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Formed Together: A Value-Based Model Of Mutual Spiritual Formation For Pentecostal Pastors And Churches Under 500, W. T.A. Mcmillan

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock” (Acts 20:28) is both a warning and an invitation. It insists that the pastor's inner life and the congregation's shared life cannot be pulled apart without doing damage to both. This dissertation grows out of that conviction and out of years of pastoral ministry in Pentecostal churches where the pressure to perform often overwhelms the slow work of being formed. It asks a simple but searching question: How do Assemblies of God pastors serving congregations under 500 in attendance understand the connection between their own spiritual health and the spiritual …

Sanctified Rhythms Of Rest: Reclaiming Sabbath And Spiritual Retreat For Pastoral Renewal And Burnout Mitigation In The Georgia Assemblies Of God, Philip Sosebee

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

“Sanctified Rhythms of Rest: Reclaiming Sabbath and Spiritual Retreat for Pastoral Renewal and Burnout Mitigation in the Georgia Assemblies of God” explored how intentional rhythms of Sabbath observance, solitude and silence, and spiritual retreat shaped the lived experiences of credentialed ministers within the Georgia District of the Assemblies of God. Pastoral burnout, emotional exhaustion, and unsustainable ministry expectations continue to affect ministers across denominational contexts, raising questions regarding the role of biblically grounded rhythms of rest in fostering pastoral renewal and sustainability. Using a six-month longitudinal hermeneutic phenomenological design, twenty-nine credentialed ministers participated in the intentional practice of weekly Sabbath …

The Quest For Sacred Truth In A Secular Society What Is Fueling Gen Z’S Return To Faith And Church Attendance In America?, William W. Dornbush

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

This dissertation investigated the Critical Research Question: What are the key external factors influencing Generation Z’s internal quest for spiritual renewal? The study examined biblical, historical, and contemporary revival movements, including the Exodus, Pentecost, the Great Awakenings, the Jesus Movement, Charismatic Renewal, Brownsville, Toronto, and Asbury, to identify recurring patterns linking external pressures to spiritual awakening. Using a qualitative design, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with twelve Generation Z participants who experienced spiritual searching, renewal, or a deepened faith between 2020 and 2025, exploring how contemporary external pressures influence spiritual openness and transformation. The findings revealed six major themes: (1) …

The Evolution Of Faith-Based Cinema, Brittany L. Dewitt

Masters Theses

Screenwriting like any other form of writing is an art of storytelling. It is set apart from other forms of writing because an audience can experience the story come to life on screen. What makes for good, beautiful, and true as it relates to good screenwriting is the writer’s ability to not only weave a story together uniquely in a way that engages and connects the audience but doing so in a way that gives them something to discuss long after the film is over. I aim to do this in my own screenplay Forged in the Fire. As a …

School Choice And The Black Family: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Why Black Christian Parents Choose Public Schools, Rosalyn C. Gatling

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A lack of growth in enrollment is noticeable in Faith-based schools, even more so with black student enrollment in Christian schools (NCES, 2024). Black student enrollment continues to remain at a low percentage and has not increased in over 15 years, with leaders striving to discover solutions to elevate growth in the future and avert further enrollment loss, and stagnation (Harsh, 2018). The major reasons why black Christian parents choose public schools over Christian schools vary; therefore, the purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to discover the perspective of black Christian parents and what they believe are the major …

Examining Christian Hospital Chaplains’ Roles: Navigating Shifting Paradigms, Karen Y. Wilkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this heuristic phenomenological study was to explore how faith-based hospital chaplains negotiate their professional identity while serving non-religious clients. As hospital chaplaincy expands beyond traditional religious care, chaplains are increasingly expected to support the holistic well-being of patients from diverse religious, spiritual, and secular backgrounds. Guided by humanistic theory, role theory, and theory of meaning, this study examined how chaplains understand and fulfill their professional roles. Role theory informed the exploration of expectations placed on chaplains, while theory of meaning provided a framework for understanding how chaplains support patients’ meaning-making processes regardless of religious affiliation. Data were …

A Mixed-Method Investigation Into A Possible Correlation Between Forced Terminations Among Church Members, An Exodus Of Young Adults, And An Exponential Decay In Church Attendance, Chastity Selma Jhingree

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In the preservation of the biblical church, church members are mandated in the Face of God (Coram Deo) to feed all Christians with the Word of God. However, extant literature reveals a major crisis confronting the church: the exponential decay in church attendance. Therefore, the overarching question is: how can church members feed on and receive the Word of God when church attendance continues to decline? Forced terminations and an exodus of young adults from the church were examined in an investigation to determine whether they significantly contributed to the decline in church attendance. A mixed-methods research design was used …

From Source And Summit To Parish Practice: A Qualitative Analysis Of Eucharist And Social Outreach, Erik Sorensen S.J.

Journal of Global Catholicism

A small-scale qualitative study in a Catholic parish situated in Ottawa, Canada,

offers insights into the complex relationship between that community’s worship

and its commitment to social justice. This article brings the lived theology of

this community into dialogue with the academic and magisterial perspectives

on the Eucharist as the source and summit of Christian life. The dialogue is

framed by the Theological Action Research Network’s four voices of theology:

operant, espoused, formal, and normative. This framework helps to center the

marginalized theology of the faithful in the pews. In this case, the parish of-

fered a dynamic theology of …

“Ite Missa Est”: How Can The Altar Alter Attitudes And Actions?, Ebenezer Akesseh

Journal of Global Catholicism

This paper brings into focus the relationship between personal agency and so-

cial structure, demonstrating that what we celebrate on the altar forms within

us the proper dispositions that can help prevent the occurrence of corruption.

