2005 saw the closure of the car factory that was once economically, socially and culturally central to Longbridge, Birmingham. Following this, this thesis examines how the Church communicates the Gospel there. Employing practical theological methodology, a case study approach exploring the practice of two local churches using ethnographic methods is offered. An account of their practical theologies and their significance for God's mission in Longbridge is given. Data analysis revealed that, over many years, 'post-industrial' Longbridge had lost its heart and sense of place, wrestled with belonging locally and faced future uncertainty. The local Anglican church uses incarnational theology which views locality as the arena for God's purposes, and counter-culturally preserves local identity amidst deconstructive post-industrial forces. The local Methodist church emphasizes the 'social holiness' of Godself, providing multiple ways to belong and reviving relatedness between local residents. This thesis demonstrates the complexities of shaping a practical theology within a rapidly-changing, destabilised environment, whilst claiming the importance of locally-based church practice. Although the churches cannot offer blueprints for ecclesial life, their comparative experiences indicate principles for a practical theology of local churches in post-industrial communities, based upon vulnerability, commitment to presence and a conscious seeking to serve God's mission afresh.

This study within Practical Theology explores the nature of the relationship between women’s identity and religion in Wales, using qualitative and literary methods and in particular poetry as a form of theological reflection. The thesis is structured as a theological ‘critical conversation’. Dialogue partners include Western feminist theologians and their claim that women find it difficult to assert an authentic self and also sociological and historical texts looking at religion, women and identity in Wales. Christianity has played a significant part in Welsh identity construction, particularly in creating a repressive self-image for Welsh women for political reasons. Women’s current perspectives were investigated through life-story interviews, memoirs and the poetry of Menna Elfyn. My own poetry also makes a significant contribution to the reflexive insights within this project, and is an innovative aspect of my methodology. Unlike the representation of women as silent and disempowered within Western feminist theology, Welsh women are resilient and have an empowering and operative stereotype, the Welsh Mam – Strong Woman. Welsh women are at a key stage of constructing a new identity, disconnected from religion and other restrictive influences of the past. I end with a call for the churches in Wales to attend to issues of stratification, stigmatisation, repression and power in order to facilitate the flourishing of women as well as be more effective in their mission.

The aim of this thesis is to propose transformational leadership a new pastoral model for South Korean churches. It is argued that authoritarian charismatic leadership has contributed to church growth but, as Korea is changing into a pluralistic society, it has not respond to properly the needs of Koran Christians. So transformational leadership being characterized as both charismatic (visionary) and democratic (participant) is considered as a new alternative since it can meet their new demands for the leadership, which is both effectiveness in evangelism and appropriateness for new changed socio-cultural milieu. Main focus of attention of this thesis is on disclosing the way in which the nature of leadership has to do with Korean religion, culture, and theology. To deal with them the salient features of transformational leadership is first examined in the three dimensions: culture (Confucianism), philosophy (philosophy of life of Koreans), and theology (theology of Korean churches). Then its implication in biblical theology is discussed, which is followed by case studies empirically. In the process it is revealed that transformational leadership can be applicable to Korean churches which, in turn, can give rise to continual church growth and respond to the needs of the times properly.

