Christianity Commons^™

Letter From The Editor, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

I am sitting in my study with a cup of coffee … (this only happens in summer). Prior to crafting this letter to you I paused to chuckle – as a miner of words – on this quote from C. S. Lewis:

Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. (Lewis, C.S. (1995) Letters to children. New York, NY: Touchstone)

I have learned a lot from C. S. Lewis. I may not yet write an editorial letter that …

Toward An Agenda For Teacher Education In Christian Colleges And Universities, Daniel C. Elliott

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The first (United States of America) national symposium by major teacher educator organizations took place in December 1995. The Association of Teacher Educators, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, and the US Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement sponsored and conducted a National Congress on Teacher Education. Leading national figures in teacher education presented their views to the almost 500 delegates. Focus groups examined the views and reported to a conference coordinator. The coordinator, in turn, synthesized the concerns, ideas and recommendations into a daily log of issues. I list some of the salient points …

Book Review: To Change The World: The Irony, Tragedy & Possibility Of Christianity In The Late Modern World, E. Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In reflecting on James Davison Hunter’s thesis To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World, I must admit experiencing rising tension as to whether this book is to be a harbinger of hope, or another postmodern harbinger of doubt regarding the possibility of Christianity in our current environment.

In unpacking such deliberations, I begin by outlining the form, content, and intent of Hunter as to his purpose, his theology for faithful presence and shalom, and my final musings. As with any review, the hope is to have the reader read the …

Iccte Spotlight: Dr. Laura Barwegen

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Dr. Laura Barwegen, Associate Professor of Education at Wheaton College, is an Associate Editor for the ICCTE journal. Laura assists the Editor in the process of manuscript reviews. Her careful diligence assures that your work is reviewed in a timely manner.

Letter From The Editor, E. Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In the act of pondering the majesty of God’s Creation, I never tire of observing the slide of Autumn as it nestles into Winter and the beauty of the snow that follows. It is good to reflect on the comforting flow of God’s grace, beauty and consistency.

The ICCTE journal, in its rhythm of bi-annual publication, has seasons as well. As I end this year and prepare to enter the next one, I have the task not only of introducing what is in this issue, but what you can look forward to in the coming months.

Cultural Humility: A Framework For Local And Global Engagement, Eloise Hockett, Linda Samek, Scot Headley

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Many institutions of higher education have implemented local and global engagement opportunities as a way to expose both students and faculty to different cultures and further their knowledge of those cultures. One of the primary goals of these cultural experiences is for students and faculty to become more culturally competent. However, it is possible that our current way of thinking and promoting cultural competency within education specifically may not go deep enough and could be considered limiting in the ways we partner, collaborate, and interact with people groups different than ourselves. Cultural humility, a construct currently accepted in some professional …

Leadership In Private Christian Schools: Perceptions Of Administrators, Suzanne Harrison

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to discover the perceptions of private Christian school administrators about leadership characteristics, roles, and teacher professional development. The co-researchers first conducted a demographic survey and focus group interviews with six administrators from K-12 or secondary private Christian schools in Oregon and Washington. Themes that surfaced from the data were who we are as leaders, success and celebration, and what we do as leaders. Results showed that administrators of private Christian schools tended to focus on the importance of the vision and mission of their schools, keeping in mind their influence as spiritual …

Creating Depth In The Shallows: Discipling Millennials In A Technological Culture, Carla Ann And Matthew Dyment

Doctor of Ministry

No abstract provided.

Adventist Eschatology In Relation To The Religious Left And The Religious Right, Michael F. Younker

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

Bishop Stephen Neill, The Imc And The State Of African Theological Education In 1950, Dyron Daughrity

All Faculty Open Access Publications

From April to July of 1950, Bishop Stephen Neill (1900-1984) took a sweeping tour of East and West Africa to assess the state of African theological education. He visited Egypt, Sudan, and the six British territories in tropical Africa: Tanganyika, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Gold Coast (Ghana), and Sierra Leone. Employed by the World Council of Churches at the time, Neill was appointed by the International Missionary Council to spearhead the project. The overall objective was to shed light on what could be done to improve the quality of theological education and the training of ministry in Africa. Neill produced a …

Economic Anthropology (Chapter Two Of Portrayals Of Economic Exchange In The Book Of Kings), Roger S. Nam

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Excerpt: "Before examining the biblical texts through the lens of Karl Polanyi’s paradigm of exchange, a review of the intellectual history of economic anthropology before the publication of The Great Transformation (1944) will help contextualize his methodological framework.1 Specifically, an awareness of two aspects of his theoretical development can facilitate its application to ancient Israel. First, Polanyi represents a seminal point in the midst of a long intellectual dialogue about political economy that goes back to Adam Smith. For over two centuries, this debate has been so spirited and intertwined that each scholar stands entangled with all of his or …