The first part examines corruption from a socio-cultural perspective and ex-

plains the incidence and effects of corruption. The second part discusses the

relationship between worship and the formation of actions and attitudes. It

highlights the need to embody the social implications of our celebrations. Using

responses from interviewees, the third part illustrates that the celebration of the

Eucharist shapes the commitments and conduct …

The Lived Liturgical Experience Of Non-Catholic Participants In The Roman Catholic Mass: Tactical Ecumenism In Overlapping Ritual Systems, Sarah Kathleen Johnson

Journal of Global Catholicism

In religiously diverse social contexts, liturgical practices anchored in one reli-

gious tradition often gather diverse communities. In such contexts, it is wise to

assume that people who are not Catholic may be present at any Roman Cath-

olic Mass. This article explores the lived liturgical experience of non-Catholic

Christians who participate routinely in the Roman Catholic Mass through a

mixed-methods study of a religiously diverse treble vocal ensemble that sings

weekly at Mass on a Catholic university campus. It describes how Catholic and

non-Catholic Christian singers interpret practices surrounding the eucharistic

meal in contrasting ways: non-Catholic Christians experience the …

La Santa Muerte And The Characteristic Damage Of Canonization, Ellen Webber

Journal of Global Catholicism

Devotion to La Santa Muerte, a Mexican folk saint who personifies Death, has

been condemned by the Catholic Church for its affiliation with Mexican drug

cartels. This article challenges mainstream interpretations of La Santa Muerte

devotion using the theological framework of characteristic damage, as defined

by Lauren Winner and Paul J. Griffiths. This framework understands liturgy

as celebrated by sinners in a damaged world, and therefore necessarily damaged

itself. As much as liturgy and Christian practice form us for good, they also per-

petuate damage. I argue that the sins present in La Santa Muerte veneration are

an expression of …

Negotiating Plurality: Korean Catholic Funerals As Lived Religion, Jieun Han

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article examines Korean Catholic funeral rites through the lenses of ritual

guidebooks and lived religion, arguing that Catholic funerary practice in Korea

has emerged through sustained engagement with Confucian and Buddhist tradi-

tions as well as modern nationalism. Focusing on Catholic manuals such as the

Sangjang yesik [Rites for Mourning and Funerals] and related texts, it traces how

officially sanctioned liturgical forms coexist with, accommodate, and reinterpret

indigenous ritual logics surrounding mourning, burial, ancestor veneration, and

care for the dead. Rather than viewing Korean Catholic funerals as a simple

localization of Roman rites, the article conceptualizes them as a …

Editor's Introduction, Brent H. Otto S.J.

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Religion And Economics: The Economic Views Of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia Ii Of Georgia, Giuli Giguashvili

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The paper examines the impact of religion on a country’s economic development, analyzing how religious values and institutions influence economic behavior. The research employs a qualitative, comparative, and historical approach based on the systematic analysis of primary and secondary sources. Religion can promote economic growth by strengthening work ethics, education, and social order. Still, it may also hinder development through inefficient resource allocation and regulatory influence. In the context of the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in Georgia, the study highlights the relationship between Orthodox teaching and economic thought. Drawing on the epistles and sermons of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, …

Solidarity In Action: Social Service Of Caritas Organizations In Ukraine In Wartime, Andrii Marchenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article is devoted to the analysis of the activities of Caritas charitable organizations in Ukraine, which are affiliated with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (Caritas Ukraine) and the Roman Catholic Church (Caritas-Spes Ukraine), in the realities of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Particular attention is focused on considering how the fundamental ideas of Christian love, mercy, common good, and solidarity are embodied in the various practices of humanitarian, spiritual, and other support that these institutions provide to different categories of the population of Ukraine, especially those who have suffered from the destructive consequences of the war. Types of such support include, …

The Orthodox Church Of Georgia In A Shifting Political Landscape: Long Traditions, The Holy Patriarchate And Geopolitics Between The European Union And Russia, Elina Mirjam Siekkinen

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This paper examines the geopolitical and societal effects of the 2026 patriarchal succession within the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC), by analyzing how the recent election of Catholicos-Patriarch Shio III on May 11, 2026, impacts Georgia’s European Union integration efforts. The GOC is seen as the foundation of Georgian national identity and state legitimacy, also deeply rooted in the legacy of the late Patriarch Ilia II. The enthronement of the new Patriarch Shio III may reinforce the anti-Western narratives deployed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has actively delayed Georgia’s EU accession through illiberal policies such as the "Foreign Agents …

When Everything Falls Apart: On Core Values, Religion, And What Holds Societies Together, András Máté-Tóth

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Right now my region, like much of the world, is living through upheavals that reach both nature and politics at their foundations. When I look around and take the political crises seriously — the mass protests in Serbia, the long erosion of checks and balances in Hungary, the bitter fight over the courts and the rule of law in Poland — one question keeps surfacing: are we witnessing genuinely fundamental change, or only a reshuffling on the surface of power? That question is exactly what makes the problem of core values so urgent, and so current.

To Heal Or To Harm: Scripture’S Use As Poison Or Medicine For Abuse Survivors, Felicia Cindyana

Salubritas: International Journal of Spirit-Empowered Counseling

No abstract provided.

Social Psychology In Christian Perspective: Exploring The Human Condition, Donna Sharp

Salubritas: International Journal of Spirit-Empowered Counseling

No abstract provided.

Healthy Calling: From Toxic Burnout To Sustainable Work, Kathy Hoppe

Salubritas: International Journal of Spirit-Empowered Counseling

No abstract provided.