Practical Theology Commons^™

Holistic Approach To Mental Illnesses At The Toby Of Ambohibao Madagascar, Daniel A. Rakotojoelinandrasana

Doctor of Ministry Theses

The Church is to reclaim its teaching and praxis of the healing ministry at the example of Jesus Christ who preached, taught and healed. Healing is holistic, that is, caring for the whole person, physical, mental, social and spiritual. Healing is a part of the full salvation in Jesus Christ.

Mental illnesses or disorders affect one fourth of human beings in the world and their prevalence is far from declining. This thesis describes the model of Ambohibao and suggests it as a way for the church to do healing ministry, and particularly, as a way to approach the problems of …

Media Literacy As A Support For The Development Of A Responsible Imagination In Religious Community, Mary E. Hess, Mary E. Hess

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Using The Levels Of Family Involvement Model With Religious Professionals, Dale R. Hawley, Carla M. Dahl

Faculty Publications

Serving as a religious professional is a complex task with a wide variety of demands and responsibilities. This variety contributes to a professional identity that requires the fulfillment of a number of roles. The Levels of Family Involvement (LFI) model (W. J. Doherty, 1995) offers a structure for helping clergy ascertain which roles may be most beneficial to a family in a given set of circumstances, as well as which roles are beyond their training and mission. The LFI is offered as a guideline for helping clergy select modes of intervention and identify areas for personal and professional development. Case …

Natural And Unnatural Use In Romans 1:24-27: Paul And The Philosophic Critique Of Eros, David E. Fredrickson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Trinity And Congregational Planning: Between Historical Minimum And Eschatological Maximum, Patrick R. Keifert

Faculty Publications

Most members of congregations are inattentive to both the past and the future of their congregation. They live in a very present now. An adequate doctrine of the Trinity can liberate congregations from this imprisonment in the present; it will call for visioning and planning in congregational life.

The Congregation: Critical Location For Faith And The Other, Patrick R. Keifert

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Civil Society And Congregations As Public Moral Companions, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

In the midst of this morally charged situation might not Christian congregations hear again the call to a public vocation? As we ponder this prospect, two questions will guide our inquiry. First, where might Christian congregations locate a space in which they might attend to the public moral meaning of everyday rage? That public space, which we will explore, is “civil society.” Second, how can this public space of civil society be accessed so that its moral possibilities can be maximized? We will explore “communicative moral practice” as the best model for accessing the moral possibilities of civil society. What …

The Bible, Congregational Leaders, And Moral Conversation, Patrick R. Keifert

Faculty Publications

No matter how old an observation, it remains nonetheless true: We tend to remember the preacher more than the sermon, the teacher more than the lecture. Perhaps that is all we have recently learned in a preliminary study of twelve congregations in the Southwestern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (SW Synod). However, there are some nuances that raise very important questions for theological education in seminaries and congregations—and, even more important, insights for the role of leaders and their use of Scripture in the moral conversations within congregations. In short, we have found from dozens of …

Guess Who's Coming To Worship? Worship And Evangelism, Patrick R. Keifert

Faculty Publications

Too many congregations of mainline churches profess that they welcome strangers but are inhospitable when the stranger comes to worship. They know that worship is the single most important ingredient in why people join and remain active members in a congregation. They realize that they need to welcome strangers, so they try to be a warm, open family. Some of them believe they have achieved this model, but few do achieve it. The key to turning this situation around lies in the congregation’s attitude toward the stranger. This is especially true of the attitude of those who plan and lead …

Ministry, Management, And The Ecumenical Movement, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

The ecumenical movement in contemporary America should not be surprised to find itself in a quandary of questions regarding the "ministry” of the gospel. From the first decades following the ascension of Jesus until the present the whole complex of emerging questions of ministry have been intimately bound up with society-wide crises of authority. While it is nearly impossible to sort out the myriad questions regarding ministry that have arisen in the American context, one factor in particular has and, if left unchecked, will continue to subvert the ministry of the gospel: a society-wide managerial mode of authority. It has …

A Public Ministry By All The Baptized?, Patrick R. Keifert

Faculty Publications

Any discussion of the ministry of the baptized eventually reaches a point where someone asks, “If all the baptized are ministers, then why and how do we distinguish between the ministry of clergy and laity?” One promising answer begins, “The clergy have a public ministry....” The unspoken half of that answer, seldom said, but powerfully lived out in contemporary capitalistic cultures is, “The laity’s ministry is private.” This response constricts the scope of the gospel and plays into the contemporary gulf between the public and private dimensions of our lives.

The Parish As A Confessing Community, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.