5860 research outputs found
Sort by
Fuller Magazine, Issue 016, 2020 - Imaging Hope
Full text linkSince 2014, Fuller Magazine has been published for the global community of Fuller Theological Seminary. The sections of Story, Theology, Voice, and Departments are to reflect the life of Fuller in all her permutations: this is who we are, what we are talking about, and who we are becoming together. The editorial content of FULLER magazine reflects the opinions of the various authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the views of Fuller Theological Seminary.
Table of Contents
STORY
12 We Treat Them With Dignity by Avril Z. Speaks
18 A Home with Heart by Jerome Blanco
24 Seeing their Trauma by Becky Still
28 Northeast of Capitol Hill by Aaron Dorsey
THEOLOGY
38 Introduction to “Imagining Hope” by Scott Cormode, Guest Editor
40 A Shared Story of Future Hope by Scott Cormode
47 Hope for the Pain of the Korean Youth
한국 청소년들의 아픔에 대한 소망 by Eun Ah Cho 조은아
54 Black and White by Teesha Hadra and John Hambrick
58 The Role of Mindfulness in the Midst of Pain: The Importance of Present-Focus Attention by Joey Fung
62 Making the Invisible Visible: Prophetic Drama and Social Change by Andre Henry
66 Spirit Outside the Gate: Imagining a Church Without Borders Spirit Outside the Gate: Cómo Imaginar una Iglesia Sin Fronteras by Oscar García-Johnson
70 Pastoring through Political Division: Preserving the Tie that Binds by Scott Cormode, Andrés Zelaya, Suzanne Vogel, Phil Allen Jr., Kevin Haah
VOICE
76 Voices on Rest
82 Voices on Repentance
DEPARTMENTS
8 From Mark Labberton, President
90 Future of Fuller
93 Recent Faculty Books and Publications
97 Benediction
97 About Fullerhttps://digitalcommons.fuller.edu/fuller-magazine/1015/thumbnail.jp
Identity Shaping Communication
Full text linkIdentity formation is a chaotic time for adolescents. Every realm of life—biology, social, spiritual—is a changing target for every person as they navigate these waters. Society has many ways of handling adolescents. One way is to ignore and hurry these young people into adulthood. Another is to worship and adore adolescents, to meet their every need and desire. The Church also has historically offered discipleship to young people to either quickly transition them into adulthood or in essence worshipped them as the “church of the future.”
The preached word of God is a place to form each person’s discipleship. Preaching can be a formative and holy moment where the Lord God is made known to his people. It can also go astray and be a place of vague spirituality or about personal performance and not lasting relationship with Jesus Christ. With life adjusting all around them, adolescents are desperate for truth. Preaching should be a place where the Word of God comes alive and reaches their hearts. It should point them to the deep absolute truth of a God who loved them and the deepest reality is they are his. The purpose of this project is to understand the uniqueness of identity formation and marry that with making Christ known to his Church.
To aid First Presbyterian and other youth leaders this project seeks to create a preaching framework that could be used in various settings. The application will walk through a sermon series with materials for small group discussion to demonstrate the ability to tailor communication styles to aid in adolescent identity development. The goal is to create a grid for faithful communicators to reveal Christ and the hearers to see their deepest identity in Him
Daily Executive Functioning in Adults with Childhood Hemispherectomy
No full textChildhood Hemispherectomy (CHE) has been deemed as a successful treatment option for young children with intractable epilepsy caused by congenital or acquired cortical lesions. Research highlights some expected motor and cognitive impairments, but generally suggests a trend toward functional independence (Moosa, Gupta, et al., 2013). While understanding of the more specific neuropsychological outcome of CHE is essential, there has been a dearth of information regarding the long-term neurocognitive and behavioral sequelae of CHE. The current study examined the impact of CHE on daily executive functioning in 12 adults using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning, Adult Version (BRIEF-A). Participants were required to complete the self-report survey, and to provide a close relative to fill out the informant survey. Contrary to expectations, results suggest that both participants and informants perceived the participant’s behaviors and executive functioning to be largely commensurate to normative data. However, qualitative analyses noted that select participants, especially those with developmental (polymicrogyria) pathology recognized mild to moderate deficits in their functioning. These current findings suggest that there may be additional areas (i.e., etiology, recurrent seizures) to consider in future research. Additionally, this study offers support that those who have undergone CHE may function similar to neurotypicals with respect to daily executive functioning, and that the expected associated cognitive inefficiencies may not be fully reflective of this population
The relationship between religiosity, generosity, and empathy among young adults: The mediating role of secure attachment to God
