Practical Theology Commons^™

New Heights Christian Community Center: An Effective Strategy Of Outreach For The Local Church, Marc Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

New Heights Christian Community Services offers an outreach ministry that creates a viable bridge between two local churches and their neighboring communities. Many churches are declining in their influence and are no longer recognized as a valuable part of their community. Small churches often struggle to find ways to serve their neighbors. The author of this project has dedicated over twenty-five years ministering to disadvantaged youth and families and desires to help churches to effectively connect to the families in their community. This project will investigate the effectiveness of the New Heights program by surveying fifty sets of parents of …

Vetere's "By The Power Of God: Living The True Christian Life" (Book Review), Craig Rosenbeck

The Christian Librarian

A review of Vetere, V. (2015). By the power of God: Living the true Christian life. Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press. 59 pp. $9.95. ISBN 9781490890685

Wilson's "More: Find Your Personal Calling And Live Life To The Fullest Measure" (Book Review), Amy C. Rice

The Christian Librarian

A review of Wilson, T. (2016). More: Find your personal calling and live life to the fullest measure. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 223 pp. $15.99. ISBN 9780310524250

Hawkins And Parkinson's "Move: What 1,000 Churches Reveal About Spiritual Growth" (Book Review), Elizabeth Pearson

The Christian Librarian

A review of Hawkins, G. L., & Parkinson, C. (2011). Move: What 1,000 churches reveal about spiritual growth. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 286 pp. $18.99. ISBN 9780310325253

Ashford And Pappalardo's "One Nation Under God: A Christian Hope For American Politics" (Book Review), Joseph Baumstarck Jr.

The Christian Librarian

A review of Ashford, B., & Pappalardo, C. (2015). One nation under God: A Christian hope for American politics. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic. 160 pp. $14.99. ISBN 9781433690693

Nettle And Mellado's "Small Matters: How Churches And Parents Can Raise Up World-Changing Children" (Book Review), Paul Drake

The Christian Librarian

A review of Nettle, G., & Mellado, S. (2016). Small matters: How churches and parents can raise up world-changing children. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 185 pp. $21.00. ISBN 9780310521037

Difficult Ministry Seasons, Robbie B. Townsend

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Christian Leadership And The Challenge Of Peaceful Coexistence Among Christians And Muslims In Kafanchan Kaduna State, Madugu Dogo Markus

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of The Culturalization Process For The Transition From A Traditional Church To A Small Group-Focused Church, Young Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research is to clarify the importance of the process of culturalization, which takes place before a full-scale transition, to Korean churches that are attempting to change the direction of their ministries from traditional to small group-oriented ministries. Since the introduction of the small group ministry, Korean churches have been trying to convert to small group churches. Many churches, however, are struggling with the transition due to hastiness instead of following the right philosophy and roadmap. Having led cell group and small group ministries for the last ten years in Korean churches in both the United States …

Dirty Discipleship: The Essential Nature Of Recovery Ministry In Fulfilling The Great Commission, Richard Nichols

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christians are commanded to bear one another’s burdens with the specific purpose of restoring them in fellowship with God and others. One of the greatest areas of slavery in America is found within issues related to abuse, abandonment, and addictions. Recovery ministries seek to help people who have been broken by these issues. The Great Commission commands believers to make disciples of every nation. Recovery ministry is discipleship in the hardest areas of life and is dirtier and messier than many Christians wish to get. The purpose of this project is to present the need for every church to be …

Lent 4 Series A 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

Lent 4 One Year Series 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

From Liberation To Salvation: Revolutionary Critical Pedagogy Meets Liberation Theology, Peter Mclaren, Petar Jandrić

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This conversation between Peter McLaren and Petar Jandric´ brings about some of the most recent and deepest of McLaren’s insights into the relationship between revolutionary critical pedagogy and liberation theology, and outlines the main directions of development of McLaren’s thought during and after Pedagogy of Insurrection. In the conversation, McLaren reveals his personal and theoretical path to liberation theology. He argues for the relevance of liberation theology for contemporary social struggles, links it with social sciences, and addresses some recent critiques of Pedagogy of Insurrection. McLaren identifies the idolatry of money as the central point of convergence between liberation …

Cultural Diversity In Student Ministry Leadership, Steven Zhou

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

In an attempt to contribute to how ministries and Christian academia is addressing issues of diversity, I am conducting a study to analyze correlations between ethnicity and styles/values of leadership. The goal is to uncover whether or not a particular ethnicity generally prefers one style of leadership over another. Past research on the subject has already seen that, in the business world, certain practices work better than others. For example, those from an Asian culture are more likely to prefer formality and authority as opposed to the collaborative and relationship-oriented style of leadership found in America. I will contribute to …

The Giving Trees: The (Un)Sustainability Of Palm Oil In Indonesia, Amber Rosche

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Palm oil is the main source of cooking oil for much of Africa, Asia and Brazil. Due to the increasingly high demand for palm oil, countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia have cleared millions of acres of tropical rainforests to create space for oil palm plantations. This deforestation has led to extreme environmental and social concerns such as the burning of peatlands, the endangerment of a number of species, including the Sumatran Tiger, rhinos and orangutans, and the displacement of native populations. Indonesia is the world’s largest consumer and producer of palm oil, producing almost half of the world’s supply …

Lent 3 One Year Series 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

Lent 3 Series A 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

Lent 2 One Year Series 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

“Developing An Effective Divorce Recovery Ministry”, Kirk Hille

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Hille, Kirk A. “Developing an Effective Divorce Recovery Ministry.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2017. 184 pp.

