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Table Of Contents

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Table of Contents Vol 59:2.

Editorial Vol 59:2, Martin Hanna, Oliver Glanz

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is the Editorial by Co-Editors Dr. Martin Hanna and Dr. Oliver Glanz.

Pottery Horizons Of The Jalul Ceramic Assemblage In The Iron Age Iia-C From Square G4 In Its Historical And Geographical Context, Michael Christian Orellana Mendez

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a dissertation abstract.

To The Glory Of God Evaluating Origen’S Exposition Of The Scripture In His Leviticus Homilies, Andrew Johnson

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Johnson, Andrew M. “To the Glory of God: Evaluating Origen’s Exposition of the Scripture in His Leviticus Homilies”. Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2022. 237 pp.

Origen has been called “Adamantine,” an impossibly hard metal. Many have found his work to be strong and powerful and equal in its density. Origen’s preaching is almost impenetrable to the Evangelical preacher. This dissertation seeks to offer an entry for modern evangelical preachers to engage with the historic practice of figural exposition in Origen’s Leviticus homilies. The dissertation investigates the interpretative, homiletical and rhetorical histories which intersect in Origen’s homilies. It unpacks Origen’s use …

Shaking The Leaves Of Identity, Rosalyn Kantlaht’Ant Elm, Janaki Bandara

Consensus

This article seeks to present a study of gender and sexuality based on an Indigenous and theologically interpreted understanding of ourselves, wonderfully made by God, who formed our inward parts and knit us together in our mother’s wombs. If we understand personhood in general and gender in particular to be a matter of lived experience rather than merely a matter of physicality, biology, and physiology, then our hearts and our spirits can be open to experiencing all people as Creator made them rather than through very limiting, merely mortal definitions. This article accesses the lived experience of Anglican Archdeacon Venerable …

A Queering, Jennifer Hind-Urquhart, Rachel Hind-Urquhart

Consensus

No abstract provided.

A Methodical-Pentecostal Theology Of Discipleship: Retrieving Wesley’S Method Of Discipleship For The 21st Century American Pentecostal Church, Rachel K. Sledge

Masters of Theological Studies

As the Pentecostal church continues to develop its unique theology separate from a mere charismatic Christianity, a theology of discipleship and practical application will prove necessary to maintain the original spirit of early Pentecostalism and sustain the continued growth of the church. Examining the Wesleyan theological roots of Pentecostalism provides a crucial understanding of the practices and discipleship methods leading to the Latter Rain outpouring. Understanding the educational, immersive, and experiential component of discipleship during Jesus’ time helps to frame the importance of prescribing certain practices and disciplines as means of cultivating holiness of heart. Retrieving some of the principles …

An Exegetical And Phenomenological Study Of 1–3 John As A Model For Developing Biblical Community Through Spiritual Leadership Practices, Joseph Pastori

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Pastors and church leaders have been trusted with the New Testament responsibility of building biblical community characterized by koinonia. For contemporary pastors, this means developing this community while addressing internal conflicts and an increasing level of opposition from a post-Christian societal culture. The leadership approach of the Apostle John and the biblical principles in the epistles of 1–3 John serve as a model for building and maintaining biblical community while addressing internal and external challenges. Spiritual leadership theory (Fry, 2003) and organizational culture (Cameron & Quinn, 2011; Schein, 1986, 1990) provide valid theoretical constructs that are compatible with the Scriptural …

An Exploration Of The Role Of Vulnerability In Ministerial Leadership: A Qualitative Examination Of John 13 As Lived Experience In Contemporary Ministry, Lance L. May

PhD in Organizational Leadership

When leaders experience personal failures, it often causes negative repercussions across an entire organization, and Burns (1978) noted that devastating leadership failures had become increasingly common at the close of the 20th century. Leadership failures have continued to be a prominent problem, and the failures of ministry leaders are just as prevalent and devastating (Shaw, 2006). Brown (2015) concluded that vulnerability is a powerful tool for maintaining trust and integrity for leaders, followers, and entire organizational cultures. This study centered on both the role of vulnerability exemplified by Jesus in John 13 and the lived experiences of Christian ministry leaders. …

Interviews In Global Catholic Studies: Kenneth Parker, Mathew N. Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

Mathew N. Schmalz, Professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Global Catholicism, interviews Kenneth Parker, Ryan Endowed Chair for Newman Studies, Professor of Catholic Studies and Historical Theology, and the inaugural Chair of the Department of Catholic Studies at Duquesne University.

Field Notes: A Ministerial Community Of Care Responds To A Pandemic, Ron Bruner

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Abstract: These notes report the interaction of the ministerial team at Westview Boys’ Home with its theology and context during the COVID-19 crisis. This community developed specific practices to protect its staff and residents while continuing to move forward with its mission to care for youth from hard places.