No full textIn this study, I sought to examine the relations between religiosity, secure attachment to God, and prosocial behavior in a sample of 154 Christian young adults. Specifically, I examined the extent to which secure attachment to God may mediate the relations between religiosity and empathy and generosity. Participants completed self-report measures related to religiosity (organizational, non-organizational, intrinsic), attachment to God, and prosocial behavior (generosity, interpersonal generosity, empathy). I found that organizational and non-organizational religious activities were associated with higher levels of secure attachment to God, generosity, and empathic concern. Intrinsic religiosity was related to greater interpersonal generosity. I also found that secure attachment to God mediated the effects of religiosity. There were significant indirect effects between organizational religious activity and empathic concern. Similarly, the indirect effects between all three types of religiosity and interpersonal generosity were significant. The results of this study provide support for the literature suggesting religiosity could promote generosity and empathic concern. It also highlights that secure attachment to God could be a mechanism in explaining the relationship between religiosity and prosocial behavior
When What We Know is Not Enough: Exploring Danish Contemporary Faith Development in the Local Congregation
No full textDenmark is considered a Christian country. The Christian heritage is strong, and three-quarters of the population are members of the Danish Lutheran Church. The Danish culture is, however, characterized by a secular mindset with rationalism, individualism, and an absence of faith in public life. The Danish Lutheran Church enjoys a privileged role in Denmark, but few Danes attend church weekly or monthly or consider religion an important part of their life. A majority of the members are cultural Christians, with an often vague and undefinable faith that seldom gives comfort in a time of distress. They have little awareness of the possibility of a personal connection to God, but, connecting to God is the essence of Christianity. Connectedness brings salvation, meaning, and hope and transforms a person on a deep level.
In order to find a contemporary spirituality model that can support more Danes finding a connection to God, it is beneficial to understand how cultural Christian Danes finds faith. I have analyzed 40 faith stories from cultural Christians who have found connectedness.
The research findings showed that spiritual experience, Sunday services, knowledge of the Christian faith and Christian fellowship most often activate the exploration of faith. The common pathway to faith in a Danish context seems to have the following six stepping stones: (1) Experiencing the spiritual realm, (2) Finding a place where faith is exercised, (3) Gaining knowledge about the Christian faith, (4) Connecting to a Christian fellowship, (5) Practicing and participating in the Christian life, (6) Integrating the Christian faith. In order to further introduce a comprehensive way of understanding how Danes find faith, this axiom was introduced: Touched – Taught – Transformed.
The application of the research findings introduces a model of contemporary practices to be used in the Danish Lutheran Church. A partnership between a missional parish pastor and a missional group of parishioners is preferably the starting place for implementation. The application includes spiritual practices combined with an introduction to the Christian faith in an open and unprejudiced fellowship of people willing to share faith. This supports the pathway by which Danes find faith
Examining Self-Forgiveness, Depression, and Religious Strain in a Psychiatric Inpatient Sample
No full textThe exploration of self-forgiveness (SF), religious strain (RS), and depression has received limited attention in psychiatric inpatient populations. I hypothesized that SF would be inversely associated with depression, RS, and religious fear and guilt. I also hypothesized that RS and religious fear and guilt would influence the relationship between SF and depression. Participants were psychiatric inpatients from a Michigan hospital (N = 248). Contrary to expectations, SF was positively associated with both depression and religious fear and guilt at admission and inversely associated with depression, RS, and religious fear and guilt at follow-up. The results indicated no moderation effect of RS and religious fear and guilt on SF and depression. Given these unexpected results, I conducted additional analyses with a single-item SF measure. Both SF measures were not associated at admission but were positively correlated at follow-up. The one-item SF measure was inversely associated with depression at three different time points. This single item SF measure may more accurately depict SF in an inpatient psychiatric population within 48 hours of admission due to the measure’s focus on SF rather than the other measure’s inclusion of more negatively valenced items
Taking Church to the Mentally Ill: Mental Health Ministry at the Royale Therapeutic Residential Center in Orange County, California and Oceanview Adult Psychiatric Hospital in Long Beach, California
Full text linkThis project seeks to find ways for the church to engage with those who are mentally ill residing in mental health facilities. The goal is to provide residents with opportunities for spiritual formation and growth. To support this effort, I conducted worship services at two mental health facilities to determine whether taking church to the mentally ill can contribute to creating a Christ-centered community for the mentally ill. The project started with a planning phase emphasizing the specifics for developing an appropriate worship content and approach, including the length of the service, the message, music, and other attributes. Observations, comments, suggestions, and recommendations were collected during the worship services, and updates were incorporated to better serve the worshipers.
