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God’s Kenotic Economy of Space in the Gospel of Mark
No full textSpace in the modern period has predominately been conceived as a “thing,” a setting for human action, ontologically separate from the body. Studies of space in the Gospel of Mark have largely assumed such a “common sense” view. What has resulted from this view of narrative space in Mark has been the multiplication of Markan geographies that have secured and conformed Jesus’s narrative body. Such studies, however, continue to hide the consequences of space that Mark is attempting to expose through the spatiality of Jesus’s narrative body. Rather than representing Jesus’s body as determined by the spatial configurations of imperial scribal cartographic practice, this dissertation will show that Mark portrays Jesus’s body as a living production of space that troubles the dominate maps. Against readings of Mark that argue that Jesus is either an imperial or anti-imperial figure (an insider or outsider), through Henri Lefebvre’s theory of lived space as appropriated by Edward W. Soja’s theory of thirdspace, the present study shows, via a reading of three key Markan passages (3:20-35; 11:1-25; and 15:37-39), that Mark presents Jesus’s body and thus his spatiality as both inside (and insider) and outside (and outsider) simultaneously. Mark ultimately portrays neither an imperial nor anti-imperial spatiality, but a thirdspatiality. Mark’s presentation exposes the consequences of spatial production within an ancient temple cosmology represented by the Markan scribes and chief priests whereby insider-outsider binaries replicate the power of imperial (i.e., centering) institutions throughout the land. Rather than presenting an imperial or anti-imperial economy of spatial production, Mark presents a thirdspatial economy associated with Jesus’s body as kenotic, a thirdspatial production that makes (i.e., creates) space by means of a royal emptying that manifests the divine spatiality of creation
Cultivating Missional Imagination: Listening as a Way Forward for First Presbyterian Church of Pomona
Get PDFThis project tests how the practices of listening to neighbors, listening to Scripture together, and reflecting on God’s work in the neighborhood can cultivate a missional imagination within First Presbyterian Church of Pomona. Specifically, this missional en- deavor engages in an experiment of congregants listening to a group of young adults and tracks the church’s shift in missional imagination. This project is discussed in three parts.
Part One describes the ways that the church has sought out its neighbors. It ex- plores various frameworks that shape the imagination of the church. It presents the prima- ry adaptive challenge that led to framing this specific project as a next step.
Part Two discusses the project of gathering young adults, who have grown up in the neighborhood, with learning partners who have relocated to the neighborhood. The gatherings consist of a meal, sharing stories, and reflecting on Scripture together. Record- ings of the participants’ reflections and comments are tracked to note qualitative shift in missional awareness.
Part Three examines a theological framework for this experiment. This section ex- amines a theology of listening and making space for the other across socioeconomic lines. It also explores the practice of shared hospitality and listening and evaluates mis- sional learnings that occurred during two debrief meetings. This evaluation uses the prin- ciple of simultaneity to highlight ways in which the Spirit began moving in the church during this project, despite the project’s inability to launch further experiments
Teleology and Narrative: Assessing Spiritual Growth at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
Get PDFThe purpose of this project is to develop a tool that invites members of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church of Newport Beach to examine their lives in light of the congregation’s mission measures and help them to determine both areas of growth and deficiency. The tool’s narrative structure provides a framework to process the circumstances of life and the variety responses to those events that move one closer to or further from one’s destination. Once participants see the narrative arc of their lives, they will be able to make distinctions between the parts of life that are in continuity or discontinuity with the aims of the Kingdom.
The opening part of this project explores the congregation of St. Andrew’s and the unique setting of Newport Beach from the perspective of the broader cultural story and highlights the ways in which this story collides with the gospel narrative. Particular attention is given to the development of the “vision frame.” This section highlights the role of mission measures in framing a functional description of a mature Christian disciple and the role small group communities play in helping disciples flourish.
