Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tennessee, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-158).

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 86).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-208).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-172).

The Thesis argues the following: (1) Mainstream Protestant constituencies in the USA in this century have been problematically identified with the modem socio-cultural world organized around liberal values. (2) This has been manifested by (A) attempts to integrate Christianity into modem society on terms fundamentally in harmony with the principles of modernity; (B) attempts to employ Christian values to regulate society - attempts which are in tension with the underlying principles of ethos of modernity. (3) The thesis discovers the theological and historical roots of these patterns and points out the flaws in two movements that emerged in reaction to these patterns. (4) In a final chapter, the thesis accesses select theoretical resources which demonstrate the importance and basis of Christianity sustaining a differentiated relationship to society. In the conclusion, the gains derived from this theoretical inquiry are returned to the historical problem analyzed in the body of the dissertation.

This study investigates the spirituality of the emerging African Pentecostal churches in the development of the church and the theology of mission in Zambia’s Christian and traditional religious context. Of equal importance is the contribution of traditional African spirituality to Christianity in Africa. Attention is also drawn to the way in which African traditional religion and culture are treated by the African Pentecostal churches. The effect of both culture and Christianity in shaping modes of relationship and in bringing to light a liberative spirituality which this study examines is an issue in focus in African Pentecostal churches. Hence, this study has consciously appealed both to traditional spiritually and Pentecostal spirituality for a liberative theology which is both African and Christian. The study therefore proposes a change in terms of interpretation in our understanding of spirituality. The term “spirituality” in this study is defined as “the abiding presence of God the Holy Spirit” in the Church and its mission. From a predominantly scientific and dichotomous approach to spirituality, the study suggests that the paradigm shift should be in the direction of a supernatural approach as opposed to the Western worldview approach which is influenced heavily by secular science. The new approach advocates the need to understand the images of God the Holy Spirit from an African point of view. In this regard, the comparison between an African cosmology and a Biblical world-view (theologia Crucis) determines theodicy. Inter alia, the metaphor “Immanuel” (Mulungu Alinafe in Chichewa, meaning “God with us”) plays a crucial role in a metaphorical approach to supernatural “manifestations” of the abiding presence of God the Holy Spirit in the midst of the people of African Pentecostal churches and their mission. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

This study was an analysis of current financing of building programs of selected Protestant churches in the State of Texas.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / Background of the Problem to be Investigated Even though organized church public relations might be considered today in its infancy, its long history records both successes and errors in an effort to serve a peculiarly specialized, semi-administrative function which is seldom defined with any degrees of exactness. Stewart Harral points up this condition from his book, Public Relations for Churches, churches have never lacked for public relations. "We've a Story to Tell to the Nations" has been more than a song as church leaders have used countless means of extending the influence of Christianity. But often their procedures have been isolated, erratic, or mere "shots in the dark." With a mania for bigness some churches have used highly sensational methods to fill their sanctuaries and boost their budgets. Often when the momentary excitement has subsided they discover that their public relations structure has been built on sand. On some occasions churches have not dramatized their objectives sufficiently for the basic ideas they represent to stand out in the deluge of competing appeals [TRUNCATED]