Boyce Digital Repository (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
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Factors Relating to Diminished Confidence in Core Christian Doctrines Among Students in Public Colleges and Universities: A Mixed Methods Study
Get PDFThe purpose of this research study was to explore factors relating to diminished confidence in core Christian doctrines among public college students. Research reports thirty to sixty percent of young adults spiritually decline and disengage from church after high school. An online survey instrument was used to survey college seniors and recent graduates. Faith based questions were derived from the Short Christian Orthodoxy (SCO) scale developed by Hunsberger in 1987.
Following the quantitative portion of the research, respondents were selected at random for the qualitative portion of this mixed method study. Follow-up interviews were conducted to provide further information regarding factors that related to diminishment of belief in core Christian doctrines.
This research found that confidence in orthodox Christian belief significantly decreases while in public college. I offer practical implications and applications for churches and families to best prepare Christian students to maintain belief before entering public colleges and universities
Speech Act Theory and the Theological Convictions of Preaching
Get PDFThis dissertation explains and expresses biblical preaching’s theological convictions, specifically the preaching event, using the linguistic theory, Speech Act Theory (SAT). Chapter 1 introduces and supports preaching as a priority of Christianity by providing theological convictions about the theological conversation between the preacher, Holy Spirit, the Bible, and the hearer. The chapter concludes by stating the dissertation's thesis and the contributions a linguistic explanation provides for understanding preaching. Chapter 2 provides a brief theology of preaching and the four parties included in the preaching event. Chapter 3 focuses on introducing the reader to SAT by establishing the principle concepts and vocabulary of the theory.
Chapter 4 explicitly examines the locutionary act and its relationship with preaching. The chapter demonstrates preaching’s locutionary acts are Spirit-compelled and empowered utterances of theocentric content. Chapter 5 explains that preaching’s illocutionary acts are Spirit-filled actions of declaring Jesus and calling for repentance and faith. Chapter 6 shows that preaching utilizes oral communication’s perlocutionary acts to accomplish the applicational aim of transformation. The final chapter summarizes the main points of the dissertation. It provides a linguistic understanding of biblical preaching—the Holy Spirit empowering and compelling the preacher to utter theocentric locutions in Spirit-filled illocutionary acts for perlocutionary transformation.
The Influence of W. Carl Hunker on Taiwan Baptists
Get PDFIf cross-cultural missionaries, and the local churches who send them, are to be faithful to the Great Commission, a reemphasis on the importance of long-lasting church-planting fruit must occur. One example of a missionary whose work remains decades later is former Foreign Mission Board (FMB) missionary to Taiwan, W. Carl Hunker. This dissertation examines what made Hunker an influential leader in the life and history of Taiwan Baptists. Hunker served with the FMB for forty years, spending thirty-four of those years in Taiwan. He was a pastor, church planter, convention founder, and seminary president. Sixty-five years after his work in Taiwan began, Hunker’s efforts still impact the ministry in that country. This dissertation argues that Hunker was an influential leader in the history of Taiwan Baptists due to his care for people, passion for the lost, understanding of culture, and commitment to indigeneity.
Five primary chapters explore why Hunker was influential in the life and history of Taiwan Baptists. With chapter 1 serving as the introduction, chapter 2 provides a brief life sketch of Hunker’s life before, during, and after his time in Taiwan. Chapter 3 explores how Hunker’s care for people garnered trust and built influence in Taiwan. Chapter 4 explains how Hunker’s passion for evangelism impacted his Chinese disciples in Taiwan. Chapter 5 explores how Hunker’s understanding of Chinese culture helped him remove cultural barriers and minister to nationals. Chapter 6 explains how Hunker’s commitment to indigeneity equipped him to identify, develop, and empower national leaders. The concluding chapter draws twelve missiological reflections based on Hunker’s ministry principles
Training Young Adult Members of the Zion Number One Missionary Baptist Church in Barton, Alabama to Become Committed Disciples of Jesus Christ
Get PDFThe purpose of this project was to train the young adult members of the Zion Number One Missionary Baptist Church in Barton, Alabama, to become maturing disciples of Jesus Christ. Chapter 1 provides details of the context, rationale, and the goals of the research project. Chapter 2 explains the biblical and theological foundation to becoming committed disciples of Jesus Christ. Chapter 3 provides the theoretical and practical process of becoming committed disciples of Jesus Christ. Chapter 4 contains the discipleship training classes used to prepare the learners for discipleship. Chapter 5 is the analysis/evaluation of the discipleship training classes and a conclusion about the successfulness of the project
"An Engine of Destruction": Andrew Fuller's Response to Antinomianism
