The study of southern evangelicals during the late colonial and revolutionary eras of American history has focused primarily on the social antagonisms that separated evangelicals from southern elites and has concluded that the rapid growth of post-war evangelicalism came as a result of evangelical acquiescence to southern gentry mores. Most study of southern evangelicals has concentrated on the upper South missing important developments in the Deep South which contradict historical assumptions of Separate triumph and the subsequent subversion of radical evangelicalism by evangelical leaders eager for societal acceptance. Evangelicals were not a monolithic movement. Key doctrines, primarily the need for conversion, united them, but the social range of evangelical groups included outcast Separate Baptists to elite members of Charleston and Savannah society. Because evangelicals have been viewed as outside the mainstream of southern society, evangelical contributions to the revolutionary cause have gone mostly unnoticed. This work seeks to illuminate the contributions of evangelicals to the American Revolution by examining the roles of evangelicals in the Imperial Crisis and in the war itself. Evangelical leaders were strong proponents of American rights. Far from being outcasts, many evangelicals enjoyed positions of prominence in southern society and several served in the governments of South Carolina and Georgia. Almost all evangelicals in this region supported the American cause and were viewed by many elite revolutionaries as indispensable to solidifying the unity necessary to fight Great Britain. Evangelicals and Anglican elites worked together to cement support for provincial government and bring about the disestablishment of the Anglican Church. Evangelicals also served an important role in winning the American Revolution in the South. Evangelicals, particularly New Light Presbyterians and Regular Baptists, formed a major portion of the militia that rose to bedevil Lord Cornwallis‟s attempts to implement British strategic goals. His failure in South Carolina led to his ultimate downfall at Yorktown. In the final chapter, this work examines the proud, if divided, republicanism of southern evangelicals, highlights their political activity, and explores the beginning of the evangelical ascent to religious dominance in the Deep South.

Texas Baptists in the twentieth century struggled to overcome prejudice and embrace racial equality. While historians have generally agreed that Baptist leadership in Texas was more progressive in regard to race relations than that of other southern states, Texas Baptists acquiesced to calls for racial justice with great difficulty. This study seeks to analyze the relationship between Texas Baptists' understanding of social Christianity and their views of racial equality. Furthermore, this study seeks to examine the extent to which white Texas Baptists actually changed their racial views and incorporated African Americans into their church services following the civil rights movement. An analysis of the racial transformation of one of Texas' most famous Baptists, W. A. Criswell, and the history of the Christian Life Commission, which is the ethical arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, provides great insight in to the racial progress made by Texas Baptists in the twentieth century. As Texas Baptists enter the twenty-first century and encounter a large and growing Hispanic population, the findings of this study will render aide to those who wish to embark on a new future by learning from the mistakes of their past.

This dissertation delineates the theological tenets of John Piper's evangelistic ministry at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. In addition to his basic conservative, evangelical presuppositions, there are four theological tenets that drive the evangelistic ministry of John Piper: the sovereignty and supremacy of God, the depraved affections of man, conversion as the creation of a Christian Hedonist, and the glorifying witness of the church. Chapter 1 addresses Piper's role in modern evangelicalism as a recovery theologian. He is one of several pastors and authors calling evangelicals to recover the god-centered theology of the reformers. Piper's unique perspective of Christian Hedonism is his prescribed vehicle for that recovery. The theology of evangelism springing from this perspective is particularly valuable as a remedy for the atheological pragmatism currently driving so many evangelical churches. Chapter 2 is biographical in nature, exploring Piper's life and theological development. In addition to describing the experiences of his conversion and call to ministry, this chapter details the pivotal awakening he experienced at Fuller Seminary that led to the development of Christian Hedonism and his subsequent espousal of Calvinism. This chapter also recounts the theological developments Piper has experienced during his pastorate, including the missiological awakening that took place at Bethlehem Baptist Church during the mid 1980s. Chapter 3 then delineates the four theological tenets and the sub-points that embody the evangelistic aspects of each tenet. His published writings are the primary sources for this chapter, and the material reflects his affinity for Edwards and his God-centered hermeneutic. Chapter 4 examines five facets of Piper's ministry to prove that the theological tenets delineated in chapter three do indeed define and drive the evangelistic ministries of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Preaching, prayer, discipleship, outreach (local and global), and Piper's writing ministry are each examined to show the foundational presence of the four tenets in the evangelistic aspects of each ministry. Chapter 5 closes the dissertation by summarizing the material presented in chapters three and four. The final section of this fifth chapter briefly addresses the strengths and weaknesses of Piper's theology of evangelism and Bethlehem's evangelistic ministries. / 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.

This dissertation examines the theological writing and preaching of Robert Boyte Crawford Howell, Southern Baptist pastor, editor, author, and denominational leader in the mid-nineteenth century. It argues that Howell promoted Baptist denominational participation in what many historians call "the benevolent empire" by demonstrating in his soteriology, ecclesiology, and eschatology the consistent connection between divine sovereignty and human responsibility in God's mission to the world. The dissertation demonstrates that Howell responded to the challenges brought to the burgeoning missions and benevolent movement among Baptists, particularly from antimission Baptists, populist Arminian, the Restoration Movement, pedobaptists, and Landmarkers, by constructing a theological foundation for the church's mission built upon a carefully integrated view of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Chapter one outlines the rise of the missions and benevolent movement among American denominations in the nineteenth century, known by historians as "the benevolent empire," giving attention to the beginning of Baptist denominational work. The chapter further describes Howell's ministerial labors on behalf of missions and benevolence throughout his ministry and the desire he articulated to provide a solid theological foundation for the movement. The dissertation is organized according to systematic-theological categories in order to demonstrate the integration Howell endeavored to achieve in each doctrine in the midst of pressures from various opponents. Chapter two analyzes Howell's view of the divine decrees, providing analysis of his position on election and reprobation. Chapter three analyzes Howell's views on human depravity and the role of the Holy Spirit in the regeneration of the soul and revival in the church. Chapter four analyzes Howell's view of Christ's work on the cross, focusing on the covenant of redemption, the nature and extent of the atonement, justification, faith, repentance, sanctification, and perseverance. Chapter five sets forth Howell's convictions about God's mission for the church, the polity that God had ordained for the accomplishment of that mission, and the proper perspective on cooperation with other believers for the sake of missions. Chapter six explains Howell's postmillennial convictions and the impetus his missions and benevolent work received from this doctrine. Chapter seven contains a summary, conclusion, and prospects for future research. / 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.

