Practical Theology Commons^™

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

African-American Pastors' Mental Health Literacy, Leadership And Counsel: A Systematic Review, Michelle A. Townsend

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

The African-American pastor is a trusted provider of leadership and counseling within the Black church and community. Pastors and ministry leaders are often the first responders of mental health issues faced by their congregants and community members. As a trusted and sought-after source for counseling, the African-American Pastor is a mental health provider to a community who often does not pursue professional mental health counseling. Although the community is susceptible to the same mental illness as other ethnic groups, there is mistrust for the medical and mental health community and inequality in the available resources. This study 1) examined what …

Household Order And The Discipleship Of The People Of God: An Exegetical Survey Of Ephesians 5:21–6:9 And Other New Testament Household Texts, Eric J. Blessing

College of Theology and Ministry Dissertations, Projects, & Theses

The apostle Paul had a clear theology around the family, as presented by Ephesians 5:21–6:9 and similar Household Codes in his epistles, demonstrating his understanding of how families function as an outflow of the Gospel and how they play into the formation of local churches. His letters unfold vital teachings about how relationships in the family are to function, and that these functions are integral to the health of local churches and their mission to spread the Gospel. However, these teachings are only evident when read within their proper context, a task that the modern Western Church generally has failed …

Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 64, No. 1

Restoration Quarterly

PDF of the cover of Restoration Quarterly: Vol. 64, No. 1.

This repository hosts selected Restoration Quarterly articles in downloadable PDF format. For the benefit of users who would like to browse the contents of RQ, we have included all issue covers even when full-text articles from that issue are unavailable. All Restoration Quarterly articles are available in full text in the ATLA Religion Database, available through most university and theological libraries or through your local library’s inter-library loan service.

Biblical Preaching, Teaching, And The Charismatic Gifts : Prioritizing The Essentials Of The Great Commission, Sylvester T. Toe

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Holy Spirit Preaching : The Effects Of The Holy Spirit Workshop For The Northwest District Pastors, Louis C. Carr Jr.

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of A Missional Preaching Series To Produce Cognitive, Affective, And Behavioral Change At Auburn United Methodist Church, Anthony J. Paulson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Disciple Formation Small Group Study : Practicing Spiritual Disciplines In Community Fellowship, Kevin D. Clotfelter

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Pastoring The Pandemic : Leadership Lessons From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Donald W. Merricks Ii

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Sustaining Spiritual Change In Wesleyan-Holiness Systems Of Discipleship In Selected Congregations In Illinois, U.S.A., Stephen J. Descalzo

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Strengthening Mission Through Strategy: An Analysis Of The Mission-Driven Excellence Strategy, Osvaldo Souza Santos Jr.

Dissertations

The Office of Strategy and Research (OSR) for the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) churches in the North America Division (NAD) is beginning to implement a new strategy that focuses on mission. The OSR designed the strategy, created tools and materials to support the churches in implementing the Mission-driven Excellence (MdX) strategy. MdX combines planning and direction that helps church leaders to think strategically. MdX is a combination of pre-events, processes, and resources combined with local church strategies toward mission. The purpose of this study was to suggest strengths and improvements to the Mission-driven Excellence (MdX) strategy by seeking to better understand …

Maximizing Performance : Best Practices For Professional Development Coaching For Christian Leaders, Harrison J. Bell

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Syrian Christian Churches, Kerala : Spiritual Renewal And Revival In Contemporary Syrian Christian Churches In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, Samuel Thomas Varghese

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Catholicism In Context: Religious Practice In Latin America, Gustavo Morello Sj

Journal of Global Catholicism

A critical problem to study Catholicism in the context of Latin American modernity, is that the conceptual tools we use to study religion were designed to understand the transformations that modernity provoked in European religiosity. Studies on the religion of Latin Americans have largely explored the religiosity of the population through surveys that measure attendance, adherence and affiliation. While some anthropologists have explored religious practices among particular groups, we do not know how ordinary, urban Latin Americans practice religion. To fill this gap, a group of researchers from Boston College, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Catholic University of Córdoba, and …

