Theses/Dissertations from 2024
Developing a Leadership Model That Encourages Racial Equity in the Church, Karen J. Beaumont
This project, Developing a Leadership Model that Encourages Racial Equity in the Church, brings the reader to a place of real contemplation over personal quandaries regarding racism in this country, as well as current leadership practice in...
Bridging the Gap: Effective Strategies to Engage Emerging Adults in the Church, Tara P. Bulger
This study intended to identify effective strategies to engage emerging adults in the church because research and the researcher’s experience noticed a decline in emerging adults’ attendance in church. This led to the exploration of scriptu...
Transformational Leadership Characteristics of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, Marie E. Hofmann
This thesis examines how Skanderbeg utilized transformational leadership principles. To identify Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg’s leadership characteristics, the researcher used a qualitative interpretive biography, a subcategory of narrative ...
Restorative Practices Lead to Turnaround: Presbyterian Churches in Nebraska, Regina Claudette Jeanpierre-Bryant
This thesis project examines the Gospel of Luke for restorative practices Jesus used when ministry was hard. Jesus is projected in this study as a self-differentiated leader who was victorious in His ministry because He relied on the Holy S...
The Role of a Leader: Establishing Psychological Safety in the Church, Gaylen Sheree Pearl Jones
Abuse is an intentional attempt to cause harm to others. Within any environment there is the possibility of abuse; abuse can be physical, sexual, psychological, and more. This project addressed the phenomena of psychological safety in the c...
Ministry Formation: An African American Pastor's Perspective on the Use of Non-Seminary and Secular Work Training for Pastoral Leadership, Jerry Kelvin Maynard
In contemporary society, the role of pastors and religious leaders is crucial in guiding communities towards spiritual growth and providing support during times of hardship. However, the traditional path to becoming a pastor typically invol...
Diversity and Inclusion in Historical White Church: The Great Experiment, Deborah J. Roberts-Carter
This research project addresses the concern of minorities receiving spiritual growth from church leaders. This research project presents how a church accepted the challenge of removing segregation within the church's wall and moving towards...
Christian Leadership Development: A Christian Leadership Development Curriculum to Increase Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Using A Multifauceted Approach, Molly Katherine Schroeder
This study delved into the need for, design, and evaluation of a Christian Leadership Development curriculum aimed explicitly at increasing Emotional Intelligence among leaders within the Christian faith through a multifaceted approach that...
Effective Practices in the Pulpit Ministry That Mitigate Ecclesial Adoption of Popular Culture Among Converge Worldwide Churches in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Titus W. Wanyonyi
This study sought to address the need for effective practices in the pulpit ministry that would mitigate ecclesial adoption of popular culture. To achieve this goal, the researcher carried out a review of the host cultures of the 1st centur...
Theses/Dissertations from 2023
Paul's Approach to Social Superiority in the Corinthian Church Applied to Racial Superiority in the 21st Century Church, Michael R. Burns
This study aimed to create a model to guide multiracial churches through a process of engaging effectively in the type of equity imagined in Scripture. Paul’s letter, 1 Corinthians, was examined to determine his response to the social syste...
Narrative Theology in an African Context, Rebecca Makanyara Chizema-Makayi
The African Shona have yet to find a religion that accepts and cherishes their spiritual and cultural heritage. A theology that accommodates their social and cultural progress while allowing them to express their cultural evolution and prac...
Adaptive Leadership and Crisis Management, Sarah A. Crippen
March 2020 introduced the world to a crisis unlike any seen in modern times. This crisis was the COVID-19 pandemic with its increased morbidity and high rates of death. It disrupted all aspects of society including global economies and heal...
The Difficulties Pastors Face in Shepherding the Unregenerate Within Their Congregations, Michael S. Deckman
Pastors can face difficulties when trying to shepherd unregenerate people in their congregations. This qualitative case study investigated the characteristics of the difficulties and what effects they can have on pastors. A biblical and the...
A Model for Transformational Leadership Development in Urban Ministry Contexts, Charles A. Hunt
The context of this thesis project, “A Model for Transformational Leadership Development in Urban Ministry Contexts,” is the Beloved Community Cooperative Ministry (BCCM) in Baltimore, Maryland. The BCCM was formed in July 2020 and is compr...
