Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Woke Religion: Effects Of Secularism And Progressive Politics On 21st Century Mainline Churches As Demonstrated Through The Worship And Witness Of College-Age Students, Brenda L. Widger

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examines the impact of Woke messages on young adults when delivered in church worship services and at youth events. A mixed methods research approach is employed, with quantitative data collected through an anonymous online survey and qualitative data gathered in a live focus group. The online survey responses and focus group discussion are coded and analyzed, providing a thorough presentation of the perceptions of all participants. Young adults are the future leaders of the Christian church. With so many churches moving toward welcoming or affirming stances on Woke ideology, the sermons delivered from the pulpit and the topics …

The Worship Leadership Model At Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa: A Phenomenological Study Of The Lead Pastor And Worship Leader Relationship, 1961–2013, David L. Ream

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

By 2050, it has been estimated that 1 billion people will be Pentecostals in the broadest sense of the term. Today, one person in twelve globally is a part of this fastest-growing segment of Christianity. The ministry model of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa as served by Pastor Chuck Smith is a paradigmatic model that houses and stabilizes the ministry of the Holy Spirit as it reproduces. This phenomenological qualitative study explores the experiences of Worship Leaders who led worship during Sunday Morning services from 1985–2013 and sought to discover the essential characteristics of the Lead Pastor and Worship Leader interactions …

The Intergenerational Church's Role In Family Worship, Jeremy Robert Jordan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Throughout the Scriptures, God calls parents to teach their children to glorify God through worship. The Bible also commands all generations to encourage one another through worship and service. Throughout history, there are many examples of God’s people spending time in family worship, but over the past couple of decades, there has been a decline in parents discipling their children. A great number of parents are now expecting the church to provide the biblical training their children need. The lack of parents taking the time to teach their children and lead them in worship daily has led to high school …

Overcoming The Lack Of Expressive Worship In The Haitian Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Yoner Valmyr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many Haitian Seventh-day Adventist members are not pleased with the Haitian Seventh-day Adventist Church’s lack of expressive worship. According to research, Haitian church members are unable to freely express themselves in corporate worship due to rationalistic, as oppose to kinesthetic worship practices. During worship services, Haitian Seventh-day Adventist members, young and old, are afraid to have an authentic demonstrative worship experience because of “soma phobia,” the fear of letting themselves or their bodies get out of control. Because of a traditional European cultural ethos that still exists, there is a fear that others may look upon them as ungodly. When …

The Liturgical Action Of Christ's Body: A Theo-Philosophical Extension Of Bonhoeffer's Ecclesiology, Joseph Carson

Senior Honors Theses

Bonhoeffer’s theological contributions may provide significant relevance and theoretical illumination on contemporary issues in ecclesiology. Not only did Bonhoeffer offer creative theological insights, but he also incorporated philosophy into his theological positions in a way that maintains the supremacy of theology. Specifically, Bonhoeffer develops an ecclesial theology, starting in Sanctorum Communio and extending throughout his writings, that relies on social theory and philosophy (especially Hegel) while simultaneously making theology the theoretical authority over these other disciplines. In his ecclesiology, Bonhoeffer argues for an ontological unity between the Church and Christ, which he calls the Christ-reality and Christ existing as Church-community …

A Theodical Invitation, Joseph Carson

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

While analytic philosophy has led the charge in answering the problem of evil (i.e., POE), postmodern theology and movements like radical orthodoxy incite a response to POE from a postmodern perspective. With skepticism toward purely metaphysical answers to evil, this essay relies on the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and James K.A. Smith in order to offer a social, ecclesial, and non-rational response to the POE; furthermore, continental philosophy, postmodern theology, and social theory play a significant role in this paper. Supporting the conclusion that the Church is a heuristic, embodied answer to the POE, three contentions form the backbone of …

The Intergenerational Worship Model: Youth-Specific Benefits, James Alan Lott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

King David declared that one generation should proclaim the goodness of the Lord to another, yet what David writes of cannot take place in an age-segregated setting. Multiple generations must be present. Much progress has been made regarding the church’s acknowledgment of the significance of an intergenerational worship (IGW) model. Though each generation is precious to God and created in His image, IGW holds considerable benefits for churched youth, as it is one of the few places in society where youth can intentionally connect with older generations. Despite the importance of youth engagement in IGW, there is a limited amount …

Experiencing God: Engaging Elementary-Aged Children In Corporate Worship, Laura Rushing Hancock

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The engagement of children in meaningful worship has been neglected, despite the investment of modern churches in essential safety protocols and digital media in children’s ministry. The twenty-first-century consumerist mindset is driving worship design, essentially undermining the worship leader’s role as the shepherd of a child-centered and Christ-focused approach. Many churches are neglecting the biblical instruction to cast vision and express value for children’s corporate worship. A sense of awe and wonder is notably absent in many corporate services designed for children. Drawing upon biblical principles, educational theory, and corporate worship practices throughout history, this qualitative historical study seeks to …

