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Articles 61 - 90 of 118

Full-Text Articles in Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

The Crucible Of Orthodoxy And Orthopraxy: Examining The Intersections Of Social Justice, Moral Development And Theology, Eydie Dyke Shypulski Jan 2017

The Crucible Of Orthodoxy And Orthopraxy: Examining The Intersections Of Social Justice, Moral Development And Theology, Eydie Dyke Shypulski

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The purpose of this research was to better understand the relationship between moral development, theology and social justice within a Christian context. An apparent disconnect exists regarding how people of faith apply personal morals and theological perspectives when positioning themselves with regard to public policy and social justice issues. The researcher sought to extract information that would have implications for professional social practice, social work ethical and practice pedagogy, for faith-based institutions of higher learning and for the broader Christian community. A theological reflection included a brief examination of Aristotelian and Thomistic philosophies of moral and ethical development followed by …

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The Whole Servant Leader: Leading From The Inside Out, Jewel Denise Williams Jan 2017

The Whole Servant Leader: Leading From The Inside Out, Jewel Denise Williams

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While research on servant leadership focuses on the behavior or actions of leaders toward the follower, this project examines the inward development of those leaders to determine what godly attributes need cultivation to demonstrate the seven virtues of Kathleen Patterson. Patterson’s doctoral work “Servant Leadership: A Theoretical Model,” was published in 2003 by Regent University School of Leadership Studies. The examination of the lives of pastors, leaders, and lay leaders defined as servant leaders based on Patterson’s theory helped in the development of an attribute-driven virtue-focused servant leadership development model for this project. These leaders were asked to share what …

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Getting Involved With The Digital Humanities In Theology, Biblical Studies, And Religious Studies, Kent Gerber Apr 2016

Getting Involved With The Digital Humanities In Theology, Biblical Studies, And Religious Studies, Kent Gerber

Librarian Publications and Presentations

Digital humanities are growing and thriving in higher education, and, in the spirit of the pioneering work of Father Busa, it is important for theological and religious studies libraries and librarians to consider our roles and involvement in the current milieu of challenge and opportunity. The library and digital humanities communities possess many shared values and goals, including providing wide access to cultural information, enhancing teaching and learning, making a public impact, and benefiting from the invigorating, though not salvific, effect of technology to their efforts.

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Imparting Biblical Theology Cross-Culturally For Transformation, Malcolm S. Reid Jan 2016

Imparting Biblical Theology Cross-Culturally For Transformation, Malcolm S. Reid

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Moore Theological College’s Preliminary Theological Certificate has been a vehicle to impart an approach to Biblical Theology not only domestically but also outside Australia. Course participation overseas has seen significant growth and this research identifies some of reasons for this as well some principles for imparting Biblical Theology cross-culturally. The first chapter of this study outlines the specific approach of the research. Four specific case studies are identified as being Latin America, India, East Africa and South East Asia. A biblical foundation is laid down in the next chapter. Three themes that affect a Biblical Theology of culture in the …

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The Impact Of Imago Dei On Thinking About Portrait Photography, Neil Craigan Jan 2016

The Impact Of Imago Dei On Thinking About Portrait Photography, Neil Craigan

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The problem this project addressed was the relationship between the imago Dei and the work of photographers in the field of portrait photography. This created a strong vocational emphasis for the project in light of which the researcher explored the theological and biblical data on the imago Dei, examined the connection between being an image bearer and an image creator of the image bearer, discussed the nature of photography, developing a philosophy and broad understanding of the portrait and the value people attach to it. The field research was qualitative in its approach and professional photographers were interviewed regarding their …

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Spiritual Formation For Seminary Spiritual Leaders, Patricia L. Cowan Jan 2016

Spiritual Formation For Seminary Spiritual Leaders, Patricia L. Cowan

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Jesus changed the world through spiritual formation and spiritual maturity. Jesus’ focus upon God enabled Him to do God’s will. Jesus separated Himself from culture and people at times to be alone with God in nature, pursuing God at the deepest level. Seminary spiritual formation training at the deepest level can be most beneficial to spiritual leaders, churches, ministries, and culture. This project included thorough research of scripture, literature, and survey method on spiritual formation and spiritual direction. Common themes from these three areas of research were combined to encourage seminary spiritual leaders to be free through intentional spiritual formation.

