<p> As people groups have immigrated to the United States, churches have struggled to keep up with the demands of discipleship. Culture, language, and communication have proved to be formidable challenges, particularly when the written materials used to disciple people are construed with an inherent American bias. This research project sought to address this ministry problem by utilizing the concept of cultural transposition. By having a multicultural work group transpose a portion of American-based discipleship materials, this project attempted to determine whether the transposed materials are more understandable to a multicultural church congregation than the original. The study also analyzed the interactions among the transposition group to identify common problems that culture groups experience in understanding American-based materials. </p>

Preparing for Rural Ministry| A Qualitative Analysis of Curriculum used in Theological Education to Prepare Clergy for Ministry in a Rural Context

<p> The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the transition process as alumni of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship sought to find their place in faith communities after they graduated from university. Interview data revealed the process of finding a faith community was often intricately connected with each person's identity formation process. If the desired qualities were not found in faith communities, a selection process ensued where each graduated determined which unique set of qualities would not be compromised. These qualities were often indicative of each person determining what he or she would stand for in the world. Data reveal they were looking for an identity fit and companionship so they might keep growing. Numerous findings emerged which have educational and sociological implications for future graduates, leaders of faith communities, and other stakeholders who care about their transition process. The researcher was conducted in the Chicago area but was designed so the study might be duplicated in other cities and with other populations of twenty-somethings.</p>

<p> <b>Problem</b> No formal study that considers the influence of the family, church, school, peers, media, and Adventist culture on the denominational loyalty, Christian commitment, and religious behavior of Adventist young people of Puerto Rico has previously been conducted. Therefore, pastors, parents, teachers, church leaders, and administrators have no data on which to base their assessment of the religiosity of Adventist young people. </p><p> <b>Method</b> This study used youth ages 14 to 21 from the youth sample of the <i>Avance PR</i> study conducted in 1995 in Adventist schools and churches in Puerto Rico. For the analysis, the sample was divided. When studying denominational loyalty, 704 baptized Adventist youth were used; when studying Christian commitment and religious behavior, 1,080 Adventist and non-Adventist youth were used. </p><p> <b>Results</b> The relationship between 34 family, church, school, peers, media, and Adventist culture independent variables and three religiosity dependent variables (denominational loyalty, Christian commitment, and religious behavior) was studied. Twenty-eight of the 34 variables had a significant relationship with all three religiosity variables: 10 family variables, seven church variables, one school variable, two peers variables, two media variables, and six Adventist culture variables. The remaining six variables had a significant relationship with only one or two of the three religiosity variables. The strength of relationships between religiosity and 22 of the independent variables varied by gender, age, family status, years lived in United States, and number of times families moved in last five years. </p><p> The model predicting denominational loyalty showed that youth are more likely to have a strong denominational loyalty when parents enforce Sabbath standards, there is a thinking environment in the church, quality sermons are preached in church, there is a warm environment in church, youth's best friends are religious, youth agree with Adventist standards, and youth agree with Sabbath standards. The model predicting Christian commitment showed that youth are more likely to have a strong commitment to Christ when there is unity in their families, there is a thinking environment in the church, there is a warm environment in the church, quality sermons are preached in the church, youth's best friends are religious, youth agree with Sabbath standards, and youth comply with at-risk standards. The model predicting religious behavior showed that youth are more likely to have a strong religious behavior when the parents lead frequent family worships, there is a thinking environment in the church, quality sermons are preached in the church, youth's best friends are Adventist, youth's best friends are religious, youth agree on Adventist standards, and youth agree on Sabbath standards. </p><p> The variables that appeared in all models of religiosity of youth were the church's thinking environment, the church's sermon quality, youth's best friends religiosity, and youth's agreement on Sabbath's standards. Furthermore, the strongest predictor for denominational loyalty was the youth's agreement on SDA standards; the strongest predictor for Christian commitment was family unity; and the strongest predictor for religious behavior was the church's thinking environment. </p><p> <b>Conclusions</b> My conclusions based on this study conducted in Puerto Rico are consistent with conclusions of other researchers in the United States that family, church, school, peers, media, and Adventist culture factors are important predictors of youth's denominational loyalty, Christian commitment, and religious behavior. Adventist culture and church have the strongest influence on denominational loyalty. Family and church have the strongest influence on Christian commitment. Church and Adventist culture have the strongest influence on religious behavior. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)</p>

The purpose of this study was to understand what is meant by spiritual care (andlig vård) as structured within the founding statutes and guidelines of the hospital church (Sjukhuskyrkan), the correctional services (Kriminalvården), and the health care services (hälso- och sjukvården) in Sweden. How the possibilities and limitations of spiritual care in Sweden are made visible from a socio-religious perspective is an overarching research question that forms the basis for the three sub-questions on how spiritual care is defined, designated and structured. The basis for the empirical material is partly text material from laws, presentations, guidelines, directives and basic documents for spiritual care and partly interview material from selected informants.Parts of the Constitution of Society by Anthony Giddens (1984) became the theoretical perspective. The method chosen emanated in the qualitative methods of Kirsti Malterud. The conclusions are that the structure for spiritual care in Sweden is strictly community-centered, and is reproduced through the individual actors, where the dominance of the Hospital Church maintains another ongoing and changing social system in spiritual care. This can create an unbalanced social structure in the arena of spiritual care. SST, Myndigheten för stöd till trossamfund (the Swedish Agency for Support to Faith Communities) and the Hospital Church have the means of power through the external caregiver structure on which spiritual care is based. This structure applies in a similar way to the spiritual care within the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, that reports structural imbalances that can lead to social vulnerability, discrimination and intolerance in prisons and demanding a Swedish vocational education. A clearer, patient-centered, approach is pointed out in this study, where patients with an existential crisis can be treated with either a general spirituality or a religious spirituality, where the concept of existential health through existential support can then be about both spiritual care and nursing.