Understanding the Relationship Between Mental Health and Spiritual Warfare for Pastoral Care Ministry, Donna E. Johnson
This thesis paper discussed the ways to understand the relationship between mental health and spiritual warfare for people who are providing pastoral care ministry. It analyzes three biblical characters who may have appeared to have suffere...
Forgotten Grievers: Perspectives on Childhood Grief in the Baptist Church in Kenya, Esther Wambui Kiarie
This project was aimed at developing a ministry care model for grieving children for the Baptist church in Nairobi, Kenya. Three Baptist churches with an active children’s ministry were identified. A study of the spiritual support available...
Character Formation and its Place in Leadership Development: An Examination of the Leadership Development Practices of Advent Christian Churches in North America, Matthew William Larkin
This study addressed the lack of understanding of the core components of a character formation strategy that could be employed in a leadership development model by the Advent Christian churches in North America. This qualitative study emplo...
The Impact of Online and Hybrid Ministry on Small Traditional Churches, Patreza D. Newton
The present study addressed the lack of insight regarding the impact of technology on the small church. The mixed method research for this project took a case study approach that also included the analysis of the biblical and theological fo...
Shared Leadership as a Tool for Leadership Development in Multicultural Congregations, Darryl E. Seay
This project studied shared leadership in multicultural congregations to determine if it serves as a tool for leadership development. There is limited empirical data on shared leadership in multicultural congregations and even less on the u...
Exploring the Need for Non-shame Based Therapeutic Approaches for the Treatment of Pornography Addiction, Mina Shaheid
This research underscores that pornography addiction is an addictive disorder that poses extremely serious threats to the lives and wellbeing of many people worldwide. Pornography addiction is a type of sexual addiction characterized by it ...
A Case Study of Limitation Awareness Concerning Converge North Central Senior Pastors, Adam Sidler
Considering the obstacles Senior Pastors face within their churches, “A Case Study of Limitation Awareness Concerning Converge North Central Senior Pastors” is a project to address the following research questions: (1) To what level are Con...
Supporting Foster Parents in Order to Prevent Burnout, Tara L. Tulberg
The researcher sought to understand how to effectively support foster parents in order to prevent burnout. As a result, the researcher explored a theology of foster care, reviewed current literature on how foster parents develop family life...
Theses/Dissertations from 2022
Parenting During a Pandemic: Exploring the Experience of Evangelical Parents Cultivating a Spiritual Orthodoxy in Their Children During the Covid-19 Quarantine, Joseph E. Brown
Beginning in March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic forced evangelical parents to adjust their parenting and Christian discipleship. With in-person gatherings limited, families and churches had to reorient to more isolation and less community. Th...
The Pastor: From Calling to Competency, Sheila C. Carpenter
Elucidation of pastoral competency is a complicated subject, but, a necessary and important aspect of servant leadership for pastors, and congregants. Competency outcomes and criterion measurement (what is pastoral competency and how it is ...
Latinas in Leadership in Latino Churches and Christian Organizations, Luz N. Gálvez de Figueroa
This study addressed the lack of understanding of transformational leadership characteristics and skills used by Latinas serving in Latino churches and Christian organizations in the United States. This qualitative research took a case stud...
Suicide Prevention for The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, Tiffany M. Manor
The problem that this research addressed is the lack of a Lutheran training framework for suicide prevention in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) in which ministers learn to identify and respond to congregants and colleagues who h...
Burnout, Timeout, and Fallout: A Qualitative Study of Why Pastors Leave Ministry, Trisha R. Peach
There is a lack of understanding of what factors are contributing to pastoral attrition in the Assemblies of God. In response to this problem, the researcher investigated the ministry and training of Moses and Paul. The researcher studied r...
Spiritual Needs Outcomes in Faith-Based Nonprofits, Ambri Refer
The researcher observed that faith-based nonprofits frequently report on tangible needs met but have failed to report on spiritual needs that are attended to. These spiritual needs can include prayer, church referral, encouraging people to ...