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Empowering Congregations To Move From Simple Hospitality To Celebration Of Ethnic Diversity Within Their Church, Stephen R. Gibson Jan 2016

Empowering Congregations To Move From Simple Hospitality To Celebration Of Ethnic Diversity Within Their Church, Stephen R. Gibson

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This thesis addresses the question of how a large church can best pursue ethnic diversity. Using qualitative research methods the researcher demonstrated that the best practices found among secular organizations in pursing diversity are effective when implemented in a large predominately white church. The researcher identified that there are common themes running through such organizations as Coca Cola, IBM and American Express in regards to their individual diversity initiatives. The researcher demonstrates that the four best practices of 1) getting the leadership to be champions for the cause, 2) casting the vision across the organization, 3) motivating the organization’s employees …

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Conceptualizing And Engaging With Pastoral Authority, Scott R. Maurer Jan 2016

Conceptualizing And Engaging With Pastoral Authority, Scott R. Maurer

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Church conflict harms those in the church, obscures God’s glory, and hurts the church’s witness to a watching world. Some church conflict is related to congregants’ limited ability to conceptualize and engage with pastoral authority. While secular academia has begun to explore the discipline of followership, there is a lack of research and writing in the Christian world that provides direction to congregants on this topic. That which does exist often creates confusion rather than clarity. In response to this problem, sixteen congregants and six pastors from six churches in the Washington, DC metropolitan area were interviewed about how they …

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Demonic Actions On Christian Leaders And Followers: The Reality Of Demons' Existence And Their Wicked Spirit World Of Abode And Kingdoms, Matthew Folorunso Olaniyi Jan 2016

Demonic Actions On Christian Leaders And Followers: The Reality Of Demons' Existence And Their Wicked Spirit World Of Abode And Kingdoms, Matthew Folorunso Olaniyi

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The problem this project addressed is in the reality of the existence of demons’ in their wicked spirit world of abode and kingdoms coupled with the challenges that wicked activities of demons pose to the lives and ministries of Christian leaders and followers. In response to this problem, researcher surveyed the wicked activities of demons in the lives and ministries of some biblical leaders and followers in the Old and New Testaments. The researcher further reviewed the relevant literature and showed that many voices, especially in the Western academia, argue for the non-existence of demons. But, in spite of this …

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Helping Young Adults Discern Christian Self-Actualization Through The Wisdom Of Those Who Have Gone Before, Jeff M. Chapman Jan 2016

Helping Young Adults Discern Christian Self-Actualization Through The Wisdom Of Those Who Have Gone Before, Jeff M. Chapman

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The problem this thesis project addressed was the belief by many Christian young adults that the life wisdom advice of older Christian adults can be invalid. This assumption can make Christian young adults suffer unnecessarily because it can prevent them from benefiting from the experiences of older Christian adults who have successfully achieved Christian self-actualization in spiritual, relational and work-related challenges. To address this problem, the researcher (a) investigated Scripture as well as theological and biblical commentaries related to these themes; (b) reviewed relevant ancient and contemporary literature; (c) conducted qualitative and quantitative research that demonstrated the validity of advice …

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Integrating Biblical Teaching And Organizational Wisdom In The Work Of Pastor-Church Relations, Christian Reformed Church North America, Cecil Vanniejenhuis Jan 2016

Integrating Biblical Teaching And Organizational Wisdom In The Work Of Pastor-Church Relations, Christian Reformed Church North America, Cecil Vanniejenhuis

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This project addressed the lack of integration of biblical teaching in the consultation work of Pastor-Church Relations in the Christian Reformed Church of North America. The goal of this project was to demonstrate and encourage a thorough integration so that organizational wisdom might be informed, anchored and enriched by scriptural teaching. This goal was achieved by program development. A first step involved identifying hospitality as a core biblical theme. The theme of hospitality was traced from creation, through the fall into sin, through redemption in Jesus Christ and ultimately the consummation of all things. Special attention was given to the …

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Clergy Leadership Development: Exploring Factors In The Leadership Development Process Of United Methodist Clergywomen, Mary Bendall Henley Jan 2016

Clergy Leadership Development: Exploring Factors In The Leadership Development Process Of United Methodist Clergywomen, Mary Bendall Henley

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This project was designed to discover factors associated with the leadership development of effective United Methodist clergywomen. The researcher chose a collective case study approach incorporating principles from grounded theory in the data analysis. After framing the research problem, the researcher conducted a biblical review highlighting female prophets from the Bible. In particular, the women from the Old Testament provided important insight. The researcher conducted a literature review confirming the lack of scholarly work in the area of leadership development and clergywomen. The researcher identified four areas to frame the research, each representing an area of identity work. The four …

