The purpose of this portfolio and thesis is to demonstrate the importance of theological reflection upon church planting practice, and by so doing, to resource and equip church planters to think in creative new ways in order to become more effective in missional engagement in forming new communities of faith. This motivation and exploration lies at the heart of each component and individual chapter. The portfolio is comprised of three self contained and coherent pieces of work: a literature review which advocates that theological reflection is a developing concern for church planting, a publishable article that reflects on the nature of the gospel that underpins missional practice, and a research project which aimed to discover how different church planting tribes were engaging in theological reflection, and what issues and lessons were still needing to be learned and further explored. The thesis, building on the work of the portfolio, gives an extended Trinitarian theological reflection upon church planting practice in relation to the themes of creation, context and community. It has attempted to intentionally reflect upon the missional practice of church planting through Trinitarian perspectives, in order that it may be more robust, enriched and rooted in God's own life and story. Trinitarian perspectives on church planting are at best embryonic, and the renewal of interest in the doctrine of the Trinity has stimulated me to write a Trinitarian missiology for church planting that offers fresh theological insights and practical missional applications. Through dialoguing extensively with the Trinitarian creation theology of Jürgen Moltmann, the Trinitarian contextual missiology of Lesslie Newbigin and Timothy Tennent, and the Trinitarian ecclesiologies of Miroslav Volf, Leonardo Boff and Catherine Mowry LaCugna, I believe their collective contributions have much to offer church planting today.

Missional ethics is a relatively new and unexplored theme emerging within missiology. Thus far the meaning of the term, 'missional ethics,' has been assumed rather than explicitly defined. This thesis provides an exegetical definition of missional ethics arrived at by exploring key biblical texts relevant to the theme—Deuteronomy, the Major Prophets and Luke-Acts. A canonical, narratival, missional, and performative hermeneutic was employed in the exploration of the nature, content, purpose, and development of missional ethics within the biblical texts. The exegesis demonstrated that missional ethics is an inherently community based project with emphases in justice, charity, and worship. Within the wider missiological discussion, this definition provides challenges and proposals to contemporary theory and praxis. The most significant contribution of this thesis is the proposal of a definition of missional ethics as follows: Missional ethics refers to the ways in which the believing community's behaviour—in particular their love for God, and love for neighbour, expressed in the exercise of justice, charity, and worship—bears witness, in the imitatio Dei, to the nature and character of God before a watching world.

No description available.

Spiritan Life No. 04 -- December 1991 -- Mission Sources Justice and Peace Number 4 -- CONTENTS -- Foreword – (pg 5) -- "Practical Union", by Maurice Gobeil -- (pg 7) -- Theft of the Vision Quest, by Dermot McLoughlin -- (pg 19) -- Missionary and Mission, by Eugene Uzukwu -- (pg 29) -- Blessings or Curses?, by Joseph Harris -- (pg 43) -- What does the 500th Anniversary mean to us Spiritans? by John Kilcrann -- (pg 53) -- The 5th Centenary of Evangelisation, by Jesus Cabellos -- (pg 65) -- A Spiritan in Mexico considers, by Antoine Mercier -- (pg 75) -- Evangelisation and Religions in Dialogue in Mauritius, by Raymond Zimmermann -- (pg 87) -- About the Chapter..., by Georges Thibault -- (pg 99) -- Challenges of the Changed Times -- (pg 103) -- Spiritan Life Reviews -- (pg 105) -- Other Spiritan Publications -- (pg 107)

Contents -- Forward -- (p. 4) -- The Author -- (p. 7) -- The First Years -- (p. 8) -- The Friendship of a Saint and the Love of Poverty -- (p. 12) -- Successful Studies -- (p. 17) -- A Summer Which Finished Badly -- (p. 22) -- The Affair of the Barrister's Gown -- (p. 28) -- A Sentimental Character -- (p. 31) -- "Come and Follow Me" -- (p. 35) -- The Influence of Michel Le Nobletz -- (p. 39) -- Claude's Life of Prayer -- (p. 41) -- The Courage of a Young Seminarian -- (p. 48) -- The Sad State of the "Poor Scholars" -- (p. 51) -- The Foundation of the Seminary of the Holy Spirit -- (p. 58) -- Under the Sign of the Holy Spirit -- (p. 66) -- The Hour of Temptation -- (p. 73) -- Rue Neuve-Saint-Etienne -- (p. 80) -- A Response to the Council of Trent -- (p. 85) -- A House of Charity, Cradle of a Great Congregation -- (p. 95) -- The Plans of Saint Jean-Baptiste De La Salle -- (p. 103) -- "There Is No Greater Love..." -- (p. 107) -- Towards a Great Missionary Congregation -- (p. 116) -- The Spiritans and the De Montfort Fathers -- (p. 125) -- The Spiritans and the Daughters of the Holy Spirit -- (p. 136) -- An Apostolic Spirituality -- (p. 141) -- A Lasting Imprint -- (p. 145) -- Principle Sources -- (p. 155) -- The Writings of Poullart des Places -- (p. 155) -- Chronology -- (p. 157)

Zugl.: Hamburg, Univ., Diss., 2007

Zugl.: Heidelberg, Univ., Diss.

Zugl.: Sankt Augustin, Philos.-Theol. Hochsch. SVD, Diss., 2009.

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-141).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-108).