Boyce Digital Repository (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
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Equipping Parents of Covenant Fellowship Church of West Orange, New Jersey, to Be Faithful in the Discipleship of Their Children
Get PDFThe purpose of this thesis project was to equip Christian parents who entrust their children to the educational ministry of Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) of West Orange, New Jersey, to be more faithful and intentional concerning the discipleship of their children.
The project included administering a pre- and post-series survey that measured parents’ growth in understanding and practice of family discipleship. A five-week curriculum was developed to promote this understanding and practice. Chapter 1 introduces the ministry milieu of Covenant Fellowship Church, along with the rationale, purpose, goals, research methodologies, definitions, delimitations, and limitations of the project. Chapter 2 provides the biblical basis for parents to disciple their children. Key Scriptures that were treated include Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 78:1-8; Ephesians 5:22-32; and Ephesians 6:1-4. Chapter 3 addresses the relationship of husband and wife and the necessity that both embrace their God-ordained roles so that the relationship of Christ and the church can be faithfully illustrated. It also discusses the particulars of a well-ordered family worship time. The chapter ends by probing the church’s role and best practices for promoting family discipleship. Chapter 4 describes the preparation and delivery of lessons taught to parents, along with what surveys and interviews revealed about the efficacy of the lessons. Chapter 5 concludes with an evaluation of the purpose and goals of the project, along with interpretation of the results of surveys and interviews. Strengths and weaknesses of the project are examined, along with suggestions for improvement
The Expository Exchange: Cultivating Next Generation Christ Followers Into Gospel Leaders Through Expository Preaching
No full textChapter 1 is an overview of the project. Chapter 2 forms the theological basis for expository preaching and generational ministry. The two sections of chapter 2 focus on a comprehensive overview of both the Old and New Testaments to form the theological foundation for this project. Chapter 3 forms the contemporary basis for expository preaching and Generation Z. The first section of chapter 3 reveals a comprehensive overview of contemporary expository preaching philosophies, and the second section covers a broad range of secular and spiritual sociological work on Generation Z. Chapter 4 contains the work of developing a paradigm for preaching generationally-conscious expository sermons to Generation Z. Chapter 4 contains the data from the surveys done throughout the project. Chapter 5 is an evaluation of the project and the results of a post-project interview with the preachers and students
Motivating Gift-Based Service at Grace Baptist Church, Santa Clarita, California
Get PDFABSTRACT
MOTIVATING GIFT-BASED SERVICE AT GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH, SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA
Rodney James Martin, D.Ed.Min. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2019 Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Stuart W. Scott
The purpose of this project is to motivate gift-based service in the church. Chapter 1 identifies a problem in the church, a small percentage of regular attenders who are actively serving in the church. In addition, not all of those serving are using their God-given spiritual gift. The proposed solution to the problem is to teach God’s purpose for man, a believer’s identity in Christ, the purpose of the church, and the giftedness of each believer in the church.
Chapter 2 provides a biblical framework for addressing the problem, teach God’s purpose for man. God’s chosen are to be made in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ so they can serve Him forever in the new heaven and earth. Service involves the active use of each believer’s spiritual gift.
Chapter 3 explains the difference between godly motivation and fleshly motivation. Satan motivates with fleshly, self-centered, desires. By contrast, God motivates through His Word and His Spirit to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
Chapter 4 describes the philosophy and methodology for developing eight lessons intended to motivate Christ-followers to gift-based service in the church. The lessons start where God does in Genesis chapter one and introduce God, man, Satan, and temptation in that order. God allows Satan to test mankind in order to demonstrate their allegiance. God’s resources for believers are then introduced: the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God.
Chapter 5 evaluates the effectiveness of the eight lessons. Although they were deemed successful, the eight original lessons were modified to fourteen shorter lessons and the flow was changed slightly. Parts of the lessons were then taught to an ABF and a men’s Bible study, both to good effect. Only God can motivate His people to gift-based service. God is a teacher, and the Bible is His textbook
Training Worship Leaders Through the Worship Wars: A Study of the Development of Liberty University's Undergraduate Music and Worship Leadership Degree Programs from 1971 to 2018
Get PDFHow educational institutions train worship leaders to serve in the twenty-first century evangelical church, particularly churches in the revivalist mold, differs significantly from the methods employed by many academic institutions through much of the twentieth century. Liberty University recognized the paradigm shift in training methods and became an early adopter of a practical, job-focused model of instruction designed to prepare graduates to successfully navigate the new ministry climate.