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Spiritual Formation: Beyond Cognitive Belief - An Ethnographic Study Of Adult Sunday School In Baptistic Churches In Massachusetts, Laura J. Cassidy-Moffatt Jan 2016

Spiritual Formation: Beyond Cognitive Belief - An Ethnographic Study Of Adult Sunday School In Baptistic Churches In Massachusetts, Laura J. Cassidy-Moffatt

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project was designed to examine adult Sunday School in seven baptistic churches in Massachusetts. In interviewing pastors and surveying attendees, an ethnographic study was conducted to discern common practices and to highlight opportunities for growth in the midst of church decline. The researcher examined the biblical concepts of teaching and knowing. The researcher then conducted a literature review in the fields of the history of Sunday school, pedagogical best practices, and advances in cognitive neuroscience of learning. Through field research, the researcher identified five themes common to these Sunday school programs that have impacted the observed results of …

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Transformation Of The Prescott Foursquare Church: Becoming A Church Planting Church, John W. Gooding Jan 2016

Transformation Of The Prescott Foursquare Church: Becoming A Church Planting Church, John W. Gooding

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This study is a qualitative study of the Prescott Foursquare Church and its transformation from a small, broken denominational church to a disciple making and church planting fellowship of churches. The project sought to discover the key trigger events or processes that brought about church growth in the Prescott church and led to the growth of a fellowship of over twenty-two hundred churches in one hundred and sixteen countries. The result of interviews of pastors and review of historical data of the church and Christian Fellowship Ministries was the discovery of a discipleship culture in the local congregation in Prescott …

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Engaging Leadership At Marshfield Christian Church, Nicholas Alexander Ruth Jan 2016

Engaging Leadership At Marshfield Christian Church, Nicholas Alexander Ruth

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This project addresses the dwindling number of people active in leadership roles at Marshfield Christian Church. Research focused on four aspects of church leadership: barriers and incentives to assuming a leadership role, characteristics of leaders, models for structuring leadership, and equipping the congregation to participate in leadership. The researcher conducts a biblical and theological research on leadership in the New Testament, membership in the New Testament and the implications of relational theology on church leadership. A literature review on collaborative leadership, employee engagement, and changes in volunteering adds to the research. The field research for this project comprises surveys and …

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Cooperative Catechesis: A Model For Equipping Lutheran Parents And Pastors To Catechize Children In The Christian Faith, Phillip E. Booe Jan 2016

Cooperative Catechesis: A Model For Equipping Lutheran Parents And Pastors To Catechize Children In The Christian Faith, Phillip E. Booe

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parents have a God-given duty to bring up their children in the faith. God calls pastors to shepherd flocks, point them to the Gospel, proclaim sound doctrine, and teach the people about the will and ways of God. The problem this project addressed was the decline of parental involvement in and responsibility for the Christian catechesis of their children in the context of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Parents have all but abdicated their responsibility to catechize their children to the church, and pastors have been complicit in allowing it. The purpose of this research was to identify the attitudes pastors …

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The Use Of Oral Training In Uganda To Develop Biblically Trained Leaders, Kevin J. Olson Jan 2016

The Use Of Oral Training In Uganda To Develop Biblically Trained Leaders, Kevin J. Olson

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The researcher spent a year in rural Tanzania and found that the volunteer lay leaders had little training. These lay leaders had a love for Jesus and for his people, but the obstacles these men faced in order to get further training were overwhelming. Attending seminary meant paying tuition, leaving families, leaving farms, taking classes in English, and following a Western style of education. There were economic, emotional, and educational barriers these lay leaders faced. This caused this researcher to seek a new method to train people in God’s Word. This search led to the oral training method that was …

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Pursuing Kingdom Growth By Intentionally Engaging Our Culture, Florin Docea Jan 2016

Pursuing Kingdom Growth By Intentionally Engaging Our Culture, Florin Docea

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The goal of this research project was to strengthen the church’s ability to effectively engage the culture and expand the kingdom of God. This project is important because American Churches have invested time and resources looking for ways to transform the culture. In the process many discovered that the culture has also transformed the church with mixed results. This research project showed that new churches continue to face difficulties engaging the culture without compromising the mission of the church or disrupting the unity of the body. Using the attractional or missional models, churches have struggled in the tension created by …

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Exploring Anthropological Monism For Pastoral Care Practice In A Local Church, Michael Robert Mcleod Jan 2016