Get PDFAndrew Fuller was arguably one of the most important theological figures of the Long Eighteenth–Century. While his written responses to High Calvinism, Socinianism, Sandemanianism, and Deism are well known, Fuller’s response to Antinomianism has not received as much attention. Thus, this thesis will argue that the “engine of destruction” known as Antinomianism was the greatest threat to the Particular Baptists and their missionary enterprise. In doing so, it will summarize the rise and fall of Antinomianism from the time of the Reformation to the present day, emphasizing and distilling Fuller’s response to Antinomianism, chiefly from his late work Antinomianism Contrasted with the Religion Taught and Exemplified in the Holy Scriptures (1816), and explain both the aftermath of the Antinomian controversy and make application for modern believers
Formed From the Dust of the Ground: A Biblical-Theological Study of the Relationship Between Man and the Ground in Genesis 1-12
Get PDFThis project traces the dynamic relationship between the man and the ground in Genesis 1-12 through the appearance of the adam - adamah motif and its near associations. In so doing, I contend that there is a detectable movement of the human existential state, shifting from bliss to anguish. Consequently, later OT authors utilize the curse of the ground (Gen 3:17-19) as a framework for interpreting the suffering in life. Alternatively, later OT authors also anticipate the removal the curse of the ground, specifically through resurrection. Furthermore, the NT confirms these suspicions by connecting the resurrection of Jesus to the lifting of the curse and thus the end of human existential anguish. Yet, the lifting of the curse is already underway due to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Preparing an Elder Training Plan for Those Aspiring to the Office of Elder at Liberty Baptist Church of Dalhart, Texas
Get PDFThe purpose of this project was to develop and implement a training manual for aspiring elders at Liberty Baptist Church of Dalhart, Texas. Chapter 1 explains the ministerial context of Liberty Baptist Church and the need for the development of an elder training plan. Chapter 2 demonstrates the biblical and theological basis for training and testing men for ministry, as well as providing the areas in which men should be trained and tested. Chapter 3 considers a sampling of resources that speak directly to the process and content of training and testing. Chapter 4 provides an overview of the process and methodology used in this project. Chapter 5 is an evaluation of project determining its effectiveness
Training Ministry Leaders at Church On the Way in Lake City, Florida, to Recognize and Respond to Sexual Abuse Biblically
Get PDFThis project seeks to equip members of Church on The Way in Lake City, Florida, to counsel sexual abuse survivors biblically. Chapter 1 presents the history and ministry context of Church on The Way and the goals of this project. Chapter 2 provides exegesis of three passages of Scripture: Psalm 23, Psalm 25, and Ephesians 4:17-32; these show that the Bible is sufficient to answer each of the primary concerns of survivors of sexual abuse. Chapter 3 presents the practical resources available to counsel survivors of sexual abuse. Chapter 4 describes the project itself, recounting the content and teaching methodology of the specific course curriculum. Chapter 5 evaluates the efficacy of the project based on completion of the specified goals. Ultimately, this project seeks to equip ministry leaders to recognize and respond to victims of sexual abuse biblically
Equipping Lay Leadership to Teach the Bible at Hope Bible Church in Oakville, Ontario
Get PDFChapter 1 describes the purpose of this project, namely, to equip lay leadership to teach the Bible at Hope Bible Church in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. The context in which the project was conducted is described, along with the rationale and specific goals. Additionally, the research methodology is outlined, and definitions, limitations and delimitations are stated.
Chapter 2 consists of the biblical basis for this project, that equipping of lay teachers not only follows logically from the Great Commission but also yields support and strength to greater community of believers. Chapter 3 proves that the practice of teaching the Bible has warrant from history, current affairs, and an increasingly hostile West.
Chapter 4 is a detailed description of the project, both its design and implementation. Chapter 5 provides an evaluation of the project, including an evaluation of its purpose, goals, strengths, weaknesses, as well as theological and personal reflections
Developing Followers of Jesus Among the Men of Nags Head Church in Nags Head, NC
Get PDFBased on an exegetical study of the interconnectedness of love for God and love for fellow believers in 1 John, this project is built on a small-group format that utilizes love for fellow believers as an avenue for spiritual growth. Through an eight-lesson study conducted on a weekly basis, participants engage in the command to love one another and God. This engagement involves learning about love from the text of 1 John, as well as participating in spiritual disciplines, and completing practical assignments designed to bring the theoretical idea of love into practice in real relationships with one another.The program was run with six men (the author being one of the six), in the summer of 2021. The program was life-changing for the participants, forging friendships where there had been none, and creating community in the place of isolation. The community created continued even after the program ended, birthing a new running of the program with a separate group of men, and led by two men from the original group (the author is not one of the two)