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Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons™
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Articles 271 - 300 of 458
Full-Text Articles in Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Why Are We Here? Harvest Theology, Search Theology, And Christ’S Vision For Redemption, Gordon E. Penfold
Why Are We Here? Harvest Theology, Search Theology, And Christ’S Vision For Redemption, Gordon E. Penfold
Great Commission Research Journal
Varying voices cry out for attention concerning how churches should engage the culture and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In this article, attention will be given to understanding what Donald McGavran called Harvest Theology and Search Theology, as well as the biblical foundations for theology and authority. This work also describes the key role that vision plays in church transformation and further explores how Search Theology and Harvest Theology measure up to Christ’s vision for ministry and to the Great Commission. The article concludes with a plea to pastors and congregations urging them to fulfill Christ’s vision …
Book Review: Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests Into Fully Engaged Members Of Your Church By Nelson Searcy With Jennifer Dykes Henson, William J. Ingram
Book Review: Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests Into Fully Engaged Members Of Your Church By Nelson Searcy With Jennifer Dykes Henson, William J. Ingram
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Was Wesley An Anglican? Implications For Mission, John Marsh
Was Wesley An Anglican? Implications For Mission, John Marsh
Great Commission Research Journal
John Wesley, in his own mind, lived and died an Anglican. He was an Anglican in his theology but deviated in his missional activity and this contributed to him moving away ecclesiastically. He gave primacy to his theology of justification by faith and this was driven by a personal “awakening” into missional activity. Wesley’s frustration at the lack of preaching opportunities led to successful itinerancy. Resulting missional growth necessitated a developing ecclesiology of societies, lay preachers, the Methodist conference, and eventually irregular ordinations. Wesley’s subordination of ecclesiological organization to theological and missiological demands may have something to teach today’s church.
Book Review: Tens Steps For Church Growth By Donald A. Mcgavran And Winfield C. Arn, Ken Pierce
Book Review: Tens Steps For Church Growth By Donald A. Mcgavran And Winfield C. Arn, Ken Pierce
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: Urban Apologetics: Why The Gospel Is Good News For The City By Christopher W. Brooks, Paul M. Gould
Book Review: Urban Apologetics: Why The Gospel Is Good News For The City By Christopher W. Brooks, Paul M. Gould
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: The Wheel Model: Catalyzing Sustainable Church Multiplication Movements By Frank Schattner, Ariel Lee
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Mcgavran’S Family Heritage, Gary L. Mcintosh
Mcgavran’S Family Heritage, Gary L. Mcintosh
Great Commission Research Journal
Mission was the natural expression of Donald McGavran’s heritage. This article traces the ancestral history of Donald McGavran’s family line from James and Agnes Anderson, his maternal grandparents, and John and Helen McGavran, his mother and father. His connection to the Stone-Campbell Movement and William Carey’s Baptist Missionary Society is discussed.
Reaching The Nations Through Our Cities, Chris Clayman
Reaching The Nations Through Our Cities, Chris Clayman
Great Commission Research Journal
While the American public perceives New York City to be a post-Christian environment, reality is that the city is moving into a post-secular existence largely influenced by religious immigrants. These immigrants are symbolic of a new era in pioneer missions—one in which migration, transnationalism, globalization, and urbanization pose newer challenges and opportunities than uncharted geographies, isolated societies, and foreign cultures. “Reaching the Nations Through Our Cities” proposes that the next challenge for missionary pioneers is reaching busy, hidden, influential unreached peoples who have migrated to cities. Based on several years of research on the immigrant populations in Metro New York, …
Why Is There A Silent Exodus Of English-Speaking Adults From Western Canadian Chinese Churches?, Matthew Todd
Why Is There A Silent Exodus Of English-Speaking Adults From Western Canadian Chinese Churches?, Matthew Todd
Great Commission Research Journal
This study recommends solutions towards the retention through empowerment of Canadian Born Chinese (CBC) adults in Chinese bicultural churches. To address retention, the key risk factors and common dynamics that contribute to a “silent exodus” of CBC adults were established through qualitative research, including a survey of participants from diverse church affiliations. Based on an analysis of the literature review and survey results, this study advocates working toward the retention of English-speaking adults from Chinese Canadian churches through associated parallel independent English congregational models; this recognizes a link between the process of acculturation and the imperative to leverage mission.
