Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

My Journey In Church Growth, Bob Orr

Great Commission Research Journal

At the request of my good friend Gary McIntosh, I am going to recount my more than 40-year journey in the field of Church Growth.

Book Review: You Found Me By Rick Richardson, David C. Thiessen

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Innovation Crisis: Creating Disruptive Influence In The Ministry You Lead By Ted Esler, W. Handley Jr.

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Evangelism In A Skeptical World: How To Make The Unbelievable News About Jesus More Believable By Sam Chan, Cameron D. Armstrong

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Towards A Pentecostal Theology Of Praxis: A Case Study By John Mark Robeck, Norlan Josué Hernández

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: When Everything Is Mission By Denny Spitters And Matthew Ellison, Kenneth Nehrbass

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

About The Great Commission Research Network Spring 2022, David R. Dunaetz

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Contrasting The Faith Responses Of The Royal Official And Thomas In The Gospel Of John And Their Implications For Discipleship, Edward W. Watson

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

John pens his Gospel in such a way that, like his included characters who encounter Jesus, his readers are being confronted with the person of Jesus and the totality of his revelation. Also like the characters, John’s readers must make decisions regarding the divine truth being revealed through the gospel as they read the text and experience Jesus for themselves. This study examines the two characters of the royal official and Thomas in the Gospel of John, examining how each character responds to the testimony of Jesus and how their differing faith-responses provide instruction for modern discipleship.

Review Of Quoting Corinthians. By Edward Watson And Martin Culy, Cletus L. Hull, Iii

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Review of Quoting Corinthians. By Edward Watson and Martin Culy. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2018. 171 pp.

By Cletus Hull.

Review Of A Theology Of Hope: Contextual Perspectives In Korean Pentecostalism, By Sang Yun Lee, Robert S. Oh

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A Theology of Hope: Contextual Perspectives in Korean Pentecostalism. By Sang Yun Lee. Baguio City, Philippines: Asia Pacific Theological Seminary Press, 2018. xiv + 271 pp.

by Robert Oh.

Review Of A Pentecostal Commentary On Revelation By Jon K. Newton., Michael Blythe

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

A Pentecostal Commentary on Revelation (Pentecostal Old Testament and New Testament Commentaries). By Jon K. Newton. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2021. 426 pp.

Review by Michael Blythe

Review Of Pneumatology And Union: John Calvin And The Pentecostals, By Peter Ross, Audrey Mccormick

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

No abstract provided.

Azusa Street And The Lost Doctrine Of Humility, Michael Blythe

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

This article delves into original source material from the Azusa Street Revival to rekindle an awareness of the heavy emphasis that participants placed on humility as a deep and vibrant experience, both as a precondition for receiving the fullness of the Spirit and as an ongoing Pentecostal encounter. Re-lighting the Pentecostal fire is necessary to respond to the struggles of the movement in North America where disillusionment with “triumphalism” has created an uncertain future. Voices from the past and present echo the imperative that the Holy Spirit experience should be balanced by personal sacrifice. A revival of deep self surrender …

An Examination Of New Apostolic Movement Terminology: Correlating The Five-Fold Ministry And The Bureaucratic Management Model, Volker Krüger

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

There is a new understanding within the Pentecostal- Charismatic tradition of the five-fold ministry role as a concept for deploying effective leadership. The so-called New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement establishes an alternative approach within today’s Christianity, one that is noticeably different from the traditional leadership models in Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and the evangelical traditions. The model argues that churches and Christian ministries need effective leadership models that are theologically grounded in the doctrine of the offices of apostle and the five-fold ministry as described in the New Testament. The NAR model is a church governance concept that claims to be …

Spirit-Empowered Liturgy: The Role Of The Holy Spirit In Traditional Christian Worship, Seth Whitaker

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Sometimes perceived as dead ritual in contemporary Christian churches, liturgy provides a time-tested means of experiencing the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in corporate worship. When understood within its own historical use, liturgy, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, enables a community of faith to consistently remember and participate in God’s saving acts in history, culminating in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and actively look forward to the eschatological hope of Jesus’ return. Like the banks of a river, liturgy plays an important role to effectively facilitate the consistent and reliable movement of the Holy Spirit in …

Is Wisdom Silent?: Apophatic Glossolalia, Ryan Lytton

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Drawing on both similarities and disagreements between the apophatic theology of Dionysius and Gregory of Nazianzus, I will demonstrate how glossolalia can be better understood through the lens of apophatic theology. Gregory and Dionysius both recognize the failure of human language, but each follows that concept to a different conclusion. Dionysius switches from categories of knowledge to categories of experience and focuses the mystical life on ascetic practices in the hopes that they promote an experience of God’s presence. Pentecostals, with our emphasis on experience, often find a kinship with thinkers like Dionysius. In contrast, Gregory of Nazianzus switches from …

“Even The Dark Is Light To You”: Reconsidering The Doctrine Of Sin And The Problem Of Evil, Chris E. W. Green

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

How did evil come to be? Who is to blame for it? Why did God allow it to happen? Familiar answers, and the traditional doctrines that they represent, can and often have been understood—and perhaps more often misunderstood—to bad, even disastrous effects. So, after a brief sketch of the traditional Augustinian doctrine of evil as received through John Wesley’s teaching, which in one form or another shaped the deep structures of American Pentecostal theology and spirituality, I propose an alternative, one that holds that evil is truly nonsensical and so inexplicable; that no one is to blame for its advent, …

Editorial: 5 Year Assessment, Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

With the publication of last fall’s issue of Spiritus, we drew to a close the fifth year of publication since we rebooted the journal in 2017. The Editor, Dr. Jeff Lamp assess the progress and impact of the journal.

Front Matter: Spiritus 7.1 (Spring 2022), Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

Table of Contents and front matter.

