Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons^™

21st Century Evangelism And Church Growth Approach To Reach Urban Professionals In North America Metropolises, Ralph Baeza

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The call of Christ, as He stated in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:7-9, John 20:21 and Acts 1:8, is to be a continuous command to follow, in order to reach the different peoples group of the world including the urban professionals in North America metropolises. Based on surveys sent to Christian leaders in church congregations and professionals in the secular workplace along with the associated research in the subject, this thesis project reviews the Great Commission call to pursue urban professionals in metropolises, examining their lifestyle environment, past and current trends to reach them, biblical principles that can turn …

Making Disciples Of Jesus Christ: Implementing An Effective Discipleship Strategy For Churches In America, Victor Ogundiran

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Various research findings on spiritual formation in the America church reveal that the current state of making disciples of Jesus Christ who are observing all that Jesus has commanded is woefully grim. This author believes what we have in place for making disciples is inadequate, unimplemented, or both. The purpose of this thesis project is to explain the current state of spiritual formation in the American Church and the reasons why it falls short of God's desire and design. This effort will include and incorporate research from at least 20 churches to see what discipleship systems they are using, if …

The Religious Influence Inside Bali Orphanages, Shelly Strickland

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

I first wanted to research orphanages because I love children. I decided to visit three orphanages each of a different religious affiliation. I set out to find 3 non-corrupt orphanages. I decided to first visit Elisama Christian orphanage where I spent a week playing with the children, interviewing the staff, and observing their daily lives. I then visited Tat Twam Asi Hindu orphanage for girls and observed their daily routines as well as their Full Moon celebration. My third visit was to Yappa Muslim Orphanage for boys. During my final week I found that I still had many questions and …

Living Out Love In Marriage: Learning And Applying Four Types Of Love To Sustain Marriage, Erroyl Mcginty

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this thesis project is to show married couples, and those who want to be married how to live out God's love in their marriage. We will examine and explain four components of love; Feelings and Physical Love (Eros), Action and Service (Philia), Commitment and Covenant (Storge), and God's Love (Agape). We will show the biblical foundation for each of the four parts. The material used will come from the life experiences from couples of all types of marriages (new, successful, troubled, failing, divorced, separated, recovering, etc.). Much of the research will come from surveys of couples. Other …

Easy Effective Counseling: A Strategy For Busy Pastors, Benjamin Karner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Pastors are expected to counsel various people with various problems. However, in most circumstances, pastors have little time to prepare for counseling sessions and cannot be long-term therapists. Therefore, it is critical for the pastor to be able to quickly and effectively give substantial guidance to counselees. The purpose of this project is to develop and implement a pastoral counseling program with a decision management focus. A survey will be conducted with at least one hundred (100) pastors who engage in counseling as part of their regular ministry duties. This project will develop and communicate a practical counseling approach for …

Staff Healthy Small Groups: A Model For Enlisting, Training, And Motivating Lay Leaders, Steven Weems

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to assist small to medium sized churches in their efforts to enlist, train, and motivate lay leadership within their church. This project is designed to help these churches achieve four specific goals; One, come to a biblical understanding of lay leadership. Two, learn how to identify and enlist the right people into spiritual leadership. Three, train those leaders for specific leadership roles within the church. Four, to keep these lay leaders motivated to achieve their set goals within their specific ministry. One of the primary responsibilities of a pastoral staff is the spiritual health …

Developing A Curriculum For African American Pastors And Church Leaders In Crescent City, Florida, Cornelius Golden

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is the writer's premise that there is a great void, particularly within the African American Church of academic training in theology amongst clergy and church leaders in rural areas. However, training is disparately needed. The training should be very practical and engaging. The writer proposes to develop a curriculum designed to develop the non-seminary trained pastor in six vital areas of ministry: (1) Church History, (2) Church Administration, (3) Theology, (4) Ethics, (5) Evangelism, and (6) Pastoral Care. This project would be useful to the life and work of the church because it makes available a researched curriculum especially …