An Effective Culturally Informed Model For Intergenerational Leadership Transfer In The Alliance Church Of Merced: A Qualitative Case Study, Thai Vang
The purpose of this study was to examine an effective, culturally informed model for intergenerational leadership transfer within the Alliance Church of Merced (ACOM) in Merced, California. The project consisted of a qualitative case study ...
Producing a Sustainable Discipleship Model Small African American Adventist Churches Can Incorporate, Victor Richard Timothy Wilson
This thesis presented a case for sustainable, post-baptismal discipleship in small, mostly African American Seventh-day Adventist churches in North America. By examining the prophetic tandem of Elijah and Elisha and the ministry of Jesus an...
Theses/Dissertations from 2021
Deaf Pastor Cohort: Self-Care for Deaf Pastors, Karen R. Bregman
The Researcher observed posts on social media from deaf pastors sharing their experiences of personal and professional struggles with suicide, depression, and mental health challenges with their close circle of pastors, colleagues, and cong...
Faith-Driven Impact Investing: Renewing a Belief that an Investment in Entrepreneurialism and Commerce is Central to God's Plan of Redemption and Human Flourishing, Jonathan Mark Halverson
This project addressed the need for a renewed belief among faith-driven investors that investments in redemptive businesses is central to God’s plan of redemption and biblical human flourishing. The explosive growth of values-aligned invest...
Best Practices for Transformational Discipleship in North Dakota Assembly of God Churches, Jack Donald Jones III
The researcher constructed this project to discover best practices for transformational discipleship in the local church. The researcher provided the theological and biblical framework for transformational discipleship from Romans 12, explo...
Recovering a Biblical Form of Spiritual Formation in Contemporary Pentecostal Churches, Ernest Ronald Krantz
The project addressed the problem of an inadequate theology of spiritual formation within the discipleship doctrine of a specific expression of North American Pentecostalism. The problem manifests most acutely at the local church level wher...
Healthy Parenting in the Family System, Brian Malvig
In the New Testament, there are several passages that illustrate the way in which Christians are to interact with each other. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, Romans 12:3-5, and Ephesians 4:4-5 the apostle Paul describes the connection Christians...
Investigating and Increasing the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Children’s Ministry at Victory Church of Melbourne, Florida, Stanley R. Patton
The purpose of this study was to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the children’s ministry at Victory Church of Melbourne, Florida, a growing multicultural and multigenerational church. Conversations with the children’s ministry ...
To Be Churched or Unchurched: The Millennial's Dilemma, Robert Phillips
This project will address the decline of the millennial generation’s church attendance within the 08033 zip code during the past decade. The statistical data was gathered by the author of this thesis through several one-on-one discussions w...
Happiness Groups as a Strategy for Transforming a Chinese Church from Attractional to Missional, Mingsheng Qin
This project established that the love of God is the foundation of mission and evangelism. God loves people and calls Christians to participate in His redemptive mission. God calls Christians to bless them and make them a blessing to others...
Ambition and Leading Teams Effectively, Nicholas R. Ruport
The problem that this project addressed was the impact of ambition and ambitious leaders in relation to team effectiveness. In response to this problem the researcher explored the biblical foundations of ambition and ambitious leadership, w...
Key Characteristics Empowering Sexual Abuse Victims to Survive Suicidality: A Collective Case Study, Sherri Stella
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. This qualitative, multi-case study investigated key characteristics that empowered sexual abuse victims to survive suicidality. A biblical review of the Book of Job and the Book of J...
Theses/Dissertations from 2020
The Impact of Presence and Touch on Church Growth, William Charles Berg
This project addresses the problem of discovering whether, when churches move to be physically present in their communities and engage in appropriate touch through serving, there is a corresponding impact in confession of faith and church g...
The Unity Process and Its Effectiveness in Decreasing Cross-Cultural Divisions in Society Due to Racism, Pamela Y. Fields
This paper dealt with determining the usefulness of The Unity Process as a tool in combatting the racial divisions in the Dallas metropolitan area. The case study qualitative method was utilized for this assessment. The research identified ...
The Loss of Baptist Identity: How the Loss of the Baptist Name Impacts Theological Identity, Josiah O. Hoagland
Throughout the United States, many Baptist churches have been following a recent trend of dropping “Baptist” from the church title. Research has shown that with the rise of post-denominationalism, there is a loss of identity in Baptist chur...
