Boyce Digital Repository (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
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Developing a Covenant Understanding of Church Membership at Chamlee Memorial Baptist Church in Fort Valley, Georgia
Full text linkThis project sought to develop a covenant understanding of church membership at Chamlee Memorial Baptist Church in Fort Valley, Georiga. Chapter 1 presents the history and ministry context of Chamlee Memorial Baptist Church and the goals for this project. Chapter 2 provides exegesis of three passages of Scripture (Neh 10–11; Matt 18; and Eph 4–5) to show that both the Old Testament and the New Testament portray clear expectations of mutual submission and accountability for members of the covenant community. Chapter 3 presents historical and theoretical rationales for practicing covenant church membership. Chapter 4 describes the preparation, implementation, and follow up of the project itself. Chapter 5 evaluates the project based on the completion of the specified goals
The Church as Instrumental to the Restoration of Personal Identity
Full text linkThis dissertation describes how relational shalom—the proper interrelatedness of all creation under the triune God, fully present in the created order—was corrupted at the fall by sin, resulting in each image bearer orienting his personal identity to self rather than to his Creator. This self-oriented identity disrupts his ability to relate rightly to God (to glorify him by being like him), to others (to love and serve them as a representative of God), and to the world (as a faithful steward).
Relational shalom is restored through the community of faith—the church—reconciling individuals to God through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As individuals are reconciled to God, the self-orientation of their personal identity is undermined, setting them on a trajectory towards wholeness, flourishing, and the relational shalom we were created to enjoy. In sum, the community of faith is essential to the restoration of individual self-perception. Some implications for how the theme of biblical relational shalom adds depth to the task of biblical counseling within the context of the local church are discussed, as well as some implications for further research
Developing a Biblical Counseling Training Program for Leaders at Mission Valley Church in Phoenix, Arizona
Full text linkThis project equipped leaders and members of Mission Valley Church in Phoenix, Arizona, to provide faithful, Scripture-based care through biblical counseling. Its purpose was to strengthen the church’s capacity to shepherd its members by cultivating a leadership culture grounded in the sufficiency of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit. Through a structured fifteen-week training course, participants developed a deeper confidence in the Word of God as the ultimate authority for addressing both sin and suffering.
The project pursued three primary goals. The first was to assess existing perceptions of counseling among church leaders and members. The second was to develop a biblically faithful and practically accessible counseling curriculum. The third was to implement and evaluate that curriculum through classroom instruction, assigned readings, group discussions, and case-study applications.
The study found that participants grew in their understanding of biblical counseling, in their conviction that Scripture is sufficient for life and godliness, and in their readiness to minister to others within the local church. The project also fostered a broader culture of discipleship, encouraging believers to care for one another with gentleness and truth. Overall, the initiative demonstrated that when church leaders and members are equipped in sound doctrine and biblical counseling principles, they become competent to admonish, restore, and encourage others, thereby strengthening the body of Christ and advancing the church’s mission to bring gospel-centered transformation to its community
Equipping Students for Cross-Cultural Evangelism at the Family Baptist Church in La Vergne, Tennessee
Full text linkThe purpose of this project was to equip the members of the youth group students at The Family Baptist Church in La Vergne, Tennessee, to understand the basic teachings of the major world religions and philosophies and to enable them to share the gospel confidently with their adherents. Chapter 1 describes the church’s evangelistic vision and the need for its youth to understand other religions/philosophies, specifically Islam, Hinduism, and the religious Nones, and how to reach out to people who follow these belief systems. Chapter 2 provides the biblical and theological basis for the project. Chapter 3 gives a brief description of Islam, Hinduism, and the Nones and examines how a faithful Christian can engage in a conversation and declare the truth of the gospel. Chapter 4 provides details about the project implementation, including the curriculum taught to the students weekly. Chapter 5 is an evaluation of the project, including reflections on the purpose and goals of the project, its strengths and weaknesses, and what was gained from a personal and theological standpoint
Effective and Healthy Generational Transition Processes in the Pastoral Ministry
No full textEste proyecto propone una guía pastoral para facilitar transiciones generacionales saludables en el liderazgo de las iglesias locales, especialmente en contextos latinoamericanos. El capítulo 1 presenta el contexto, el propósito y la metodología del estudio. El capítulo 2 establece las bases bíblicas y teológicas de la transición pastoral, desde Moisés hasta Pablo. El capítulo 3 describe las bases teóricas del proyecto. El capítulo 4 establece los detalles y descripción del proyecto. El capítulo 5 evalúa el impacto del proyecto, reflexiona teológicamente sobre la transición como obediencia y ofrece recomendaciones prácticas. El proyecto concluye que la transición pastoral, bien planificada y espiritualmente guiada, fortalece la misión de la iglesia
A Proposal for the Incorporation of Biblical Theology for Biblical Counselors in the Southern Baptist Sheepfold Community