Exploring Anthropological Monism For Pastoral Care Practice In A Local Church, Michael Robert Mcleod

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This research project explored the viability and benefits of anthropological monism for pastoral care practice in a local church. Monism, as it relates to human nature, refers to humanity consisting solely of materiality or physicality from which emerge all capacities and functions of the human individual⎯feeling, thinking, relating, acting, or experiencing God, self, others, or the world in general. Biblically and theologically, anthropological monism can point to integration for holism to overcome life disruption and fragmentation due to sin. It can also highlight embodiment and refocus the church towards human physicality and the prominence of resurrection for end-of-life outcomes rather …

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The Faith At Work Movement At Westwood Community Church, Daniel Albert Bolt Jan 2016

The Faith At Work Movement At Westwood Community Church, Daniel Albert Bolt

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This thesis investigated the faith at work (FAW) movement through the lens of philosophical hermeneutics. The work concepts of both Old and New Testaments were explored, along with theologian’s voices on the intersection of work and faith. The literature review demonstrated the one-dimensional emphasis of the FAW for the church and the working world. The church and world need the FAW as an ethos with an emphasis on the whole person. The research was a mixed method of case study utilizing qualitative and quantitative method. This mixed method helped underline the shallowness of current scholarship of the FAW as an …

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Penal Substitution And Divine Forgiveness, Daniel Thweatt Mar 2015

Penal Substitution And Divine Forgiveness, Daniel Thweatt

Library Research Prize Student Works

According to Keith Ward, “One must...reject those crude accounts of Christian doctrine which...say that Christ has been justly punished in our place so that he has taken away our guilt and enabled God to forgive us. Almost everything is ethically wrong about these accounts.” This statement is just one instance of a commonly occurring dismissal of the penal substitution theory of the atonement. For various reasons, many today find the theory morally (and theologically and exegetically) untenable. Some, such as Gregory Boyd and Eleonore Stump, formulate moral objections to penal substitution based on beliefs about the concept of forgiveness. In …

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Conversion: A Reflection On The Influences Involved In The Personal Eternal Change Event Within The Global Community, Edward Charles Nelson Jan 2015

Conversion: A Reflection On The Influences Involved In The Personal Eternal Change Event Within The Global Community, Edward Charles Nelson

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What is conversion? For many, conversion is defined psychologically, sociologically, anthropologically and culturally, philosophically, or religiously and theologically. No matter how conversion may be defined academically, that definition becomes rather confining. It could be that in focusing on human inducements, the dynamic of the real Source of conversion can be missed. It has been disclosed that while the human factors involved in a decisive event can be initiated by the divine dynamic, it is only when there has been a response of humility and repentance with faith that God seems willing to complete his global “new birth” work of conversion.

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A Reading Motivation Intervention For Students With Learning Disabilities, Students With Adhd, And Their Nondisabled Peers, Alanna M. Lienig Jan 2015

A Reading Motivation Intervention For Students With Learning Disabilities, Students With Adhd, And Their Nondisabled Peers, Alanna M. Lienig

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Motivation research and its effect on reading has been limited for students with disabilities. In the present study a combined motivational intervention (intrinsic standards, positive label, and extrinsic standards) was used wit 48 second and third grade students in a randomized pretest posttest control group design with three population groups (ADHD, Learning Disabled, and Nondisabled) and two conditions (reading comprehension and reading fluency). The intervention condition followed the pretest. The intervention used a verbal 3 minute motivational script containing a positive label (e.g. “clever”) associated with a specific reading behavior (e.g. answers questions) accompanied by a challenge to perform better …

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The Use Of Technology To Enhance Individualized Learning In Postsecondary Educational Students With Multiple Intelligences In An Anatomy And Physiology Classroom, Kimberly Carpenter Stanley Jan 2015

The Use Of Technology To Enhance Individualized Learning In Postsecondary Educational Students With Multiple Intelligences In An Anatomy And Physiology Classroom, Kimberly Carpenter Stanley

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This purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether or not the use of computer enhanced supplemental material in a postsecondary anatomy and physiology classroom would be perceived to positively affect students’ opinions regarding their acquisition of classroom instruction. There were a total of 15 students who participated in this qualitative case study. They participated in a Multiple Intelligences Classification Survey upon the beginning of class and took part in a lecture on the cardiovascular system from an educator employed with the institution where the study took place. Students then viewed a supplemental video provided by the researcher which contained …

