Practical Theology Commons^™

Assessing The Feasibility Of An Online Gaming Ministry And Developing An Action Plan To Train Apologists For Outreach., Alexander R. Mooney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research project is to assess the feasibility of an online gaming ministry and to develop an action plan to train apologists for outreach. This study is necessary due to several key developments over the last few years, including the growth of social media and digital platforms, the rise of content creation on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and X, the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased the need for digital ministry, and the overall growth of Gen Z in religion and faith. Because of these points, the need for developing digital ministry and online gaming ministry has grown. …

A Christ-Centered Approach To Ai-Assisted Sermon Preparation For Cedar Grove Community Church, Andrew Michael Poe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping nearly every sector of society, presenting both opportunities and ethical challenges for Christian ministry. Amid this technological shift, many pastors, Bible teachers, and lay leaders experience ethical uncertainty about the appropriate use of AI in expository preaching and teaching. This Doctor of Ministry action research project developed and evaluated an eight-week training designed to equip the teaching team at Cedar Grove Community Church with a Christ-centered approach to AI-assisted sermon preparation. The purpose of this project was to provide biblical, theological, and practical guidance enabling communicators to leverage AI responsibly without compromising ministerial integrity …

Visible Faith: Teaching Young Men Of Generation Z Principles In Practical Theology Through An Intergenerational Mentorship Program At The First Baptist Church Of Jacksonville, Alabama, Todd Borders

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Gen Z, defined as people born between 1997 and 2012, is the first truly post-Christian generation and a key missional challenge for the Christian church. This researcher aimed for this thesis to contribute to practical ministry in the local church by creating a specialized curriculum for Gen Z men and delivering it through a newly developed intergenerational mentorship program at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Alabama. The project paired older, spiritually mature men with micro-groups of three to four mentees to guide them through the curriculum. Five mentors and sixteen mentees, ages fifteen to twenty-six, from First Baptist’s congregation, participated. …

The Word Of Faith Which We Preach: Perspectives On Core Doctrines Of Word Of Faith Theology, James Clifford Crew

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Primary Research Question:

What are the distinctive core doctrines that are officially recognized and universally taught within the Word of Faith movement - as distinguished from some common aberrant or excessive popular teachings - and are these core doctrines biblically and theologically defensible as orthodox teachings within the broader scope of the universal Christian Church? The research problem is a glaring gap in the literature characterized by the general absence of a clear delineation between official core doctrines and controversial popular teachings that are neither officially codified in its doctrinal statements nor universally accepted and taught within the Word of …

Restoring Trust And Relational Depth In The Philadelphia Seventh-Day Adventist Church Through Structural Family Therapy Interventions, Laundale Leopold Munroe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This Doctor of Ministry action research project addressed the challenge of unclear relational and leadership boundaries associated with reduced trust, emotional comfort, and healthy communication within the Philadelphia Seventh-day Adventist Church in Bronx, New York. The purpose of this project was to implement and evaluate an eight-week Structural Family Therapy-informed intervention designed to strengthen trust, emotional comfort, leadership clarity, relational boundaries, and healthy communication among church members. The goals were to increase participants’ awareness of congregational relational patterns, encourage healthier interpersonal interactions, and cultivate practices that support sustained relational health. A mixed-methods action research design was employed with eighteen adult …

Church Revitalization In A Southwest United States Retirement Community Church: A Case Study, Donald L. Fraser

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Eighty percent of churches in the United States are either plateaued or declining. Across all denominations, as many as 7700 churches permanently close their doors each year. Pastors of once-vibrant churches transition to survival mode rather than continuing to build their churches. However, there are bright spots where a declining church reverses the downward trend and begins a renewed cycle of growth. This case study examined church growth and revitalization of Southwest Community Church (the name has been changed to protect the identity of the participants), a revitalized church in a dedicated retirement community. For this research, revitalization has been …