No full textEste proyecto busca entrenar y dar herramientas a los consejeros bíblicos del Redil del Sur en uso de la teología bíblica, reconociendo específicamente su relación y utilidad en el ministerio de consejería bíblica. El proyecto presenta una conceptualización de la teología bíblica su relación con la teología sistemática y su utilidad para guiar al aconsejado al cambio redentor.Además, presenta una propuesta de seis sesiones bíblicas que siguen la narrativa desde Génesis a Apocalipsis que ayudan al aconsejado a interpretar su historia a luz de la historia de Dios y su plan redentor, proveyendo al final las implicaciones en un caso típico de consejería
Developing a Biblical Understanding of the Spiritual Gifts at the Wooden Cross Bible Church in Centurion, South Africa, to Empower Members for Ministry
Full text linkThis project’s aim was to develop a biblical understanding of the spiritual gifts at WCBC in Centurion, South Africa, to facilitate effective ministry. Chapter 1 presents the background and ministry context of the said church, as well as the goals for this project. Chapter 2 supports the thesis that God’s Spirit has endowed every believer with a unique spiritual giftedness to empower his ministry in the church in service of fellow saints to God’s glory alone. This was accomplished by exegeting certain key passages of Scripture (especially 1 Cor 12–14), which undergirds the cessationist position. Chapter 3 considers historical, philosophical, and practical issues that impact the project and its implementation. Chapter 4 provides the details and description of the project, from preparation through implementation and measuring improvement in understanding. Chapter 5 concludes with an evaluation of this project with specific focus on the efficacy upon ministry
Covenantal Culmination: Why the New Covenant Documents Signify the Cessation of Normative Post-Apostolic Revelation
Full text linkThis thesis argues that post-apostolic revelation should not be a normative expectation for New Covenant believers on the basis of the intersection between covenant, canon, and the function of prophecy.
Chapter 1 addresses relevant material to this conversation, revealing the unique need for Baptistic scholarship on this subject. Chapter 2 explains the centrality of covenant for man’s eschatological relationship with God in conjunction with its inseparable link to special revelation. After delineating this biblical-theological connection, chapter 3 shows how the biblical canon is the culmination of God’s special, covenantal revelation to his people throughout the duration of redemptive history. Chapter 4 shifts focus to the New Covenant and the canonical documents associated with the New Covenant, elucidating God’s ordained means of speaking to his people through the first century apostles and prophets. Chapter 5 offers concluding remarks in view of the relevant apologetical, evangelistic, and polemical implications for the broader church
Whatever Is Done in Secret: A Christian Moral Analysis of a Right to Privacy for a Digital Age
Full text linkIn this project, the right to privacy is argued to be an inherent aspect of being human, flowing from humanity’s being created in the imago Dei and the corresponding nature of human rights and duties. Chapter 1 situates this project in the larger landscape of the human rights discussion within the Christian moral tradition and outlines the project, including the intricate relationship of ethics to theology and philosophy. Chapter 2 is a critical survey of the nature of privacy in moral discourse and the various paradigms often employed to navigate the pressing privacy challenges of our day. Chapter 3 focuses on the various philosophical underpinnings and approaches to human rights and privacy. This chapter examines the modern philosophical frameworks for privacy as well as shows how the natural law tradition undergirds and helps to better define this moral good. Chapter 4 focuses on a biblical and theological framework for human dignity and rights grounded in a holistic status-based approach to the imago Dei and draws upon the biblical notion of human individuality and community as seen in key biblical texts. Chapter 5 brings together the various theological and philosophical threads, including the aspects of the interiority and privacy of individuals in community, applying them to a paradigm of privacy as dependency before applying this framework to informational capitalism and charting a path for future privacy studies in Christian ethics
From Him and Through Him and to Him: A Dogmatic Account of Participation in God
No full textThis work is embargoed by the author until 06/12/2027.In this dissertation, I offer a constructive account of participation in God, drawing specifically from Thomas Aquinas and the Reformed orthodox. Such a conception of participation, I argue, is ontologically grounded grammar for communicating creation’s relation to and imitation of God. Chapter 1 offers my theological method as well as a survey of recent scholarship on the topic. Chapter 2 orients the reader historically by providing a brief overview of participation’s historical use. In doing so, I demonstrate that the grammar maintains a broadly shared conceptual core to speak about creation’s relation to God as receiving in part what God is simply. Chapter 3 lays a framework for my argument by putting forth a doctrine of God as ipsum esse. To do so, I bring together a constellation of exegetical-dogmatic doctrines: God as simple, actus purus, a se, and the corollary doctrine, creation ex nihilo. Chapter 4 moves to creaturely metaphysics as a corollary of a classical doctrine of God. Because God is identical with his essence, existence, and perfections; because he possesses all possible perfections maximally; and because he depends upon nothing else for his own being, I conclude that for creation to come into being, God must gratuitously and continuously grant it to have analogically what he is essentially. Chapter 5 furthers this argument by outlining creation according to divine ideas, which is to say that God creates according to his wisdom. The result, I argue, is that God is the exemplar of creation, granting not arbitrary likeness but an analogous similitude to the created order according to creaturely forms. Chapter 6 turns to Christ more specifically to consider how his procession from the Father serves as the principle and exemplar of creation. I conclude in chapter 7 by summarizing my work, addressing objections, and detailing how my retrieval of participation differs from other projects that may suffer from ambiguity and excess