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Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons™
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Articles 301 - 330 of 470
Full-Text Articles in Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
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.
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.
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
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 …
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.
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: Franchising Mcchurch: Feeding Our Obsession With Easy Christianity By Thomas White And John M. Yeats, Brandon Kiesling
Book Review: Franchising Mcchurch: Feeding Our Obsession With Easy Christianity By Thomas White And John M. Yeats, Brandon Kiesling
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Planning And Implementing Successful Pastoral Succession, Parnell M. Lovelace Jr.
Planning And Implementing Successful Pastoral Succession, Parnell M. Lovelace Jr.
Great Commission Research Journal
The senior pastor serves as the visionary catalyst for the local church congregation. Cultural, ethnic, and theological traditions define the pastor’s role, often determining how the pastor plants a church, leads people, and transitions once the pastoral assignment is completed. None of these responsibilities is easy. However, the matter of pastoral succession brings concerns, sensitivities, and challenges that are unique within any discussion of ministerial success. Center of Praise Ministries in Sacramento, California, provides several examples of paradigms, challenges, and mores that one must address when facilitating healthy transition. This article explores how intentional and strategic pastoral succession planning provides …
Book Review: Making Your Vision A Reality: Proven Steps To Develop And Implement Your Church Vision Plan By Paul Cannings, Kenneth Lewis
Book Review: Making Your Vision A Reality: Proven Steps To Develop And Implement Your Church Vision Plan By Paul Cannings, Kenneth Lewis
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Timeless Growth Principles From The Movement Of Hans Nielsen Hauge: A Case Study In Pietism, David Stein, Frederick Thoni
Timeless Growth Principles From The Movement Of Hans Nielsen Hauge: A Case Study In Pietism, David Stein, Frederick Thoni
Great Commission Research Journal
As existing churches continually face the challenge of staying relevant, and new churches face the challenge of establishing traction in the first place, a fresh look at the dynamics of movements will help both. While large, existing churches can often operate from an institutional focus, new and growing churches have to operate from a movement focus. Declining churches need to recapture the dynamism that helped them come into being in the first place. In order to break free from the status quo a new catalyst must be inserted into the equation in order to move forward to the next level. …
Book Review: Size Does Matter: Moving Your Ministry From Micro To Mega By R. A. Vernon, Jeremy Upton
Book Review: Size Does Matter: Moving Your Ministry From Micro To Mega By R. A. Vernon, Jeremy Upton
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
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 …
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.
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.
About The Great Commission Research Network, Alan Mcmahan
About The Great Commission Research Network, Alan Mcmahan
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: The Explicit Gospel By Matt Chandler, Jeremy Mcgarity
Book Review: The Explicit Gospel By Matt Chandler, Jeremy Mcgarity
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Church Growth Missiologist And Defender Of The Faith: George G. Hunter, Iii, R. Daniel Reeves
Church Growth Missiologist And Defender Of The Faith: George G. Hunter, Iii, R. Daniel Reeves
Great Commission Research Journal
Reeves summarizes Hunter’s impact in McGavran missiology with professors, church planters and evangelists. He highlights Hunter’s pioneering research among secular peoples at Muscle Beach and the fifth century Celtic movement, with broad application for enlisting and equipping disciples. Reeves also emphasizes Hunter’s less reported role as friend and trusted advisor, citing his personal experience of receiving encouragement and advice while forming and facilitating the Council on Ecclesiology, a project aimed at reducing counterproductive rhetoric among several popular movements.
