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Articles 1 - 30 of 55
Full-Text Articles in Liturgy and Worship
Defying Expectations: One Female Preacher's Exploration Of Preaching Performance, Listener Expectations, And Emotion, Amy Lea Wiles
Defying Expectations: One Female Preacher's Exploration Of Preaching Performance, Listener Expectations, And Emotion, Amy Lea Wiles
Doctor of Ministry Theses
In this thesis, one female preacher explores preaching performance, listener expectation, and emotion. Using exploratory research methodology, the thesis seeks to answer the following questions in a particular context: What are listener expectations of sermon delivery? Do listeners hold differing sermon delivery expectations for female preachers? How does meeting or straying from these expectations affect receptivity of the message? Data was collected through interviews with pastors, focus group questionnaires, and feedback forms of respondents who responded to sermons preached with different performance choices by both a female preacher and a male preacher. The results revealed a bias around performances related …
Luther Seminary, Church Music, And Hymnody, Paul Westermeyer
Luther Seminary, Church Music, And Hymnody, Paul Westermeyer
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Congregational Exegesis: Toward Shared Proclamation, Tracy Crick-Butler
Congregational Exegesis: Toward Shared Proclamation, Tracy Crick-Butler
Doctor of Ministry Theses
Recognizing that theological diversity is a reality in many mainline churches, this thesis considers the value of exegeting the congregation to gain knowledge of the congregation’s lived and local theology. That knowledge is then used to write and preach four sermons with the intent of helping both the listener and the preacher deepen their understanding of Jesus. An additional focus is on the challenge for the preacher to make clear and bold theological claims. Using an Action-Reflection method of research, interactive exegetical tools, questionnaires, surveys and a personal preaching journal, this project is carried out by a minister in a …
Reaching The Diaspora: Streamed Worship And Preaching In The Lutheran Church Of Australia, Cultivating Koinonia And Ecclesia, Timothy Paul Stringer
Reaching The Diaspora: Streamed Worship And Preaching In The Lutheran Church Of Australia, Cultivating Koinonia And Ecclesia, Timothy Paul Stringer
Doctor of Ministry Theses
Streamed worship has been happening in the Lutheran Church of Australia since 2013. Who is it reaching? Where is it reaching? Is it connecting them to community and the church? Is the preaching reaching the people who gather outside of the physical church buildings? Is there anything we can do to improve the reach, the connection and the sense of belonging to the wider church even when living remotely or kept away from regular worship by illness, disability or work commitments? This exploratory case study seeks to find these answers and more and then to offer ways forward for the …
Harvesting Hope: Biblical Preaching With People Of The Land, Catherine Belles
Harvesting Hope: Biblical Preaching With People Of The Land, Catherine Belles
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This project seeks to customize generic preaching skills to better serve rural Midwest churches in a time of great transition. “What seeds are we planting that our harvest will be hope in Jesus Christ? Does the Word of God affect our response, and are we transformed by that change, so that hope becomes part of our faith DNA?” Seeking to encourage prophetic visioning, preacher, leaders, and members to live into God’s ongoing new creation. Harvest is a major theme in rural communities and biblical narrative, a metaphor of grace and judgement. Preachers are encouraged to glean the faith stories of …
The Social Role Of Worship: A Reading Of Micah 6:1-8, Khin Win Kyi
The Social Role Of Worship: A Reading Of Micah 6:1-8, Khin Win Kyi
Master of Theology Theses
This thesis provides exegesis of Micah 6:1-8 with particular focus on the relationship between worship and social ethics, as well as a consideration of the implications of this passage for the Chin Christian community.
Apostolicam Ecclesiam: Socio-Liturgical Interpretation Of The Mission Of The Church In The Perspective Of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Antichrist", Sebastian Ryszard Madejski
Apostolicam Ecclesiam: Socio-Liturgical Interpretation Of The Mission Of The Church In The Perspective Of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Antichrist", Sebastian Ryszard Madejski
Master of Theology Theses
No abstract provided.
