Practical Theology Commons^™

Discovering Faith In The Entertainment Industry, Leanna I. John

Selected Honors Theses

This thesis explores how secular entertainment can contain Christian themes and messages. Hollywood presents ideas that either agree with or contradict Christianity in the movies and shows that are produced. People need to be careful about what type of entertainment they decide to watch because they can become desensitized to graphic content. This thesis includes a selection of movies from multiple genres and the show Supernatural, and it describes the messages that are conveyed in them. Theology that comes from the Bible along with different Christian theologians, authors, and philosophers are provided to help people understand the truth of Jesus …

Keeping Your Spirituality Alive, S. Joseph Kidder, David K. Penno

Faculty Publications

When we think of biblical spirituality, we often limit ourselves to the spiritual practices such as prayer, devotions, fasting, worship, etc. These are certainly all vital components of our spiritual life. But less often do we consider ministry for others as part of our own walk with Jesus. Sometimes we see ministry as an optional part of spirituality, often left to those we perceive as “really spiritual.” But the Word of God indicates that a very important part of our walk with Jesus is our service to His body, the church, and to the lost sheep outside the church.

Assessing The Personal Needs And Professional Issues That Hinder Credentialed Women In The Ohio Ministry Network: Egalitarianism And The Image Of God, Deedra Ann Shilliday

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The purpose of this study was to discover if some local Assemblies of God (A/G) church practices differed from the denominational egalitarian theology. Credentialed women from the Ohio Ministry Network (OMN), a district of the General Council of the Assemblies of God, were surveyed. According to the survey results, time management, representation at OMN events, ministry connections, and exclusion from the leadership pipeline are the greatest challenges for credentialed women. The goal of promoting awareness of the personal needs and professional issues of credentialed women was actualized by integrating the literature review of imago Dei theology with an Ohio School …

Lifters And Gifters: Keeping Millennials And Boomers Together To Build The Church, Richard Wilkerson

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

One of the great needs of the church at this moment is to keep the primary funders, “Gifters,” and the primary workers, “Lifters,” of the church together in order to grow healthy, thriving, life-giving, Spirit-inspired churches. Inspired by the experiences of declining and plateauing church the author has witnessed and experienced, this dissertation will examine how to keep the church family together generationally, while at the same time planting new churches with the generations still intact. The research within this project, comprised of a theological study of biblical principles, a study of current literature, and surveys and interviews from pastors, …

Technological Discipleship: How Modern Platforms Can Improve Devotional Habits In Core Church, Greg D. Phelps

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

In a society immersed and fascinated with technological devices and tools, the researcher explored the extent to which online platforms can provide a productive means to implement discipleship programs in a church plant through the use of internet video devotional materials. The relatively low practice of regular devotional habits in today’s Church has become an increasing problem. The purpose of this project was to examine the possibility of spiritual formation within the congregants of Core Church through the use of online video devotions. The project consisted of sixteen online video devotions that were created from four sermons delivered at Core …

The Black Church And The Current Generation: A Program To Address The Decline Of African-American Church Attendance In Johnston County Of North Carolina, Robert Allen O'Neal Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study concentrates on issues dealing with the decline of attendance in African American churches. Although long-standing statistics since the Civil Rights Era have always shown the African American Church keeping higher audience percentage than European American churches, the tide has changed, and now African American churches are uncharacteristically declining at a faster rate than usual. Unchurched young adults, particularly African American males, are disproportionately missing in the African American church. The fundamental purpose of this study is to focus specifically on evangelical denomination African American churches in Johnston County, North Carolina by employing quantitative and qualitative research. The survey …

Christian Ministry To Refugees In The Contrasting Settings Of Greece And Germany, John P. Thompson

Great Commission Research Journal

The refugee crisis in Europe may be one of the most significant opportunities for the spread of the gospel on that continent since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Many churches in Western Europe are engaging these newcomers in holistic ministry. From February to May 2018, seventeen leaders were interviewed from fourteen ministries engaged in refugee ministry in Greece and Germany to explore refugee ministry realities and practices in these two nations with contrasting policies. The research describes the shifting refugee situation, the shifting context, the relationship between these ministries and government, refugee ministry approaches, spiritual openness among refugees, and …

An Alternative Mission Paradigm For Healthy Church Growth, Paul Seung-Oh An

Great Commission Research Journal

Christianity is becoming weaker and nominalized, and it is expected to be surpassed quantitatively by Islam in 2070. The purpose of this article is to analyze the limitations of the holistic mission paradigm, a representative view of mission today, in terms of healthy church growth, and to propose key points of an alternative mission paradigm which would be helpful for overcoming these limitations. The history of holistic mission is examined to show the identity and characteristics of the paradigm, and then an alternative mission paradigm that can contribute to healthy church growth is presented.