This study argues that a comparison of human nature, divine grace, and theological virtue in the theologies of John Wesley and Thomas Aquinas provides resources for constructing iconic dignity as a vital theological perspective. Iconic dignity names a radiant-yet-reflected human worth rooted in the image of God, whose grace empowers response, transformation, and virtuous participation in God’s loving essence. The dissertation responds to the absence of a focused analysis of nature, grace, and virtue in Wesley-Aquinas studies—a nascent field with only three major publications (on historical-moral theology, Christian perfection, and pneumatology). The project’s contributions to theological reflection and practice have become especially clear in our current context of social-existential fragmentation and bigotry. Iconic dignity begins with an intuitional methodology and proceeds with textual analysis, critically comparative construction, and practical contributions. These methods characterize iconic dignity as participatory, incarnational, relational, dynamic, encompassing, transformational, and loving. These characteristics embrace our inter/personal nature, our development in grace, and our work with God toward virtuous flourishing. The dissertation’s explanatory power and generative potential capacitates constructive doctrinal reflection and practical embodiments of iconic dignity. After detailing “iconicity” and “dignity,” the theological comparison of Wesley and Aquinas traces general contours of their shared theological anthropology. As embodiments of God’s image, humans possess intellect, will, and volitional liberty, which together establish our moral capacity. This holistic anthropology is then analyzed with respect to human acts, their relation to habitus (Aquinas) and tempers (Wesley), and sin (actual and original). Following a constructive exploration of iconic dignity and ecological stewardship, the study shifts to grace. Close stereoscopic reading reveals the congruity of grace’s nature, divisions, and dynamics for Wesley and Aquinas. Throughout, the constructive comparison illustrates the strength of iconic dignity’s theological perspective. Wesley and Aquinas are shown to be similar enough to converse but different enough to contribute: to one another, out of their shared theological departures and destinations; and to our practical-theological conversations, including a repudiation of total depravity, an embrace of universal grace, joint ecological stewardship, radical hospitality, and ongoing Methodist-Catholic ecumenical dialogues. Still, many opportunities remain for developing iconic dignity in practice. First, more research is needed on the means of grace and the nature and exercise of theological virtue for Wesley and Aquinas. Second, future research should focus on additional topics like ecclesiology, moral virtue, sociality, and an expansion beyond Wesley and Aquinas. Finally, the need remains for further study into practices of iconic dignity, including the development of stereoscopic reading for local congregations and communities.

This thesis will argue that by applying a hermeneutic of performance to biblical narratives, religious dramatic texts and Anglican liturgies we are able to encounter the divine as an immanent and transcendent presence in theatrical performance. Performance, and theatricality, create realities beyond our quotidian experience and provide a context for such encounters. To explore these encounters I consider biblical texts, where God is present and active in a narrative, dramatic texts where God is a character on stage and Christian liturgies where God is active as first person of the trinity, passive as object of worship, or supremely in the Eucharist, present as Jesus. All will be examined through the twin lenses of performance as an end and theatricality as the means to such an end. Theatrical performance is conditional upon multiple dynamics of action and reaction, feedback and response between both actors and audience which constantly modulate its process. Although capable of repetition, a performance remains unique and possessed of its own truth – however interpreted, Hamlet remains Hamlet. In performance actors become characters, each working with audiences to create and participate in different realities. This is the single most important application of theatricality. In performance, all characters and audience are of equal value and within the framework of a performance can shape and change what happens. ‘Upstaging’ of any character, by any character is always possible. This means that outcomes may be expected but can never be guaranteed. God viewed as a character must be subject to the same constraints as other characters. This raises theological problems. In the biblical narrative of Moses, God is upstaged by Aaron casting the Golden Calf, and by Moses’ post hoc rejection of divine forgiveness. Once God appears on stage his divinity is at risk by being, or perceived as being a human playing at being God, so finite and idolatrous. In liturgical texts God is the object of worship, but when worship includes elements of performance and theatricality, God, Jesus and congregations are all potential performers raising the theological spectre of authentic ‘liturgical celebration’ becoming theatrical ‘imaginative representation’. However, the different realities afforded by performance and theatricality allow mutual liminalities as God and humanity cross thresholds into each others’ presence sharing and shaping events. In all the texts examined there are events where transgression and conflict render them susceptible to becoming tragedies. As a character in their performance God’s impassibility is threatened and he must bear responsibility for their outcomes with their apparent loss of redemptive hope. As God becomes a character in human stories (Moses, cycle plays) his immanence affects their outcomes, but as humans become characters in divine stories (the Eucharist) they enter moments of transcendence. In their mutuality, realities created by performance and theatricality offer transformative experiences of truth and redemptive hope unique in themselves but unitive in their repetition.