A Multiple Case Study: Participative Decision-Making in Four Black Indiana Churches, Michael S. Johnson
This research study looked at factors in participative decision-making that would balance congregational polity and pastoral authority. A multiple-case study was conducted with four Black Baptist churches in central Indiana. Fifteen partici...
Liturgical Drama in the Church: an Application of Daily Scriptural Living, Alma Lee Langley-Ward
The main purpose of this research was to study the validity of using liturgical drama as a vital tool of expression in helping to make Scripture come alive for the application and transformation of lives, first of those of the researcher’s ...
A Qualitative Analysis of Church Leadership Conflicts in Evangelical Churches in Northern Nigeria With a View to Building a Better Transformational Leadership Model, Timothy Danladi Nwan
The project addresses leadership conflicts among church leaders in evangelical churches in Nigeria with the view toward building a better transformational leadership model. To address these conflicts the project centered upon transformation...
The Role of Transformational Leadership in Preparing Youth as Future Church Leaders, Michael K. Paul
The membership of St. Peter's Episcopal Church has been on the decline. The most affected members of the church congregants are the youth. In return, this threatens the future of the ministry. The issue is mainly attributed to the failure o...
Discovering Counseling Methods That Military Chaplains Can Use To Increase Spiritual Resilience, Philip E. Ridley
The research conducted in this project revealed most military chaplains possess innate skills that are valuable to counseling. Combining these skills with proven counseling methods increase service members’ spiritual resilience. Military ch...
Video Church: The Effects of the Video Church Model on Christian Hospitality, Assad Mohammed Saif
Hospitality is fundamental to human spiritual growth. Jesus knew this. Therefore, Jesus spent much time seeking to encounter people in the spaces they naturally congregated in. God sent Jesus to come from heaven to earth to show people the ...
Discerning Best Practices for Multiethnic Church of Christ Mergers, Jordan T. Tatum
This project was aimed at discovering best practices for multiethnic Church of Christ mergers. Three churches were discovered that had formed by the merger of a White Church of Christ with a Black Church of Christ. A study of the multiethni...
Leadership Development in Grace Church: Adding Replication Culture Elements to Its Family Culture, Timothy N. Thomassian
This project addressed the problem of the lack of a systemic approach to developing potential leaders at Grace Church as it seeks to add replication-culture elements to its existing family culture. The problem was addressed in four steps: (...
Creator God, Humans, and Artificial Intelligence: Framework to Address Theological and Relational Issues, Tinku Thompson
Technological advancements are happening at an accelerated phase. Five decades ago, no one even owned a personal computer. A decade ago, smartphones did not exist. Today there are 2.71 billion smartphone users in the world, which is more th...
Cultivating Relational, Developmental and Missional Discipleship within a Lutheran Mega-Church, Richard Michael Webb
Over the last two decades, many Lutheran mega-churches have become stagnant or have begun to decline in worship attendance. Some have even closed their doors, not surviving past their founding leadership. Furthermore, few of these mega-chur...
Christ-Centered Leadership: The Formation of Millennials, Sean K. Wood
The problem this project addressed is the perceived lack of Christocentric leadership development among millennials of Canadian churches with over one thousand people in attendance. In response to this problem the researcher explored Christ...
Theses/Dissertations from 2019
Can You Hear Me Now? Effective Preaching in a Post-church Culture, Randall Dean Ahlberg
This project addressed the need for preaching principles that more effectively communicate to those living in the realities of our current cultural. In examining the sermons of the apostle Paul, it was evident that he significantly contextu...
Multiethnic and Missional: God’s Heart for an Integrated and Diverse Church, Justin Saul Hiebert
The American church is largely segregated and homogenous. This has not only stunted the growth of the church but led to an ineffective and limited mission vision. The contemporary American church must reclaim the biblical mandate to be both...
Can the Church of God Pursue Ethnic Diversity in Leadership?, Fijoy Linord Johnson
The Church of God denomination has more than seven million members in 185 nations and territories. More than 36,000 congregations serve around the world. The Church of God denomination has been in existence for 130 years and in its entire h...