The Jewish Origins Of The Ordinances Of Christianity: Worship Within Baptism And The Lord's Supper, John Edward Ross

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The modern evangelical denominations have worship services that include many forms of worship and functions to bring the worshiper into communion with the living God as a disciple of Christ. These worship forms include the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Generations of denominational congregants have participated in these ordinances with little knowledge of the origin of these two rites. This qualitative historical study focuses on the roots of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper formed within Christianity during the early church years. Using research from Christian and Messianic Jewish scholars along with Jewish sources, this …

Development And Implementation Of Selected Spiritual Disciplines For The Worship Team Leaders Of Monte Vista Baptist Church, Clifton Edwin Kosier

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

One of the foremost doxological problems of the twenty-first century is complacency in worship. Deficient spiritual development of the follower of Christ is rampant among Christians; many believers, suffering from this, have moved away from the purpose of man - to have a love relationship. This relationship has been replaced with a task-oriented spirit. No longer do we leave worship ready to make a difference for the Kingdom of God, but Christians come to complete a task and remove it from a long list of “to dos” in their busy world. Corporate worship has become habitual while lacking spiritual meaning. …

7 Essential Keys To Success: Developing The Spiritual Discipline In The Leader, Bernard Winchester

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

To deny that some leaders have problems, and others do not, is to deny Scripture, history, and experience. All leaders may not have as many problems as some, but all leaders do have problems. These problems are not always produced by the grass-roots membership. Leaders are often the cause of the very problems they see and deplore in the church. It is apparent that this is true when a leader has dishonored the moral standards or departed from sound doctrine. It is more often true when the leader has been indolent, failed to plan his work or work the plan, …

Moving From Performance To Missional Worship: Five Biblical Principles And Practices To Infuse Discipleship Into Worship, Ossie Xzabia Mckinney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In striving for authentic worship, many worship leaders focus on the sound of the choir and the individual’s relationship with God without considering discipleship. God’s first directive to humanity in Gen. 1:28 supplied God’s instruction for authentic worship, which emphasized discipleship and not music. Training choir members to worship without including discipleship results in the shaping of performers rather than worshipers. Worship must reflect the Trinity and not the skills and ability of the worshiper. When worshipers show God's love through discipleship, they reveal the Godhead. To shape singers holistically, worship leaders must teach their choir members to disciple. This …

Discipleship Counseling: Developing Healthy, Growing, Multiplying Followers Of Jesus, James Albritton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This project will look at how professional or lay counseling can increase the effectiveness of making and maturing followers of Jesus. An effective strategy for disciple-making that targets the whole person will be established to help followers of Jesus overcome the emotional pain due to past sin and hurts which have left them ineffective and stagnant in their growth as disciples. Research will be conducted through articles, websites, and books dealing with the subject as well as a survey of at least 50 pastors to determine whether a clear process of disciple-making exists in their church and if any form …

Leadership Principles And Applications For Establishing A Christ-Centered Church In South Korea, Dongho Cho

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to provide a Christ-centered, biblical Great Commission model for Presbyterian Church pastors in South Korea. Pastor Hanhum Ok said that there are many programs and forms without the spiritual vitality in the Korean Church. Many attractional churches attract people by relying heavily on programs that often alter the focus of believers onto the programs themselves and prevent them from focusing on Jesus Christ. To ensure that the church—the body of Christ—remains faithful to its biblical mandates, thesis project argues that the pastors must have leadership principles and applications in accordance to the Christ-centered biblical …

The Transitioning Of A Non-Functional Church Into A Functional Church: The Great Commission Commandment Mandate, Charlie Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

From conception, America has embraced the Christian church as its cornerstone. However, as noted by Barnes and Lowry, “Church attendance has decreased substantially in recent years in comparison to the 1950s and 60s. The majority of Americans do not attend church on a regular basis.” This thesis project will research churches with regards to their effectiveness and will both isolate and analyze the characteristics of churches that fit into operative categories. A survey using a quantitative research instrument, such as the Likert Measurement Scale, will examine the New Hope Missionary Baptist Association of North Carolina. The survey’s purpose will be …

An Outreach Model For Melville Mission Church: Evangelizing The Mandarin Community In Markham North, Ontario, Canada, Benjamin Li

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

MMC is a conservative, traditional Cantonese-speaking immigrant church that has had stagnant growth since its relocation to the rural area of Markham North, Ontario, Canada in 2009. The purpose of this project was to propose a new outreach model to enable MMC to more effective in evangelizing the Mandarin-speaking community in Markham. The proposed new outreach model is a refined version of Alan Hirsch’s Missional-Incarnational Model which mobilized the church membership to engage with the unchurched community for the Gospel. The research for this project was accomplished through studying the Chinese demographics in Markham, and through surveys of 158 mainland …