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow: Innovating, Evaluating, And Improving Worship To Participate In God's Mission, Andrew K. Barnett
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow: Innovating, Evaluating, And Improving Worship To Participate In God's Mission, Andrew K. Barnett
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This case study asks how a Cathedral might innovate, evaluate, and improve worship to participate more fully in God’s mission. Theoretical frameworks include: Missional Church (Zscheile, Keifert, Bosch), Adaptive Leadership (Heifetz, Linsky), Playful Acts in Scripture (Taylor), Doxology (Anderson), and utilizes Mixed-Methods Social Science Research. The central findings are that participation leads to transformation in worship, engagement helps communities innovate together, and innovation requires prolonged investment. Theoretical codes yielded a model of church as sailing vessel: seeking transformation, balancing identity with financial realities, dependent on trust, steered by a sense of shared purpose, and powered by the Holy Spirit’s wind.
Nearer My God To Thee: How Biblical Preaching Fosters Intimacy With God, Warren Lee Domenick Jr
Nearer My God To Thee: How Biblical Preaching Fosters Intimacy With God, Warren Lee Domenick Jr
Doctor of Ministry Theses
We desire it. We long to be in its presence. We look for it in everything we see and hear and smell and touch and taste. We someday hope to have it surrounding us, holding us close. It is intimacy with God. Moreover, in it, we are somehow able to find a connection with God. Intimacy with God first belongs to God. God is the measure by which all intimacy is evaluated. Some would say that God is intimacy. God is revealed to us through intimacy which is both accurate and right; one might say, an intimacy that is authentic …
Real People, Real Faith, Real God: Encountering The Divine In Preaching Biblical Characters, Cynthia Halvorson
Real People, Real Faith, Real God: Encountering The Divine In Preaching Biblical Characters, Cynthia Halvorson
Doctor of Ministry Theses
Using the Action/Reflection method, this project examines sermons which aim at the heart by using character development within a storytelling sermon style. This thesis considers the effectiveness of intentional reimagining of biblical witnesses by overlying behavioral styles and archetypical fears and desires onto various characters of the Gospel of John. It designs a methodology for intentional development of characters and examines the responses of the listeners. It asserts the value of creating space within a sermon for the listener to encounter the Divine by identifying with the people of scripture.
Confessional Biblical Preaching In The Face Of Whiteness: Challenging The Preacher’S Understanding Of White Supremacy, Laurie P. Feille
Confessional Biblical Preaching In The Face Of Whiteness: Challenging The Preacher’S Understanding Of White Supremacy, Laurie P. Feille
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This thesis addresses the need for preachers to hear the voices of people of color, to hear the “prophets in the streets,” specifically African-Americans, and to have their eyes opened to their own white privilege and role in white supremacy. This thesis argues that this is an important step in preachers finding their confessional voices for preaching before they can begin to help the individual members of those congregations become aware of their individual and collective white privilege and role in white supremacy. With the help of black clergy a “Twin Cities Pilgrimage” was created. This involved learning the stories …
Preaching To Shape Christian Witness: He Cannot Be The Messiah, Can He?, Christine M. Bellefeuille
Preaching To Shape Christian Witness: He Cannot Be The Messiah, Can He?, Christine M. Bellefeuille
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This action-reflection project explores the effectiveness of preaching in shaping witnesses to tell their own stories of their experiences of God. Uses preaching that models witness, helps the listener identify experiences of God and offers language for disciples to use in their own witness. Also explores the challenges of preaching to a congregation that has experienced uncertain theological grounding and conflict. Other considerations explored are trust, changing calls mid-doctoral program, and project fit.
Table, Food, Waiter: Preaching The Eucharist To Today’S Popular Food Culture, Richard W. Vevia Jr
Table, Food, Waiter: Preaching The Eucharist To Today’S Popular Food Culture, Richard W. Vevia Jr
Doctor of Ministry Theses
The centrality of the Eucharist to the Church cannot be underestimated. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, decreased frequency of shared meals, a growing distrust of food, and a disregard for the obligations and responsibilities that accompany eating have resulted in a disconnection between the Eucharist and daily life. This thesis will demonstrate the loci method derived from Philip Melanchthon’s Loci Communes as a tool for gathering scripture and non-scriptural sources around loci suggested by Catherine of Siena: Table, Food, and Waiter. The aim of this thesis is that it will aid preachers preparing sermons that address today’s …
Digital And Analog Preaching In A Multi-Media World, Ramona Hayes
Digital And Analog Preaching In A Multi-Media World, Ramona Hayes
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This thesis explores the reception of sermons by two groups: “Analogs,” people who were formed primarily through the written page and who gather and process information linearly, and “Digitals,” people who were formed by digital communication and who gather and process information in sound bites. Using the Action/Reflection model, a series of sermons was presented: a manuscript sermon, an integrated worship/sermon, a TED Talk style sermon, a participatory sermon, and a multiple learning style sermon. Preaching a sermon which engages both groups has the potential to increase engagement with the biblical text and growth in faith.