An Effective Prayer Training Model For Church Growth: Centered On Wangsung Presbyterian Church In South Korea, Geunbae Hwang

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to investigate biblical church growth, specifically studying South Korean pastors roles concerning the healthy church and spiritual reinforcement, with a limited focus and application to WangSung Presbyterian Church and other churches in South Korea. This project primarily utilizes the New Testament, as well as literature on church growth and healthy spirituality. In addition, references specifically regarding church growth and statistical information from Korean church ministries will also be used. This project shares a new alternative way for the growth of churches: A prayer-training model as the most effective method for church growth. A healthy …

Key Strategies In Effective Pastoral Leadership In The Africa Gospel Church, Kenya: Biblical Foundations For Leadership And Healthy Church Growth, Philip Ngasura

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this Thesis Project is to understand the strategies for effective pastoral leadership based on Biblical foundations necessary for leadership and healthy church growth in the Africa Gospel Church-Kenya. Research will be conducted through questionnaires and surveys of 15-20 Christian Leaders analyzing and evaluating the status of urban churches, rural churches, mission fields, and institutions of the Africa Gospel Church-Kenya. The main objective is to provide key principles for effective pastoral leadership and healthy church growth in terms of spiritual life, leadership, staff development, services, finances, and ministry potentials. Lastly, this project will suggest and outline strategic approaches …

Loving Your Neighbor: A Guide To Developing And Sustaining Community Service Projects, Rickey Houston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A current ministry concern is mobilizing and engaging the congregation in service projects throughout the immediate and surrounding communities to spread the love of Christ and build the kingdom of God. The purpose of this project is to examine and shed light on an approach or approaches to effectively transform service beyond the walls of the congregation to intentional, appropriate, and relevant service within the community. This subject matter has the potential of transforming congregations from a predominant notion of interaction with self to interaction with organizations and individuals who are part of the church's mission field. In addition, there …

Transitions: Surviving Congregational Change, Reginald Weems

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Holston Baptist Association is the oldest Baptist Association in Tennessee. Established in 1786, the Association presently boasts 106 congregations. Yet for all of its success, statistics reveal that pastoral longevity is not the norm for its churches. This project will analyze the tenure of present pastors within the Holston Baptist Association and provide a blueprint for pastoral longevity in the midst of local church transitions. It will utilize the history of Heritage Baptist Church, Johnson City, Tennessee (USA) and the present pastor's 21-year tenure as a source of research and model for successfully navigating that change. Although specifically intended …

Strategy For Merging Unhealthy Churches And Leading The Merged Congregation To A Healthy Christ-Centered New Testament Church, Samuel Holdbrook-Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The hypothesis of this project is that merging two or more local churches is a practical option to growing a healthy Christ-centered New Testament church as opposed to closing those declined and dying churches. This project will examine and evaluate the merger process of Charles Wesley United Methodist Church and Earle's Chapel United Methodist Church in 2005, led by the author to form a new congregation called New Life Community United Methodist Church. A post-merger questionnaire will be developed and used to evaluate the merger process. Second, a healthy growth ministry plan will be developed and implemented to lead the …

Effective Transitional Ministry Plan: Pastoral Leadership In The 21st Century Church, Keith Gardner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The short term nature of the role of transitional pastor allows them to address spiritual deficiencies, provide spiritual corrections and prepare a congregation for change within a shorter time frame than normally required. Having served as a transitional pastor this writer believes the real calling of transitional ministry is to strengthen the church and place it on an effective path for the cause of Christ. Writing on this topic will provide an outline for what a successful transitional ministry plan should look like. This project will include pastoral surveys and interviews that identify spiritual deficiencies and provide biblical solutions for …

“Heaven And Earth” Samoan Indigenous Religion, Christianity, And The Relationship Between The Samoan People And The Environment, Grace Wildermuth