The Practical Application Of The Greatest Commandments In Mark 12:28–34: A Holistic Framework For Spiritual Formation, Mark R. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christian spiritual formation is a field abundant in materials, resources, and programs to help people become fully devoted followers of God. Yet a disconnect appears to exist between the biblical concept of discipleship, which encompasses both a process and an event, and the lived reality of Christians in the United States today. A new model that lays the foundation for a new spiritual formation framework grounded in the practical application of the Greatest Commandments may be of benefit. This dissertation develops a model that includes orthodoxy and orthopraxy to apply the Greatest Commandments in an easy-to-understand framework in a practical, …

Jesus Leads Worship: A Theological Investigation Of The Role Of Jesus Christ In Worship, Vernon M. Whaley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There are many books, published articles and formal studies by well-known evangelical theologians and authors that make the case of how Jesus is sufficiently prepared to serve the role as our own personal high priest. But, few studies provide theological and practical evidence that Jesus is passionate in accepting His responsibility to lead us in worship. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate how Jesus Christ is central to our worship and, as Sovereign, He is superior to all of the Old Testament forms of worship. This research seeks to provide a theological, historical and philosophical study of Jesus …

Ecclesiastes’ Framework For The New Testament Doctrine Of Personal Eschatological Judgment, Brent D. Denney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines the relationship between the assertions of divine judgment in the book of Ecclesiastes and the New Testament passages that depict the final judgment of humans. Chapter One introduces the topic and thesis by foregrounding modern scholarship's neglect of the conceptual relationship between Ecclesiastes’ assertions of divine judgment and the New Testament’s mature doctrine of personal eschatological judgment, which underpins this study. Chapter Two examines Qohelet’s deployment of the term הֶבֶל (heḇel) as a tensive symbol for the conditions stemming from the fall and its effects on humanity's pursuit of anything of lasting value (יִתְרוֹן, yiṯrôn). For Qohelet, …

Missional Hermeneutics And The Lukan Version Of The Great Commission (Luke 24:44-49): The Dual Hermeneutical Key, Israel Martin Lemos

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines the relationship between Christological fulfillment and the mission of God within the framework of biblical interpretation, with special emphasis on Luke 24:44-49. In recent decades, missional hermeneutics has moved from the margins of theological discussion to a more visible place within biblical studies, although the field remains conceptually diverse and methodologically underdefined. On one hand, a growing body of scholarship has argued that Scripture must be read within the horizons of the missio Dei, understood as God's redemptive purpose for creation and the nations. On the other hand, mainstream biblical scholarship has often continued to privilege either …

Grace Within The Holiness Code, Michael B. Bowe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Leviticus introduces the concept of God’s holiness—his unique, innate, and ontological otherness—and calls his people to reflect that holiness in their own lives. While scholarship has traditionally focused on Israel’s sacrificial cult practices, it has often neglected the theological trajectory of holiness within the broader canonical framework of the Torah. This dissertation seeks to reframe the Holiness Code (Leviticus 17–26) not merely as a set of ritual prescriptions, but as a theological narrative that exposes the limits of human effort and invites reflection on divine grace.

Chapter 1 surveys the history of interpretation and critiques the limitations of historical-critical and …

Beyond The Pulpit: How Theological Training Equips Believers To Discern Their Ministry Calling, Gladys Elizabeth Moy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation will examine the theological and practical dimensions of ministry calling through the framework of the Fivefold Ministry as indicated in Ephesians. “And He gave some, apostles, and some, prophets, and some, evangelists, and some, pastors and teachers” (King James Bible, 1769/2017, Ephesians 4:11-12). It will challenge the prevailing assumption that a divine call to ministry is primarily expressed through pulpit-centered roles, arguing instead that ministry encompasses a broader spectrum of functions within the body of Christ. Grounded in theological reflection and contemporary scholarship, the study will contend that while all believers are called to ministry, their specific callings …