Guided By The Spirit: A Comparative Study Of The Ministry Of Reverend Seen-Ok Ahn With Paul’S Mission In Light Of Acts 16:6-15, Hongyeol Kim

College of Theology and Ministry Dissertations, Projects, & Theses

Acts 16:6-15 records Paul’s second missional journey begins with the divine guidance. By obeying the Spirit, Paul went to Macedonia where he never planned to go to preach the Gospel. Back then, a man was led by the Spirit in an unanticipated way. About two thousand years later, a similar event happened to a woman, Rev. Seen-Ok Ahn. By the guidance of the Spirit, Ahn went in a direction she had not previously planned, and expanded the Kingdom of God in South Korea. Thus, how can contemporary Christians understand the divine guidance of Spirit based on these two experiences?

The …

Examining The Cross-Cultural Competence Of United States Christian Missionaries Engaged In Developing Indigenous Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study, Craig W. Goodman

Dissertations

For the past two millennia, missionaries have crossed from one culture to another to bring the Christian message to all cultures of the world. Questions about the effectiveness of these mission efforts have been asked and researched by many; however, one key question remains unanswered: what personal attributes help a person to be more competent at crossing cultures as they interact with people from other cultures? Although cross-cultural competence has been studied in a variety of fields over the past 50 years, the models and assessments used have never been applied to Christian missionaries.

To address this deficiency, this parallel …

A Oneness Study Story: The Experiences Of Elders And Staff In Leading Change For The Inclusion Of Women In Public Worship Roles, Shannon Clarkson Rains, Jennifer M. Dabbs, Kaley D. Ihfe

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

In 2019, the elders at the historic Broadway Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas, announced to the congregation that women would have the opportunity to take public roles in worship services. The decision marked a major shift from traditional scriptural interpretations held by many independent Churches of Christ which required active roles in worship to be performed by men. This study seeks to document the experiences of the leadership at Broadway Church of Christ during this significant transition. The elders who made the decision and staff members who enacted the new policy were asked to complete a qualitative survey in …

God And Satan: A Look At Martin Luther’S Titles For Satan And What They Reveal About The Relationship Between God And Satan, Alexandria M. Shick

Master of Art Theology Thesis

Shick, Alexandria M. “God and Satan: A Look at Martin Luther’s Titles for Satan and What They Reveal About the Relationship Between God and Satan.” M.A. Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2022 87 pp.

The relationship between God and Satan is complex and intertwined. There is a tendency in Christianity to overemphasize Satan’s power and his place in the realm of evil and in so doing neglect and disregard what it means for God to be truly omnipotent. Luther understood Satan as being under God’s will, only having the ability to act where, when and how God allowed or permitted. The complex …

God’S Plan For Life: Training Drill Sergeants To Better Serve Their Neighbor By Developing Moral Character Utilizing The “Transformational Moral Leadership” Model, Matthew Christensen

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Instances of moral failure within the U.S. Army raises the question of whether an individual’s character may be developed and improved by utilizing a moral decision-making process. If so, is it possible to measure this improvement? From a Lutheran perspective, is it possible to improve moral character without appealing to the boundaries provided by God’s Word and a Christian community influencing the spiritual dimensions of one’s life.

This project set out to build upon an eighteen-hour Transformational Moral Leadership training model being utilized to strengthen the moral character of drill sergeants at Fort Benning, Georgia. The project allowed me as …

The Personalization Of American Christianity: Subjective Assurance And The Puritan Conversion Narrative, Curran Bishop

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The North American Puritans introduced a concept that has shaped American theology: a test of subjective assurance as a predicate to communing church membership. While previous Reformed communities had tested would-be communicants in their knowledge of church teaching and their adherence to that teaching in their lives. The New England colonists added a relation of the individual’s experiential conversion. This was intended to protect the purity of the church while also ministering to the individual by encouraging them in their faith by their inclusion in church membership. The results of the test led immediately to declining numbers of adults becoming …

Theology Of The Laity: The Lutheran Way, Brian M. Mosemann

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The distinction between the laity and clergy has been a contributing cause of disunity within the church because the clergy and laity are often pitted against one another with one or the other being elevated to the detriment of the other. This problem has plagued the church from the middle ages until the present day. Since the definition of the term “laity” is vacuous, the laity are generally defined relative to the clergy, specifically in reference to their authority and duties. This results in a negative definition when the laity are defined as the opposite of the clergy. The laity …

Straining Forward To What Lies Ahead: Models Of Patristic Contemplation, Joshua Vanderhyde

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Vanderhyde, Joshua S. “Straining Forward to What Lies Ahead: Models of Patristic Contemplation.” Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2022. 111 pp.

