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Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons™
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Articles 421 - 450 of 470
Full-Text Articles in Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Church Movements Of The Last Fifty Years In North America, Gary L. Mcintosh
Church Movements Of The Last Fifty Years In North America, Gary L. Mcintosh
Great Commission Research Journal
Over the last half-century, four major movements have arisen in an effort to stem the tide of decline in church attendance within North America. The Church Renewal Movement, Church Growth Movement, Emerging Church Movement, and Missional Movement have offered different approaches to engaging lost people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This article presents an overview of these major movements and the numerous sub-movements within each and suggests five insights and seven questions that emerge from their interplay.
Book Review: The Missional Church And Leadership Formation: Helping Congregations Develop Leadership Capacity By Craig Van G Elder, Ed., Scott D. Edgar
Book Review: The Missional Church And Leadership Formation: Helping Congregations Develop Leadership Capacity By Craig Van G Elder, Ed., Scott D. Edgar
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: When The Church Was A Family: Recapturing Jesus’ Vision For Authentic Christian Community By Joseph H. Hellerman, James A. Borland
Book Review: When The Church Was A Family: Recapturing Jesus’ Vision For Authentic Christian Community By Joseph H. Hellerman, James A. Borland
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
An Unromantic Yet Strategic Side Of Missions, Ivan Chung
An Unromantic Yet Strategic Side Of Missions, Ivan Chung
Great Commission Research Journal
International students represent an often-forgotten group in diaspora missions, but have an incredible potential for global and local impact, as well as ministries among international students. This article introduces the cultural, social, and spiritual potential of international students and ministries among them, and suggests strategies as to why and how they can impact the world on many different levels.
Book Review: Invitation To World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology For The Twenty-First Century By Timothy C. Tennent, Edward L. Smither
Book Review: Invitation To World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology For The Twenty-First Century By Timothy C. Tennent, Edward L. Smither
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.
Donald Mcgavran’S Theological Foundations For “Effective Evangelism”, Jeff K. Walters
Donald Mcgavran’S Theological Foundations For “Effective Evangelism”, Jeff K. Walters
Great Commission Research Journal
From its inception, the Church Growth Movement, as espoused by its “father,” Donald A. McGavran, was focused on “effective evangelism.” The purpose of this article is to identify McGavran’s theology of evangelism as revealed in his published writings. While he may never have delineated a precise theology of evangelism, one can find in McGavran’s writings an orthodox, if sometimes incomplete, system regarding the working of God in the salvation of men and women. The article investigates McGavran’s views on Scripture, the content and proclamation of the gospel, and on key soteriological issues.
Teaching For Transformation, Michael L. Wilson
Teaching For Transformation, Michael L. Wilson
Great Commission Research Journal
The center of Christianity began in Jerusalem in the Middle East, then shifted to Europe and then expanded to include North America. In the last three decades the center of Christianity as measured by the number of adherents to the faith has shifted from North America and Europe to South America and Africa. Some of the largest churches in Europe currently were founded by church planters from Africa. Now the shift is back to the Middle East where it all began as millions of Muslims are trusting Christ through visions and other signs and wonders. Conversely the Church in North …
Rethinking Missiology In The Context For The 21st Century: Global Demographic Trends And Diaspora Missiology, Enoch Wan
Great Commission Research Journal
New orientations are required of practitioners/researchers in formulating mission strategy and conducting missiological research in the context of the 21st Century due to the global demographic trends of internal migration to the city and international immigration to countries of the Northwest region. In addition, the center of Christianity has shifted from the Northern hemisphere towards the south and from the post-Christian west to elsewhere; thus new approaches are required. Diaspora missiology will be presented as an alternative to the traditional orientations of farming analogy (e.g. church planting and church growth), territorialization (e.g. home vs. foreign missions, sending vs. receiving) and …
When Euangelion Met Apologia: An Examination Of The Mind’S Role In Conversion And The Value Of Apologetics In Evangelism, Adam W. Greenway