This dissertation recounts the history of the church music and worship degree programs at Liberty University between 1971 and 2018. Chapter 1 presents an introduction to the study, outlining changing competencies for worship leaders and NASM discussions on change and the church from 1970 to the present. Chapter 2 offers a historical overview of Liberty University and its founder, Jerry Falwell Sr. It traces the life and ministry of Dwight L. Moody, the Moody Bible Institute, the rise of Fundamentalism and the Bible College Movement throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Chapter 3 tracks the cultural and historical climate in which the music and worship programs at Liberty University developed including an overview of the Holiness Movement and the rise of Pentecostalism, the Youth for Christ Movement, the Jesus Movement and the rise of Contemporary Christian Music and Contemporary Worship Music, and a discussion of the worship wars beginning in the early 1990s. Chapter 4 outlines changes in the church music and worship degrees that resulted from changes at the institution. Chapters 5 through 7 present a detailed discussion on the development of the church music and worship degrees from 1971 through 2018. Factors related to the discussion include an in-depth analysis of curriculum, educational philosophy, issues related to faculty hiring, facilities and resources, and significant personalities of each period. The study utilizes interviews with university and departmental administrators and faculty along with individuals instrumental in the establishment of the degrees. Primary documents including departmental meeting minutes, course syllabi, course and degree proposals, course catalogs, reports to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), and administrative documents are used to establish context and track revisions to the degrees throughout the period of the study.
The study does not offer conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the degrees but, rather, addresses the educational philosophy of the institution and its leaders along with the actual revisions in how the training of worship leaders changed through the years
Church Transition to Plurality of Elders: A Case Study
Get PDFA desire among evangelical churches in denominations such as the Southern Baptist Convention to return to biblical forms of leadership have led a number of churches to examine what seems to many to be the biblical model of a plurality of elders. Many new Southern Baptist church plants are starting with this type of polity, but some already established churches desire to make a transition in their church government as well. Some of these churches fail at this transition and experience discord. Some succeed and see great fruit. This case study examines one traditional Southern Baptist church’s experience in transitioning from a single elder congregational model to a plurality of elders. The research examines the time before, during, and after the change in polity by surveying members, interviewing specific groups of the congregation, analyzing documents from during the transition, and through the observation of the researcher, who was a guiding participant in the change. Chapter 1 introduces the research problem. Chapter 2 examines the foundation set by the precedent literature in the arguments for and against a plurality of elders along with a literature survey of organizational change focused on the church. Chapter 3 outlines the case study research methodology. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the findings of the research. The goal of this case study is to provide others with an illustration of best practices and challenges that a church may experience in a transition to plurality of elders and hopefully ease the path of change
Secular Students’ Perceptions of Christian Rhetoric: A Phenomenological Study
Get PDFGeneration Z is the most spiritually detached generation in United States history with twice as many self-identified atheists as all other generations combined. These facts mandate a serious examination of how Christians use the classical rhetorical elements revealed in the biblical metanarrative or, more succinctly, Christian rhetoric, to persuade his or her fellow man of the truth and beauty of the gospel.
Although an abundance of literature devoted to the rise of secularism in the United States exists, there is minimal research dedicated to how Generation Z secularists perceive Christian rhetoric. Thus, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how secular, Gen Z, college students have experienced the phenomenon of Christian rhetoric. In an effort to increase understanding of participants’ experiences with the phenomenon, open-ended questions were used and results were interpreted to shape Christian rhetorical praxis.
Based on participant perceptions, the study found Christian rhetoricians lacked intellectual vulnerability as well as empathetic imagination and routinely failed to engage in steeped embodied discourse
Evidence for the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ Examined through the Islamic Law
Get PDFThis dissertation argues that evidence for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ passes examination under the Islamic law of evidence. This is significant because Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and the only great world religion whose sacred book expressly denies Jesus’s crucifixion and, by implication, his resurrection. Moreover, while secular laws are too unstable to evaluate evidence that entails eternal truths, Islamic law is to Muslims God-given, and thus authoritative and unchangeable. Vindicating Christian evidence through their sacred law should therefore be welcomed by Muslims as objective, trustworthy, and, importantly, respectful, particularly that polemics provoke Muslims, as Islam is their cherished identity rather than merely a set of beliefs. The above is addressed in chapter 1, which also highlights the privileged evidentiary position of Christianity among world religions. Chapter 2 sets the legal background by introducing the Islamic law, including its constituents, formation, features, and sanctity despite its inapplicability.
Chapter 3 starts the examination process. The main types of Christian evidence recognized by Islamic law are live eyewitness testimony and confession. Available only in documentary form, the New Testament, they must be first authenticated as truly belonging to the Evangelists. When subjected to the same historiographical principles used to vindicate the fundamental sources of Islamic law, the Qur’ān and Sunna, the New Testament documents prove to be at least as authentic as the Qur’ān and significantly more authentic than the Sunna. Chapter 4 examines the eyewitness testimonies and shows that they satisfy the Islamic law requirements of number and integrity of witnesses, and the consistency of their testimonies. Confessions by former enemies provide powerful vindication to these testimonies. Chapter 5 provides further corroboration by expert testimony and circumstantial evidence such as the empty tomb, the origin of Christianity, archaeology, and the Christian influence on civilization
Campbell and “Expository Apologetics”: Presuppositionalism Critiques Campbell’s “Original Gospel”
Get PDFD.Ed.Min., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2019Presuppositional apologetics has emerged in the last century as a singular yet complex answer to modern and postmodern attacks on the gospel. For Campbellite Christians who hold to evangelical confession and identity, the biblical confessions and commitments inherent to presuppositional apologetics represent both an opportunity and a challenge. Campbellites and other evangelicals have available common ground in practical presuppositionalism, but practical presuppositionalism also challenges Campbellites who may take up its philosophy and method of apologetics. This thesis offers an introductory exploration of the common ground and the challenge.