The second part examines relevant literature regarding the relationship between the narrative and teleology. Focus is given to the classical virtues and the role of story in the formation of the Christian community as well as the ways communities of interpretation recount and embody narrative as a means of shaping identity. Additionally, the role of spiritual disciplines as a necessary means for transformation along the journey are addressed. The final part presents the goals and plans for the curriculum. Following a presentation of the completed curriculum, the project concludes with an analysis of the timeline, resources needed, and plans for evaluation
Short-term Mission Trips: A Wesleyan Theology for Service and Lifelong Spiritual Formation
Get PDFThe goal of this study was to create a ministry plan for a short-term mission trip with multi-generational participants for the purpose of connecting spiritual formation with missions in order to create life-long discipleship practices. The curriculum created in this project was implemented at Trinity United Methodist Church in Moberly, Missouri, where recent data identified a deep disconnect between service and spiritual formation. The curriculum connected the spiritual disciplines to all aspects of the mission trip, including pre and post trip meetings, with the goal of uniting the discipline of service into the deeper work of spiritual formation.
Both scripture and the work of John Wesley set a model for service that occurs within community, through the power of the Holy Spirit. The goal of this dissertation was to create a ministry plan that addressed spiritual formation in regards to a short-term mission trip in order to create a curriculum that will better connect a scriptural and theological understanding of missions as part of lifelong discipleship. To fulfill this goal, participants engaged in several spiritual disciplines within the context of the community. Following the completion of the mission trip, an assessment was given to judge if participants had a new understanding of service and engaged in new or increased their participation in the spiritual disciplines.
This study concludes that the integration of spiritual disciplines into a mission trip did translate into spiritual growth and a greater articulation in the connection between spiritual formation and service. The role of community provided an avenue for discussion and reflection that allowed participants the opportunity to integrate spiritual insights into long-term discipleship practices and change their previous theology on service . The materials created in this study will be available for use in other Methodist Churches
Socio-Emotional Projective Themes of Adolescents Involved in Prostitution
No full textWithin the past decade, the sexual exploitation of children in the United States has received a significant amount of press and has become increasingly scrutinized by the general public along with professionals. In spite of heightened public awareness, the nature of child prostitution is largely misunderstood. For this study, projective personality tests were used to identify salient psychoemotional themes through grounded theory and codebook analysis. The most frequently emerging themes were Insecure Attachment, Interpersonal Anger and Conflict, and Fear. Clinical markers from the self-report rating scales, however, were not congruent with the projective themes. These findings suggest that self-report measures are not the ideal indicator of clinical symptomology in this population. More importantly, the identified clinical themes suggest a saliency for relationality within this population. These 3 major themes indicate that relational anxiety is the context through which these participants view the world and interpret their relationships and environments. This counters and expands upon much of the literature. Although the literature indicates trauma as a key identifier for this population, this study brings insecure attachment to the foreground as the most significant clinical theme and experience for the participants. The study’s qualitative nature and low n carry inherent limitations in regard to generalizability. A better understanding of a child involved in prostitution should be able to guide clinical interventions, which would ultimately impact the advocacy and aid for this population as a whole. Culture as a whole additionally needs to be held accountable for how culture perpetuates the existence of child prostitution by engaging more intentionally with culture and society as a whole
Culture, Emotion, and Repairing Attachment Injury: A Case Study Using Emotionally Focused Therapy With a Chinese Couple
No full textThis dissertation is a case study analysis of the treatment of a Mandarin-speaking couple from mainland China seeking recovery from infidelity. The Emotionally Focused Therapy-Attachment Injury Resolution model was used in the treatment. Taking into consideration the different cultural values and norms that impact emotions, specifically the preference for emotional control in Chinese culture, I explore the cultural specificities that emerge when applying a therapy model that facilitates change through in-session deep emotional experiences. This case study demonstrates how culture informs the use of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) interventions. The application of EFT, specifically the expression and themes related to the processing of emotions, was examined in the context of the couple’s cultural experience and heritage. The study shows them engaging in deep emotional experiences and notes especially the cultural specificity of their emotions, the historical and cultural context of those emotions, and the different expressions of love employed in different cultures