ABSTRACT ADOPTION RATES AMONG EVANGELICALS: A MIXED METHODS STUDY Matthew Scott Thompson, Ed.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015 Chair: Dr. Anthony W. Foster The purpose of this study was to examine the adoption rates of evangelical Christian adoption agencies and to determine what factors, if any, contribute to the current adoption rates. A mixed methods approach, consisting of both quantitative and qualitative elements was used for completion of this study. The quantitative section of the research utilizes historical, numerical data from select adoption agencies to determine the pattern of adoption rates. The qualitative portion of the research utilizes an electronic survey, which contains simple answer questions, Likert scale questions, and open-ended questions to determine potential factors that have an effect on the adoption rates. The data was reviewed and analyzed to determine the conclusions of the research study. KEYWORDS: Adoption, Adoption Agency, Adoption Rates, Evangelical, Foster Care, Orphan Care

Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2007. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-157).

The purpose of this research was to analyze the relationship between the leadership style and teaching orientation of a random sample of pastors of solo-pastor churches in the SBC. The leadership styles that were analyzed were autocratic leadership and democratic leadership, as identified by Lewin (Lewin et al. 1939; Bass and Stogdill 1990). The teaching orientations that were analyzed were pedagogical orientation and andragogical orientation, as identified by Knowles (Knowles 1984; Knowles et al. 2005). This study was designed to clarify and build upon the findings of previous researchers who have examined the relationship between leadership and teaching (Ang 1984; Mattia 1991). This research was descriptive in nature. It used a one-phase, quantitative, correlational study model (Gall et al. 2005; Leedy and Ormrod 2005). Consistent with this type of research design, the aim was to collect data pertaining to both pastors' and congregational members' perceptions of pastoral leadership style and teaching orientation, in order to better understand the extent of the relationship between the dimensions of leadership and teaching. Specifically, through this study, the researcher sought to determine whether leadership style and teaching orientation were dependent variables, independent variables, or just related characteristics of individuals who practice both leadership and teaching. While this research study did find that a perceived change in one dimension (either leadership style or teaching orientation) did correlate to some measurable perceived change in the other dimension, the researcher concluded that leadership and teaching were largely complementary pastoral competencies, and not strictly corollary; meaning, the relationship between leadership and teaching was best expressed in quadrants, and not on a strict continuum. This research did not assess adequately whether or not a solo-pastor could either be a leader without being a teacher, or be a teacher without being a leader. The findings of this study offer limited support for two theoretical models: Situational Leadership Theory (Hersey and Blanchard 1995; Hersey et al. 2001) and Staged Self-Directed Learning (Grow 1991). Additionally, based on the findings in this study, the researcher proposes a theoretic model of Cross-Perceptual Teaching. KEYWORDS: ADLS, Andragogical, Autocratic, Congruency, Democratic, EDQ, EOQ, Knowles, Leadership Style, Lewin, Mattia, Molero, PADLS, PLTOQ, Pedagogical, RBLS&TOQ, Situational Leadership, Teaching Orientation.

This dissertation examines and evaluates the preaching and pastoral ministry of Charles Jerry Vines as a model of evangelistic focus. Chapter 1 introduces the preaching and pastoral ministry of Jerry Vines as a model of evangelistic focus. The author addresses the broad concern of the evangelistic ineffectiveness of the Southern Baptist Convention and then establishes warrant for the particular qualities of Vines' preaching and pastoral ministries in regard to their connection to his evangelistic results. Chapter 2 provides a biography of Charles Jerry Vines. Since very little biographical information has ever been formally collected on his life and ministry, this dissertation gives considerable attention to a thorough treatment of these matters. This chapter delves into the significant details of Vines' life to establish him as a worthy model of evangelistic focus. Chapter 3 presents the theological framework that guides his methodology of evangelism. This chapter both describes and evaluates his theological underpinnings. It focuses on his views of theological method, revelation, atonement, pneumatology, soteriology, and eschatology. Chapter 4 offers an overview of Vines' approach to expository preaching, focusing primarily on an element of his sermon structure that he calls an "evangelistic twist." It surveys how the twist is used in his preaching from texts that span from Genesis to Revelation. It discusses principles for the twist that lead a preacher to stay within the meaning of the text along with pitfalls to avoid while formulating the twist. Chapter 5 examines Vines' preaching and teaching through the book of Acts. The bases for this chapter are his most recent sermon series that he preached through the book of Acts along with his Sunday School Curriculum Acts Alive. It discusses Vines' hermeneutical method, his guarded prescriptive hermeneutic for Acts, whether or not his dispensational view weighs in on the book's application for personal evangelism, and a discussion of timeless truths pertinent to personal evangelism for the local church. Chapter 6 offers concluding remarks that summarize the most pertinent findings of my research. It discusses qualities of Vines' ministry worth emulating along with other matters of consideration.

Project (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008. / Abstract. Includes final project proposal. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-161, 50-54).

Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008. / Abstract and vita. Includes final project proposal. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-170, 65-67).