Practical Theology Commons^™

Johann Walter- Pioneer Church Musician, Arthur Eichhorn

Master of Art Theology Thesis

The intent of this paper is to show how the practical aspects of church music in the Reformation Era and in succeeding generations proclaimed the Word of God. During these early years of Lutheran music development, the music demonstrates how it was being shaped and formed by Lutheran thought. The music of Johann Walter is a prime example. As a composer who served the Reformation, he had a profound influence on the generations that followed. To understand the context of his music, we first look at the history of this era as well as the style of music being composed …

Even Unto Death: The Spiritual Armory Of The Evangelical Lutheran Church, Mark Steiner

Other Student Publications

Even unto Death: The Spiritual Armory of the Evangelical Lutheran Church is a resource for Lutheran congregations to understand what it means to be Lutheran and why it matters in our spiritual warfare. My conversations with fellow Lutherans have led me to conclude that many Lutherans do not know how to articulate what it means to be Lutheran, do not recognize that we are in the midst of spiritual warfare, and do not understand how our Lutheran heritage can assist us in spiritual warfare.

Latin American And Us Latino Lutheranism Partnership Issue (Logia Vol. 19, No. 1, Epiphany 2010), Leopoldo Sánchez, Douglas Rutt, Douglas Groll, Rudolph Blank, Marsha Somers, Steven Hein

Artículos obra entre Hispano/Latinos

As a vicar in Caracas, Venezuela, I ventured every so often to one of the largest Roman Catholic bookstores downtown to peruse various collections of dogmatic treatises. On one of my visits, I started a casual conversation with a Venezuelan priest who asked about my background. After learning that I was a Lutheran seminarian, the priest, somewhat perplexed, exclaimed something like, “Latino Lutheran? That is not possible. You cannot be Latino and Lutheran.”

How A Hearer Listens To A Sermon: Setting The Presuppositions Of The "Second Text", Jeffery D. Nehrt

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of the project was to answer the question: Can preachers influence how a hearer listens to a sermon? To answer that question, 70 pastors of the Southern Illinois District, Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod were asked if they every used a pre-sermon Bible study to help the hearer listen to the sermon. A seven week pre-sermon Bible study was developed and taught based on four filters of hearing. Those filters were Logos, Ethos, Pathos, and community. A post sermon survey was given and separated into two categories, those who attended the pre-sermon Bible study and those who did …

The Use Of Eternal Life Metaphors In The Funeral Sermon As A Means Of Grace, Daniel A. Wonderly

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of this Major Applied Project was to learn which eternal life metaphors were more comforting to the members of Pilgrim Lutheran Church, in Burton, Michigan. The researcher approached this research project believing that certain metaphors would be more comforting to his members than others. Therefore, the researcher sought to discover which eternal life metaphors were more comforting through the use of a research survey. He then held research group interviews to learn why these metaphors were more comforting than others. As a result, the researcher is able to apply the insights gained concerning certain Scriptural metaphors to be …

Fishing For Men While Fishing With Men- Relationships Built Through Recreational Experiences As A Tool For Effective Evangelism In Contemporary American Culture, Jonathan Rockey

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Rockey, Jonathan R. "Fishing for Men while Fishing with Men: Relationships Built through Recreational Experiences as a Tool for Effective Evangelism in Contemporary American Culture." D.Min Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary-St. Louis, 2008.316 pp. with Appendices.

The stated goal of this project is "to evaluate a program for the equipping of volunteers for sharing the good news of God's love in Jesus in a recreational setting, and to evaluate the results of that equipping in the lives of these participants by looking at their willingness to witness and the effects they describe that arose from the experience and the process …

Workshop In Narrative Preaching- An Added Approach For The Pulpits Of The Evangelical Lutheran Church Of Brazil, Ely Prieto

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of this project was to offer a new approach from the field of homiletics to the ministry of pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brazil – IELB. The goal was to help a small group of seven pastors of Distrito Vale do Rio do Sinos, in South Brazil, to integrate a more narrative style of preaching into their ministry. The chief component of this project was to offer a workshop on narrative preaching to this group of pastors and to see how effective the workshop could be in helping them integrate the theory and practice of narrative …

A Witness Workshop Based On The Christian Doctrine Of Vocation And Informed By The Two Kinds Of Righteousness, Dean Rothchild

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The specific purpose of this Major Applied Project is to develop a Witness Workshop which would embolden people to bring up Christianity to others, to invite them to church, and even to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. This workshop is based upon the Christian doctrine of vocation, informed by the distinction between the two kinds of righteousness, and directly shaped by the information gathered from the initial questionnaire.

