Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, MA, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-148).

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-98).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Princeton University, 2006. / Adviser: Susan Naquin. Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-265)

Thesis (M.A.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 25).

Thesis (M.A.)--Columbia International University, 2004. / Abstrakt. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-131).

The scope of this thesis is the investigation of the nature and purpose of Christian worship with specific reference to its development in the Southern Congo United Methodist Church. The study combines three main sources of information - namely, the study of key theological concepts (chapter 3), the Holy Bible (chapter 4), and the investigation by questionnaires (chapter 6) - in order to address the issue of improving the worship and Christian life style for the contemporary Christian church within the Congolese context. Christian worship has been defined as a twofold event involving God's initiative in and through Jesus Christ, and men and women's response towards God's saving acts through the same Mediator, Jesus Christ. Seeing that the unchangeable Gospel relates to each culture, it is argued in this thesis that Congolese cultural values (local clergy, local languages, art forms, and other cultural elements) could be an integral part of worship. This long and slow process of incarnating the Christian message into the Congolese context could result in finding original and meaningful expressions of the Christian faith in the African context. Insights are drawn from the research to offer theological and pragmatic guidelines. In fact, it is suggested that the integration of Congolese cultural elements should be monitored by a Theological Commission at the congregational level, the district level, and the Annual Conference level. Furthermore, the last section of the last chapter provides helpful suggestions in dealing with practical issues with regard to the overall management of the Southern Congo United Methodist Church.

This thesis is a limited expression of many years of interest in and love for the Kingdom of God in Japan. It is offered as a lay critique of the bases from which have developed trends toward unity in state and religion. It has been difficult not to descend to the level of a biased judge on the one hand or to scale the heights of the prophet on the other-, what with the alarming amount of misinformation available suggestive of the possibility of dramatic pronouncements based on half-truths. The Clan System, Shrine worship, war records, and the supposed reasons for the reported present-day trend away from the United Church of Christ in Japan have been omitted since each deserves fuller and abler treatment than is possible here.

<p>A congregation is as strong as its mission and vision. The Canadian evangelical church is in the process of considering its effectiveness particularly in terms of it missionality. This question has caused MGT Family Church leadership to step outside its current traditions and praxis to consider the necessary elements for a biblical and engaging church. The problem of this research project was to identify a model of culture change that would serve church leadership as they sought to implement congregational renewal.</p> <p>This five-year project began with the articulation of ecclesiological considerations and was closely followed by a study concerning the missional expectations of the local church. The role of the local church has been synthesized into three values as expressed in corporate church activity and in the lives of church members and known by the acronym 'SAM.' (Spiritual Formation, Authentic/Accountable Relationships and Missional Activity)</p> <p>The scriptures speak of the expectation of spiritual growth and maturity in terms of one's relationship with God. Church leadership must endeavor to establish a church that facilitates spiritual formation in the lives of the congregation irrespective of where each person is in their spiritual journey.</p> <p>Second, a believer grows when he or she is in relationship with another person or a group of people. The church is a catalyst for the development of small communities that regularly meet together for mutual support and spiritual growth. Additionally, a believer is missionally effective when he or she is in relationship with a seeker.</p> <p>Third, the Kingdom of God grows when believers are missionally engaged. Corporate congregational activities must be conducive to missionality and supporting instruction for the individual must be available.</p> <p>Culture change implementation is largely the responsibility of church leadership. Today's pastor must be equipped to lead his or her congregation in the direction of Kingdom effectiveness. The way in which he or she chooses to lead will determine the effectiveness of the proposed culture change.</p> <p>Portico, formerly MGT Family Church, a Pentecostal church in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada has been the subject of a culture change during the period from 2000 to 2005. The leadership team consisted of men and women who were cognizant of the church's history and its successes and failures, its strengths and its weaknesses. Over the period of two years church leaders conducted an intense study to determine the nature and extent of a proposed culture change. This was followed by the implementation of measured changes between 2000 and 2004. In early 2005 the culture change was fully and forcefully implemented with Sunday services totally dedicated to Revolution Sunday, a full articulation of the new church culture.</p> <p>In early 2006 the author conducted a survey among Portico congregants. Seventy-nine people responded and the results were tabulated through the use of SPSS version 8.0 data management system. Participants volunteered their responses concerning the church culture change.</p> <p>Research shows that organizational culture renewal is best facilitated through an informed and carefully designed process which is adjusted to meet new challenges over the course of time. As local church leadership teams begin to consider the potential of a renewed church culture and grapple with the associated challenges the Canadian Pentecostal church will increase in its missional effectiveness.</p> / Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Debates on the ecological crisis's existence, affect and history increase as the public becomes concerned with issues of climate change and overpopulation. In 1967, medieval historian Lynn White wrote a journal article that blamed Christianity for the ecological crisis due to religious axioms that endorsed the belief that humans are separate from, and more important than, the rest of nature. White argued that this belief was destructive and was linked to science and technology, which today enable widespread destruction through innovative equipment. He argued that because Christianity was to blame for the ecological crisis it was also responsible to solve it, through revising their problematic traditional beliefs on the human-nature relationship. White's thesis spurred Christian theologians to defend beliefs within their faith, typically by upholding traditional axioms or by criticizing White for misreading Biblical passages. However, many of the arguments against White's claims are shown in this thesis to fail to fully challenge his claims. Additionally, there is a current trend among certain Christian ecological theologians who argue for changes within traditional Christian teachings which indirectly supports White's charge against Christianity. This thesis argues that the combination of ineffective challenges to White's thesis and the indirect support currently found in Christian eco-theology, White's argument may have been inaccurately rejected. Further, this thesis calls for individual readers to reconsider their understanding of the human-nature relationship and to what degree their ecological values influence behavior.

No Abstract / Philosophy & Systematic Theology / (D. Lit. et Phil. (Philosophy))