This dissertation argues for the renewal of Chinese evangelical spirituality by critical engagement with Christian mysticism. The dissertation argues that Chinese evangelicals can pursue life transformation by appropriating the Christian mystical tradition within the Chinese context while retaining core evangelical distinctions. It discloses that Chinese evangelicals have inherited some elements of the Christian mystical tradition. Purposeful review and critical engagement with Christian mysticism provide Chinese evangelicals with meaningful themes, lively witnesses, and practical insights for reimaging the pathway of future spiritual theology in their social-cultural context. Thus, it contributes to the sparse academic research on mainland Chinese spiritual theology and argues that Christian mysticism plays a particular role in its unique development. Furthermore, this dissertation holds that Chinese evangelical leaders should and can work together to lead Christians to acquire spiritual maturity while they are travelling on this spiritual pathway. It proposes an integration of biblical leadership and the social identity theory of leadership for leading a constructive change to the evangelical community. Such as proposal of change manifests the contribution of this dissertation to the fusion of theory and practice in spiritual or practical theology.

This thesis deals with the origins and subsequent historical development of the Congregation of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren in Jablůnka, particularly from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries. The first part describes the period before the issuing of the Patent of Toleration and its announcement and implementation, particularly in the context of Protestants in Jablůnka. The second part focuses on the nineteenth century; the transformation of a filial church in Jablůnka into an independent Parish church is also discussed. Another event mentioned is the founding of a confessional school and its transformation into a state-run primary school. The third part is devoted to the twentieth century, the pastors of the church and the specific spiritual trends that have influenced the functioning of the community. Future prospects of the congregation are outlined in interviews with its members.

German text / Diese Masterarbeit untersucht die mit der Predigtarbeit verbundene Stressbewältigung evangelischer Gemeindepfarrer der Region Karlsruhe (Deutschland). Zuerst werden an Hand der Literatur Möglichkeiten der Stressbewältigung in Forschung und Beratung sowie im Pfarrberuf reflektiert. Es folgt die Erfassung der empirischen Situation mit Hilfe teilstrukturierter Interviews und deren Bewertung in Anlehnung an Mayrings Qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse. Abschließend werden aus der theoretischen Reflexion und der empirischen Forschung konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet. Im Zentrum der Untersuchung steht die persönliche Praxis der Stressbewältigung im Rahmen der Predigtvorbereitung und des Predigtvortrages, wobei die Einbindung des geistlichen Lebens des Pfarrers interessiert. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung geben Anlass, insgesamt von einer stressreduzierenden Wirkung der Predigtarbeit auszugehen. Die berufsbedingt meditative Beschäftigung mit dem Predigttext fördert die Spiritualität. In Kombination mit autodidaktisch erworbenen Stressbewältigungskompetenzen ergibt sich daraus ein erstaunlich effektives Stressmanagement. Die Studie ist im Fachbereich der Praktischen Theologie verortet, steht aber interdisziplinär mit den Sozialwissenschaften in Verbindung und bedient sich deren Methodik. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

No description available.

This Master's thesis named "Approaches of Czech Churches towards Euthanasia" studies the topic of euthanasia through position papers of four selected churches active in the Czech Republic. The four examined churches are Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, and Czechoslovak Hussite Church whereas documents published by ecumenical panels are studied as well. The goal of the thesis is to create a statement overview of these four churches. First, the work introduces the topic itself, explains basic terms and development of different approaches. Second, it analyses position papers of examined churches which are subsequently compared in order to find the aspects which are common to the all four churches.

<p>This thesis is a contribution to the scholarly debate on how African Independent Churches (AICs) relate to outside partners. It is a case study from the perspective of the periphery of Ethiopia, which explains the origins of the Mekane Yesus Church in Kambata Hadiya</p><p>The diachronic structure of the study with a focus from 1944 to 1975 highlights how a group of Christians reacted to cultural pressure and formed a local independent church, the Kambata Evangelical Church 2 (KEC-2). The KEC-2 established relations with external partners, like a neighbouring mainstream conference of churches, a neighbouring mainstream church, an international organisation, and a mainstream overseas church and its mission. These relations influenced the KEC-2 to develop into a synod of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY). The diachronic approach is augmented by synchronic structural analyses, illustrating how aspects in the independent KEC-2, like polity, worship, doctrine and ethos were changing.</p><p>The study contends that "Ethiopian Evangelical Solidarity" was a crucial factor in the development of the independent KEC-2 into a synod of the EECMY. As this factor helped the Ethiopians to transcend barriers of ethnicity, social status and denominationalism, it is not unreasonable to assume that the study has relevance for a wider African context.</p><p>This thesis builds on material taken mainly from unpublished printed sources in various languages from archives in Ethiopia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. These are supplemented by interviews made by the author.</p>

No description available.