Theology Of The Church As Ministry To Blind People, David Andrus

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Throughout history, people who are blind have been viewed by those in the sighted culture as limited and broken. This is true both in the church and in society in general. Our ecclesiology, however, should encourage, promote, or utilize blind people and their gifts to serve in the body of Christ. The church can, and should, accept, uplift, and utilize people who are blind and visually impaired as full members with a healthy and whole identity in Christ. To this end, our ecclesiology must not prohibit the ordination of a man who is blind solely on the basis of blindness …

The Strategic Ministry Planning Decision, Mitchell E. Otto

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

After twenty-five years, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church is operating under the same structure that it has relied upon since its birth. On the surface, the structure appears to be working well. Behind the scene, though, it is focused on simply maintaining the congregation as it is, and struggling at that. Instead of preparing for the future of the congregation, the structure simply serves a status quo set down years ago. As a result, the weakest and most vulnerable links in the congregation's framework are under increasing stress.

This Major Applied Project seeks to support the congregation's desire to maintain …

Fifth Commandment You Shall Not Murder! Catechesis- A Pastoral Care Strategy For The Lutheran Marine Recruit, Mark J. Logid

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This major applied project was conceived and came to fruition in the practice of ministry to United States Marine Corps recruits in training. Recruits attending the Lutheran Communion Service and catechetical instruction at MCRD, San Diego, CA, expressed grave concern over the morality of killing in combat. This project explored the pastoral care of Marine recruits using Luther's explanation of the Fifth Commandment, the Fourth Commandment, and the historic just war tradition. The project confirmed the utility of the Catechetical Module of the Fifth Commandment to inform the Christian's moral reasoning and ethical decision making in his God pleasing vocation …

Toward A More Helpful Preaching Technique In The Nursing Home, Keith Schweitzer

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This Major Applied Project presents reminiscent preaching as a homiletical method to be used in a nursing home setting. As reminiscing is a common characteristic among the aged, applying it in the preaching ministry and worship activity among nursing home residents can serve the purpose of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many helpful ways.

This MAP explains and presents examples of how reminiscing from the past in the lives of the residents draws forth vivid memories in their minds. Used as a method in preaching, these memories can also strengthen and deepen the faith of the aged individual who …

Developing And Implementing A Lifestyle Evangelism Culture, Ronald A. Bogs

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of this project is to educate as many members of St. Matthew Lutheran Church of Westfield, Houston, Texas, near Spring, Texas (a Houston suburb), as possible in the ways of witnessing; to teach that everyone is a witness; to change the attitudes of the members to being more aware of the unchurched and more open to bringing them to church; to teach the members to be aware of opportunities for witnessing; and to insure ongoing improvement in the lives of the members so that they are confident and aware of the challenge to bear witness of one's faith …

Examine, Understand, And Address The Attitudes The Fathers Of St. John's Lutheran Church Of Durand, Wisconsin Have Toward Worship, Daniel M. Pfaffe

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Therefore, the purpose of this MAP is to examine, understand, and address the attitudes the fathers of St. John's Lutheran Church of Durand, Wisconsin have toward worship.