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Negotiating The Doing To Being Boundary In J. Robert Clinton's Leadership Emergence Theory, Charles W. Sattgast Jan 2015

Negotiating The Doing To Being Boundary In J. Robert Clinton's Leadership Emergence Theory, Charles W. Sattgast

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According to the research of J. Robert Clinton only a third of leaders finish well. Clinton describes a developmental barrier he refers to as “the doing to being” boundary that many leaders face in their forties or fifties. This barrier requires leaders to undergo a paradigm shift from finding their meaning and fulfillment in achievement to ministry that flows out of being. According to Clinton many leaders fail to successfully negotiate this important transition which contributes to the alarming failure rate of leaders. This research project addressed this problem by exploring the nature and meaning of doing and being and …

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Avoiding Division Within A Church: A Proactive Approach For Identifying Sources Of Conflict And Creating A Healthy Ministry Environment, Kenneth V. Polley Jan 2015

Avoiding Division Within A Church: A Proactive Approach For Identifying Sources Of Conflict And Creating A Healthy Ministry Environment, Kenneth V. Polley

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Serious conflict in a church can damage its vitality and ministry effectiveness. The problem this research addressed was factors in a church ministry which can allow serious conflict to form and expand. In response to this problem, the researcher examined materials which address church conflict and surveyed sample churches. The research sought to identify the following areas: topics church interventionists consistently address when assisting churches in the recovery process, the primary sources of conflict based upon church experiences, the parallels between the focus of the church interventionists and church experiences, and if serious conflict can be avoided if these areas …

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Discovering The Work Of Baptist General Conference Mission In Ethiopia: The Essence Of Mission That Lasted For Six Decades, Kebede Gonfa Jan 2015

Discovering The Work Of Baptist General Conference Mission In Ethiopia: The Essence Of Mission That Lasted For Six Decades, Kebede Gonfa

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The researcher has explored six decades of mission work and leadership development by the Baptist General Conference (BGC) in Ethiopia. The main purpose of this project is to summarize the work of the mission in Ethiopia and its relationship to the national church with comments from local pastors and missionaries in regard to the conclusion of the work of the missionaries and the turnover to the local church, so that the current and coming generations may benefit from the strengths and weaknesses of the BGC Ethiopia ministry. The evaluations by missionaries and local leaders provides a balance of perspectives on …

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Factors That Affect Sustainability Of Transitional Homes For Sexually Exploited Women, Ruth E. Deguzman Dalman Jan 2015

Factors That Affect Sustainability Of Transitional Homes For Sexually Exploited Women, Ruth E. Deguzman Dalman

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The problem this thesis project addressed was the factors that prevent the sustainability of transitional homes for sexually exploited women. The goal was to gain understanding as to why some transitional homes fail and what components are necessary for sustainability. Four case studies were carried out between two sustainable and two non-sustainable homes. Three workers from each home were interviewed. Interview queries related to how the home treated organization, management, assessment and training, and resources. Significant data was produced from probing mission alignment, leadership interaction, policy comprehension, merits of assessment, and significance of training. One of the significant findings was …

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Advocacy For A Biblical And Communication Based Interpersonal Competency Course For Seminary Education, Philip H. Frazier Jan 2015

Advocacy For A Biblical And Communication Based Interpersonal Competency Course For Seminary Education, Philip H. Frazier

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This project advocates for a change in communication course teaching for Baptist and independent seminaries in the United States and Canada. The researcher used a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative processes to analyze communication course offerings available to master of divinity students in 59 Baptist and independent seminaries. Statistical data revealed that persuasion based preaching and evangelism courses exponentially outnumbered all forms of relational communication courses. Seminary courses on interpersonal communication constituted less than three percent of master of divinity communication course offerings. A focus group with Christian master of communication course graduates provided qualitative data on the continuing …

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Reconciling The Body: Working Toward Ecclesial Unity, Brien J. Aadland Jan 2015

Reconciling The Body: Working Toward Ecclesial Unity, Brien J. Aadland

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In this project the researcher studied the similarities and differences of the United Church of Christ and the Emerging church. In Christianity, Christians should be unified in goal and mission in the Kingdom of God. The researcher explored the faith streams of the UCC and the Emerging church. The goal of this project was to find if the UCC and the Emerging church are similar in thought or different. Scripture makes it clear that Christians are mandated to work together for peace and unity to create a reconciled church. The researcher first examined important voices in Christianity that have spoken …

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