(Re)Discovering A Midrashic Biblical Imagination For The Progressive-Liberal Community, Elisabeth R. Jones
(Re)Discovering A Midrashic Biblical Imagination For The Progressive-Liberal Community, Elisabeth R. Jones
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This thesis presents the case for the development of a sustainable community practice of midrashic biblical imagination as a catalyst for transformative engagement with the Bible in progressive Christian congregations. Notes that a midrashic imagination applied to the polyvalent testimonies of the biblical canon is an apt partner for post- modern, progressive congregations, whose theology embraces diversity, plurality, and critique of hegemonic structures. Uses a longitudinal qualitative methodology, with Appreciative Inquiry, to trace the various methods used for cultivating curiosity among Scriptural skeptics over nine years, concluding with the Midrashic Imagination Project, which involves the community in study, worship, preaching …
Recapture The Call: A Theology Of Preaching As Proclamation In The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Tricia L. Tedrow
Recapture The Call: A Theology Of Preaching As Proclamation In The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Tricia L. Tedrow
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This thesis explores preaching as proclamation in light of recent changes to the title and description for ordained ministers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Reflection on Scripture, confessional statements of the denomination and writings on the theology of preaching lead to a theology of preaching as proclamation written by the author. Two sermons are compared to show how the creation of a theology of preaching sharpens one’s preaching. The thesis concludes with reflections on how style, voice and the issue of power in proclamation have a place in the future of preaching in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Seeing Salvation: The Effectiveness Of Preaching On The Sacramental Life In A Salvation Army Context, Steven Mark Cameron
Seeing Salvation: The Effectiveness Of Preaching On The Sacramental Life In A Salvation Army Context, Steven Mark Cameron
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This thesis begins by acknowledging that The Salvation Army is a non-practicing sacramental church. The Army abandoned the practice of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper officially in 1883 and its focus since then has been on developing holiness through sacramental living. The sacraments have been a topic of theological conversation in Army since the 1883 decision. In recent years, in Canada, this conversation has become increasingly divisive with questions being raised as to the soundness of the Army’s position. To bring opposing positions into a place of dialogue this thesis project engages in a five part biblical …
Perichoretic Worship: Cultivating Relationships With The Triune God, With One Another, And With The World, Greg G. Busboom
Perichoretic Worship: Cultivating Relationships With The Triune God, With One Another, And With The World, Greg G. Busboom
Doctor of Ministry Theses
A Participatory Action Research (PAR) study focusing on perichoretic worship as a way of cultivating holy relationship with the Triune God, with others, and with the world. Theoretical lenses include ritual studies, Faith Development Theory, and personhood in social relationships. Theological lenses include perichoresis, Lutheran worship, and faith practices. Using both quantitative and qualitative research, the study explores the practice of Christian worship in a large Lutheran congregation and seeks to grow active participation in the missional work of the Triune God through worship grounded in Word and Sacrament. Presents the Triune God as the active subject of Christian worship.
Sing A New Song To The City: Ambient Rhetoric And Urban Hymns, Adam J. Copeland
Sing A New Song To The City: Ambient Rhetoric And Urban Hymns, Adam J. Copeland
Faculty Publications
Hymns are a key component of how Christians express their faith. But many of these hymns do represent the rhythms and sensibilities of an older and largely agrarian world. Using the concept of “ambient rhetoric,” Adam Copeland suggests that it is time for other hymns that represent the ethos of daily life in an increasingly urbanized world, hymns that will speak to the realities of urban culture.
An Image Of Luther For Today: The Catechetical Luther, Mary Jane Haemig
An Image Of Luther For Today: The Catechetical Luther, Mary Jane Haemig
Faculty Publications
Lutherans and other Protestants live with Martin Luther as a part of their heritage. Images of him are unavoidable. The image of Luther as catechist offers example and spur. His tireless efforts to teach the Christian faith to all people, not just the academic and learned, should guide us today. The message embodied in his catechisms offers to us purpose, reconciliation, consolation, and hope.