Narratives Church: A Missional Church Planting Path For Cultivating a Unified Theological Vision, Mark Miller
This research project focused on the development of a unified theological vision for the missional movement with specific attention given to the United States. The researcher conducted a thorough investigation of Scripture and current bibli...
Diaspora, Migration, and Refugees in Europe: Developing Leadership within Multicultural Teams, Matthew S. Paschall
This research study addressed the challenge of developing leaders in the midst of the recent refugee crisis in Europe, historic waves of immigration, and ongoing global migration of diaspora peoples. Migration has led to unprecedented diver...
Awana Together: Empowering Parents as Spiritual Mentors for Their Children, Sara-Jane Heacox Sosa
The post-Christian culture in the United States presents a significant challenge to the spiritual growth of adults and children. At Plymouth Covenant Church, ministry leaders recognized that young parents often lacked a biblical foundation....
A Phenomenology of Authentic Leadership, Joshua J. Tilley
This thesis asks a question about what if feels like to experience authentic leadership. The purpose is to grasp the essence of authentic leadership as experienced through the lives of those who have served under and/or over those they perc...
Theses/Dissertations from 2018
In Humility: Developing Intercultural Competence Among Leaders of a Reconciliation Organization in Israel-palestine, Debra J. Bayes
The purpose of this research was to explore the need for intercultural competence development among leaders of a Christian reconciliation organization (Musalaha) in Israel-Palestine. Success in reconciliation work depends on many factors of...
Disciple-making: Key Ingredients for Building God’s Kingdom, Sid Emory
The first century Church was founded in response to the disciple-making processes of Jesus. His disciples were transformed by following Jesus in a way that obedience, transformation, community, education, worship, and the expansion of God’s...
The Need to Equip Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ Church Planters for Spiritual Warfare, David John Heinrich
The goal of this research project was to address the need for spiritual warfare training and equipping for church planters to be more efficient in mission within the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) movement. The research...
The Contributions of Spiritual Formation Questions to Redeeming the Shadow Side of Pastoral Identity, Natalie Hendrickson
There is a well-documented problem of shadow side issues, hidden sin or dysfunction, derailing many pastoral leaders and devastating families, congregations, and whole communities. In response to this problem, this Doctor of Ministry thesis...
Unity in Diversity: an Intentional Plan to Move from Inclusion to Belonging to Becoming, Brian R. Mowrey
The goal of this thesis project was to develop an intentional plan to embrace and celebrate unity in diversity at Walnut Hill Community Church. The church enjoyed diversity in race, ethnicity, age and ability but had no plan to embrace and ...
Addressing the Need for Greater Social Competence of Lutheran Brethren Seminary Students Entering Pastoral Ministry, Nathan G. Oldenkamp
This study employed an interview process with pastors and leaders in a small Lutheran denomination to investigate the relationship between social competence and pastoral development. The study data was then evaluated alongside other researc...
Fivefold Ministry: an Expressional Church Model for Releasing 21st-century Disciples Into Their Missional Potential and Design, Nick Francis Stephens
Making disciples is the mission of the church. However, the task of equipping and releasing disciples has become progressively complex with the increased access to information and influence shaped by popular leadership content. This has res...
Palatable and Profitable: Making the Sermon More Useful as a Catalyst for Millennials' Spiritual Growth, Frank E. Weller
The problem this project addressed is the limitation of the sermon as a catalyst for spiritual growth in Millennials due to the static nature of the sermon as a means for communicating the gospel and the significant differences in the Mille...
Theses/Dissertations from 2017
A Model for Small Church Leadership to Support their Minister’s Self-Care, Jeremy Allard
The complexity of vocational ministry is difficult to manage and maintain. Balancing the complex nature of the church, relationships, family life, spiritual and personal life provides the minister with a struggle that rarely ceases. Pursuin...
Cultivating Emerging Leaders: Understanding a Pastor's Role, Spencer A. Click
The purpose of this study is to understand the influence and impact a local church pastor can have in the development of emerging leaders. The researcher sought to understand a biblical model of the leader/follower relationship through exam...
