Canada

Kilhyoun Kim D.Min.

I have in my desire to be inwardly transformed toward Christlikeness and become as close to God as possible. My spiritual autobiography in this portfolio is a testimony of such a journey toward Christlikeness, a journey guided by God’s grace. Out of the various spiritual practices that exist to build up Christlikeness in believers, I consider silence a central discipline in my spiritual life. This led me to learn the fundamentals of silence and other spiritual formation methods to train myself and be transformed inwardly. I described these fundamentals as a model for spiritual growth in this portfolio. My experience of the beauty of silence and related spiritual practices also led to my desire to convey my learning and experience to the Cambodian people in my missionary work. I prepared a spiritual discipline program for Cambodian church leaders. This program introduced and fostered the ability to practice silence through examen and prayer walking. I then examined how this program affected participants. Participants had the opportunity not only to experience new spiritual disciplines but also to establish a foundation for pursuing deeper spiritual experiences that will allow them to grow in their Christlikeness and become closer to God.

Wilma Yvonne Nevers D.Min.

This Doctor of Ministry integrated portfolio presents a summary of key insights, themes and findings arising from an exploration of Christian leadership, with particular reference to the authors’ own ministry context as Director of the Tyndale Wellness Centre (TWC). The exploration includes a contextual analysis, literature review, biblical reflection, and the author’s personal reflection on lived experiences that led to a servant-leader philosophy of Christian leadership. The analysis informed the design and implementation of a field research project: Training Ministry Leaders Towards Supportive Psychotherapy Referrals to Tyndale Wellness Centre. The project addressed an identified need to help Christian ministry leaders learn how to support their members with mental health problems and refer them for psychotherapy. A training program was developed and piloted with nine ministry leaders and the outcomes analyzed. Findings indicated an overall increase in participants’ understanding of mental health, the importance of self-care, the nature of spiritually integrated psychotherapy and how to make supportive referrals. A recurrent theme in the research analysis was participants’ concern about clergy mental health as much as that of their members. Recommendations are made for further study and for possible uses of adapted versions of the training program in other contexts.

Franklin A. Vander Meulen D.Min.

Changes in the world create new challenges and opportunities in the world of missions.

Globalization has many positive aspects but can lead to increasing anti-West, anti-Christian, and nationalistic attitudes which make it difficult for Western Christians to live and serve as traditional missionaries in many countries.But ease of travel and communication allows people with professional education and skills to work anywhere; this is an opportunity for Christians to live and work and be a dynamic witness to Jesus in urban centers and marketplaces, the ‘Agora,’ even in those same countries.

Many Christian professionals, not wanting to serve as traditional, donor-supported missionaries, are taking advantage of these opportunities and are reaching out to mission agencies for assistance.

The author investigated, through interviews with agency leaders in Canada, their perspectives regarding professionals’ readiness for cross-cultural, Christian witness in the Agora, and regarding the roles that the Agency, Assembly, and Academy might have in any equipping them for that. Two primary, broad, necessary characteristics of professionals are spiritual maturity and cultural awareness. Two means of developing these are experience and discipleship. Experience is needed in their professional field, cross-cultural interaction, and Christian ministry; discipleship is needed to integrate good theology into one’s life, work and ministry.

This project proposes a model for multi-faceted experience and integrated discipleship that moves professionals from self-awareness to Christ-like wholeness, and from cultural awareness to wise missiology. It summarizes roles for the Assembly, Agency, and Academy in general, and proposes specific action for Heritage Theological Seminary, in Cambridge, Ontario.

DEAN ANN-MARIE LASHINGTON Dr D.Min.

Oakville Adventist Company (OSDA) was a congregation that had not
been growing and had no active presence in the community of Oakville. To help
address these concerns, a leadership retreat was designed and implemented that
used Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as a process to help the leadership team develop a
clear vision for outreach to the community of Oakville. There were seven leaders
who participated, and the outcomes of the retreat were analyzed. The project was
aimed at facilitating the development of leadership team vision for the residents
living in this community. Using AI processes, the leadership team looked at the
vision for the Oakville community, developed a vision statement and committed
to designing ways to serve the community needs. Findings from the research
project indicated that participants developed a vision and a mindset to explore
new possibilities to make an impact on the Oakville community.

Edward Bruce Carruthers D.Min.