Cultivating Biblical Imagination Through Preaching, Edward N. Kay
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
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
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.
Preaching Effectively To The Unchurched, Rodney Reed Carlson
Preaching Effectively To The Unchurched, Rodney Reed Carlson
Doctor of Ministry Theses
Explores the question of how to preach effectively today to the growing number of Americans who have never regularly attended church or long ago stopped attending. The current challenges of Biblical illiteracy in the population, an increasing cultural hostility toward Christians, and a growing perception by many (especially the millennial generation) of the irrelevancy of Christianity are addressed. Biblical preaching that has proven to be ineffective with the unchurched is noted with special focus given to preaching that has been proven to be effective.
Lift Up Your Hearts: Preaching Grace Effectively As A Pastoral Response To Shame, Harold Kenyon
Lift Up Your Hearts: Preaching Grace Effectively As A Pastoral Response To Shame, Harold Kenyon
Doctor of Ministry Theses
Proposes preaching grace effectively as pastoral response to shame. Sources include Robert Albers, Robin Stockitt, James Fowler, Serene Jones and Cameron Harder. Argues fall-redemption theology harms those experiencing shame. Employs shame as alternative lens for reading scripture. Explores social, biblical and theological dimensions of shame. Differentiates shame and guilt. Demonstrates shame’s connections to mental illness, trauma, and addiction. Honors people’s formative narratives. Claims baptismal basis for identity. Seeks preaching practices that build resilience from shame’s spiritual and psychological consequences. Identifies narrative practices enhancing understanding God’s acceptance. Offers insight into crafting sermons that celebrate identity within a reconciled future.
Preparing Transformational Sermons: An Attitudinal Model Of Sermonic Application, Donald G. Bryant Jr.
Preparing Transformational Sermons: An Attitudinal Model Of Sermonic Application, Donald G. Bryant Jr.
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This mixed method, action-reflection project explores the results of attitudinal rather than a behavioral sermon-application model. The research project delves into the change in the listener’s perceptions, thoughts, and beliefs through sermons deliberately designed for attitudinal application of the gospel. My project will attempt to assess whether such an intentional focus on attitudinal application can impact heart transformation. I hoped to study sermons that transform the human heart as opposed to legalistic (behavior-based) sermons within evangelical churches.
Preaching More Effectively To Multiple Generations, Lynne Kammeraad
Preaching More Effectively To Multiple Generations, Lynne Kammeraad
Doctor of Ministry Theses
This thesis explores the possibility of preaching more effectively to multiple generations at the same time. There are currently six generations (G.I., Silent, Boomer, Generation X, Millennial, and Unnamed) represented in the congregation where this research was conducted. First-person narrative, object-based, and story-based sermon styles were presented and tested to determine if a particular style was more effective. The definition used for effective preaching included the need for instruction, a delightful presentation, and persuasion to be present. Preaching effectively to multiple generations has the potential of shaping other ministries in the church in profound ways, and build strong multi-generational churches.
Telling The Old, Old Stories: Reconnecting With Jesus' Parables Through Biblical Storytelling, Kathryn L. Skoglund
Telling The Old, Old Stories: Reconnecting With Jesus' Parables Through Biblical Storytelling, Kathryn L. Skoglund
Doctor of Ministry Theses
Suggests the use of biblical storytelling as a means of presenting Jesus’ parables in order to regain their original power. Uses the practice of biblical storytelling, contrasted with simple reading of the text from the Bible. Examines the responses of congregations from two churches comparing reactions of those who heard six parables told as a story to those who heard them read from the Bible. Also notes the connection the method of presentation of the parables has to listeners’ engagement with the sermon. Includes discussion with confirmation-aged students regarding the efficacy of biblical storytelling.
Praying The Psalms, Kathryn M. Schifferdecker
Praying The Psalms, Kathryn M. Schifferdecker
Faculty Publications
The Psalms teach us how to pray. When we pray the Psalms, we follow in the footsteps of a long line of Christians and Jews who have used the Psalter as a guide to prayer. We learn from those saints to bring all of ourselves to God in prayer: our sorrows, our laments, and our anger as well as our joys and praise.
The Narrative Lectionary, Rolf A. Jacobson