Technology Idolatry: Daniel’S Fourfold Ancient Antidote To This Modern Problem Facing A Christian Singles Group In Dallas, Kimberlee Bousman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

With the rise of artificial intelligence and devices like cell phones, humanity is more connected to technology than ever. Increasingly, many people, including Christians, have become addicted to technology, spending hours scrolling. One biblical character who lived in an idolatrous culture yet remained entirely devoted to the Lord was Daniel. Making spiritual disciplines an integral part of his life enabled Daniel to stay obedient to God. This study was conducted to help a singles group that was struggling with spending too much time on technology and making it an idol. This qualitative phenomenological study was designed and implemented over seven …

Asynchronous Theologetics For A Digital Church, William Ck Yomes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The world is currently living through a digital reformation. The advent of the smartphone has forever changed the way people share information and communicate. In the same way that the technological advancement of Gutenberg's printing press fueled the Protestant Reformation, the widespread rapid adoption of the smartphone has begun a digital reformation. Just as academia has proven education can be accomplished online, so too can the local church adopt online teaching strategies. Teaching has always been foundational to formation in the faith. Now, in the era of digital reformation, the local church can take full advantage of tools like asynchronous …

Supporting Parents Of Pre-Adolescents: Equipping Parents Through Focused Instruction On Biblical Parenting Practices, Lillian Michelle Mitchell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research project addresses the problem that parents and grandparents of pre-adolescent children at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church do not receive sufficient intentional spiritual support, biblical guidance, and instruction to teach them how to raise their children using parenting skills grounded in a biblical worldview. The purpose of this research was to equip parents and grandparents of pre-adolescent children with biblically based parenting skills using an eight-week group study. The project examined the results of the Bible study group, which focused on Genesis 1:26, Deuteronomy 6:5-9, Proverbs 22:6, Luke 2:46, Ephesians 6:1-4, and Titus 2:1-8. The study implemented …

Biblical Leadership And Gender: Balancing Cultural Context And Theological Conviction, Lorie Lynn Heath

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

God originally made male and female in His image, imparting to them a shared authority over creation. They were co-heirs equal in purpose, mission, and value. However, cultural practices and patriarchal traditions have long obscured this original biblical design. Consider a qualified young woman in a local church, called, talented, and valued by her congregation, yet repeatedly overlooked for preaching and teaching positions because of her gender. Her story is not unique. This misapplication of Scripture not only harms women but also weakens the body of Christ and impedes the church’s testimony to the gospel. Accurate comprehension of the Bible …

A Phenomenological Study Of Pastoral Perspectives Of Conservative Churches Effectively Serving The Disability Community, John D. Hall

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study explored the experience of pastors leading conservative churches engaging with and serving persons with disabilities and their families. It focused on six theologically conservative churches providing special needs ministry, with at least three distinct scheduled ministry opportunities staffed by lay leadership, meeting a minimum of quarterly, and overseen by a paid staff member. This research sought to understand the perspectives of the pastors leading these churches, focusing on their personal experiences with disability, vision implementation, and leadership development. This study explored these pastors’ leadership through the lens of Transformational Leadership Theory and whether their style demonstrates transformational …

The Emotional Aspects Of Disbelief: A Study Of Negative Emotions And Their Influence On Atheists When Reasoning About God’S Existence And Christianity, Esteban Canales

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The lack of sufficient evidence has been signaled by atheists as the main reason for their disbelief, identifying arguments such as God’s silence and the problem of evil as intellectual reasons against the existing of God and the plausibility of Christianity. While Christians found in arguments from Natural Theology, Scripture, morality, and the like, reliable sources in order to recognize God’s wonders and purpose for humanity, for atheists it seems that no argument seem sufficient neither rational. But what about if these so-called intellectual reasons are the product of an underlying emotional condition, affecting negatively the way atheists reason the …

Evaluating Inner-Tainment With A Ghetto Perspective For Positive Thought Adjustment In Ghetto Communities, Shontae L. Graham

