Boyce Digital Repository (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
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Conflict Management Among Church Elders: A Delphi Study
Get PDFThis Delphi study was conducted in an effort to enhance church elders’ ability to manage conflict amongst themselves in ways that honor God and benefit the church. With a firm commitment to building upon the biblical foundation for Christian conflict management, this study sought to discover which, if any, are the concepts and practices from secular models of conflict management congruent with biblical principles of conflict management and beneficial to elders practicing shared leadership within a local church? Chapter 1 provides an overview of the biblical model for church leadership known as a plurality of elders and introduces some challenges associated with shared leadership, namely, conflict. Chapter 2 establishes a biblical foundation for understanding peace, conflict, and conflict management and surveys both Christian and secular models and practices of conflict management. Chapter 3 outlines the methodology for testing concepts and practices of conflict management from secular models for both congruence with Scripture and benefit to church elders. The study employed a three-round Delphi study with ten purposefully selected panelists who serve as elders in theologically orthodox churches which practice a shared leadership model. Chapter 4 describes the findings of the research and chapter 5 analyzes the results of the study and offers suggestions for application of the findings and recommendations for further research.
Of the items selected for consideration in the study, five concepts and four practices from secular models of conflict management achieved consensus approval as being congruent with biblical principles and beneficial to elders sharing leadership within a local church. Panelists reached a consensus approval of the congruence and benefit of a knowledge of the concepts of substantive conflict, process conflict, goal conflict, conflict of interests, and relational conflict. Panelists also reached a consensus approval of the congruence and benefit of use of the dual-concern matrix, along with the integrating, compromising, and obliging styles of conflict management
Enhancing Corporate Prayer at First Baptist Church in Owensboro, Kentucky
Get PDFThis project helped members of First Baptist Church in Owensboro, Kentucky, to understand, desire, and live out biblical corporate prayer. Chapter 1 sets the context of the project, ultimately giving the rationale for the need to enhance the corporate prayer life of the church. This chapter also includes the goals and methodological approaches toward achieving the stated purpose of the project. Chapter 2 argues that the book of Acts provides a foundation and model for the practice of prayer as a corporate spiritual discipline that cultivates a church in which God is pleased to work mightily in and through. Chapter 3 explains the invaluable role corporate prayer plays in the discipleship and growth of the individual Christian as they seek to carry out their privilege and responsibility as church members. Chapter 4 details the methodology used to implement and execute this project, emphasizing the equipping class as the prominent channel of influence. Chapter 5 presents a final analysis, evaluation, and reflection on the project and its effectiveness
Biblical Foundations for Reaching Special Needs Families Through Summit Baptist Church in Wiggins, Colorado
Get PDFSpecial needs and disabilities among Americans is growing and the church is missing an opportunity to reach this people group. The Bible and Christian ministries continually display a relationship with the helpless, disabled, and needy and God. Through biblical foundations this project is designed to find these gaps, address them through a sermon series and create a reproducible ministry plan that other churches can follow. First, identifying these gaps through surveys, second, identifying biblical foundations that outline such a ministry and lastly, designing a practical and reproducible plan for churches to follow to reach the special needs and disabled. Summit Baptist Church in Wiggins, Colorado will outline these sets and guide the process at each level of discovery. The end goal is to reach everyone for Jesus Christ and to find practical ways to implement these changes within a church to start a special needs ministry
Promoting Church Unity Through the Pulpit at First Baptist Church in West Bend, Wisconsin
Get PDFThis project seeks to promote unity in the church through preaching a clear philosophy ofministry which is grounded in the doctrine and purpose of First Baptist Church West Bend,
Wisconsin. Chapter 1 presents the ministry context, rational, and goals for this project. Chapter 2
argues that God’s Word provides the purpose, principles, and practices to unify the church in a
biblical philosophy of ministry for the glory of God. Chapter 3 provides an overview and
analyses of the current models for church ministry. Chapter 4 provides a detailed description of
the project from the development of the philosophy of ministry to the implementation of it.