Editor's Introduction, Mathew N. Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Gospel Impact And Stewardship Tool (Gist): Visual Mapping To Discover Gospel Imperatives For Strategic Ministry Decisions, Martin Edward Lee

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Lee, Martin Edward “Gospel Impact and Stewardship Tool: Visual Mapping to Discover Gospel Imperatives for Strategic Ministry Decisions.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2021. 260 pp.

This research project and the resulting Gospel Impact and Stewardship Tool (“GIST”) addresses congregational stewardship deficits from a systems perspective, with a shared-stewardship imperative for all leaders and members of a congregation, instead of focusing stewardship on the individual. The GIST Ministry Map provides a visual picture of how individual ministries are interconnected. This project illustrates how a learning environment, and the GIST visual ministry mapping process, help improve strategic decision-making …

Equipping Lay Elders With The Spiritual Care Skills Of Active Listening, Sharing Scripture, Offering Prayer, And Providing Follow Up At St. Paul Lutheran Church In Wood River, Il, David Martin Arthur Schultz

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Schultz, David, MA. “Equipping lay elders with the spiritual care skills of active listening, sharing scripture, offering prayer, and providing follow up at St. Paul Lutheran Church Wood River, IL.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2022. 122 pp.

Spiritual care is vitally important for all people. Unfortunately, too often those who are commissioned to provide spiritual care lack the necessary skills to help others. This MAP explores how a lay elder seminar might equip the lay elders of a congregation with the spiritual care skills of active listening, sharing scripture, offering prayer, and providing follow up. This …

Theological Practices For Sustaining Community Renewal At Speedway Church Of Christ, Kent A. Ellett

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project assembled a group of potential small-group facilitators for the purpose of drafting a small-group discussion guide to be used at the Speedway (Indiana) Church of Christ. The guide was intended to aid the discernment of missional practices which sustain the renewal of the wider community. Focusing on the Gospel of John, the intervention attempted to recover a temple Christology, construing the incarnation, ministry, death, and the lifting up of Jesus within the larger story of the temple’s ongoing re-creation of the world. In bestowing his glory upon the church, Jesus sends the church into all the world, as …

The Contemporary Situation Of Elderly People In Ethiopia And The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, Tsigewengel B. Uddo

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Uddo Tsigewengel B. “The Contemporary Situation of Elderly People in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus.” MA Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2022. 100pp.

The Church is God’s agent to serve God’s people in the church and society at large. The scope of the Church’s ministry comprises all ages: young, adult, and elderly. Culturally, in Ethiopia, children and close family members are responsible for caring for the elderly, therefore, the church has not given satisfactory attention to holistic elderly care. Moreover, current societal change and globalization have negatively affected the indigenous family-support system for the elderly. As a result, many …

Calvin Theological Journal (Vol 56 No 2 - November 2021), Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin Theological Journal

From the Editor: Karin Maag - 229 / Articles: Wholehearted Commitment to Sound Pastoral Theology and Care: What Martin Bucer and John Calvin Can Teach Today’s Pastors by Stéphan van der Watt - 231 / A Variety of Voices: Reformed Theologians on the Theory of Evolution by Gijsbert van den Brink and Harry Cook - 265 /  Short Studies: The English-language Reception of K. H. Miskotte by Collin Cornell - 293 / The Scandal of Sheer Grace: When Mercy Offends by James K. A. Smith - 309 / Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Look Back after Thirty Years …

Reviews, Robert D. Mcbain

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Reviews Wonsuk Ma and Kathaleen Reid-Martinez. Human Sexuality & the Holy Spirit: Spirit-Empowered Perspectives.

Robert D. McBain ................................................................................................333

Robert D. McBain. Depression, Where is Your Sting?