The findings suggest the majority of the residents who attended the worship services felt a sense of being in a Christ-centered community. The ability to participate during worship, have input on praise music, share prayer requests, and receive communion created significant value and contributed to the residents’ spiritual formation. One of the most significant findings and reflections is the notion of hospitality. The initial assumption is that the church is offering hospitality to those residing at mental health facilities. Instead, the hospitality is offered by those who are already in this community to the church. Going forward, the hope is to replicate this type of ministry at other mental health facilities and to approach behavioral health authorities to encourage incorporating spiritual components into their mental health programs
Developing Pastoral Missiology within the Ghanaian Pentecostal/Charismatic Context
No full textThe missio Dei denotes God as both the originator and source of mission. He is the one carrying out his mission in the world, and the church is called to participate in this mission. Therefore, both the identity and mission of the church are located in the missio Dei.
Pastors and church leaders are called to lead and cultivate their congregations in pursuit of the missio Dei. This dissertation draws on an ecclesiology based on the missio Dei to argue for pastoral missiology—that is, an approach to ministry where pastors and church leaders inspire, equip, empower, and lead their congregations in fulfilling their missional callings both to their contexts and to the rest of the world.
This dissertation takes a contextualized approach by critically analyzing the African traditional religious context, praxis of some Ghanaian Pentecostal/charismatic churches, and leadership within the Ghanaian cultural context. Two churches within Victory Bible Church International were used as case-study churches for an in-depth analysis. Integrating the thoughts and findings from the pastoral missiology model, contextual studies, and field research, a training model was developed to help raise and equip pastors who can lead their churches to embrace and live out their missional calling
Nurturing a Discipleship Culture: The Role That Transformative Learning and the Learning Context Play In Forming Disciples at Northview Church
No full textThe primary work of the Church is to make disciples. At Northview Church, a multi-site church in central Indiana, there is a desire to nurture a culture where discipleship is expected and supported. Despite years of classes, programs, retreats and small groups, a discipleship culture has eluded Northview. Therefore, this study seeks to strengthen discipleship at Northview by gleaning insights from 1) adult learning theory, 2) learning organizations, and 3) churches who are exemplars of disciple-making.
Through a review of the literature, a robust definition of discipleship emerged that captures the characteristics and ultimate aims of discipleship. The literature also revealed an adult learning theory—Transformative Learning—that is compatible with, and a supportive framework for, the discipleship experience. Finally, the literature on learning context and learning organizations produced thirteen factors to promote a culture of learning. The insights from the literature were used to inform the field research.
The field research for this project consisted of a multi-case study, using a triangulated research protocol of three discipleship exemplar churches. The findings revealed five essential components of a transformational discipleship experience (TDE), as well as eight factors that promote a discipleship culture. To integrate the five essential components of a TDE, a training outline was created. Additionally, a Discipleship Culture Assessment was developed, based on the eight factors of a discipleship culture.
To implement the findings at Northview, two action plans for change were introduced. The first change plan utilized John Kotter’s Eight Stage Change Process for introducing training on the five components of a TDE. The second change plan drew upon Kim S. Cameron and Robert E. Quinn’s nine steps for initiating organizational culture change for promoting the eight factors of a discipleship culture. In addition to strengthening discipleship at Northview, this research can be useful in other churches who desire to nurture a discipleship culture
Introducing Adoptive Theology Through the Practice of Confirmation for Ecclesial Revitalization
Full text linkThe goal of this project is to explore the practice of confirmation as a means of substantive faith transmission and ecclesial revitalization within a United Methodist context informed by the apostle Paul’s adoption metaphor. Chap Clark has proposed a hermeneutic of adoption as a framework for congregations to conceive and engage their role in fostering spiritual identity formation in adolescents. Intentional intergenerational ministry is foundational for developing the mutuality necessary for a thriving congregation. Practice learning is a critical component in nurturing, equipping and empowering young people within the household of God. In an adoptive context, mature members build bridges to young people to share consequential faith. As adults create catechetical community, they also experience spiritual growth and the congregation thrives as its vitality is renewed by the continuous energy and creativity of emerging generations.
Confirmation has functionally become an end point of Christian education and spiritual formation leaving people suspended in an early adolescent state of Christian identity. Many congregations cling to confirmation with hope that it will ignite a journey of substantive discipleship for early adolescents but do not implement the ministry to bring about the desired end. Congregations caught in systemically siloed ministry structures fall short of living into their baptismal and confirmation vows. Introducing adoptive theology and ministry practices through confirmation can lead to substantive faith transmission for early adolescents and revitalized ecclesiology for the congregation.
The confirmation ministry design for this project was implemented at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Highland, MD