Full Issue: Spiritus 7.1 (Spring 2022), Jeffrey S. Lamp

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

The full issue of the Spring 2022 issue of Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

With All Your Heart: An Ignatian Retreat In Lent, Office Of Mission

Office of Mission Publications

This booklet is designed as a resource for a 4-week spiritual retreat during Lent. It proposes scriptural suggestions for most days of the week, and includes a weekly review (or Examen) each Saturday. It is also designed to serve as a place where you can note things that emerge in prayer on a particular day, so that you can bring them into conversation with a retreat guide or spiritual director.

This year’s retreat takes place during the “Ignatian Year.” This celebration commemorates the 500th anniversary of the conversion of Saint Ignatius Loyola and the 400th anniversary of his canonization on …

Tears & Ashes: Three Ways Of Looking At The Recent Wildfires In The West, Vincent J. Miller

Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

As life in the Anthropocene unfolds ever more rapidly, what were once called “biblical” disasters — fires, floods, locusts, and whirlwinds — have become a daily reality. We watch anxiously as catastrophes occur, at least as much as our screens allow, but still go about our business: reading the next story in our newsfeed or wading into half-flooded subways to avoid being late for work. The problem we face is more difficult than mere inattentiveness: we need to cultivate a way of seeing adequate to the changed world being revealed in these catastrophes.

There Be Dragons: History And Meaning Of Dragon Imagery In Art (And Religion), Jim Lewis, Kenneth Steinbach, Josh Vana

Biblical and Theological Studies Faculty Works

Dr. Jim (James) Lewis joins Bethel University art student Josh Vana as he presents research on the historical roots of dragon imagery and symbolism in Asian and European art and how that informed the development of his displayed sculpture in the University Library. A conversation with Professors Kenneth Steinbach and Jim Lewis follows the presentation. Dr. Lewis explains the significance of the dragon motif as it finds it origins and meaning in Chinese culture in the 22:00 to 35:00 portion of the video. The panel discussion with all three presenters concludes the video starting at 48:09. The video is …

Beyond Academic Public Theology : Grassroots Asian Public Theology Of Religions And Reconciliation In Southeast Asian Burmese Context Of Buddhist Nationalism And Ethnic Conflict, David Thang Moe

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Allusion Or Illusion? : The Literary Relationship Between The Holiness Code And Other Pentateuchal Legal Corpora, Chelcent Fuad

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Abductive Argument From Depression And Anxiety To Christian Personal Holiness, Kelly Douglas Burchett

Masters Theses

The science on pathological depression and anxiety (D&A) describes religion and spirituality's (R/S) insulating and immunizing effects in roughly 72 to 85 percent of all relevant articles. But the descriptivism of science cannot assign any normative value to a theological worldview. Deductive logic favors theism via Leibnizian contingency, Kalām cosmology, objective morality, fine-tuning of the universe, and abstract conceptualism. The information in DNA, the irreducible complexity of intracellular machinery, the improbability of folded proteins, and the support for common modular design over common ancestry establish a design inference for all of life. Unguided naturalistic simulations fail to surmount the complexity …

Rescue Mission: Transformational Recovery Through Expository Preaching And Teaching, David Allen Mayes Ii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The declining church stands in desperate need of regeneration, recovery, and revitalization. The primary goal for this thesis project is to lead Unity Missionary Baptist Church to a Christ-oriented, gospel-centered, and fruit-focused ministry. This endeavor implements an eight-week reconciling gospel program consisting of the sermon series Rescue Mission, eight small group discussions focused on the early church in the book of Acts, and forty-eight devotional verses for the congregation to experience spiritual growth and health. The church will discover that God’s Declaration is essential for a kingdom ministry. Ultimately becoming doers of the Word and not simply hearers. The quantitative …

What We Mean When We Say "Religion": The Q'Ero Migrants Of Cusco, Peru, Autumn J. Delong, Mirtha Irco

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

This article is based upon ethnographic research conducted with Q’ero Indigenous migrants living in Cusco, Peru in the fall of 2018. The Q’ero community originates from the village of Paucartambo and the surrounding areas, about a three days’ trek northeast of the city. These stories collected from the migrants emphasize the centrality of their spirituality and worldview in defining their sense of identity apart from that of greater society. In their rituals, these migrants draw upon an experience of the sacred which is manifest through performance, discipline, and practice – often more so than through belief, faith, or intellectualism. Based …

Caregivers Need Care, Too: Conceptualising Spiritual Care For Migrant Caregivers-Transnational Mothers, Ma. Adeinev M. Reyes-Espiritu

Theology Department Faculty Publications

Growing research revolving around the plight of (Philippine) migrant domestic workers is noteworthy. However, the focus is largely on their role, capacity and identity as caregivers, meaning as labour migrants and transnational mothers engaged in both paid and unpaid care work. Building on the “care circulation” framework of Baldassar and Merla that conceptualises care as given and received in varying degrees by all family members across time and distance, this paper takes up the task of recognising migrant domestic workers as care receivers. In a particular way, this paper conceptualises care for migrant caregivers-transnational mothers that is based on a …

Zen And The Art Of Resistance: Some Preliminary Notes, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

In the Western and oftentimes Asian imagination, Buddhism generally—and Zen more specifically—is understood as being resolutely disengaged, attaching itself to a form of awakening that is not only, as the classical phrase has it “beyond words and letters,” but in the modern summation by D. T. Suzuki, perfectly compatible with any and all forms of political and economic “dogmatism,” whether capitalist, communist, socialist, or fascist. Of course, as numerous scholars have shown over the past century, on the level of historical actuality, Buddhist and Zen teachers and institutions have long participated in (usually hegemonic) economic and political structures. The …