As secularization sharpens the contrast between Christian belief and western culture, many Christians are looking for ways to take a more active and intentional approach to the struggle to be conformed to Christ. The Church Fathers offer a unified theory of Christian spirituality, grounded and structured by the concept of contemplation—a theory of perception widely held in the ancient world and integral to diverse systems of thought, including Neoplatonism. In this thesis, the concept of contemplation is elucidated as a theory …

Stanley Hauerwas' Approach To Christian Marital And Sex Ethics: A Review And Speculative Expansion, Jeffrey A. Schooley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few places in congregational and denominational life are more fraught with tension and division than conversations about marital and sex ethics. Systemic abuses mingled together with individual failures on this issue has led to confusion, conflict, and chaos. Worse yet, the remedies proposed—and they are many—tend to either double down on “Traditional” values or seek massive reformation of Christian convictions in light of Modern philosophical, anthropological, and sociological presuppositions. Interlocutors quickly come to an impasse and fragmentation occurs. The catalyst for these conflicts is often debates over same-sex marriage, but one does not have to wade far into this conversation …

Developing Policies And Procedures For Restorative Accountability At Southwestern Assemblies Of God University, W. Lance Meche

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project was designed to address a lack of policies and procedures at Southwestern Assemblies of God University that support its restorative accountability approach in addressing student conduct violations. The student handbook provides rights and responsibilities afforded each student as well as the procedures that appointed staff members are to follow in the event that campus policies are violated; however, the language used in the student handbook did not address modern student culture, nor did it procedurally assist staff members in helping students to develop spiritually. The project intervention involved staff members who address student violations with grace as well …

Designing A Program To Train Elders To Respond To #Metoo Experiences Of Adult Females In A Church Context, Jana H. Unruh

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This project intervention explores resolution of systemic issues of church-based sexual harassment, abuse, and violence, referred to as #MeToo, through design of a training program for elders. As theological foundation for the project, the Gospel of Luke frames positive approaches modern church leaders can align with in the quest for solutions to #MeToo. The Good Samaritan parable and the story of Mary and Martha extract valuable lessons for church elders addressing sexual harassment, abuse, and violence experiences of adult women. In Luke, we find fresh understanding for questions of #MeToo through the highly relevant concept of “neighbor.” Luke will …

Developing Practices Within The Lord’S Supper That Develop Central Identity At Queen City Church Of Christ, Ryan Russell

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project was designed to meet a need at the Queen City Church of Christ (QCC) for developing intentional practices around the Lord’s Supper for forming a central identity in a diverse community. The scope of this project focuses on the project group’s ability to develop practices based on the theology of the Lord’s Supper, biblical teaching, engaging in practices of spiritual formation as a group, and their observations of Lord’s Supper practices in other Christian traditions. Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth provides the textual context for the discussion of the role the Lord’s Supper plays within …

Creating An Action Plan To Increase Diversity And Inclusion At Northwest Church Of Christ, Kenton Reeves Brown

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project was designed to meet a need at the Northwest Church of Christ in Oklahoma City to help the church transition from a church that values diversity to one that realizes its vision of being diverse and inclusive. The scope of this project was to create an action plan to increase diversity and inclusion to present to the church leaders for their consideration. The theological foundation for the project comes from Paul’s convictions, expressed in Gal 1–2, that any who are in Christ should not be excluded or treated as a lower-class member of the community based on their …

Incorporating Wisdom Christology Into The Phronesis Of Courtyard Church Of Christ, Tiffany A. Dahlman

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to address an identified problem Courtyard Church of Christ members were having with decision-making in a way that promoted shalom and reflected Christ to the world. I proposed that Wisdom Christology could assist in the decision-making process and formed an intervention team of five additional people from within the congregation to explore the situation through participatory action research. We met for six sessions in the early months of 2020. The team embarked on a thorough examination of Wisdom Christology through the Scriptures climaxing in the Wisdom Hymn of Col 1:15–20. Our subsequent collective understanding …

Forming Generous Disciples : Effective Strategies For Creating A Culture Of Generosity, David M. Loleng

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Integrated Preaching Design : A Methodological Framework For Preaching In The Indian Context, Ancy John

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Five-Fold Paradigm : Effects Of The Five-Fold Experimential Course Equip, Nathaniel Dean Mcwherter

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Do Mass-Produced Apologetics Help Spiritual Conversations? Testing Mama Bear Apologetics With Millennial Mothers, Joshua S. Johnson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Multi-Site Church : Best Practices To Launch And Sustain Multi-Site, Brandon Beals

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.