Chapter 5 evaluates the effectiveness of the project based on the goals of the project. In the end,
this project desires to see FBCWB strengthened by uniting around and implementing a
philosophy of ministry that is consistent with God’s Word
Developing a Philosophy of Worship That Supports Intergenerational Worship at Collierville First Baptist Church, Collierville, Tennessee
Get PDFThis project sought to develop a philosophy of worship that supports intergenerational worship at Collierville First Baptist Church in Collierville, Tennessee. Chapter 1 presents the unique facets and ministry context of CFBC. Chapter 2 provides exegesis of six passages of Scripture (Deut 4:9; 6:4-9; Pss 78:4; 145:4; Eph 6:1; and Col 3:20) that pertain to intergenerational worship in the corporate setting. Chapter 3 provides numerous resources to support intergenerational worship and supply content for further study. Chapter 4 describes the specific research methodology for the project, culminating in the adoption of a philosophy of worship at CFBC. Chapter 5 evaluates the ministry project and its efficacy based on the completion of the specified goals set forth. This project sought to support the ministry and worship at CFBC as the church glorifies God by committing to Jesus Christ and to the explosive growth of His kingdom
Godly Discipline: Biblical Counseling and Church Discipline Modeled After God's Restorative Discipline
Get PDFThis thesis argues biblical counseling and church discipline model God’s restorative discipline in the church. The first chapter is an introduction and overview to the issues, related resources, and current gaps in the research. The second chapter examines God’s nature that produces divine discipline, particularly relating to church discipline. The third chapter focuses on God’s restorative discipline pertaining to the work and purpose of biblical counseling. The fourth chapter connects the ministries of biblical counseling and church discipline in conjunction with one another in the practical application of divine discipline. The fifth chapter concludes with case studies, answered objections, and implications for the church regarding God’s discipline
Multidirectional Mission: Special Operations Principles for Leading God's Mission in His Church
Get PDFThe church and Special Operations Forces have multidirectional missions. A multidirectional mission is a complex end state with emerging objectives that require a spectrum of alternating activities and efforts. With the surmounting challenges facing
American evangelicals, church leaders should consider utilizing biblically redefined Full
Range Leadership (FRL) that faithfully pursues high-capacity and high-competency to
accomplish God’s mission. This argument is supported with a combination of past studies
in secular leadership theory, leadership in the Special Operations Forces, and a leadership
case study of the success and failure during Operation Anaconda. These findings are
filtered through in depth biblical analysis of leadership principles that provides pastors and
church leaders with a new framework to consider when leading God’s mission for His
church. This framework includes five principles of Full Range Leaders derived from
special operations: define the mission, take command, plan backward, kill complacency,
and lead the fight
Standing Firm in the True Grace of God: Biblical Theology and Preaching in 1 Peter
Get PDFThis project is a series of expositions on passages from the book of 1 Peter that contain either Old Testament quotations or allusions. It investigates both the contextual meaning of each passage and the biblical theological connections to the rest of Scripture. Chapter 1 introduces the project by giving a brief survey of biblical theology, defining its meaning, and stating a practical approach to the task of interpretation. The remainder of the project is a seven-part expositional treatment of selected passages within 1 Peter employing a biblical-theological approach
The Impact of Open Theism on C. Peter Wagner's Philosophy of Discipleship
Get PDFEd. D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2022This thesis demonstrates that Wagner’s philosophy of discipleship emerged from a theological basis established in open theism, affirming God limited his foreknowledge and omnipotence while denying his immutability. Moreover, an underlying consequentialist ethic drove Wagner’s understanding and praxes of the Great Commission. Wagner’s telos sought to create disciples by any means necessary so that God could instill his will upon the earth. This research introduces three new terms to articulate Wagner’s theological convictions and praxes: divine interventional mutability, cooperationism, and commissional pragmatic consequentialism. Chapter 1 introduces the need for the research. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 articulate Wagner’s primary theological dispositions concerning the doctrine of God throughout his career (1952–2016). Chapter 5 provides the research conclusions and articulates the implications of Wagnerian theology on discipleship praxes and ethics. Wagner’s early theological writings demonstrated minimal parity with open theism, though some functional similarities existed. His early philosophy of discipleship emphasized individual means by the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit through theological education. As Wagner progressed through life, his theological writings aligned with open theism. Wagner’s theological basis evolved into a pragmatic means of discipleship, affirming God’s dependency upon the prayers of humanity. In 2001, Wagner formally adopted open theism and articulated a revised means of discipleship through Dominion theology, marginalizing theological education. In conclusion, within the context of Wagner’s scriptural narrative, his philosophy of discipleship manifests as a means to implement the will of God on earth. An abundance of disciples means the greater installment of God’s will; therefore, Christ can return once all things have come under his authority. Wagner continuously changed his discipleship praxes throughout his career by measuring the phenomenological success of his discipleship methods. In the end, Wagner’s means of discipleship manifested from the contextual narrative of open theism all along
Christian Curricular Emphases and Academic Rigor in Fine Arts: A Mixed Methods Study
Get PDFEd. D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2022This study explored the relationship between Christian curricular emphases and academic rigor in Christian secondary school’s fine arts programs and course offerings. It used convergent data transformation methods to analyze published course and program descriptions in relationship to published academic data. This study correlated these sets of variables while controlling for family income influence on academic performance metrics.The review of literature presented the foundations of Christian fine arts. It then examined qualitative areas, such as curriculum theory, Christian school curriculum, fine arts curricula emphasis, and academic rigor in fine arts. This study then considered the quantitative literature regarding academic rigor, Bible literacy, and fine arts AP course offerings. Few studies examined Christian curricular emphases, academic rigor, and fine arts together.
The convergent data transformation research design consisted of qualitative and quantitative analysis. This study necessitated a population that demonstrates Christian curricular emphases, academic rigor, and fine arts programs and course offerings. Council on Educational Standards and Accountability schools meet the population needs of this study. The first phase gathered published qualitative curricular data and quantitative academic rigor data. The second phase gathered tuition and family
income data to control for possible income variables. The third phase coded course descriptions for integration of faith and learning language, then transformed them into quantitative data for analysis. The fourth and last phase performed a multivariate analysis of variance with covariates on all collected data