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The Reflective Preacher: Effective Habits for Homiletical Self-Assessment
Get PDFBiblical preaching is the key to church growth and health. Research shows that people are choosing not to worship because of mediocre messages from the pulpit. Yet, people are hungry for what God has to say about their life and context. The pastor-preacher must take the preaching task very seriously, devoting time and energy to the endeavor and seeking to continually improve their craft. The problem is that most pastors do not develop effective habits for homiletical self-assessment. This researcher will offer strategies and tools for faithful preaching and ideas for becoming a more reflective preacher. There are acquired skills that pastor-preachers need to pay attention to in order to make preaching more vital for hearers. Developing effective habits for homiletical self-assessment is key to enhancing how listeners hear the claims in scripture and increase their desire and ability to live out their lives of discipleship
Do You Hear What I Hear? Discernment and Dialogue in a Secular Age
Get PDFThis Participatory Action Research (PAR) utilized a mixed methods approach to address an adaptive challenge in a Lutheran church in a bedroom community in a small town and rural setting. The research involved implementing PAR interventions that cultivated four spiritual capacities: see, hear, know, and say within the realm of faith formation. Results suggest the Holy Spirit initiated a process of cultural adaptation as participants began reframing their world view, having their missional imagination transformed, discerning the triune God’s active presence, and engaging in dialogue
Invisible Poverty: Awareness, Attitudes, and Action
Get PDFIn small-town rural America, we do not tend to see poverty. Poverty is relatively invisible, especially among our youth and children. Invisible Poverty explores the issues, challenges, stereotypes, and causes of small-town rural poverty while presenting possible solutions. Drawing from Alvin Luedke, Craig Van Gelder, Alan Roxburgh, Patrick Keifert, Cynthia Duncan, and Shannon Jung, Invisible Poverty presents a missional theology of accompaniment seeking justice and avoiding shame. In an effort to understand the complexity of rural poverty, Invisible Poverty asks; How might Action Research interventions affect awareness, attitudes, and actions of the congregation concerning the issues of poverty
Cultivating the Practice of Neighborliness: A Missional Practice of Living in a Perichoretic Relationship with Neighbors
Get PDFThis Participatory Action Research study, utilizing a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, investigates the hostile relationship between the church and its Liberian context. The research design created a spirit of collaboration between the PAR team, local church, and the neighbors, and assisted us to outline interventions which positively affected the relationship between the church and her neighbors. The results indicate that to deal with this adaptive challenge and enhance interpersonal relationship with neighbors, the church had to provide adaptive leadership, break boundaries, participate in incarnational ministries, and cultivate several missional practices to affect neighborliness and bring about a cultural change
Creating Effective Congregational Heritage Displays – Part 1: Planning the Project
Get PDFThis article discusses purpose and scale of congregational heritage displays
Preaching the Witness of Last Words: How Biblical Farewell Speeches Shape Contemporary Listeners\u27 Theological Legacy
Get PDFThis project explores several last words speeches in Scripture, in an attempt to mine core theological convictions. It considers the subject of theological legacy. It seeks to ascertain whether or not the preaching of last words of witness will be effective in influencing listeners’ consideration of their own cherished spiritual values. By means of a series of six sermons the author endeavored to encourage listeners to incorporate into their own lives of faith the treasured spiritual values that have been passed down to them as a theological legacy and to give greater thought as to what core theological convictions they would like to pass on to others as their own theological legacy. The project demonstrates that the preaching of last words of witness can effectively motivate listeners to treasure the legacy they have received and be intentional about sharing their own theological legacy with others.
This project also addresses the decline in the mainline denominational churches in both numbers and vitality, and presents one way to curb that decline and to assist the Christian Church in courageously moving forward, treasuring the cherished legacy of faith that has been passed down by those who have gone before us and faithfully sharing this cherished legacy with the generations to come
Empowering Laity to Engage in Pastoral Care Ministry: A Proposal for Capacity Building and Supervision for Larger Congregation with Special Reference to Kohima Ao Baptist Church, Nagaland, India.
Get PDFThis thesis explores how to provide effective lay pastoral counseling in a large congregation, with particular reference to Kohima Ao Baptist Church in Nagaland, India
Missional Leadership in Times of Congregational Transition
Get PDFCongregational transitions are points of change, providing opportunities to introduce a missional understanding and direction of ministry. Missional leadership in times of congregational transition includes case studies of three ELCA congregations in transition, led by pastors who have a missional understanding of leadership, processed through the lenses of transformational pastoral leadership, congregational transitions, what it might mean to be sent by God, the Holy Spirit leading and empowering, missional ecclesiology, and congregational spiritual practices. It draws on resources by Allen Roxburgh, Patrick Keifert, Dwight Zscheile, Craig Van Gelder, Lee Bolman, Terrence Deal, Peter Northouse, William and Susan Bridges, and others
Liberated for Mission: Theology of the Cross Informing a Fresh Missional Imagination
Get PDF“How might an action research intervention cultivate a hermeneutic of missio Dei as it relates to baptismal vocation?” This study used mixed methods action research including interventions, questionnaires, Dwelling in the Word, and interviews. Biblical and theological lenses were God’s liberating nature, baptismal vocation, theology of the cross, missio Dei and more. Theoretical lenses were leadership theories, strengths, assets, hospitality, and imaginative interaction. Interventions were a sermon series, dwelling in the word, and contextual leadership. Through these the congregation gained understanding of the liberating nature of God through prophecy, reconciliation, being known, and their own place in missio Dei