Missions and World Christianity Commons^™

Writing Literature Reviews In Church-Based Research, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

Because of the knowledge explosion taking place, literature reviews in church-based research are needed more than ever. Summaries and syntheses of previous research make this knowledge available to practitioners and help researchers focus on what remains unknown. In contrast to empirical studies, literature reviews rely on previously published studies to make conclusions and advance theory. These studies may include both church-based research and more general research that is not particularly Christian. In contrast to meta-analyses which focus on synthesizing statistical information, literature reviews focus on conceptual synthesis and theory advancement. To write a literature review, authors must first choose a …

Social Media As A Tool For Evangelism Among Youth And Young Adults, Trisney J. Bocala-Wiedemann

Great Commission Research Journal

This research aims to answer the question of which social media platforms youth prefer and what types of content they prefer. Using data collected from a quantitative survey of Seventh-day Adventist schools, this research seeks to identify the most-used social media platforms and most appealing types of content so Christian churches, media organizations, and digital missionaries can more effectively utilize social media as a tool for evangelism among youth and young adults, defined as people 15 to 24 years of age.

Leadership: Essential For A Church To Grow Numerically And Spiritually, Steven L. Estes

Great Commission Research Journal

This article relates the spiritual gift of leadership (Rom. 12:8) to numerical church growth. Scripture presents spiritually gifted leaders as those who received authority from God and had knowledge of his will for his people. Biblical leaders delegated effectively and encouraged those who were given tasks to accomplish. The overall scope of biblical teaching on leadership indicates that pastors/elders should have the gift of leadership. Allowing those who qualify and have the gift of leadership to emerge is crucial for the health of a church.

My Journey In Church Growth, Bob Orr

Great Commission Research Journal

At the request of my good friend Gary McIntosh, I am going to recount my more than 40-year journey in the field of Church Growth.

Book Review: The Innovation Crisis: Creating Disruptive Influence In The Ministry You Lead By Ted Esler, W. Handley Jr.

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Evangelism In A Skeptical World: How To Make The Unbelievable News About Jesus More Believable By Sam Chan, Cameron D. Armstrong

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Contrasting The Faith Responses Of The Royal Official And Thomas In The Gospel Of John And Their Implications For Discipleship, Edward W. Watson

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

John pens his Gospel in such a way that, like his included characters who encounter Jesus, his readers are being confronted with the person of Jesus and the totality of his revelation. Also like the characters, John’s readers must make decisions regarding the divine truth being revealed through the gospel as they read the text and experience Jesus for themselves. This study examines the two characters of the royal official and Thomas in the Gospel of John, examining how each character responds to the testimony of Jesus and how their differing faith-responses provide instruction for modern discipleship.

Review Of Quoting Corinthians. By Edward Watson And Martin Culy, Cletus L. Hull, Iii

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Review of Quoting Corinthians. By Edward Watson and Martin Culy. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2018. 171 pp.

By Cletus Hull.

Review Of A Theology Of Hope: Contextual Perspectives In Korean Pentecostalism, By Sang Yun Lee, Robert S. Oh

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A Theology of Hope: Contextual Perspectives in Korean Pentecostalism. By Sang Yun Lee. Baguio City, Philippines: Asia Pacific Theological Seminary Press, 2018. xiv + 271 pp.

by Robert Oh.

Review Of A Pentecostal Commentary On Revelation By Jon K. Newton., Michael Blythe

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A Pentecostal Commentary on Revelation (Pentecostal Old Testament and New Testament Commentaries). By Jon K. Newton. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2021. 426 pp.

Review by Michael Blythe

Review Of Pneumatology And Union: John Calvin And The Pentecostals, By Peter Ross, Audrey Mccormick

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Azusa Street And The Lost Doctrine Of Humility, Michael Blythe

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article delves into original source material from the Azusa Street Revival to rekindle an awareness of the heavy emphasis that participants placed on humility as a deep and vibrant experience, both as a precondition for receiving the fullness of the Spirit and as an ongoing Pentecostal encounter. Re-lighting the Pentecostal fire is necessary to respond to the struggles of the movement in North America where disillusionment with “triumphalism” has created an uncertain future. Voices from the past and present echo the imperative that the Holy Spirit experience should be balanced by personal sacrifice. A revival of deep self surrender …