Reach, Assimilate And Develop: Essential Keys For The Resurgence Of The Church In America, Gordon E. Penfold

Great Commission Research Journal

This article presents a way to understand church growth from the perspective of reaching, assimilating, and developing people in the church. In Re:Vision: The Key to Transforming Your Church, Aubrey Malphurs and Penfold researched the characteristics discovered in re-envisioning (turnaround) pastors. The two researchers gathered a great deal of information about the ministry and practices of effective pastors including statistics on worship attendance, conversions, and baptisms. The statistics on conversion and baptism did not find their way into the book. This article examines worship attendance, conversion, baptism, and assimilation rates of reporting pastors. These rates reveal a great deal about …

Finding The Church Planting Model For Our Church: How Existing Churches Can Be Part Of The Church Planting Movement, Seungsoo Jun

Great Commission Research Journal

Church planting has become an effective method for revitalizing denominations. In many cases, however, church planting is limited to one or two charismatic leaders or a large church’s multi-site movement. This article attempts to present a roadmap to categorize the models of church planting. After understanding pathways for church planting, it suggests a method that enables existing churches to be part of this exciting movement of God.

Visionary Differences, Chris Messerer

Great Commission Research Journal

Organizational vision is nearly universally accepted as being critically important to a church in any stage of growth or decline. Church plants and church revitalization efforts depend on organizational vision because it provides focus and direction. Organizational vision is also important because it inspires people to participate. Successful church planters and church revitalization leaders excel at casting vision. While church plants and church revitalizations have similarities, leading one is significantly different from leading the other. Likewise, organizational vision is different between a church plant and a church revitalization. This article analyzes the differences between an organizational vision for a church …

Perceived Strengths And Weaknesses Of American Churches: A Quadrant Analysis Of Church-Based Ministries, David R. Dunaetz, Joshua Mcgowan

Great Commission Research Journal

The needs and expectations of both Christians and non-Christians concerning churches vary according to the cultural context. Similarly, a church’s ability to respond to these needs depends on its ability to fine-tune ministries so that they are appropriate to the cultural context. This study uncovers various elements of American church ministries (especially those that can be supported by technology) which church members consider important but which are poorly executed. A sample of 325 members of American churches indicated which ministries they considered most important and to what degree they believed that they were carried out well in their church. A …

How Team Leadership Benefits The Health Of Pastors, Bill Stewart

Great Commission Research Journal

The role of a pastor is more challenging and complex than it has ever been. With the increased demands come increased stress, which has resulted in burnout and failure on many different levels. The traditional leadership structure with a pastor sitting alone at the top only seems to exacerbate the problems associated with the stress of ministry. Pastors and churches are rethinking leadership paradigms and developing senior leadership teams that set the overall direction of the church. Pastors on these leadership teams believe that serving on a team of leaders has caused them to become healthy and maintain health over …

Book Review: Women In God’S Mission: Accepting The Invitation To Serve And Lead By Mary T. Lederleitner, Brit Redfield

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Lent 4 Series C 2019, Phillip L. Brandt

Sunday's Sermon

This PDF comments on the Propers for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Series C and offers ideas for proclamation and preaching.

Pastors And Politics: Considerations For Missional Church Leaders Addressing Political Matters, Matthew Stinson

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

We live in a politically divided time. Long-standing questions about the political role of the church have taken on a renewed interest for American Christians who see this political divide widening and have trouble reconciling their beliefs with the platforms of either major party. How ought Church leaders, seeking to lead missional congregations, speak to our current political context?

This paper lays out a framework for political engagement by missional Church leaders. It first offers a definition of a missional church and a missional church leader. Second, it surveys some of the various approaches to Church and State relations in …

Seminary Colloquium: David R. Williams, Esther Green

Andrews Agenda: Campus News

No abstract provided.