The Importance Of Preaching For The Transformation Of Christians In Korea, Ho Jung Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Korean Christians have had a problem with the transformation of their values and life-styles following their conversion. This thesis project will attempt to prove that one of the most important factors in the transformation of new believers, is biblical preaching. It will further attempt to show that much of the preaching in Korea is non-Christocentric, and this is especially ineffective in transformation. To produce transformation in new believers, churches need Christocentric preaching. This thesis project will explore Christocentric preaching’s historical background, principles, and importance. This project will also present the advantage, need, and importance of doctrinal expository preaching, especially in …

Exploring Intercessory Prayer As It Relates To Spiritual Warfare Preaching At Mount Zion Christian Church, Vernon Langley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The focus of this thesis is exploring the influence of intercessory prayer; from the standpoint of spiritual warfare preaching. Present day homiletics concentrates on the method of sermons by applying information within the message to a great story and powerful scriptural passages which is imperative to make the sermon thought provoking and applicable to contemporary congregations. However, there is another element to preaching the gospel, which has gotten considerably less attention in modern day study. How the evaluations of Divine powers of intercessory prayer operate behind the discourse, and spiritual powers of darkness that endeavor to obstruct the reception of …

Musical Contextualization In The Local Church: A Pragmatic Exploration Concerning The Philosophy And Methodology Of Assimilating Sacred Music Into The Worship Vocabulary Of A Congregation, Kaleb Gooden

Senior Honors Theses

God’s mandate for all worship pastors is that they minister to their local body of believers in an effective way. This directive necessitates the use of scripturally and culturally appropriate music that clearly communicates the Gospel to the church congregation. This creative thesis further investigates musical contextualization in the local church.

Five philosophical pillars represent the most basic structure on which the entire process of local church contextualization stands. The minister must be rooted in scripture, led by the Spirit, present-minded, future-driven, and committed to service. After evaluating these philosophical concepts, this thesis will then explore the methodological contextualization process …

An Inquiry In The Early Creed Of Romans 1:3-4: Does The Word Ὁριζω Support An Adoptionistic Christianity?, Nicholas Dodson, Brian Scalise

Eruditio Ardescens

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of The Prosperity Gospel: A Plea For Return To Biblical Truth, Aaron Phillips

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The prosperity gospel teaches that the Bible promises health, wealth and uncommon success to all believers. A problem surfaces when the prosperity that is promised does not materialize to all members of the congregation. In examining the validity of this teaching, extensive writings, books, articles and sermons by leading proponents, have been reviewed. Additionally, interviews with at least one hundred pastors inform this writing. The purpose of the research is to furnish contemporary, active insight to this project. The conclusion of this writer is that the prosperity gospel offers an unbalanced application of scripture, which results in a departure from …

The Celtic Way: Order, Creativity, And The Holy Spirit In The Celtic Monastic Movement, Fiona Leitch

Senior Honors Theses

The Celtic monastic movement lasted hundreds of years and is responsible for much of the spread of Christianity to the West. Much of the movement’s success can be attributed to the Celtic Christians’ understanding of the importance of the role of creative culture and order as well as an openness and responsiveness to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is these three things working in tandem that influenced the success of the Celtic monastic movement. Although the movement ended a thousand years ago, it can offer guidance and wisdom for carrying out ministry today. A case study of Cuirim …

Sacra Domus: The Anglican House Church In Theology And Context, Alan Andraeas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The author is an evangelical Anglican priest with a recently formed sacramental house church. Though the house church movement is gaining popularity, no formal guidelines or methodologies exist which address this trend from a liturgical and sacerdotal perspective--even within his diocese. Because of this void, he will examine the following critical issues:

* What are the scriptural foundations for mandating the use of liturgy?

* What are the biblical, theological, and historical precedents for house churches?

* Can there be a complementary union between priestly liturgy and the house church model?

Without guidance from other `reference parishes,' the need for …

Justification And Sanctification In The Southern Baptist Church In West Virginia; Implications In Worship And Practice Of Faith, Todd Hill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to investigate the doctrines of justification and progressive sanctification and its implications in the Southern Baptist Churches in West Virginia. In the Southern Baptist Churches in West Virginia, there seems to be much confusion concerning the subject of justification and sanctification in the life of the believer. This confusion appears to grow out of a misunderstanding of sanctification and its relationship to justification from the error of Roman Catholic doctrine of blending justification and sanctification. The result of this study will expose the disparity of understanding concerning these doctrines and produce a teaching resource …