<p>From 2011?2015, The Master?s Touch ministry has been the formal agency for the work of visiting the sick and shut-in at the Mount Moriah A.M.E. Church in New York. The purpose of this study is to determine any correlation between the visitations themselves and the level of local church commitment by the visited family members over these four years. This study is important because persons visited receive the benefits of pastoral care, while the impact on their families may not be as apparent. This research will focus on data from interviews conducted with family members in order to ascertain if there is any change to their level of local church commitment.

<p> Leading the Church of God as an elder can be exhausting to body and soul. The challenges of pastoral leadership wear out and wear down the best of men. When these leaders find themselves unable to continue to provide healthy leadership, they may be experiencing vocational burnout. This project seeks to equip church leaders with the skills to resist burnout and build resilience. </p><p> The project director reviewed an extensive amount of literature, both from the secular and sacred communities, to develop insight into the nature of burnout and the practices that prevent burnout and encourage personal and professional health. The director's studies produced a working definition of burnout and self-care. Readers will find an extensive description of burnout's symptoms and stages. In the area of self-care, readers will discover a special emphasis on the common demands and pressures faced by pastors along with a variety of insights from ministry experts on best practices to ensure a whole-personed experience of health. The director's summary of his findings is published in appendix E, "A Pastor's Manual for Resisting Burnout and Building Resilience." </p><p> This resilience, built into the body and soul, provides a reservoir of physical and spiritual health that blesses the pastor personally, relationally, and professionally. These practices deepen the pastor's life, protects the pastor's family, and increases the quality and longevity of his pastoral ministry. Pastors who practice biblically wise self-care can resist burnout, build resilience, and set a God-honoring example to those they lead.</p><p>

<p> The qualitative research on this intervention involves therapists and their work with patients within the field of mental health, working with inner city and under-served teens from 12 to 18 years&rsquo; old in Middle and High School settings. While providing care to patients, one of the key elements used in therapeutic interventions is that of mindfulness. Thus, while using mindfulness-based techniques, such as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) or Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), therapists worked to treat patients&rsquo; symptoms. Often however, many of the therapists using these interventions faced situations where patients began exhibiting maladaptive behaviors with their original symptoms being left intact or severely intensified. Furthermore, in using mindfulness techniques many of the patients working through severe anxiety found themselves dissociating from their bodies in an attempt to avoid re-experiencing powerful traumatic emotions. Thus, two main issues resulted, a) symptoms got worse, and b) dissociation from the body took place. </p><p> As a response, I devised an intervention that incorporated principles of Buddhist meditative practice such as virtue, mental cultivation through awareness, and subsequently wisdom, i.e. the three trainings (<i>s&imacr;a, sam&amacr;hi, pa&ntilde;&ntilde;&amacr;</i>). The goal of this intervention is to alter patients&rsquo; automatic reactions of being drawn into overwhelming feelings and the dysregulation of bodily sensations, and instead to simply ground the patient by intentionally directing their thoughts and attention to the here and now, while using the body and its parts as anchors of awareness. Thus, the intervention was coined the &ldquo;Mindful Grounding&rdquo; (MG). </p><p> In using the MG, patients were able to meet their treatment goals much sooner than originally anticipated in their initial assessment during intake. In some cases, therapists observed reduction of anxiety, depression, anger, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms within one or two sessions from first introducing patients to the MG intervention. The process of experiencing the body thus in a new way as prescribed by the MG, involves helping patients become calmly reacquainted with their own bodies. It is through this connection of body and mind that they develop a deeper and more existential connection with their world, as they heal with the insight gained through acceptance and understanding of their trauma and thereby rebuild their lives.</p><p>

Thesis (M.A.B.S.)--Multnomah Graduate School of Ministry, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-76).

The purpose of the present study is to determine the relationship between religious and existential variables and the Animal-Human Continuity Scale (Templer et al., 2006). The AHCS measures the extent that the respondent views animals and humans in a dichotomous versus a continuous perspective. Ninety nine (99) students at an evangelical southern university scored in the dichotomous direction as compared to the ninety six (96) students at a southern secular university. Likewise the more religious students, both those at the evangelical southern university and at a secular southern university, scored more in the dichotomous direction than the less religious students. Participants who scored higher on the Choice/Responsibilities Scale of the Life Attitude Profile-Revised had a more dichotomous orientation. Thus, religious students are more likely to view animals as being created separately.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Calvin Theological Seminary, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-150).

Thesis (Ph. D.(Prakt. Teol.)--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-327).

Thesis (master's)--Andover Newton Theological School, 2002. / Title from title screen. Also available online.

<p> The loss of a loved one is a challenging event in the lives of everyone. Each individual must deal with grief and grief recovery. The Western culture has difficulty in dealing with loss and grief. In addition, churches are inadequate in helping their members who are in grief: helping them recover, find meaning, and have an enduring connection with their loved one as they embark on a new life. </p><p> In order to determine if churches can be equipped to provide support during the grief recovery process, this research project focused on training members of Calvary Chapel of Syracuse in the process of grief and grief recovery. The seminar was based on two things. First, a comprehensive review of the Bible was completed to reveal what it says about death, grief, and comfort. Then, a review of the literature dealing with grief and grief recovery was completed that provided insight into the common experience of those in grief, the process of grief recovery, and how individuals find meaning and embark on a new life without their loved one. </p><p> Using quantitative research methods, this project examined the participants of a grief and grief recovery seminar. The participants completed surveys that were assessed using recognized statistical procedures to determine if a seminar could adequately prepare them to work with individuals in grief. </p><p> The results of this research project provide a way to assess the use of a seminar for equipping church members to work with individuals in grief and recommendations on how this process can be enhanced.</p>

<p>The context is The Greater Harvest Church, of Long Beach. California, which was traumatized because of misconduct. misappropriation. and power struggles between former pastors and lay-leaders. This study examined a system for resuscitating and healing churches that have suffered trauma. The hypothesis is that empathy, justice-mindedness, and humility, partnership with the Godhead, and koinonia, are the prescription for resuscitating and healing a church that has been traumatized. A qualitative methodology was employed utilizing surveys, interviews, and observations. Study data supports the conclusion that a demonstration of empathy, justice-mindedness, and humility is essential to healing a wounded congregation. </p>