An Examination Of New Apostolic Movement Terminology: Correlating The Five-Fold Ministry And The Bureaucratic Management Model, Volker Krüger

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

There is a new understanding within the Pentecostal- Charismatic tradition of the five-fold ministry role as a concept for deploying effective leadership. The so-called New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement establishes an alternative approach within today’s Christianity, one that is noticeably different from the traditional leadership models in Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and the evangelical traditions. The model argues that churches and Christian ministries need effective leadership models that are theologically grounded in the doctrine of the offices of apostle and the five-fold ministry as described in the New Testament. The NAR model is a church governance concept that claims to be …

Spirit-Empowered Liturgy: The Role Of The Holy Spirit In Traditional Christian Worship, Seth Whitaker

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Sometimes perceived as dead ritual in contemporary Christian churches, liturgy provides a time-tested means of experiencing the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in corporate worship. When understood within its own historical use, liturgy, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, enables a community of faith to consistently remember and participate in God’s saving acts in history, culminating in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and actively look forward to the eschatological hope of Jesus’ return. Like the banks of a river, liturgy plays an important role to effectively facilitate the consistent and reliable movement of the Holy Spirit in …

Is Wisdom Silent?: Apophatic Glossolalia, Ryan Lytton

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Drawing on both similarities and disagreements between the apophatic theology of Dionysius and Gregory of Nazianzus, I will demonstrate how glossolalia can be better understood through the lens of apophatic theology. Gregory and Dionysius both recognize the failure of human language, but each follows that concept to a different conclusion. Dionysius switches from categories of knowledge to categories of experience and focuses the mystical life on ascetic practices in the hopes that they promote an experience of God’s presence. Pentecostals, with our emphasis on experience, often find a kinship with thinkers like Dionysius. In contrast, Gregory of Nazianzus switches from …

“Even The Dark Is Light To You”: Reconsidering The Doctrine Of Sin And The Problem Of Evil, Chris E. W. Green

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

How did evil come to be? Who is to blame for it? Why did God allow it to happen? Familiar answers, and the traditional doctrines that they represent, can and often have been understood—and perhaps more often misunderstood—to bad, even disastrous effects. So, after a brief sketch of the traditional Augustinian doctrine of evil as received through John Wesley’s teaching, which in one form or another shaped the deep structures of American Pentecostal theology and spirituality, I propose an alternative, one that holds that evil is truly nonsensical and so inexplicable; that no one is to blame for its advent, …

Editorial: 5 Year Assessment, Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

With the publication of last fall’s issue of Spiritus, we drew to a close the fifth year of publication since we rebooted the journal in 2017. The Editor, Dr. Jeff Lamp assess the progress and impact of the journal.

Front Matter: Spiritus 7.1 (Spring 2022), Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Table of Contents and front matter.

Full Issue: Spiritus 7.1 (Spring 2022), Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

The full issue of the Spring 2022 issue of Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Anti-Urbanism In Culture And In The Adventist Church: Advocacy And Action For Urban Ministry In The Twentieth Century—Part 2, Jerry R. Chase

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

This article explores the response within the Seventh-day Adventist Church after Ellen G. White’s death to the dual emphases in her writings on the city and rural living. On one hand she strongly encouraged large Adventist institutions and families raising children to locate out of the cities. This was because of the advantages natural surroundings have on physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing, and to shield children and young adults from the evils and temptations of the city. While she recognized the evils in the city and God’s impending judgments, she aggressively pushed church leaders to take a more active role …

Deliverance Ministry Among Adventists In The North American Context, Conrad Vine

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

Deliverance Ministry (DM) among Adventists in North America is a rarely discussed topic. In North American Adventism, it is uncommon for those who do experience demonization to openly discuss their spiritual plight with fellow Adventists, or even with their pastors. Empirical feedback from those who seek deliverance, and from the participants at the International Fellowship of Adventist Mission Studies / Swallen Mission Conference organized by the Department of World Mission at the Adventist Seminary, Andrews University (September 2015) indicates that many Adventist pastors and seminarians in North America feel relatively unprepared to respond to requests for deliverance from members.