When Euangelion Met Apologia: An Examination Of The Mind’S Role In Conversion And The Value Of Apologetics In Evangelism, Adam W. Greenway
Great Commission Research Journal
The purpose of this essay is to explore the contributions apologetics can make to the evangelistic task by examining in detail the role the mind plays in conversion. The first section of the essay is concerned with understanding the nature of the gospel message as shared in an evangelistic encounter. The positive response of saving faith and belief, and its counterpart, the negative response of unbelief, are explored in detail. Of particular significance here is the question of whether or not in a gospel encounter a response of unbelief (i.e., “I don’t believe in heaven, the Bible,” etc.) is primarily …
Book Review: Evangelism Handbook: Biblical, Spiritual, Intentional, Missional By Alvin Reid, Chuck Lawless
Book Review: Evangelism Handbook: Biblical, Spiritual, Intentional, Missional By Alvin Reid, Chuck Lawless
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: Thy Kingdom Connected: What The Church Can Learn From Facebook, The Internet, And Other Networks By Dwight J. Freisen, Doug Wilson
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: The Leadership Ellipse: Shaping How We Lead By Who We Are By Robert A. Fryling, Jere Phillips
Book Review: The Leadership Ellipse: Shaping How We Lead By Who We Are By Robert A. Fryling, Jere Phillips
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Leadership Transfer Awakens Dormant Dilemmas In A Multi Ethnic Church: Correctives From Church Planting, Elizabeth Childs Drury
Leadership Transfer Awakens Dormant Dilemmas In A Multi Ethnic Church: Correctives From Church Planting, Elizabeth Childs Drury
Great Commission Research Journal
This case study examines the six-month transition to a new pastor for a multiethnic, multicongregational church near Washington, DC. It describes four dilemmas that emerged and proposes correctives from church-planting literature, particularly the facilitative approach of Tom Steffen (and principles from Donald McGavran and David Garrison). First, the ownership dilemma asks how a multiethnic church can achieve genuine mutuality among varied cultural groups and suggests the need for chronological Bible teaching. Second, the identity dilemma asks how deeply individual pastors and congregations need to agree on matters of governance and doctrine, and how non-negotiables can best be communicated. It insists …
Book Review: Promise And Peril: Understanding And Managing Change And Conflict In Congregations By David R. Brubaker, Darren Cronshaw
Book Review: Promise And Peril: Understanding And Managing Change And Conflict In Congregations By David R. Brubaker, Darren Cronshaw
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Dissertations And Theses Notices, Gary L. Mcintosh
Dissertations And Theses Notices, Gary L. Mcintosh
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: Deep Preaching: Creating Sermons That Go Beyond The Superficial By Kent J. Edwards, Lloyd Grant
Book Review: Deep Preaching: Creating Sermons That Go Beyond The Superficial By Kent J. Edwards, Lloyd Grant
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: The Hip Hop Church: Connecting With The Movement Shaping Our Culture By Efrem Smith And Phil Jackson, Robert W. Strong
Book Review: The Hip Hop Church: Connecting With The Movement Shaping Our Culture By Efrem Smith And Phil Jackson, Robert W. Strong
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: Christianity Encountering World Religions: The Practice Of Mission In The Twenty-First Century By Terry Muck And Frances S. Adeney, Will Brooks
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
From 35,000 To 15,000 Feet: Evangelical Statistics In The U.S. And Canada: A State/Province, Metro And County Glimpse, J. D. Payne
From 35,000 To 15,000 Feet: Evangelical Statistics In The U.S. And Canada: A State/Province, Metro And County Glimpse, J. D. Payne
Great Commission Research Journal
Identifying the areas of the greatest evangelical need in the U.S. and Canada, this paper is designed to help churches and denominations take seriously the realities presented and to make any necessary adjustments in their church multiplication strategies to better extend the Kingdom into areas where few are laboring. This article is to be used in conjunction with an extensive corresponding PowerPoint presentation (10MB) showing evangelical statistics in selected places of the United States and Canada. The presentation may be downloaded for free from the Articles section at www.NorthAmericanMissions.org under the title “From 35,000 to 15,000 Feet: Evangelical Statistics in …
Book Review: Ignite: How To Spark Immediate Growth In Your Congregation By Nelson Searcy With Jennifer Dykes Henson, James Cho
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Dissertations And Theses Notices, Gary L. Mcintosh
Dissertations And Theses Notices, Gary L. Mcintosh
Great Commission Research Journal
No abstract provided.