Ecocriticism And Christian Literary Scholarship, Timothy J. Burbery

English Faculty Research

This essay presents a case for ecocriticism as a viable critical method for Christian scholars. It begins with an historical overview of the method, then examines common ground shared by ecocriticism and Christianity, including what amounts to a kind of critical realism, and the belief in the inherent goodness of creation. Two potential obstacles are then addressed by way of Lynn White, Jr.'s famous essay, "The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis." These include the relationship of the Bible and the environment, and the charge of anthropocentrism. I believe White is partly right, but contend that neither objection is fatal …

Turnaround Church Ministry: Causes Of Decline And Changes Needed For Turnaround, Dan Eymann

Great Commission Research Journal

“If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.” This familiar saying is the crux of this paper. With 85% of the churches in North America in plateau or decline, change is desperately needed. Change is the name-of-the-game in turnaround church ministry. This paper examines the following three crucial questions in turnaround ministry: (1) what are the primary causes of decline in North American churches, (2) what are the changes needed to effectively turn around plateaued or declining churches, and (3) what is the relationship between the changes implemented for turnaround and the …

“That They All Might Be One”: John R. Mott’S Contributions To Methodism, Interreligious Dialogue, And Racial Reconciliation, Benjamin L. Hartley

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

An extraordinary organizer and leader, Methodist layman John R. Mott (1865–1955) was influential in the establishment and growth of many different world-wide Christian organizations in the early twentieth century. He was even asked to serve as ambassador to China by President Woodrow Wilson—a position he declined. For his work in organizing people and resources for world peace Mott was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946. This article focuses on Mott’s efforts at ecumenism for the sake of Christian mission by analyzing three dimensions of Mott’s work: Mott’s Methodism, his efforts in global interreligious dialogue, and work in racial reconciliation …

A Friend's Death: C. S. Lewis' Disagreement With St. Augustine, Jason Lepojärvi

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Forest, Grove, Or Tree? Predilection And Proximity In Jones’ 'The Church Is Flat', Anderson Campbell

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Life (Online) Together: Practicing Presence In Social Media Spaces, Anderson Campbell

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Laughter On The Journey, Howard R. Macy

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Preface: Finnish Edition Of C.S. Lewis: The Four Loves (Suomenkielisen Laitoksen Esipuhe, C. S. Lewis, Neljä Rakkautta), Jason Lepojärvi

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Maximizing Your Effectiveness, S. Joseph Kidder

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fruit Of Faith, Fruit Of The Spirit, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

As contemporary behavioral scientists living and working within an often secular, scientific, and empirically focused world as well as being affiliated with rigorous academic institutions and research programs, we wonder if the fruits of the spirit have any empirical and scientific basis. Does engagement with religion and spirituality make us better people or make us worse?

Open-Mindedness As A Christian Virtue?, Jason Baehr

Philosophy Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

“Love One Another As I Have Loved You”, Ali Tote

Consensus

No abstract provided.

The Strange Career Of The Biblia Rabbinica Among Christian Hebraists, 1517–1620, Stephen G. Burnett

Department of Classics and Religious Studies: Faculty Publications

The Rabbinic Bible became a standard reference tool, above all for Protestant Hebraists during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It contained not only the Hebrew Bible text, but also Aramaic-language Targums (periphrastic translations of the biblical text, mostly dating from before 500) and Jewish biblical commentaries written between ca. 1100 and 1500. To use these works required that a Christian Hebraist know not only the language of the Bible, but also Targumic Aramaic and medieval Hebrew, which was rather different from biblical or mishnaic Hebrew. For Christian scholars who mastered these languages and were able to read these different texts, …

Teaching Disciples To Pray: Improving The Understanding And Practice Of Prayer At Calvary Baptist Church Of Floyd, Virginia, Randy Thomas Mcdaniel

Doctor of Ministry Projects

This project was undergirded by a theory that intentionality and discipline in prayer will yield valuable benefits. Growing more knowledgeable in prayer practice as well as learning to faithfully set aside time for prayer were two components of specific importance in this project. Such components can be engaged by the individual in private study. However, the position of this ministry experiment is that the greatest gains regarding knowledge and practice with prayer are to be found from intentional study with the additional element of a dialogical small group experience.

Front Matter -- Quaker Religious Thought, No. 118, Howard R. Macy

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Is "Nontheist Quakerism" A Contradiction Of Terms?, Paul Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Quakers And Non/Theism: Questions And Prospects, Jeffrey Dudiak

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Nontheism Among Friends: Its Emergence And Meaning, David Boulton

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Response To David Boulton And Jeffrey Dudiak, Shannon Craigo-Snell

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.