Footholds And Strongholds, Kelvin Onongha

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

At creation God made humans in His image and likeness, endowing them with powers and abilities akin to their Creator. One distinguishing quality which humans alone possessed, unique from all other creatures, was the power of choice—the will. This unique attribute made humans the only creatures with the ability to say yes or no to God. Since the devil’s fall from glory, it has been his mission to deceive and enlist others in his rebellion against the sovereignty of God. Continuing the work of deception and rebellion he began in heaven before he and his confederates were forcefully expelled, he …

Can Christians Be Possessed By Evil Spirits?, Kelvin Onongha

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

In the African ministry context, accusations of demon possession are commonplace. It would appear that every strange, bizarre, or abnormal form of behavior is attributed to demon possession. Unfortunately, in many cases there is a very thin line between occurrences of mental disorder and demonization. This is because the symptoms in several instances are quite similar, and the precursors may be quite complex. For these reasons, another article in this issue sought to address the issue of discerning whether certain conditions were caused by mental disorders or demonization.

In addition, the predisposition to regard every unexplained behavior as having a …

The Contribution Of Paul Hiebert To Folk Religion: A Missiological Study Among The Dendis Of Northeast Benin, Michée Badé

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

Completed in September 2022 with the department of Practical and Missional Theology of the University of the Free State, South Africa.

Beyond Academic Public Theology : Grassroots Asian Public Theology Of Religions And Reconciliation In Southeast Asian Burmese Context Of Buddhist Nationalism And Ethnic Conflict, David Thang Moe

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Demonization Of Christians: Missiological Perspectives And Implications, Michée Badé

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

This article is a missiological reflection on the phenomenon of Christian demonization from a Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) perspective. The article argues from the four voices approach in theology (see Cameron et al. 2010; Cameron and Duce 2013), and contends that Christians can be demonized, have been demonized throughout the Christian church history, and are still demonized today across all Christian denomination lines. This is the position that appears in a few SDA publications, and is not in contradiction with the Scriptures. I suggest that demonization and demon possession are etymologically and phenomenologically the same. Thus, this paper builds on the …

The African Worldview And Belief In The Demonic, Kelvin Onongha

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

The African continent displays rich diversity in geography, culture, history, and language. In spite of this heterogeneity in several respects it still has many similarities. These similarities are to a great extent evident in its rich cultures, but especially in its religious worldview. For that reason, the debate still rages whether the religion appertaining to the region should be referred to as African Traditional Religion (ATR), or African Traditional Religions. The arguments on both sides are compelling. A close examination of the worldviews held by a large portion of Africans however reveals amazing similarities. The African worldview associated with the …

Discerning The Condition: Disease Or Demonic, Ugochukwu Elems

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

Psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, anthropologists, some pastors, and other related professionals tend to go to the other extreme and dismiss the reality of demonic manifestations. They often explain that the Bible narratives of demonic encounters are myths, hence the need to demythologize the Scripture’s claim. Yet it is not possible to deny the historicity of the biblical claims, nor can any objective reader of the Scriptures ignore the existence and influence of demons among people today. In fact, the Bible clearly asserts the reality and existence of demons.

The dividing line between disease and demonic possession is very thin, which poses …

Ellen G. White’S Statements In Their Original Context On The Heathen Being Saved, Andrew Tompkins

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

This article is a study of a number of statements found in the writings of Ellen G. White on the experience of the heathen who have not heard about Jesus or God’s law. A brief section on the historical theological setting during the lifetime of Ellen White, specifically as it relates to the question of the eternal destiny of the heathen, will preface the primary portion of the study. The question of the eternal destiny became a major discussion issue, in the wider Protestant world, during the lifetime of Ellen White. It was also an issue that John Wesley addressed …

An Assessment Of The Millennial Body And Its Place In The Local Church, Jonette L. Camp

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Millennial members’ waning attendance and involvement at Simon Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is a growing concern for the church universal. This project focuses on Simon Temple’s ability to attract and retain millennials and draw on their church programs and leadership gifts. This study’s purpose was to understand better why millennials do not become or remain active members at Simon Temple. If the church implemented a strategic evangelism and discipleship plan for millennials, could it help attract, retain, and involve millennials? This study evaluates the concerns of Simon Temple leadership and millennial members as they relate to millennial involvement …