Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Ill., 1999. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 221-224).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, Mass., 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-104).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 1992. / Includes abstract, indexes and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-74).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2007. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 282-293).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Boston University, 1999. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves leaves 149-153).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-127, 134-137).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, MA, 2003. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-144).

M.A. / The objective with this study was to develop a management model for assemblies in the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM). This model is focussed on the development of positive potential and the equipping of assembly members. A number of assemblies instituted a cell-based structure whilst others are in a process of transformation towards a cell-based assembly structure. The management possibilities of such a structure was therefore considered. An analytical and critical approach, based on the social sciences, was taken to develop a better understanding of people's latent potential. The equipping task of the church was also analysed. With the aforementioned as departing point, consideration was given as to what type of management structure would be the most suitable to develop potential and to equip assembly members. The study indicates the following: Every person has latent positive potential that should be developed. The church leadership is responsible to God for the development and equipping of assembly members. A high standard of management effectiveness could be reached through a Body-of-Christ assembly approach with cell groups as a supporting structure. A purpose-driven management approach should be adopted. The best management model is therefore achieved through a combination of a Body-of-Christ assembly model based on a purposedriven management approach. This thesis is a contribution aimed to assist the leadership in assembly management and structuring. It is hoped that this will result in the development of latent potential, and the equipping of assembly members to support them in their Godly purpose and service.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Robert D. Linder / John Wesley (1703-1791) was an Anglican priest who became the leader of Wesleyan Methodism, a renewal movement within the Church of England that began in the late 1730s. Although Wesley was not isolated from his enlightened age, historians of the Enlightenment and theologians of John Wesley have only recently begun to consider Wesley in the historical context of the Enlightenment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex relationship between a man, John Wesley, and an intellectual movement, the Enlightenment. As a comparative history, this study will analyze the juxtaposition of two historiographies, Wesley studies and Enlightenment studies. Surprisingly, Wesley scholars did not study John Wesley as an important theologian until the mid-1960s. Moreover, because social historians in the 1970s began to explore the unique ways people experienced the Enlightenment in different local, regional and national contexts, the plausibility of an English Enlightenment emerged for the first time in the early 1980s. As a result, in the late 1980s, scholars began to integrate the study of John Wesley and the Enlightenment. In other words, historians and theologians began to consider Wesley as a serious thinker in the context of an English Enlightenment that was not hostile to Christianity. From a review of the historical literature, this dissertation details six links that scholars have introduced in their study of Wesley’s relation to the Enlightenment. However, the review also reveals two problems, one obstacle and one omission, that hinder new innovation and further study. Therefore, as a solution, this study introduces five lenses adapted from the recent scholarship of four historians and one historical theologian that provide new vantage points for considering the enlightenment of Wesley and Wesleyan Methodists, which together form the Wesleyan Enlightenment. Finally, based on the evidence gathered by using these new lenses, this study argues that because Wesley not only engaged the Enlightenment, but also addressed the spiritual needs and practical concerns of Wesleyan Methodists for more than fifty years in what he referred to as an enlightened age, John Wesley was a central figure in the eighteenth-century English Enlightenment.

While Christian counseling is a burgeoning field, it seems to lack clear philosophical and methodological definitions. This is particularly true when it comes to the human-divine relationship in that few theories or models exist that can guide practitioners in assessment and intervention of the human-divine relationship in order to improve it. Attachment theory offers relational concepts that can be applied to a person's relationship with God thus offering guidelines for soulcare providers. Attachment theory describes the relationship between God and persons in similar fashion with the Bible. Adoption is understood to be the central doctrine that relates to attachment, but it is aided by justification by faith, union with Christ, naming God "Abba," and the testimony of the Spirit. While attachment theory holds much in common with biblical principles, it also has several deficiencies including biological reductionism and limited teleology. Attachment theory is most applicable to Christianity in a post-postmodern ideology that allows for metanarrative but also takes seriously the subjective elements of experience as these experiences form narratives through a hermeneutic function in which persons interpret reality. Paul Ricoeur's concept of testimony aids in explaining the way in which life experiences form a narrative that fuels concepts of self, others, and relationships and the manner in which this process if transformed. Ricoeur's ideas have much in common with the Adult Attachment Interview in which adult's state of mind toward attachment is revealed through the type of narrative they produce about attachment. The primary indicator of such is the level of coherence in the person's narrative. It is proposed that a similar narrative interview, entitled the Adult Attachment to God Interview (AAGI), could produce indicators of a person's level of security and primary attachment strategy. Through testimony analysis, the soulcare provider can discover the level of coherence of a person's narrative concerning life with God and thus encounter the type of attachment a person has with God. Furthermore, the interview process will give insights into types of interventions that will aid the person in developing a more cohesive narrative and thus a more secure relationship with God. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.