Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Empire, Eschatology And Stolen Land, Allen G. Jorgenson

Luther Faculty Publications

In this article I propose that empire be countered by a revised understanding of eschatology. I first explore the idea of an eschatology of space, wherein the notion of eschatos as limit is advanced. I then revisit a temporal understanding of eschatology illumining the theme of the pause, or rest. This Sabbath theme, in concert with attentiveness to space, is then brought to bear upon the primal North American experience of empire: the expropriation of aboriginal lands.

Volume 26, Number 1, Department Of Church Relations

Pacific Church News

Edited by Jerry Rushford

Summer 2010

Global Migration, The United States And Canada: A Great Commission Opportunity, J. D. Payne

Great Commission Research Journal

The history of the United States and Canada is a story of migration. While many waves of early migrants came from Christianized European countries, the past several decades have revealed many contemporary migrants coming from Asian, African, and Middle Eastern contexts where Evangelicals are small in number. While certainly there is a great influx of migrants from Latin American contexts, there are also large numbers of migrants coming to the U. S. and Canada representing some of the world’s least reached peoples. In this article, I attempt to describe their numbers and offer a theological and missiological response to this …

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 …

Unique Characteristics Of Church Planters: A Research Proposal, Francis A. Lonsway, Hutz H. Hertzberg

Great Commission Research Journal

This article is the second and concluding article derived from the doctoral research project on young, male church planters initiated by Hertzberg with statistical and analytical support by Lonsway. Its goal is to recap the major initiatives in the research on church planters in the evangelical tradition and to cite their strengths and limitations, to summarize the research design and findings from Hertzberg’s research using the researcher’s Church Planter Questionnaire and the Stage II Casebook of the ATS Profiles of Ministry Program, and to offer a set of recommendations to strengthen and broaden the research in this vital area of …

More Than Good Ideas: The Significance Of Planning In Scripture, Katie Dudgeon

Great Commission Research Journal

Planning often gets a bad rap in churches that are centered on God’s Word, even though planning helps us to be wise, be good stewards, and express our faith in God. This article focuses on the nature of biblical planning as seen in Scripture, as well as three specific instances in Scripture where planning was an essential element of accomplishing God’s purposes. We see that planning is not a twentieth century invention, but something that is core to who God is and how we express our faith in Him.

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 …

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: Leadership Next: Changing Leaders In A Changing Culture By Eddie G Ibbs, Parnell M. Lovelace Jr

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

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: 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.

Introduction, Alan Mcmahan

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

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 …

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: 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

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.

Dissertations And Theses Notices, Gary L. Mcintosh

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

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.

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.

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.

About The Great Commission Research Network, Alan Mcmahan

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

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.

The Holy Spirit: A Personal Member Of The Godhead, John Reeve

Memory, Meaning & Faith

No abstract provided.

Re-Constituting Phenomenology: Continuity In Levinas’ Accounts Of Time And Ethics, Neal Deroo

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

At the heart of Levinas’ work is an account of subjectivity that is premised on his account of temporality. In this regard, Levinas is like many other phenomenologists. However, in order to understand Levinas in this manner, we must first reconceive what Levinas means by ‘ethics’, so we can see the fundamental continuity in his accounts of subjectivity and temporality. By understanding the continuities, not just within but also between, Levinas’ ethical subject and his futural temporality, we are able to reconceive of the scope and method of phenomenology, so as to adequately assess Levinas’ influence in that discipline.

Science And The Cosmic And Trans-Cosmic Christ Of Scripture, Martin Hanna

Memory, Meaning & Faith

No abstract provided.

Migrants: Illegals Or God's Ambassadors?, Dean Brackley S.J.

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Cosmic Christ According To Matthew Fox, Martin Hanna

Memory, Meaning & Faith

No abstract provided.

The Integration Of The Volga Germans Into American Lutheranism, Richard Allen Davenport

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This paper traces the incorporation of Lutheran Volga Germans arriving in this country between 1870 and 1910 into American Christianity and identifies factors in their affiliation with American church bodies. It analyzes whether Lutheran bodies identified the Volga Germans as a distinct ethnic group among German immigrants in America and recognized the specific challenges and adaptations necessary to work among them. Where Volga German congregations were established, the factors which decided joining one denomination over another are explored. Specific theological, ecclesiastical, and cultural issues that determined whether a group of Volga Germans aligned with one church body versus another are …

The Relationship Of Depression With Intrinsic And Extrinsic Components Of Religiosity In The Older Adult Female, Jacqueline Anne Nuval

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this doctoral research was to determine whether religious activity and general health would predict depression in older adult women living alone in the community who are widowed, divorced, separated, or never married. Variables considered included intrinsic and extrinsic components of religiosity, level of depression, anxiety and panic attacks, general health, and a group of behaviors classified as Religious Attitudes and Behaviors (RAB), which considered importance of religion, religious participation, regularity of religious observance, and religious organization/social support. Components of extrinsic religiosity and intrinsic religiosity were measured by Intrinsic/Extrinsic – Revised (I/E-R). Levels of depression were measured by …