Introduction, Alan Mcmahan
Hispanic Ministry Where Language Is No Barrier: Church Growth Among U.S.-Born, English-Dominant Latinos, Daniel Rodriguez
Hispanic Ministry Where Language Is No Barrier: Church Growth Among U.S.-Born, English-Dominant Latinos, Daniel Rodriguez
Great Commission Research Journal
During the past one hundred fifty years of mission and ministry among Latinos in the United States, most denominational and local church leaders have assumed a “Spanish-speaking immigrant-church model.” This model still dominates the landscape of Hispanic ministries among evangelicals in the United States. Unfortunately, this model is generally not successful when targeting U.S.-born English-dominant Latinos. This study explores how linguistic, cultural and social-economic factors have re-shaped ministry paradigms and practices in several churches across the country that traditionally targeted foreign-born Spanish-dominant Latinos but now also successfully target U.S.-born English-dominant Latinos.
A Process Model For Church Change As Reflected In St. Thomas’ Anglican Church, Sheffield, England, Bob Whitesel
A Process Model For Church Change As Reflected In St. Thomas’ Anglican Church, Sheffield, England, Bob Whitesel
Great Commission Research Journal
This article is an abbreviation of research originally presented to Dr. Eddie Gibbs, Donald McGavran Professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary. Gibbs has been involved with the church under study for over two decades and lauded the author’s research. The research indicates a five-stage/four-trigger process model of change that may serve as an ecclesial prototype for effective change. The article is presented here in honor of Dr. Eddie Gibbs on his retirement.
Building Bridges Of God During Calamity: Lessons Learned From India, Gary L. Mcintosh
Building Bridges Of God During Calamity: Lessons Learned From India, Gary L. Mcintosh
Great Commission Research Journal
The Church Growth Movement has historically placed a priority on evangelism over that of social action. From a church growth perspective, if social action takes priority, evangelism is eventually lost amid the numerous good things that a church can do. In contrast the thinking of the missional church declares it is possible keep evangelism and social action in balance with neither gaining a priority edge. Using a real story from the missionary life of Donald McGavran’s father, John G. McGavran, this article illustrates that when social action does, as it often must, take first place over evangelism, effectiveness in evangelism …
Changing Paradigms Of Evangelism: Three Generational Views, Elmer Towns
Changing Paradigms Of Evangelism: Three Generational Views, Elmer Towns
Great Commission Research Journal
This paper attempts to summarize the overarching movements of evangelism in the past 70 years in the United States, most of which this author has personally observed and influenced. While there has always been evangelism in various expressions and to some degree, certain expressions of evangelism have been more effective than others. The primary emphasis of evangelism has gone from soul-winning evangelism (pre-1950), to Church Growth evangelism (1960–1990), to missional evangelism (2000-to the present). Each of these categories will be explored with concluding observations made as to the continued import of evangelism as a priority.
The Conversations Of Our Times, Bill Easum
The Conversations Of Our Times, Bill Easum
Great Commission Research Journal
The changes in what the church is and what the church does is explored in this article. These changes are the result of the challenges that have descended on culture in the 21st Century. In the midst of these challenges several conversations are taking place that Christian leaders can’t afford to ignore because each one challenges the fabric of Western Christianity as we know it today. With the goal of reporting what is at stake six budding movements are explored: Emergent, Incarnational, Organic, Reproductive, Missional and Sim Card. Each is summarized with a short explanation as to their potential impact …
A Return To Our Roots: 1st Century Church Growth In The 21st Century, Robert E. Logan
A Return To Our Roots: 1st Century Church Growth In The 21st Century, Robert E. Logan
Great Commission Research Journal
This paper reviews the history of the church growth movement with the underlying question: Can such happen in the 21st Century? The origination of the church growth movement is explored with a challenge to recontextualize the posture of church growth initiatives. A key to this process is the development of leaders through both missional and relational processes. Returning to our missional roots and becoming more and more incarnational as we walk alongside the next generation of leaders will have historic impact not only for church, but for the world, for the marketplace, and for all the new ways God may …
Church Growth: A Holiness Perspective, Christopher Mark Baldwin
Church Growth: A Holiness Perspective, Christopher Mark Baldwin
Great Commission Research Journal
The purpose of this article is to outline the Holiness Perspective on Church Growth. Some may be tempted to think of Church Growth and Holiness as mutually exclusive ideas. This article attempts to bring these concepts together. This is accomplished through biblical, theological, and historical foundations. The biblical foundation is based on the church of Antioch and the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth. The theological foundation focuses on three aspects: missio Dei, Incarnation, and kingdom of God. The historical foundations outline a number of church planting strategies used throughout the history of the church.