The Effectiveness Of The Ascension Bible Institute In Preparing Lay People For Ministry In The Church, Charles Spomer

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

What I will evaluate in this project is whether the ABI accomplishes its stated purpose in the lives of those who participate. Do they find themselves equipped and motivated to serve in their congregations with greater confidence? Do they feel adequately equipped to function outside of their congregations in the community for the spread of the Church of Jesus Christ? What needs to be strengthened in the ABI? What needs to be changed in the ABI? What can the ABI do to reach more people within the Church? What kind of mechanism can best be used for periodic evaluation of …

The Recovery Of Memorization In Confirmation: A Study Of Junior Confirmation At Concordia Lutheran Church, Geneseo, Illinois, Daniel Olson

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of this project was to address the problem of junior confirmation students not retaining long term the material they were being assigned to learn. The project employed the use of various active teaching methods in order to include the different learning styles of the students. The project demonstrates that the use of these active learning methods did result in a reduction in rote memorization and a significant improvement in the student's ability to retain what they were being taught. The conclusion of the project is that there is a need for greater implementation of these active learning techniques.

Toward Better Hearing Of The Word In The Sermon, Darrell Zimmerman

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of this project was to equip some members of the congregation to be discerning receivers of the sermon by improving their active and intentional listening capabilities. The methodology of the project included the development and teaching of a course of instruction on the theology and practice of preaching, a period of participant implementation, and interviews of participants in the study toward an evaluation of the project. Participant response showed a greater or lesser benefit depending on willingness and ability to apply the learnings. Recommendations for enhanced future effectiveness of the course are included.

Know Thy Hearer!, William Mons

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

This seminar paper will support the thesis that in order to influence the heart of the hearer in the direction of true faith and a godly life, the preacher will need to know his hearers. This thesis will be supported through an exploration of four questions. The first question is "Why does the preacher need to know his hearers?" Under this section there will be a discussion of the preacher's call, the idea that sermons are to be appropriate to the hearers, preaching as pastoral care, the hearers as participants in the preaching task, the image of the preacher, and …

Preparing Christian High School Students For Secular College Experience, Joseph Stanley

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" (Proverbs 22:6 NIV). These words may have occupied the thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther when he wrote, "If all manner of problems are to be dealt with successfully, then the young people who are to live and govern on this earth after us must be trained and guided accordingly." This paper addresses the training and guidance of youth in the church with a view to properly preparing them for the college experience at state or private universities where the academic …

The Mentor Method Of Evangelism: A Study In The Use Of Interrogatives, Luther Biggs

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

There is a need to increase the effectiveness of the training process currently used to introduce members of Messiah Lutheran Church to the practice of what I call "the mentorship method" of evangelism. This project represents an effort to assess how graduates from a fifteen-week training course in mentorship-evangelism are able to perform a technique that is central to this method. Specifically, the technique under assessment is that of interrogative bridge-building in which evangelism practitioners are trained to use a series of questions to build a cognitive bridge between the evangelized spiritual questions and specific scriptural resources.

The Theological Principles Underlying Parish Records With Particular Application To Their Role In The Design And Evaluation Of Computer Software, Chris Hinkle

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This paper will document the theological and pastoral underpinnings of LCIS and its immediate successors as a reminder that how we say things and what we do should flow from what we believe. However, these theological and pastoral considerations have more than historical importance. For, although the forms and programs congregations use to keep their records may change, unless our beliefs change, the principles behind their selection and use will remain the same. Clarifying these principles should be helpful to those who wish to understand how they can best utilize their current system for keeping records. Understanding them will help …

Military Imagery In Preaching: An Effective Means Of Nurturing A Lutheran Identity In The Military, Mark Steiner

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This major applied project consisted of two parts: a research component addressing the theoretical application of military imagery in preaching to a Lutheran military audience and an evaluative process, which tested the application of military imagery in preaching. The theoretical component, based upon the contributions of literature on cross cultural studies, leadership, strategic planning, rhetoric, and homiletics, recommended a homiletical strategy for preaching military imagery. The evaluative component validated the application of military imagery in preaching and recommended a strategy for promoting organic unity of military imagery with the other elements of the worship service.

A Theology Of Ministerial Practice, Paul Kelm

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Competing agendas and changing culture create a need for churches to consciously determine why they will do what they do the way they do.

