertations

Problem. William Warren Prescott, 1855-1944, was one of the most influential educators of the Seventh-day Adventist church. As a religious educator he also served the church as preacher, writer, editor, and administrator. His influence on the church was extensive but until now there has been no comprehensive investigation of his life or evaluation of his contribution to the church.

Method. This study investigated Prescott's life from the perspective of his work as a religious educator. It has used the documentary-historical method of research. Major sources included the extensive official correspondence in the Archives of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists …

Nonclassroom Teacher-Student Association In Seventh-Day Adventist Academies In The Northern And Central California Conferences, John G. Kerbs

Dissertations

Problem. Nonclassroom teacher-student relationships were studied in the secondary-school setting with regard to their occurrence; their perceived value, adequacy, and effects; their preferred forms or types; and the perceived barriers to teacher-student association.

Method. This was a descriptive study employing survey research. A 53-item questionnaire was completed by 671 senior students, full-time teachers, and principals in the eleven SDA academies and two boarding academies in the Northern and Central California Conferences. The data from the questionnaires were summarized--totaling responses and calculating percentages, means, and standard deviations. Comparisons were made and some differences were evaluated by applying t tests, accepting .05 …

Usage Of Archaeological Data In North American Seventh-Day Adventist Literature, 1937-1980, Lloyd A. Willis

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine how archaeological data have been used in Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) literature of North America since the first SDA attained advanced qualifications in the discipline (1937). The early twentieth-century SDA literature showed a strong tendency to apply archaeological information apologetically especially in defense of Scriptural reliability and sometimes seeming to imply that Scripture is reliable because archaeology has declared it so. The thesis was that increased expertise as heralded by the formal training of such SDA scholars as L. H. Wood, E. R. Thiele, S. H. Horn, and their successors, would introduce a …

A Conceptual Model For The Professional Practice Of Seventh-Day Adventist Educational Administration Based On The Proclamations Of The Three Angels Of Revelation 14, Rilla Taylor

Dissertations

Problem. Since the Seventh-day Adventist administrator must define a suitable mode of practice, the question must be addressed; does the Seventh-day Adventist religion require a distinctive mode of practice or simply suggest a characteristic approach to a common mode of practice?

Method. While the Seventh-day Adventists share many beliefs in common with all Christians, their most distinctive belief is found in the messages of three angels described in Revelation 14:6-12. Therefore, these messages are examined to determine whether or not they contain concepts which lead to a characteristic mode of administrative practice. Firstly, the three angels' messages are …

Selected Personality And Motivation Variables Related To Behavioral Commitment To Certain Health Teachings Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Ronald Edwin Ruskjer

Dissertations

Problem. Seventh-day Adventists teach that the practice of certain health habits is essential to optimum spiritual nurture. It is commonly known, however, that a number of Seventh-day Adventist church members fail to practice one or more of these habits. This is a matter of crucial concern to dedicated Adventists in general and health- and faith-professionals of the Adventist persuasion in particular. This investigation was undertaken in order to help such Adventists better understand the phenomenon of health-habit practice. It was the purpose of the present study to discover certain relationships that may exist between the practice of health habits on …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Religiosity, Amount Of Exposure To Seventh-Day Adventist Parochial Education And Other Selected Variables Among Seventh-Day Adventist Secondary Students In Sao Paulo, Brazil, Eliseu Nevil Menegusso

Dissertations

Problem. This study investigated whether the express purpose of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) education, (the transmission of the SDA religious heritage) is being fulfilled. It was based on the relationship between five dimensions of religiosity (the criterion variables), the amount of exposure to SDA education, and other selected variables such as age, sex, scholastic achievement, home religious practices, religious affiliation and marital status of the subjects' parents (the predictors). Eleven hypotheses were tested. The first five were concerned with the relationship between the combination of the dimension and the combination of the predictors; the sixth with the relationship between the combination …

Major Contextual Dimensions And Dynamic Factors In The Transmission Of The Judeo-Christian Religious Heritage According To Selected Writings Of Ellen G. White, Juan Navarro

Dissertations

Purpose. Christianity claims to have directly received by revelation from God a body of knowledge which has been preserved, developed, and handed down through generations. The purpose of this study was to determine what, according to Ellen White, are the major contextual dimensions in the transmission of this religious heritage and the dynamic factors involved in the process.

Method. The approach to this documentary study consisted of (1) carefully reading selected writings of White and collecting every statement related to the investigation; (2) logically arranging the information gathered; and (3) analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing, and presenting the findings in an expository …

A Study Of The Duties Of The Elders Of Local Seventh-Day Adventist Churches In Chile: A Needs Assessment, Rolando A. Itin

Dissertations

Problem. Many Seventh-day Adventist churches in Chile, South America, do not have the assistance of a resident pastor, and most of the work in the church is done by volunteer lay leaders. The highest officer of the church is the elder, who usually has no training in leadership nor in theology. What is the work of the elder of the local church? How well is he performing his tasks? No specific study of this problem was found in the literature, and because the elders in Chile appeared to be eager and willing to be trained, this study was designed to …

Implications Of Selected Curricular Determinants For Seventh-Day Adventist Graduate Theological Education In The South American Division, Nancy J. Vyhmeister

Dissertations

Problem. The South American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is studying the possibility of offering graduate theological education in its own territory. According to curricular theory, decisions regarding curricula should be based on studies of the society in which the school functions, studies of the nature and status of the discipline, and studies of the needs and aspirations of the learners. Information regarding South American society and theological education in the territory of the South American Division existed in scattered sources and needed to be gathered and organized. Most of the information concerning the learner--the Seventh-day Adventist minister …

An Assessment Of The Vocational Technical Education Needs Of The Lake Union Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Larry Dean Mahlum

Dissertations

Purpose. In response to pressure from their constituents for more vocational education in their schools, the educational leaders of the Lake Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists comprising the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, requested a survey be conducted to assess the extent of this need. The purpose of this study was to answer as objectively as possible the following questions: Is there a need for more vocational-technical education courses in the secondary schools of the Lake Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists? If there is a need, what type of courses are desired?

Procedure. The curriculum desires of the …

Albert Bandura And Ellen G. White: A Comparative Study Of Their Concepts Of Behavior Modification Through Modeling, Miriam S. Tumangday

Dissertations

Problem. One of the major concerns in education today is the improvement of behavior. Over the years various strategies have been proposed to modify human conduct. A careful review of these theories shows many similarities and divergences. Albert Bandura and Ellen G. White, two proponents from different eras and with widely disparate cultural and intellectual heritage, have strongly recommended modeling or example as the major factor in shaping human behavior. The present study sought to determine what, if any, similarities or differences exist in their modeling concepts.

Procedure. This investigation is a descriptive analytical study concerned with concepts …