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Discipleship and Leadership Development through Small Groups by Mentoring and Coaching Practices
Get PDFMoving people from explorers of Christ, to believers of Christ, to Christ-centered followers of Jesus is the discipleship-focus of Broadway Church (BWC). To grow everyone toward maturity in Christ is the purpose of the church ministries. Nevertheless, spiritual growth to maturity for many of the Chinese-speaking congregants is difficult, though not impossible. The impediment to spiritual growth is constituted by various factors: being raised under the cultivation of atheism, the rule of colonialism or communism, the continuing political movement, traditional cultures and values, etc. By and large, not many of the congregants are enthusiastic about discipleship, or passionate about transformation to Christ-likeness. Overall, the lack of committed followers and leaders to serve in the kingdom of God is the challenge of the Chinese Ministry.
In light of the impediment to the spiritual growth of the Chinese-speaking congregants, the objective of this project is to develop a paradigm to encourage spiritual formation among them. To that end, this project seeks to adopt the Spirit-led mentoring and coaching practices through small groups to attain the said objective. Some effective spiritual disciplines such as Loyola’s Exercises, Lectio Divina, prayer, etc., will be identified and incorporated into the practice process. The goals of this project are twofold: the first goal is to develop a model to enhance spiritual growth and empower followers to become leaders of the Chinese Ministry; and the second goal is to understand how to build up mentoring and coaching relationships that are effective for discipleship and leadership development.
This paper will reveal a strategy that enhances spiritual growth and leadership development for the Chinese-speaking congregants. It will discuss the resources, tools and approaches that will be used for assessment. Finally, it will evaluate whether the project is successful or not and the corresponding reason
Apophatic Spirituality in Contemporary Christian Practice: A Mindfulness Approach
Get PDFContemplative spiritual disciplines are being engaged by American Evangelicals who are drawn to an experiential spirituality, expanding the traditional pietistic practices that emphasize biblical knowledge and moral behavior over the pursuit of union with the Divine. Apophatic Christian theology speaks of God in terms of what God is not. It transcends words and positive assertions. A survey of the history of apophaticism in the Eastern Orthodox Church will explain the holistic potential of apophatic theology and practice as a corrective to an Evangelical spirituality often limited by statements of propositional truth and a wrath-based concept of atonement.
Modern mindfulness meditation practices, as applied in wellness and mental health disciplines today, are rooted in the principles of non-theistic Buddhist philosophy. This may seem antithetical to orthodox Christianity, but a study of the science and therapeutic practice of mindfulness reveals a remarkable resonance with Christian contemplative disciplines, particularly in those practices of an apophatic nature.
The thesis put forward in this dissertation is that the goals of contemporary mindfulness meditation practice—becoming fully aware of one’s experience, being grounded in the present moment, and being immersed in an atmosphere of non- judgmental acceptance—are philosophically aligned with apophatic theology and beneficial to enhance prayer practices in the Christian tradition. A survey of the primary thought and practice in the apophatic tradition through Christian history will be placed alongside the foundations and practice of contemporary mindfulness, leading to a theology of contemplative practice which integrates mindfulness, particularly in relation to personality types. The conclusion will provide a description of the challenge and potential benefits of the proposed practices within the American Evangelical tradition
COLLECTION 0024: The Hamburger Collection of the Berlin Fellowship, 1950-2012
Get PDFThe Hamburger Collection of the Berlin Fellowship, 1950-2012 documents the history of a Christian work-camp program called World Deputation, which gave birth to the Berlin Fellowship.
The collection consists of correspondence, minutes, team reports and other documents involved in the ministry. Copies of the book Tumbling Walls by Walter James detailing the story of the Berlin Fellowship are also included. The collection also contains correspondence between Walter James and Berlin pastor, Alfred Schroeder.
Materials directly related to Reverend Ralph Hamburger include his autobiographical sketches, Eternally Grateful and Stations in My Life ; his correspondence with J.B. Phillips; and a talk he gave entitled “The Extended Hand of God.
The Impact of Forgiveness on PTSD Symptoms in Salvadoran Teachers Exposed to Community Violence
No full textThere is a well-established relationship between community violence (CV) exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. Few researchers, however, have examined the relationship between forgiveness and these variables both in the US and in Central America. As El Salvador ranks as one of the most violent countries in Central America, educators in this country may be particularly vulnerable to increasing levels of exposure to community violence and be at a higher risk to develop PTSD symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between CV exposure, PTSD, and forgiveness in 256 Salvadoran teachers in both public and private schools in El Salvador. Findings indicate that teachers were exposed to multiple violent events during their lifetime, and younger teachers in the study reported more violence exposure than middle aged and older participants. Older participants were more forgiving than younger participants. Results from a mediation analysis with bootstrapping indicate that the relationship between CV exposure and PTSD symptomatology was mediated by forgiveness. These results suggest that educators who were exposed to CV and who practiced forgiveness also reported fewer PTSD symptoms. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed
Protest and Intervention: A Study of Culture, Psychology, and Discourse in Oaxaca, Mexico
No full textThough qualitative studies have long been a cornerstone of social and cultural research, there is a bias in social psychology toward quantitative methodologies. This is complicated by multiple protocols and guidelines published by the American Psychological Association (APA) that endorse outdated, monolithic, and unidirectional views of culture and ethnic representation. As a corrective, this dissertation argues that a linguistics paradigm can serve as a viable alternative for investigating the interface of culture and the psyche. The thesis presented here is that discourse, a concept closely associated with pragmatic linguistics, can serve as an empirical way of assessing how objective social structures, expressions of suffering, and meaningful therapeutic action are connected. This thesis is supported by three different ethnographic studies of discourse practices in Oaxaca, Mexico. Each study, presented in subsequent chapters of this dissertation, is combined with a theoretical concept to demonstrate how particular aspects of discourse theory can be applied in social/cultural psychological research
Equipping Hispanic Immigrant Pastors for Holistic Mission
No full textThe Centro Latino at Fuller Theological Seminary seeks to equip Hispanic pastors with the “tools to draw on their faith to create a better world”, which is a core component of holistic mission. Through comparative case studies, the first phase of this research examines the journeys of sixteen graduates of Centro Latino to explore the factors which impacted their capacity to implement holistic mission strategies in and with their ministries. As part of this process, this study reviews the roles played by culture, context and theological education in helping or hindering their efforts. The second and third phases of the research involves collaborating with the research subjects to develop and carry out a pilot program of continuing education activities through Centro Latino designed to increase their capacity to carry out holistic mission. Using a theoretical framework which integrates research on the impact of theological education on ministry practice, research on the Hispanic context and corresponding strategies for spiritual and practical formation for holistic mission, this study analyzes the results of the pilot program to arrive at recommendations for Centro Latino in particular and Hispanic theological education programs in general for equipping evangelical/Pentecostal Hispanic immigrant pastors for holistic mission