This project develops four doctrinal bases for a theology of ministerial practice. It summarizes literature on philosophy of ministry. Research in five Lutheran churches identifies gaps in the way people view ministry. Chapter four provides a comprehensive rationale and definition for a theology of ministerial practice.

One church's experience demonstrates the value of thinking through and developing "guiding principles" that apply a church's theology to its culture in shaping ministerial practice.

Sin, Sickness, And Salvation From Nazareth To Lake Woebegone, David Schoessow

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

Ours is the ministry of bringing the prayers of the saints to God on behalf of the afflicted. Ours is the ministry of bringing to the afflicted God's healing gifts of absolution and Holy Communion. Our culture of death has little respect or appreciation for claims that such 'common medicines' bestow wholeness and life. So be it, we could expect little else. Let us not doubt the efficacy of these divine gifts in the lives of His people.

Systemic Catechesis, Kevin Wyssmann

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Systemic Catechesis is designed to merge several academic disciplines into a new catechetical model. Learning theories, systemic psychology, and a distinctive Lutheran approach to confirmation are combined in an effort to catechize whole family systems while specifically targeting junior high youth. This multifaceted program utilizes class time, home work, periodic evaluations, camps and retreats to maximize learning. The results of this project is a two-year curriculum that fully integrates educators, congregation, and the family into the catechetical process.

Enriching Families In The Parish Through The Use Of Musical Drama, Wallace Becker

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Healthy families are important for the health of the congregation. Many churches see the need to focus energy on strengthening families.

Musical drama based on the life of Jesus has its roots in the liturgy. The musical dramas presented at Zion Lutheran, Litchfield, Illinois, involved families and provided opportunities for their enrichment.

By developing and implementing a plan for musical drama to enrich families at Redeemer Lutheran, Springfield, Missouri, the author sought to strengthen these families, providing opportunities to build positive assets or building blocks into their lives. Participants who filled out surveys confirmed growth in positive assets.

Growing Up As A Pastor's Child-The Pressures And Positives Of Living In A Clergy Family System, Stephen Juergensen

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Through research and personal interviews, this project explores the lives of pastors' children and their responsibilities in light of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, the pressures they face in the clergy family system, and positive aspects of their lives that come with their unique lifestyle. Included is a retreat for pastors' teenage children which has been developed as a method of helping pastors' children cope with their lives in constructive ways, understand the pressures they experience, celebrate the positive aspects of being pastor's children, and grow personally and spiritually as they reaffirm their essential identity as baptized children of God.

Helping Contemporary People Use Historic Liturgy, Richard Wolfram

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This project proposes that contemporary people need help understanding and utilizing historic liturgy. It shows how historic liturgy is contemporary by nature, and can be used in a modern and relevant way. Educational tools were developed for use in both the worship and classroom settings. Survey results provide information toward tool development and effectiveness. The result of the project and its implementation in a parish setting waste elimination of the request for a "contemporary" worship from those exposed to the project tools.

"An Evaluation Of Praise Music As A Genre For Incorporation Into Lutheran Worship", Randy Schultz

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Luther was truly a great liturgist. Along with his reform of the Mass, which included his Formula Missae and his Deutsche Messe, he also produced two baptismal rites, an Order of Marriage, an Order for Confession, a German and Latin Litany, and an Ordination Rite. He also contributed commentary on worship in general, wrote several hymns, and produced music. For the purpose of this project we will focus primarily on his reform of the Mass and his selection of hymns.

Stewardship Educational Program Based On The Lukan Pericopes (Pentecost Season - Series C), Glen Borhart

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This Major Applied Project seeks to enable the members of the congregation to grow in the stewardship of all that the Lord has entrusted to their care. Through regular and ongoing scriptural education the members of the congregation will mature in their faith. As faith grows, Christian stewardship grows. The scope of this Major Applied Project is limited, yet the principles utilized here will serve as a model for any pastor or congregation to better implement a program of year-round stewardship education. By its connection to the weekly Gospel readings, the program addresses the Christian's role as steward in the …