Reviews, Holy Spirit Research Center Oru Library

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Book Reviews

The Perfect And Complete Gospel Of Both Comings Of Jesus Christ: Reclaiming Eschatology In Pentecostal Proclaimation Of The Gospel, David Hebert

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Th is article is written to encourage a return to a position fi rmly entrenched in traditional Pentecostal and Charismatic eschatology that includes both comings of Jesus Christ in the proclamation of the Gospel. It develops the concept of the “Perfect/Complete Gospel of Both Comings of Jesus Christ,” identifying it as an emphasis in both historic Christianity in general and Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in particular. And in light of Oral Roberts’ vision received in August 2004, the article concludes with an exhortation to reconsider this proclamation in light of the imminent return of Jesus Christ.

Mission In The Diaspora: The Role Of Migrants (Refugees) As Principal Bearers Of The Christian Faith, Emmanuel Anim

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Th is paper explores migration and displacement as both a crisis and opportunity. It maintains that throughout biblical history—and even in the history of modern mission—migrants and refugees have often become the principal bearers of the Christian faith. In our own generation, Africans who have migrated to other parts of the world for various reasons have traveled with their faith. Many African churches such as Kingsway International Christian Centre, Th e Church of Pentecost, Winners Chapel International, International Central Gospel Church, and Victory Bible Church International have all established branches of their churches in the diaspora through the efforts of …

South German Anabaptist Ecclesiology And Its Present-Day Pentecostal Counterpart, Mathew Clark

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Th is article accepts that twentieth-century classical Pentecostalism originally shared a similar ethos to that exemplified among the South German Anabaptists, and investigates some resonances in ecclesiology between the two. Scrutiny of a selection of early sixteenth-century documents relating to Anabaptism identifies the following: a radically consistent application of sola scriptura, a rejection of the state-church synthesis, a revisioning of sacramental belief and practice that subverts the clergy-laity divide, commitment to the teachings of Jesus as the primary and central guide to discipleship, a sacrifi cial pilgrim mentality of “just passing through this world,” individual choice and responsibility to …

Water Baptism In Pentecostal Perspective: A Bibliographic Evaluation, Andrew Ray Williams

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Situated within the larger conversation surrounding Pentecostal sacramentality, this study seeks to trace the development of water baptism throughout Pentecostal scholarship by reviewing the major voices within the field. Th is review also seeks to expose prevailing themes, key influences, and new developments. Th e outcome is a recommendation that interests and concerns have changed over time, offering Pentecostal theology new opportunities.

A Student Response To Craig Keener’S Talk On Spirit Hermeneutics, Pamela L. Idriss

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A Student Response to Craig Keener’s Talk on Spirit Hermeneutics by Pamela L. Idriss.

Whither Pentecostal Hermeneutics? A Response To Craig Keener’S “The Spirit And Biblical Interpretation”, Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

"Whither Pentecostal Hermeneutics? A Response to Craig Keener’s 'The Spirit and Biblical Interpretation'” by Jeffrey S. Lamp

A Response To Dr. Craig Keener’S Presentation “The Spirit And Biblical Interpretation”, Arden C. Autry Phd

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A Response to Dr. Craig Keener’s Presentation “The Spirit and Biblical Interpretation” by Arden C. Autry

The Spirit And Biblical Interpretation, Craig S. Keener

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

We can hear more clearly what an author wishes to communicate when we understand what the author is addressing. In secondary communication—hearing what an author was saying to someone else—knowing the background of that conversation is important, especially if the culture differs from our own. But knowing the voice and spirit of the author is an important element of background, and with the Bible, we must consider an Author additional to, and working through, the human authors. It is important, insofar as possible, to study the ancient contexts that put the message in its cultural perspective. Yet it is no …

Oral Roberts And David Yonggi Cho: A Life-Long Relationship In Theology And Ministry, Younghoon Lee

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Th is article explores the relationship between Oral Roberts, American healing evangelist, and Dr. Yonggi Cho, the pastor of the world’s largest church in Seoul, South Korea. It points out how their similar stories of healing were used in their own healing ministries. It also traces the influence that Roberts’ theology of hope, prosperity, and healing had on the most influential figure in Korean Pentecostalism.

Editorial, Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Spiritus 4.1 (Spring 2019) Front Matter, Holy Spirit Research Center Oru Library

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Spiritus 4.1 (Spring 2019) Full Issue, Holy Spirit Research Center Oru Library

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.