Cletus L. Hull, III .................................................................................................335

John R. Levison. The Holy Spirit Before Christianity.

William Lyons ......................................................................................................337

Andrew Ray Williams. Washed in the Spirit: Toward a Pentecostal Theology of Water Baptism.

Christopher J. King ..............................................................................................341

Makoto Fujimura. Art and Faith: A Theology of Making.

Martin Mittelstadt ................................................................................................343

Hannah R. K. Mather. Spirit, Scripture, and Interpretation in the Renewal Tradition.

Rick Wadholm, Jr. ................................................................................................345

Frank D. Macchia. The Spirit-Baptized Church: A Dogmatic Inquiry …

Spiritual Struggle And Spiritual Growth Of Bereft College Students In A Christian Evangelical University, Melinda G. Rhodes, Andrea C. Walker Ph.D.

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article examines spiritual struggle in bereft Christian evangelical students and how struggle might potentiate spiritual growth. The death loss of a close person can result in shattered assumptions about the world that trigger spiritual questions and struggle (Chen, 1997; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2006; Pargament et al., 1998), and spiritual struggle can be a catalyst for growth (Lord & Gramling, 2014; Magyar-Russell et al., 2014; Pargament et al., 1998; Pargament et al., 2011). To our knowledge, spiritual growth has not been measured utilizing the actual voices of those struggling with the loss, nor has it been measured in Christian evangelical …

The Holy Spirit The Ultimate Counselor And Transformer For Healing And Wholeness: A Nepalese Perspective, Karuna Sharma

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Nepal is a country with cultural and religious diversity. This country has gone through much turmoil and many crises. Since the time of the Maoist insurgency up to the recent pandemic situation, people have faced various emotions, feelings, and thoughts. These sudden devastating moments have not only affected their physical wellbeing, but has in turn affected the whole being of a person. These experiences of accusation, suffering, violence, and pain have led many to sadness, worry, anger, and fear resulting in various mental disorders. Therefore, the ministry of counseling is very important in order to help people get connected to …

Breaking Depression’S Silence Within The Church Through Friendships, Robert D. Mcbain

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article explores the silent nature of depression in the local church and suggests that developing Jesus-style friendships can break the silence. It adapts the author’s Doctor of Ministry (DMin) research project, which explored the silent nature of depression in the local church and Christianity’s interpretive healing qualities. This article argues that the church has a rich history of helping sufferers interpret their experiences of depression, but changing worldviews, the growth of the modern medical model, and the effectiveness of pharmaceuticals monopolized health and shoved the church to the periphery of the conversation. Silence became the church’s typical response, which …

Counseling In The Already, Not Yet: Reflections On The Work Of The Christian Counselor Through An Eschatological Lens, Haley Rae French

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this article reflects on the work of the Christian counselor through an eschatological lens, specifically exploring the notion of what it means to counsel in the “already, not yet.” The counseling process is presented as a place in which the dialectics of this eschatological tension are present and outworked. Pain and suffering are encountered and explored as the counselor stands in solidarity with the sufferer, and yet the Christian counselor also anticipates hope and the power of change in the present, particularly as ushered in by the eschatological Spirit of God. To this end, …

How Jesus Communicates #Metoo: A Perspective On Intergenerational Trauma And Healing In The Atonement, Pamela F. Engelbert

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article offers a practical theological praxis of how the church may participate in Christ’s atoning ministry of healing towards persons who have experienced sexual violence. Drawing from the theory of intergenerational trauma, it uses the mentioning of “the wife of Uriah” in Matthew’s genealogy to convey how Jesus identifies with survivors of sexual violence. The article then focuses on the hypostatic union to establish how Jesus provides ontological healing in the atonement for said survivors. It concludes by demonstrating how Matthew’s Gospel calls radical disciples to a healing praxis of listening to stories of the disenfranchised, thereby pointing towards …