This thesis is a contribution to the scholarly debate on how African Independent Churches (AICs) relate to outside partners. It is a case study from the perspective of the periphery of Ethiopia, which explains the origins of the Mekane Yesus Church in Kambata Hadiya The diachronic structure of the study with a focus from 1944 to 1975 highlights how a group of Christians reacted to cultural pressure and formed a local independent church, the Kambata Evangelical Church 2 (KEC-2). The KEC-2 established relations with external partners, like a neighbouring mainstream conference of churches, a neighbouring mainstream church, an international organisation, and a mainstream overseas church and its mission. These relations influenced the KEC-2 to develop into a synod of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY). The diachronic approach is augmented by synchronic structural analyses, illustrating how aspects in the independent KEC-2, like polity, worship, doctrine and ethos were changing. The study contends that "Ethiopian Evangelical Solidarity" was a crucial factor in the development of the independent KEC-2 into a synod of the EECMY. As this factor helped the Ethiopians to transcend barriers of ethnicity, social status and denominationalism, it is not unreasonable to assume that the study has relevance for a wider African context. This thesis builds on material taken mainly from unpublished printed sources in various languages from archives in Ethiopia, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. These are supplemented by interviews made by the author.

German text / Diese Masterarbeit untersucht die mit der Predigtarbeit verbundene Stressbewältigung evangelischer Gemeindepfarrer der Region Karlsruhe (Deutschland). Zuerst werden an Hand der Literatur Möglichkeiten der Stressbewältigung in Forschung und Beratung sowie im Pfarrberuf reflektiert. Es folgt die Erfassung der empirischen Situation mit Hilfe teilstrukturierter Interviews und deren Bewertung in Anlehnung an Mayrings Qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse. Abschließend werden aus der theoretischen Reflexion und der empirischen Forschung konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet. Im Zentrum der Untersuchung steht die persönliche Praxis der Stressbewältigung im Rahmen der Predigtvorbereitung und des Predigtvortrages, wobei die Einbindung des geistlichen Lebens des Pfarrers interessiert. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung geben Anlass, insgesamt von einer stressreduzierenden Wirkung der Predigtarbeit auszugehen. Die berufsbedingt meditative Beschäftigung mit dem Predigttext fördert die Spiritualität. In Kombination mit autodidaktisch erworbenen Stressbewältigungskompetenzen ergibt sich daraus ein erstaunlich effektives Stressmanagement. Die Studie ist im Fachbereich der Praktischen Theologie verortet, steht aber interdisziplinär mit den Sozialwissenschaften in Verbindung und bedient sich deren Methodik. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

Text in German / Die vorliegende Arbeit ist der Kybernetik zuzuordnen, einer Unterdisziplin der Praktischen Theologie. In einer empirischen Untersuchung wird Führungsangst im Pastorendienst am Beispiel von Pastoren im Bund Freier evangelischer Gemeinden erforscht. Ausgangspunkt ist die Frage, welche Ängste Pastoren beim Führen haben. Dabei wird nach Ursachen, Erklärungen und Folgen dieser Ängste gefragt. Ziel ist, den Einfluss von Angst im Führungsverhalten von Pastoren besser zu verstehen, um damit bewusster umgehen zu können. Das Literatur-Kapitel erklärt Begriffe und stellt relevante Literatur dar. Dabei werden Angstklassifikationen, Angstabwehrmechanismen sowie systembedingte und individuelle Angstauslöser näher gefasst. In der empirischen Forschung wurden erfahrene Pastoren größerer Freien evangelischer Gemeinden interviewt. Die Datenanalyse erfolgte mittels der Methode Grounded Theory. Macht und Angst wurden als Tabu-Themen deutlich, die wenig reflektiert werden. Sie führen zu Konflikten, Machtkämpfen und zu überforderten, kranken oder gemobbten Pastoren. Die Arbeitshypothese wurde bestätigt: Führungsangst ist Pastoren nicht fremd. Allerdings ist sie eine verdrängte Form ihrer Arbeitsrealität und sozialen Wirklichkeit. / From within the field of cybernetics, a sub-discipline of Practical Theology, the fear for roles of leadership in pastoral ministry is examined empirically, through interviewing pastors of the Covenant of Free Evangelical Churches in Germany. The specific fears pastors experience when leading congregations, as well as the causes and effects of these fears, are examined from relevant sources of literature. The classification of fear and defense mechanisms, as well as system-specific and individual-specific triggers, are also discussed. For the empirical part, experienced pastors of larger Free Evangelical Churches were interviewed and data was analyzed according to the Grounded Theory method. Power and fear are identified as factors which can lead to conflict and power struggles and to overworked or ill pastors. Seen as taboo topics, pastors tend to ignore these issues. The study shows that the fear for leadership, although repressed, is a reality in the lives of pastors. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Christian Leadership)