An Investigation of Self-Care Practices and Principles Among the Pentecostal-Apostolic Clergy, Chelsea A. Hall
The goal of this research project was to investigate the perspectives and practices of self-care among Pentecostal-Apostolic (P-A) clergy, and create a set of principles to assist the P-A clergy in conducting a God-honoring self-care. This ...
Shared Leadership: Bringing the Local Church Back to Its Biblical Roots of Leadership, John A. Harrison
The North American culture is experiencing seismic shifts in its leadership structures. One of these shifts is the growing momentum from traditional, hierarchical leadership models to flatter, team-driven, shared leadership structures. The ...
The Impact of Hurts on Effective ministry in Local African American Church, Imogene Lowery
The project sought to understand the impact of hurts on effective ministry in a local African American church. The research tried to understand hurts, what hurts were and how hurts or past hurts impacted others. The research revealed that h...
Homophobia in the African American Church in Dmv, Nurney Kasem Mason
A look at some causes of homophobia in the African American(AA) church in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Using mixed methods and interviews, the researcher uncovered some reasons why homophobia exists in the AA church. Based on the da...
A Model for the Development of the Leaders of a Regional Gospel Movement, Daniel Ray Nold
The problem this research project addressed was the need for a leadership development model for a regional gospel movement. While it is hoped that the research will serve regional gospel movements nationwide, the specific focus was the deve...
Biblical Metaphors for Servant Leadership: A Strong Foundation for Leadership Development, Gary A. Runn
This project addresses the lack of a biblically grounded model for servant leadership. Research explored three biblical metaphors as the foundation for a leadership development framework: servant, shepherd, and steward. First, the servant m...
Life Mapping as a Means of Redemptive Transformation: Change the Name and the Story is About You, Noel A. Sherry
This project explored the formation practice known as Life Mapping, on the hypothesis that it is a catalyst for varied forms of spiritual transformation, quickening, and awakening. Though there are clear antecedents in the Christian traditi...
The Crucible of Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy: Examining the Intersections of Social Justice, Moral Development and Theology, Eydie Dyke Shypulski
The purpose of this research was to better understand the relationship between moral development, theology and social justice within a Christian context. An apparent disconnect exists regarding how people of faith apply personal morals and ...
From the Suburbs to the City: Seeking the Shalom of an Inner City Neighborhood, Elias Soiles
Journey Community Church, a five-year old white, suburban, college-educated, middle class church, moved into the Bell Hill neighborhood of Worcester, Massachusetts on July 1, 2015. This was a neighborhood of which Journey Church knew almost...
How Crisis and Relationship Lead to Faith Ownership, Jason D. Steffenhagen
College is often the time when students are asking questions about their identity and worldview. These questions are brought on by conflicting authority figures and institutions while experiencing a location change and significant transitio...
From Apathy to Mission: A Critical Transition for Pastors and Leaders of Faithful, yet Changing Congregations, Dale R. Stiles
Throughout the researcher’s 20 years of ordained ministry in the Lutheran Church he has continually been interested in the critical role effective biblical discipleship practices have on the 21st century church as well as the Church of the ...
The Whole Servant Leader: Leading From the Inside Out, Jewel Denise Williams
While research on servant leadership focuses on the behavior or actions of leaders toward the follower, this project examines the inward development of those leaders to determine what godly attributes need cultivation to demonstrate the sev...
The Need for Interchurch Unity Among Northern New England Evangelical Churches, Philip Andrew Wood
This project addresses the lack of and need for unity between evangelical churches in northern New England. It is not an area known for cooperation, being open to change, or orthodox Christianity. It is a region with typically small churche...
Theses/Dissertations from 2016
The Faith at Work Movement at Westwood Community Church, Daniel Albert Bolt
This thesis investigated the faith at work (FAW) movement through the lens of philosophical hermeneutics. The work concepts of both Old and New Testaments were explored, along with theologian’s voices on the intersection of work and faith. ...
Cooperative Catechesis: A Model for Equipping Lutheran Parents and Pastors to Catechize Children in the Christian Faith, Phillip E. Booe
Parents have a God-given duty to bring up their children in the faith. God calls pastors to shepherd flocks, point them to the Gospel, proclaim sound doctrine, and teach the people about the will and ways of God. The problem this project ad...