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper examines Samoan indigenous religion and the relationship between Samoans and the environment before and after the introduction of Christianity. It looks at how Christian beliefs and the cultural perspectives of European missionaries affected Samoa’s environment. It then considers Samoan indigenous religious values that may be helpful to combat current environmental problems. Primary and secondary sources were used, including interviews with both theologians and environmentalists. Samoan indigenous religion promoted a sustainable relationship with the land but Christianity and the cultural lens through which it was delivered had negative environmental effects. Samoa retains a deep environmental knowledge in the memories …

Creating A Millennial Generation Contextualized Church Culture, Christopher Deitsch

Masters Theses

The Millennial generation, or Generation Y as some people know them, is the biggest generation in the United States of America history. As they flood schools, universities, and the job market it is easy to see that there are major differences between them and previous generations. Simultaneously, the church in America has hundreds of individual churches each year closing and tens of thousands each year declining; most churches are ceasing to grow. The inability to reach Millennials is one of the reasons for this decline. This thesis purposes to give a snapshot of the Millennial generation, overview a few of …

Epic Families: Equipping Parents To Reclaim Their Biblical Mandate While Inspiring Children To Know And Love The God Who Made Them, Marybeth Meltzer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current literature demonstrates that there is a fundamental problem in the church today: the church has taken on the primary role of discipling children, while many parents have abrogated their biblical mandate as outlined in Deuteronomy 6:6-9. Surveys of parents as well as practical ministry experience confirm that great confusion exists among parents as to the scope of their biblical responsibilities. This project reviews historical perspectives and the present situation in the church and offers guidance to both parents and ministry professionals to help parents reclaim their God-given responsibilities.

The Father's Business Person, The Shift To Tentmaking Missions Strategy, Chris White

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the important place that tentmaking holds or should hold in missions strategy. It is the belief of the author (supported by almost 20 years of ministry experience overseas) that visas and money are often barriers to ministry effectiveness. This paper would like to provide a solution (i.e. tentmaking) to these common tensions that most missionaries encounter. The value of the topic is very personal to the author's ministry: first because I am currently serving on the mission field (needing a visa and money), and second because of the potential tentmaking holds for …

Holistic Healing Ministry: A Practical Guide For Korean Presbyterian Churches, Yanghyun Park

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study attempted to provide practical and effective advice to Korean Presbyterian churches (KPCs) for adapting Holistic Healing Ministry (HHM), not as an optional ministry but a necessary ministry for all local churches through the exact biblical concept about HHM. Through the analysis of survey for HHM conducted in many congregations of KPCs, this thesis evaluated the present reality of HHM ministered to KPCs, examined holistic health conditions of the congregations of KPCs, and identified which domain of health - physical, emotional, or spiritual - KPCs are currently interested in. Moreover, this thesis drew up a plan for KPCs to …

How Do Religion And Belief Systems Influence Traditional Medicine And Health Care In Madagascar?, Whitney Franklin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Religion and beliefs consistently shape social structures, laws, and even medicine. In Madagascar, this is extremely evident when considering traditional medicine but also exists in modern medicine. Christianity and traditional beliefs are the two main systems that have shaped traditional medicine to what it has become today. These opposites function as a duality that becomes apparent when looking at certain events in Madagascar’s history and the examination of the evolution and rituals performed in the different types of traditional medicine. Through the methodology of interviewing traditional healers and gathering historical information from experts in lectures, I can make sure to …

Rise Of The Veil: Islamic Modernity And The Hui Woman, Zainab Khalid

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Hui are a familiar sight in most cities in China; famed for their qingzhen restaurants and their business acumen. Known usually as the “Chinese speaking Muslims,” they are separated from the nine other Muslim xiaoshu minzu by a reputation for assimilation and adaptability that is a matter of pride for Hui in urban areas.