Evangelism Or Disciple-Making?, Charles Arn
Evangelism Or Disciple-Making?, Charles Arn
Great Commission Research Journal
Evangelistic “success” is often defined by the number of “decisions for Christ”—those who raise their hands . . . come to the altar . . . pray the sinner’s prayer. However, the definition of success, when measured by the “fruit that remains” (Jn. 15:16) indicates that decision-making does not always result in disciple-making. In fact, upon closer study, many of the evangelistic methods commonly used by churches and Christians today have been shown to be ineffective—and even counter-productive—in producing disciples and responsible church members. In this article, Charles Arn contrasts the difference in practice and results between traditional evangelism vs. …
The Gathering Of The Saints: Noun Or Verb?, Kenneth E. Priddy
The Gathering Of The Saints: Noun Or Verb?, Kenneth E. Priddy
Great Commission Research Journal
This paper examines the question: Who are the saints? In the Old Testament the saints are the people of God, the nation of Israel, specifically those who have genuine faith and are true believers. In the New Testament the saints are the church, those who have been regenerated through the working of the Holy Spirit to be more than members of the visible church, but members of the eternal invisible church as well. In modern times we often speak of the “gathering of the saints.” Both noun and verb uses are included in Scripture and they are essentially distinguished by …
Book Review: The Churching Of America 1776–2005: Winners And Losers In Our Religious Economy By Roger Finke And Rodney Stark, Charles Salmon
Book Review: The Churching Of America 1776–2005: Winners And Losers In Our Religious Economy By Roger Finke And Rodney Stark, Charles Salmon
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Finding The Way Forward: George Gill Hunter, Iii, Ronald K. Crandall
Finding The Way Forward: George Gill Hunter, Iii, Ronald K. Crandall
Great Commission Research Journal
Ron Crandall recounts some of the significant personal transitions, achievements, and contributions to evangelism and church growth made by his long time colleague. This brief “inside story” captures some of both the professional and personal life of this world-class scholar, and reveals his passionate pursuit to help thousands of churches and millions of secular and disenchanted peoples “find the way forward.” Never content to only talk about evangelism, George Hunter is portrayed as employing every gift available to equip the Church for its apostolic mission to spread the power of “Christ in us, the hope of glory.”
Book Review: The Recovery Of A Contagious Methodist Movement By George G. Hunter, Iii, Randy Willis
Book Review: The Recovery Of A Contagious Methodist Movement By George G. Hunter, Iii, Randy Willis
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
The Shaping Of Things To Come: Innovation And Mission For The 21st Century Church By Michael Frost And Alan Hirsch, Jihoon Lee
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: Being The Church In A Multi-Ethnic Community: Why It Matters And How It Works By Gary L. Mcintosh And Alan Mcmahan, Jeffrey Medina
Book Review: Being The Church In A Multi-Ethnic Community: Why It Matters And How It Works By Gary L. Mcintosh And Alan Mcmahan, Jeffrey Medina
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Reaching Secular Peoples: A Review Of The Books Of George G. Hunter, Iii, Gary L. Mcintosh
Reaching Secular Peoples: A Review Of The Books Of George G. Hunter, Iii, Gary L. Mcintosh
Great Commission Research Journal
“Reaching Secular Peoples: A Review of the Books of George G. Hunter III” traces the development of the author’s thought through his eighteen books (as of June 2011). The review demonstrates that Hunter is the primary interpreter of classic church growth thought to those in the Wesleyan tradition, but he also ably speaks to members of the larger Christian family across all theological spectrums with a spirit of grace, cooperation, and collegiality. While his early books, written between 1971 and 1980, communicated insights from the emerging Church Growth movement to Wesleyans (particularly the people called Methodists), his later books demonstrate …
The North American Church Journey: Lessons We Are Learning, Daryl K. Thompson
The North American Church Journey: Lessons We Are Learning, Daryl K. Thompson
Great Commission Research Journal
The North American church is on a journey. It is a journey compelled by the church’s decline in the past half century. The primary lesson that is being learned on this journey is that mission catalyzes Christianity in a way that nothing else does. Western European Christendom has significantly influenced the North American church. This expression of Christianity drifted radically from the early churches missional clarity. The result was an anemic Christianity that saw little personal and societal transformation. Missionally-minded and outwardly-focused pastors are essential to helping the North American church recover its missional orientation.
A Holistic Good News: Missional, Effective Evangelism And Lessons Learned While Traveling In The Hoof Prints Of Wesley, Bob Whitesel
A Holistic Good News: Missional, Effective Evangelism And Lessons Learned While Traveling In The Hoof Prints Of Wesley, Bob Whitesel
Great Commission Research Journal
The Good News can be understood as the message of the missio Dei to which varying methods can be attached. Churches, however, often specialize in a specific part or method of that mission, e.g., helping the needy, emphasizing conversion, or promoting discipleship. This article suggests the Good News has yielded significant historical impact when churches embrace a comprehensive or holistic understanding of the Good News that includes three methodological components: establishing legitimacy by meeting the needs of non-believers, effectively facilitating conversion, and spiritual formation in small communal groups. Missional and effective evangelism nomenclature will be discussed in relation to this …