A divorce recovery ministry was initiated in a church setting using the video-based Divorce Care curriculum. Over the course of thirteen weeks, participant scores on the Fisher Divorce Adjustment Scale increased an average of 53.6 points, and a final focus group interview elicited positive evaluations from all the participants. The steps taken to initiate the group and the results are discussed in detail, including eight factors cited by participants as contributing to the effectiveness of the ministry. Issues involved in …

Lent 1 Series A 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

Lent 1 One Year Series 2017, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

No abstract provided.

Initiating A Missional Mindset: The International Leadership Institute's Eight Core Values As Impetus For Missional Living, Kenneth R. Ott

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"Using the critical Incident technique in three phases of data collection, this project identified persons whose christian beliefs and behaviors had been impacted by embracing the Values as a way of life. While the transformed beliefs and behaviors did not definitively ascribe to the definition of missional living, they demonstrated the potential of the Eight core Values as a pedagogical construct to introduce a missional mindset in Christ-followers."

Training Pastors As Steward Leaders, Wayne Knolhoff

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Knolhoff, Wayne J. “Training Pastors as Steward Leaders.” D. Min. MAP, Concordia Seminary—St. Louis, 2017. 187 pp.

The major purpose of this project is to design training for pastors that will equip them to lead ongoing, intentional, systematic, whole life Biblical stewardship education in their congregations. Attention will be given to the biblical metaphor of steward as an appropriate image for pastors as they lead stewardship ministry. In addition, pastors will be encouraged to adopt the model of “steward leadership” as they function in every area of pastoral ministry.

The central component of the research for this project is a …

The Implementation Of An Internship Manual To Improve The Quality Of The Mentoring Relationships Of The Pastoral Internships At The Moody Bible Institute, William J. Torgesen Iii

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"the researcher concluded that the Internship Manual was effective in improving the relationships, organization is critical to foster mentoring, and mentors need to invest time to lead the process. the internship manual should be modified for clarity, and an orientation class should be developed. finally, intentional efforts must be made to incorporate strategies for soul care, spiritual formation, and theological integration."

The Critical Role Of Mentoring For Pastoral Formation, Kenley Hall

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

Denominational leaders view the M.Div. as the gold standard in preparing young men and women for ministry. however, academic training alone does not prepare someone for ministry. It must be paired with mentoring, defined as the intentional relationship between an experienced pastoral mentor and a young pastoral mentee for the purpose of pastoral formation. this paper explores the mentoring relationships between Barnabas and Paul, and Paul and timothy as instructive examples of the importance, process and impact of mentoring for pastoral formation. It concludes that Barnabas and Paul played a crucial role in the pastoral formation of their mentees.

Biblical Foundations Of Christian Leadership, Part 2, Stanley E. Patterson Phd

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"christian leadership assumes a relational process in pursuit of a common purpose. It is a process which, while expecting obedience to Jesus’ commands (John 15:10), is devoid of coercive structures that require accomplishment. Rather, the community of leader and followers is driven intrinsically by values that support both mission and process. Obedience in the absence of coercion assumes an intrinsic motivation—love. Jesus speaks of love for one another as essential to christian identity within the larger community (John 13:35). he strengthens the argument for love as a foundational value related to mission accomplishment by identifying his love for them as …

On Growing Leaders And Leaders Growing, Petr Cincala

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"Reading through this issue you will encounter and reflect on a number of leaders from the biblical times such as Nehemiah, Barnabas, Paul, timothy. Our goal is to connect theory and practice in life and ministry in the hope that they will open new insights towards more effective leadership development. as Bob Logan says in his article, “Just like you cannot learn to swim in a classroom, so you cannot learn to do ministry in a classroom.” So how then does it work? are some people born leaders and some not? What makes a good leader? how can one obtain …

The Dying Of The American Church: Five Biblical Principles For Revival, Stan Mars

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The majority of churches in America continue to suffer a numerical plateau or a decline in church growth. As a result of disobedience to God to follow His commandments in the making of disciples, the church also suffers from a flat lined, virtually non-existent, adult conversion rate. People of the world who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are not being evangelized by the church using the first century process of discipleship and therefore, the numbers of conversions to Christ are dismal. The modern day American Church needs to return to the first century process of …

In Search Of Stronger Spells, Justin Bailey

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

No abstract provided.

The Leadership Development Experiences Of Church Denomination Executives, Torrence E. Sparkman

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

Leadership development through experiences is thought to be one of the most effective approaches in the development of leaders. Exploring the types of experiences of executive church leaders adds to the body of leadership development research focused on leadership lessons, and reveals the contexts through which these experiences were formed. this study applies a phenomenological approach to capture the essence of the leadership development experiences of several bishops within a single African American denomination. Six major themes emerged as important elements of their collective experience. these findings suggest that leadership development experiences for executive church leaders should include ministry venture …