This research is about practising friendship as a Christian in contemporary contexts. The thesis uses methods of practical theology, explained in the first chapter, to explore three practices that are important to many young adult Christians: Facebook, friendship and faith. In Chapter 2 we attend to descriptions of Facebook and friendship practices of young adult Christians based on qualitative research conducted through fieldwork. Models are developed to organize assumptions and values of the participants and provide a framework for analysis. In Chapter 3 the practices are placed in the context of wider social/cultural dimensions in order to recognize ways the young people involved in the fieldwork are following culture and where they are being counter-cultural. In Chapter 4 we view what are interpreted as value-laden practices alongside various theologies of friendship. In the fifth chapter the social/cultural aspects of friendship practices encounter and engage with the theological perspectives. The analysis is based on an understanding of the relationship between faith practices and the ‘wider culture' that has been established by the preceding chapters. The final stage of an initial iteration of the practical theology cycle is implementation of reformed practices, illustrated by examples and conclusions in Chapter 6. This application of the practical theology cycle raises consciousness of the need for connection of personal practices and becomes a catalyst for a continuous cycle of examining and reflecting on experiences, contexts, and faith perspectives. The theological voice of young adult Christians is heard and valued in realizing friendship as a means of fulfilling a call in Christ.

The large numbers of Africans that have come to live in Britain in the last few decades have necessitated a better understanding of African Christianity. Focusing on Pneumatology, this study sets out to achieve such understanding by first undertaking a research of a church in London with a congregation made up of mostly Africans. This fieldwork yielded twelve concrete statements or “pattern-theories” on what the church members believe about the Holy Spirit. At that point, a review of existing literature was used to understand these “pattern-theories” more deeply. A second fieldwork was then carried out whereby two of these twelve “pattern-theories” were tested on a larger number of Africans drawn from four different Christian denominations. The second phase enabled the study to achieve a wider understanding based on a more diverse population of Africans. These two phases of fieldwork constituted the empirical cycle. Following the analysis of the findings the study advances five factors which determine African Pneumatology. These are their day to day experience of life, the Bible, their African worldview, the African traditional concept of God and the worldwide Pentecostal movement. The study also suggests that the Doctrine of the Trinity is a key factor determining African Pneumatology.

In this contextual study I investigate why and how the traditional approach to mission, engaged by Anglican missionaries, gave rise to a dual observance of ritual among Shona Anglican Christians. I begin by establishing the significance and essence of Shona views of death and the dead, then investigate the missionaries' historical background. I highlight that Christian arrogance, in the guise of racial superiority, underlies the confrontational and condemnatory approach. Traditional views were considered evil, in their place, Shona converts were forced to adopt western Christian views as the only acceptable and valid way of coping with this eschatological reality. These views did not usually fit the Shona worldviews and religious outlook, hence the adoption of dual observance. For some, life continues to be classified as either Christian or traditional and never both. However, some present Shona Anglican practices reflect a desire to integrate the two. Unless there is this integration, the Church remains other and irrelevant to the Shona people. The ultimate aim of this thesis is to advocate for a theological synthesis of Christian and Shona traditional views. I argue that such a synthesis, patterned on the interactive dialogical model, could lead to the cessation of confrontation and condemnation and its attendant dual observance, and enhance the development of a Shona Christian theology of death and the dead which provides for relevant and sensitive pastoral care.

This thesis answers the question How might an understanding of shame in the church inform approaches to ministerial praxis? It is methodologically a creative piece of practical theology which begins and ends with an autoethnographic reflection, drawing on the metaphor of landscape. The practical theology methodology involved the following stages: noticing; reflexivity; describing, naming; focusing; investigating; analysing; evaluating; theorizing, synthesizing; and responding, while drawing on insights from a mixed methods approach to qualitative research. The empirical research involved an anonymous online survey (261 respondents) to church leaders, church members and theological educators and two representative focus groups. Shame is defined phenomenologically using a range of disciplines; a review of literature relevant to shame and ministerial praxis is included. The unique contribution this thesis makes is twofold. Firstly, the development of an empirically underpinned typology of shame in the church which has six domains: personal, relational, communal, structural, theological and historical facilitating the identification of shame which is often a hidden phenomenon. Secondly, identifying specific approaches to ministerial praxis which help mitigate such shame including a shame examen to assist conscientization. The final chapter discusses the author’s learning about shame, ministerial praxis, doing theology and theological education.

It is our purpose in this dissertation to discuss some of the major phases of St. Paul's teaching concerning the consummation of the ages of history. So far as we can understand his thinking on the subject, he held to the Biblical presentation of history as constituting basically two ages: the present age and the age to come.