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Environmental challenges and disadvantages impact cognitive scripts and develop persistent frustration. Frustration is both mental and physical and can be negative or positive. It evokes emotion, which is prompted by memory and its associated level of importance. The integration of emotion, memory, and imagination can set the stage and create an act to transition negative frustration and align past experiences with new perspectives. This study used a qualitative Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis approach to investigate the use of self-scripted enactment as a self-help technique for positive thought adjustment. The technique is called Inner-tainment and was used to determine if there were …

Creating An Adaptable Discipleship Training Guide To Address The Absence Of Young Adult Ministry Leaders At Church A, Braeden Fleck

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This guide was designed to address a lack of young adult ministry leaders within the researcher’s local church. This thesis project serves as a witness to the development and implementation of an adaptable discipleship training guide. The project proclaims that a flexible discipleship curriculum is the key to cultivating spiritual formation in young adults, specifically those belonging to the Z generation. The primary strategy behind implementation was to use short term intervention through a period of five consecutive weeks to assess spiritual growth of young adult congregants who attend a hybrid satellite church campus. The research project was catalyzed by …

Sacred Geography And The Restoration Of Divine Presence: The Garden Of Eden, Egypt, The Wilderness, And The Promised Land In The Theology Of The Torah, Gary Ryan Perry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation argues that the Torah presents redemption through a progressive spatial framework in which sacred geography reveals the restoration of God’s dwelling among His people. The narrative movement from the Garden of Eden to Egypt, the Wilderness, and finally the Promised Land forms a theological arc that structures the Torah’s presentation of covenant, priesthood, and divine presence. The Garden of Eden establishes humanity’s original royal priestly vocation within sacred space. Egypt functions as an anti-garden, where abundance and provision exist apart from a covenant relationship with God. The Wilderness represents a redemptive restart, in which Israel is formed through …

Mentorship Leadership Succession: Implementing Paul's Discipleship Practices, Matthew Scott Beagle

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This action research project addresses the lack of empowered, biblically qualified leaders at Pinecrest Baptist Church in Portsmouth, VA, where discipleship has often been treated as complete with conversion, baptism, and initial ministry involvement, rather than as a process that produces future leaders within the congregation. The project proposed that a mentor-based discipleship succession process, modeled on Pauline discipleship, could help current leaders shift from a maintenance mindset to a culture of multiplication and leadership development. Using an action research design, the study implemented a twelve-week mentor-discipleship succession curriculum that guided participants through four phases of leadership development: calling that …

Intergenerational Apologetics: A Strategy For Careful Confidence, Thomas C. Farley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a subtle confusion between the objectives of evangelism and apologetics, leaving Open Door Baptist Church (ODBC) seniors unknowingly ill-equipped and intimidated to defend their Christian values. The purpose of this Doctor of Ministry research was to address that intimidation by training seniors in a dedicated faith-values curriculum to become confident apologetic communicators. The intervention leveraged the process of intergenerational values-sharing while training stakeholders to develop their own faith narratives by seamlessly integrating biblical values with relevant apologetic particulars into personal stories to be shared with their grandchildren. In this environment, participants could develop a personal faith narrative that …

The Development And Leadership Implementation Of Strategies Promoting Church Health In The Presbytery Of The Central West, New South Wales, Australia, Mark S. Armstrong

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many Churches in the Presbyterian rural landscape have plateaued or are in decline. Little research has been done to address the causes and provide strategies for remediation. This study examines this problem in the Presbytery of the Central West, New South Wales, Australia. The purpose of the project is to identify factors causing church decline in rural areas and develop revitalization strategies for ministers and elders across the Presbytery. The research consists of two layered responses. The first layer identifies factors causing church decline and develops five strategies suitable for implementation. The second layer utilizes Mezirow’s transformative learning framework to …