Why Multiply Healthy Churches?, Charles Van Engen
Why Multiply Healthy Churches?, Charles Van Engen
Great Commission Research Journal
This article examines biblical motivations to multiply new, healthy churches. Such motivations emerge from the following five biblical truths: a) God the Father seeks and finds the lost, b) The love of Christ obligates us, c) God sent the Holy Spirit for all human beings, d) The local congregation is the primary locus of the rule of the King, and e) Multiplying churches is for the glory of God. Our loving and compassionate triune God desires that all women and men become disciples of Jesus Christ, active participants in a local Christian church, and committed agents of the transformation of …
The Church Of The Nazarene And Church Growth: Better Together?, Duane H. Boady
The Church Of The Nazarene And Church Growth: Better Together?, Duane H. Boady
Great Commission Research Journal
The essence of the article is to offer a fresh look at Church Growth to the Church of the Nazarene. Perhaps the Church of the Nazarene is one of many denominations that struggle with plateaued and declining churches. It seems to this writer that we have failed to ask difficult questions about what we are doing and why we do those things. If we are part of the Body of Christ, then we ought to be flourishing. Instead the converse is often more true. The Church Growth movement may have brought out some people hoping to sell their latest and …
Book Review: Embracing Shared Ministry: Power And Status In The Early Church And Why It Matters Today By Joseph H. Hellerman, Paul Gritz
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: Planting New Churches In A Postmodern Age By Ed Stetzer, Joseph Mun
Book Review: Planting New Churches In A Postmodern Age By Ed Stetzer, Joseph Mun
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: The Coffee Shop That Changed A Church: Discovering The Net Effect By Steve Parr, Peter Varosky
Book Review: The Coffee Shop That Changed A Church: Discovering The Net Effect By Steve Parr, Peter Varosky
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Five Types Of Multicultural Churches: A New Paradigm Evaluated And Differentiated, Bob Whitesel
Five Types Of Multicultural Churches: A New Paradigm Evaluated And Differentiated, Bob Whitesel
Great Commission Research Journal
This article puts forth a comprehensive and reconciliation-based paradigm through which to view multicultural congregations as one of five models or types. It updates the historical categories of Sanchez, adds contemporary models, and then evaluates each through a ten-point grid of nomenclature, mode of growth, relationships, pluses, minuses, degree of difficulty, creator complex, redistribution, relocation, and reconciliation. The five models are 1) the asset sharing Multicultural Alliance, 2) the collaborative Multicultural Partnership, 3) the asymmetrical Mother-Daughter model, 4) the popular Blended approach, and 5) the Cultural Assimilation model. The result is a comprehensive five-model paradigm that includes an assessment of …
My Pilgrimage In Church Growth, Ray Ellis
My Pilgrimage In Church Growth, Ray Ellis
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
The Ecclesiology Of Training For Trainers: The Issue Of Method And I Timothy 3:6, John Henry Serworwora
The Ecclesiology Of Training For Trainers: The Issue Of Method And I Timothy 3:6, John Henry Serworwora
Great Commission Research Journal
The implementation of the Church Planting Movement (CPM) and Training for Trainers (T4T) by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention missions life is not without challenge. Southern Baptist missiologists and seminary professors have written numerous papers and articles supporting or contesting this methodology. The majority of criticisms focus on the emphasis in the rapidity and “mass production” of churches, fearing the theological alteration among the new believers and their churches. This article argues that the leadership process in T4T/CPM violates the Baptist ecclesiology, since 1 Timothy 3:6 essentially excludes a new believer from pastoral leadership.