The practical presuppositionalism explored here is derived from Voddie Baucham’s Expository Apologetics, framed against Cornelius Van Til’s My Credo, with definition and context provided by John Frame’s Cornelius Van Til: An Analysis of his Thought. Elements of this practical presuppositionalism are identified, qualified, placed in parallel, and synthesized. The synthesis is then held up for comparison and contrast with relevant elements of the introduction to Alexander Campbell’s Christian System. The result is both an affirmation and a critique of the restorationist apologetic of Campbell. Presuppositionalism affirms Campbell’s commitment to the totality, priority, supremacy, and necessity of biblical thought, but challenges Campbell on his use of reason as an unqualified utility
Promoting A Culture of Spiritual Growth Through Equipping Student Leaders for Discipleship at Trinity Baptist College in Jacksonville, Florida
Get PDFPROMOTING A CULTURE OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH THROUGH EQUPPING STUDENT LEADERS FOR DISCIPLESHIP
AT TRINITY BAPTIST COLLEGE IN
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
Jeremiah Ryan Stanley, D.Min.
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2019
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. John David Trentham
This project focuses on promoting a culture of spiritual growth through equipping student leaders for discipleship on the campus of a Christian college. The project is implemented through six training modules designed to equip student leaders for the work of discipleship.
Chapter 1 introduces the project, explaining the purpose, goals, background,
and rationale for promoting a culture of spiritual growth. Chapter 2 develops a biblical theology for promoting a culture of spiritual growth through discipleship. Specifically, this chapter focuses on three passages of Scripture which provide explanation for why a Christian college should be focused on equipping students for discipleship. Chapter 3 examines various resources in both the field of Christian higher education and institutional management which provide explanation for why a Christian college exists and how spiritual purpose can be maintained through promoting a culture of spiritual growth. Chapter 4 outlines the implementation of the six-week discipleship training modules presented to the student leaders at Trinity Baptist College. Chapter 5 offers analysis and reflection upon the entire project
John R. Rice and Evangelism: An Essential Mark of Independent Baptist Fundamentalism
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JOHN R. RICE AND EVANGELISM: AN ESSENTIAL MARK OF INDEPENDENT BAPTIST FUNDAMENTALISM
Matthew Lee Lyon, Ph.D.
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2019
Chair: Dr. Thomas J. Nettles
This dissertation examines the theology of John R. Rice through the lens of his commitment to evangelism. Rice was a prominent twentieth-century independent Baptist fundamentalist whose ministry covered many areas, including pastor, newspaper editor, and evangelist. This dissertation argues that evangelism was Rice’s focus and defined his other theological, ministerial, and historical perspectives. Rice’s devotion to evangelism, especially as informed by nineteenth-century revivalism, created a unique form of fundamentalism, one that trumped other doctrines, such as separatism. Chapter 2 places Rice in the context of twentieth-century fundamentalism. Rice developed a unique model, focused on cooperation with all believers for evangelism. It was largely abandoned by his successors. Chapter 3 argues that Rice taught that the Christian life and church should be organized entirely around evangelism, following the heart of Jesus. This approach would naturally produce discipleship and church health. Chapter 4 examines Rice’s bibliology. His conversionism led him away from evidentialist and Common Sense views and toward a Reformed, presuppositional perspective. Chapter 5 demonstrates that Rice was only a nominal dispensationalist. Rice held to the system as far as it facilitated evangelism, but no farther. This stance left Rice on the edges of the typical fundamentalist identification with dispensationalism. Chapter 6 analyzes Rice’s opposition to Arminianism and Calvinism. Rice’s held a superficial understanding of both systems, leading him to make errors in evaluating them, as well past Reformed evangelists. Chapter 7 focuses on Rice’s pneumatology. Rice maintained that evangelism was dependent on a post-conversion enduement of power from the Holy Spirit. Rice’s also strongly opposed the tongues theology of Pentecostalism. Chapter 8 examines Rice’s preaching style in relation to current social issues. Rice advocated pointed preaching against modern social ills, primarily as a means to bring conviction. However, Rice drew most of his analysis from a white, conservative culture, centered around authority, demonstrated by his opposition to the Civil Rights Movement. Chapter 9 focuses on Rice’s methodology of evangelism, which was determined by pragmatism. Rice taught that personal evangelism was the most effective means of evangelism, while mass evangelism was necessary mostly as a means to prepare for evangelism