A New Testament Theology Of Evangelistic Prayer, Preston Gagnon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Evangelistic prayer is widely assumed to be appropriate, but the biblical basis for the practice has been insufficiently argued. Some evangelistic resources assume evangelistic prayer is necessary. Others overlook the practice, and many discuss evangelistic prayer by making minimal arguments for the practice. Due to the lack of comprehensive arguments for evangelistic prayer, some authors have been able to claim that prayers for the lost are unbiblical. This dissertation enters the conversation by arguing that the New Testament presents evangelistic prayer as a biblically mandated, exemplified, and theologically supported practice. This argument is made by expositing twelve key New Testament …

The Decline Of Theology And Apologetics Teaching For Laity In Church: A Portfolio, A. Marquis Faison

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Theology and apologetics are fundamentally invaluable assets to the believer. This sentiment is not only true of modern Christians; theology and apologetics have been a pivotal ingredient in the formation of the Christian faith since the time of Christ. From the birth of the Church in Acts to the present, believers have looked to church leaders for guidance and understanding of the tenets of the faith and how best to use that understanding when engaging with an often hostile, unreceptive, and unaccepting world. For the believer, proper theology and apologetics are the tools necessary for hammering out orthodoxy—right belief, orthopathy—right …

Evaluating Theories On End-Of-Life Dreams And Visions With Similar Phenomena In Trauma-Related Populations, Christopher Channy Vinson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A grounded theory approach was used to conduct a study on participants (N=24) who were veterans with trauma-related dreams or who had a near-death experience. Research questions were designed to qualitatively examine the lived experiences of dreams and visions in a non-end-of-life setting. This allowed the data to give greater insight into the end-of-life phenomenon and deepen the body of knowledge on dreams and visions in general. A survey consisting of the PTGI-SF, LuCiD, NExS, and the Greyson NDE, along with open-ended survey questions designed to record dream narratives for a thematic analysis, was used. The dream narratives were coded …

Designing A Grief Intervention To Address The Religious Problem Of Evil, Charles Lee Burris Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christian fellowships should have grief ministries. The problem is the Greater Morning Star Baptist Church lacks a clear and practical intervention to support adult congregants coping with grief. The purpose of this DMIN action research project was to equip adult congregants of the Greater Morning Star Baptist Church through a biblically designed grief curriculum that provided training and encouragement to improve quality of life. This DMIN action research project applied qualitative and quantitative methods that included a pre-grief curriculum interview, a pre-grief curriculum survey, a post-grief curriculum focus group, and test assessments (pre-grief curriculum, mid-grief curriculum, and post-grief curriculum) for …

Kingdom Classrooms: A Redemptive Framework For Revitalizing Christian Schools, Chad A. Kellogg

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Rural Christian schools across the United States face critical threats to their long-term sustainability, particularly in remote communities such as Salmon, Idaho. These institutions frequently operate without public funding, endure persistent staffing shortages, and struggle within aging facilities while lacking robust community advocacy. This Dissertation-in-Praxis (DiP) addresses these systemic inequities by developing a replicable, biblically grounded framework designed to strengthen the financial viability, educational quality, and missional integrity of rural Christian schools. Calvary Chapel Heritage Center (CCHC) in Salmon, Idaho, serves as the central case study. Utilizing a mixed-methods action research approach, the study incorporates qualitative interviews with church and …

The Great Hawaiian Revival: A Historical Survey Of The Totality Of Events Of The Great Hawaiian Revival From 1836-1842, Nicholas A. Freeman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

While much has been written on the Great Hawaiian Revival, most has provided a general historical overview in which the primary focus has been on the great missionary Titus Coan and the immense revival that took place at the church in Hilo, Hawai’i. However, this paper argues that, when digging a little deeper, one soon discovers that there was so much more to the story. Beginning with prior, smaller revivals reported in Honolulu, Lahaina, Waimea, and Kaua’i before 1837, along with the revival noted among the missionaries themselves in 1836 during their annual mission meeting on Oahu, the great revival’s …