Book Review: Advanced Strategic Planning: A 21st Century Model For Church And Ministry Leaders By Aubrey Malphurs, John Sun
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: The Bridges Of God: A Study In The Strategy Of Missions By Donald A. Mcgavran, Ivan Yu
Book Review: The Bridges Of God: A Study In The Strategy Of Missions By Donald A. Mcgavran, Ivan Yu
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: Replant: How A Dying Church Can Grow Again By Mark Devine And Darrin Patrick, Garrett R. Eaglin
Book Review: Replant: How A Dying Church Can Grow Again By Mark Devine And Darrin Patrick, Garrett R. Eaglin
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
The Missiological Method Of Jesus According To Luke 10: Do We Follow In His Steps?, Cecil Stalnaker
The Missiological Method Of Jesus According To Luke 10: Do We Follow In His Steps?, Cecil Stalnaker
Great Commission Research Journal
When it comes to evangelism and missiological methods, should we follow in the steps of Jesus? Many missionaries are doing just that. In Luke 10 Jesus instructs his disciples, giving them a method to accomplish their appointed mission. This involves three phases: (1) searching for the “person of peace”; (2) supporting a house fellowship; and (3) securing a missionary base of operations. Such an approach is certainly worth examining but only in light of the biblical authority and context as well as the missionary’s cultural context.
Book Review: Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping The Face Of The Church By J.D. Payne, Scott Zeller
Book Review: Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping The Face Of The Church By J.D. Payne, Scott Zeller
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: Legacy Churches By Stephen Gray And Franklin Dumond, Duane H. Boady
Book Review: Legacy Churches By Stephen Gray And Franklin Dumond, Duane H. Boady
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Introduction, Alan Mcmahan
Upcycling Church: New Hope For Transforming Declining And Plateaued Churches, Richard J. Frazer
Upcycling Church: New Hope For Transforming Declining And Plateaued Churches, Richard J. Frazer
Great Commission Research Journal
This article introduces new language and an alternative paradigm to the topic of revitalizing declining churches, which presents a transforming process for pastors, church leaders, denominational executives, and consultants to implement when coaching revitalizing churches. The biblical foundation for this writing is Jesus’ letter to the church of Sardis, recorded in Revelation 3:1–6. Five principles for upcycling a declining church are presented: embrace the crisis, answer the wakeup call, strengthen what remains, strengthen who remains, and return to spiritual roots.
Authority, Autonomy, And Healthy Communication: Embracing The Organizational Complexities Of The Multisite Church, Jamus Edwards
Authority, Autonomy, And Healthy Communication: Embracing The Organizational Complexities Of The Multisite Church, Jamus Edwards
Great Commission Research Journal
A perplexing matrix-style of leadership that reflects numerous leadership teams across multiple locations typically characterizes multisite churches. As a result, the most volatile element in the multisite church is the distribution of decision-making authority. The unique organizational challenge for multisite churches is determining the balance of trust, freedom, and control in the relationship between each campus’s leadership and the primary leadership team of the overall church. Inevitable frustrations among campus pastors can often be decreased when multisite leadership teams are characterized by clarity in roles and authority. Additionally, responsiveness in the areas of authentic communication and the embracing of conflict …
Church Launch: Start Small, Stay Small—Launch Large, Grow Larger!, Dave Page
Church Launch: Start Small, Stay Small—Launch Large, Grow Larger!, Dave Page
Great Commission Research Journal
Launching churches is the new paradigm for church planting in America for the twenty-first century. The old school paradigm was to plant a church and watch it grow slowly, like a tree. The new church planting metaphor is launching a church, like launching a rocket ship into space. This article argues that launching large churches is the most effective means of evangelism in the short and long run. Start small, and the church will stay small, as most do. Launch large, and the church has an opportunity to keep on growing. By launching large, churches can break church growth barriers …
Pastoral Attitudes That Predict Numerical Church Growth, David R. Dunaetz, Kenneth E. Priddy
Pastoral Attitudes That Predict Numerical Church Growth, David R. Dunaetz, Kenneth E. Priddy
Great Commission Research Journal
The attitudes of 92 head pastors were measured concerning 20 ministry-relevant ideas and practices, as well as information about their church’s present numerical growth. A statistical analysis found four pastoral attitudes that predict positive or negative numerical church growth. Positive predictors of numerical church growth were strong beliefs that 1) personal and corporate prayer are important and 2) transfer growth is an indicator of congregational health. Negative predictors of numerical church growth were strong beliefs in the importance of 1) preaching and 2) outreach to the community. The practical implications of these findings are discussed in light of evangelical theology.
Book Review: Together In One Mission: Pentecostal Cooperation In World Evangelization By Arto Hämäläinen And Grant Mcclung, Eds., David Rogers
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, And Create Movement By Will Mancini, Elizabeth Montgomery
Book Review: Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, And Create Movement By Will Mancini, Elizabeth Montgomery
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.