A conversation with Hui women at Nancheng Mosque in Kunming revealed that they believed Hui to be at an advantage compared to other xiaoshu minzu because of their abilities to adapt and assimilate, “we are intelligent; we know what to do in order to survive …

”Tag, You’Re It!”: Using Social Media “Tags” To Help Solve The Problem Of Church Classification In Sociology Of Religion, Steven Losco

Pitzer Senior Theses

Edited Abstract for presentation:

Categorizing humans and human activity can be difficult. In my own research on evangelical church styles in Los Angeles, I found that the services defied discreet categories. I turned to the social web for inspiration on how to categorize the services and landed on blog post “tags” as something that could give me a flexible and dynamic way to “define” the church. Briefly, tags are a set of words or phrases that users categorize anything from blog posts, books on GoodReads, website bookmarks, etc, in other words: metadata. What makes tags so potent as definition is …

Introduction To America's Four Gods: What We Say About God And What That Says About Us, Paul Froese, Christoper Bader

Sociology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Despite all the hype surrounding the "New Atheism," the United States remains one of the most religious nations on Earth. In fact, 95% of Americans believe in God--a level of agreement rarely seen in American life. The greatest divisions in America are not between atheists and believers, or even between people of different faiths. What divides us, this groundbreaking book shows, is how we conceive of God and the role He plays in our daily lives.

America's Four Gods draws on the most wide-ranging, comprehensive, and illuminating survey of American's religious beliefs ever conducted to offer a systematic exploration of …

A Tri-Disciplinary Analysis Of Religion, Alicia Wallace

Social Sciences

This paper analyzes religion using a multi-disciplinary approach. Studying the Social Sciences exposes one to an opportunity not just to learn a single discipline, but three, and this unique learning experience can teach one to look at the world’s phenomena with a multi-perspective view. Using a tri-disciplinary approach when exploring topics can broaden ones outlook on how there are many ways to explore and investigate a topic in greater detail. By using Anthropological, Sociological and Geographical theoretical perspectives one can understand a topic more fully by using a multi-perspective approach when exploring this diverse world culturally, socially and physically.

Desecrating Scriptures, James W. Watts

Religion - All Scholarship

Desecrations of books of scripture appear regularly in media coverage of religious and political conflicts. Twenty-first century news media have reported scripture desecrations in various Western, Middle Eastern, African, and South Asian countries. Though political tensions also arise from the desecration of sacred sites, objects, and persons, books of scripture have emerged as particularly potent objects of contestation. That is because, as a (very) old form of media themselves, scriptures encapsulate the religious experiences of many people who are used to handling the physical book with veneration. News of such a book’s desecration thus inverts a common religious experience and …

Images Of God: The Effect Of Personal Theologies On Moral Attitudes, Political Affiliation, And Religious Behavior, Christoper Bader, Paul Froese

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Social scientists often explain religious effects in terms of religious group affiliations. Typically, researchers identify religious groups by denomination or some broader popular categorization, such as “fundamentalist” or “evangelical.” To capture religious differences more effectively, Steensland et al. (2000) propose an intricate classification of American denominations that takes into account the theology and historical development of various American religious traditions to predict individual attitudes and behaviors. We believe that equal care and attention should be devoted to the development of key measures of belief that may cross denominational lines. In this article, we propose one such measure: personal conceptions or …

A Comparative Study Of The Problem Of Abstraction Versus Experience Between East And West (As Exemplified In Selected Eastern And Western Sages), Leo Jacob Zeff

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a comparative study of the teachings of a number of Eastern sages and a representative of modern Western depth psychology in connection with the problem of abstraction versus experience (or, thinking about instead of experiencing}. This problem is considered by the writer as the central cause in the suffering of mankind everywhere.

The introductory chapter will present the problem being investigated, why and how it is considered significant, and how it will be dealt with in this study. The second chapter will contain a presentation of the various sages to be considered here, how and why they …

Daughters Of Sarah: A Scriptural Treatise On The Adornment And Work Of Christian Women, Dennis Kellogg Mrs.

Stone-Campbell Books

No abstract provided.