Spiritual Formation: Beyond Cognitive Belief - an Ethnographic Study of Adult Sunday School in Baptistic Churches in Massachusetts, Laura J. Cassidy-Moffatt
This research project was designed to examine adult Sunday School in seven baptistic churches in Massachusetts. In interviewing pastors and surveying attendees, an ethnographic study was conducted to discern common practices and to highligh...
Helping Young Adults Discern Christian Self-actualization through the Wisdom of Those Who Have Gone Before, Jeff M. Chapman
The problem this thesis project addressed was the belief by many Christian young adults that the life wisdom advice of older Christian adults can be invalid. This assumption can make Christian young adults suffer unnecessarily because it ca...
Spiritual Formation for Seminary Spiritual Leaders, Patricia L. Cowan
Jesus changed the world through spiritual formation and spiritual maturity. Jesus’ focus upon God enabled Him to do God’s will. Jesus separated Himself from culture and people at times to be alone with God in nature, pursuing God at the dee...
The Impact of Imago Dei on Thinking about Portrait Photography, Neil Craigan
The problem this project addressed was the relationship between the imago Dei and the work of photographers in the field of portrait photography. This created a strong vocational emphasis for the project in light of which the researcher exp...
Pursuing Kingdom Growth by Intentionally Engaging our Culture, Florin Docea
The goal of this research project was to strengthen the church’s ability to effectively engage the culture and expand the kingdom of God. This project is important because American Churches have invested time and resources looking for ways ...
Empowering Congregations to Move from Simple Hospitality to Celebration of Ethnic Diversity within Their Church, Stephen R. Gibson
This thesis addresses the question of how a large church can best pursue ethnic diversity. Using qualitative research methods the researcher demonstrated that the best practices found among secular organizations in pursing diversity are eff...
Transformation of the Prescott Foursquare Church: Becoming a Church Planting Church, John W. Gooding
This study is a qualitative study of the Prescott Foursquare Church and its transformation from a small, broken denominational church to a disciple making and church planting fellowship of churches. The project sought to discover the key tr...
Clergy Leadership Development: Exploring Factors in the Leadership Development Process of United Methodist Clergywomen, Mary Bendall Henley
This project was designed to discover factors associated with the leadership development of effective United Methodist clergywomen. The researcher chose a collective case study approach incorporating principles from grounded theory in the d...
Conceptualizing and Engaging with Pastoral Authority, Scott R. Maurer
Church conflict harms those in the church, obscures God’s glory, and hurts the church’s witness to a watching world. Some church conflict is related to congregants’ limited ability to conceptualize and engage with pastoral authority. While ...
Exploring Anthropological Monism for Pastoral Care Practice in a Local Church, Michael Robert McLeod
This research project explored the viability and benefits of anthropological monism for pastoral care practice in a local church. Monism, as it relates to human nature, refers to humanity consisting solely of materiality or physicality from...
Demonic Actions on Christian Leaders and Followers: The Reality of Demons' Existence and Their Wicked Spirit World of Abode and Kingdoms, Matthew Folorunso Olaniyi
The problem this project addressed is in the reality of the existence of demons’ in their wicked spirit world of abode and kingdoms coupled with the challenges that wicked activities of demons pose to the lives and ministries of Christian l...
The Use of Oral Training in Uganda to Develop Biblically Trained Leaders, Kevin J. Olson
The researcher spent a year in rural Tanzania and found that the volunteer lay leaders had little training. These lay leaders had a love for Jesus and for his people, but the obstacles these men faced in order to get further training were o...
Imparting Biblical Theology Cross-culturally for Transformation, Malcolm S. Reid
Moore Theological College’s Preliminary Theological Certificate has been a vehicle to impart an approach to Biblical Theology not only domestically but also outside Australia. Course participation overseas has seen significant growth and th...
Engaging Leadership at Marshfield Christian Church, Nicholas Alexander Ruth
This project addresses the dwindling number of people active in leadership roles at Marshfield Christian Church. Research focused on four aspects of church leadership: barriers and incentives to assuming a leadership role, characteristics o...