Abstract
In its nearly two-hundred-year existence in the city, First Baptist Church has seen the best and worst of life in Montreal. Still, the current congregation shows no signs of giving up our corporate goal to be "A House of Prayer to All Nations." This portfolio reflects my evolution as pastor of this vital community and the church itself, especially during my time at Tyndale.
As challenging as the ministry is in general, it takes on another dimension of difficulty when the congregation to whom we minister is gone. The question that loomed large over my pastorate was how I could continue ministering to people in such an event. COVID-19 left us searching for alternate ways to minister to congregational needs despite restrictions on interpersonal contact. We partly addressed this ministry through online services, but many members could not avail themselves of this resource, being unable to access computers or the internet. Government-enforced church closures complicated the issue, as did some individuals fearing the risk of exposure by physically attending the church when open. The threefold foci of this research concentrated on how best to preach to an absent congregation, encourage them in prayer, and maintain a sense of communal fellowship despite enforced separation. The research project documents how we addressed these problems through regular telephone and mail contact to alleviate the isolation members experienced. This outreach included the distribution of printed sermons and prayer requests. We reassured members they were loved and cared for while reminding them of the congregational unity and community of those sharing their struggles. The project had some success, constrained mainly by its eight-week duration. However, we learned valuable lessons and continue using the process we developed, ensuring regular contact without overlooking any of our members.

Alison Marie Moore D.Min.

Having a relationship with God implies communication with Him. How do we communicate with God? How do we know what He is saying?
Through the process of writing her spiritual autobiography during the COVID-19 pandemic, the researcher discovered that communication with God occurs when people 1) intentionally take time to listen to God, and 2) use the disruption of life as an occasion to contemplate their relationship with Him. Researching models of spiritual formation and looking at patterns in literature resulted in the creation of a five-part spiritual formation model of change. This model proposes that the ability to listen to God is a key aspect of spiritual formation. An action learning research project conducted with soldiers of The Salvation Army revealed that meeting biweekly one-on-one with a spiritual director to learn and engage in spiritual practices had a positive effect on the participants’ ability to listen to God. This portfolio shows that intentionally spending time listening to God aids in the spiritual formation of the listener and is the foundation of communicating with others about their relationship with God.
 

Carvil Antoney Richards D.Min.

This portfolio aimed to develop a collaborative model with six young adults of the Rosthern Seventh-day Adventist Church, Saskatchewan, to increase their confidence for preaching. A three-phase process was required to train the small group. The first phase involved allowing a few young adults to discuss the implication of an assigned Bible passage through the inductive Bible study method. The second phase involved training them to preach; the third phase allowed them to preach. For this portfolio, only the first phase was examined. The participants’ involvement included choosing four Bible passages to develop into four sermons.
This portfolio has V chapters. Chapter I is the introduction, which gives a general overview of the portfolio while chapter II focuses on the researcher’s personal journey and ministry context. Chapter III is about the author’s philosophy of leadership, which governed and guided his ministry practice; chapter IV examines the field research; and chapter V is the conclusion and implication.
The data collection methods used for this research were reflective journaling, participant observation and a survey. While there were things that could have been done differently in the research for a more effective outcome, the project’s conclusion revealed that the young adults’ confidence was increased through their contributions in the group collaboration.

Alvardo Lamont Adderley

This action research project focused primarily on the spiritual and devotional aspects of the Anglican liturgy and its impact, or lack thereof. The project's participants were the Wardens (who in collaboration with the priest make up the leadership team) within the Parish of Fenelon Falls and Coboconk that consist of St. James (SJ) and Christ Church (CC) Anglican churches.
This research portfolio explores how spiritual formation can be developed through practices and ways in which a Christian leader can embrace its spiritual richness. The research portfolio utilized interviews, prayer journals alongside Morning and Evening Prayer as an assessment tool. Additionally, the methods used were qualitative research and ethnographic observation that linked spiritual formation with liturgical practices.
This research portfolio includes key formational experiences, a philosophy of leadership, as well as a research project. The data and information gathered from this research, highlighted how Christian leaders within the Parish of SJ and CC through self-awareness and authenticity, recognized the value and appreciation for the Anglican liturgy. Simultaneously, leaders within these two congregations deepened their spiritual life. As a result, participants were visibly more engaged in the liturgy and contributed immensely within the congregations of its spiritual impact.

Benjamin Paul Vanderheide Dr. D.Min.

In this Research Portfolio, the author develops a method for growing in intimacy with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, empowered by the Spirit using the metaphor of a fruit bearing tree. The method is developed in three parts. The first part is a spiritual autobiography where the author describes his life in Christ: Seed (Life before Christ), Death (New Life in Christ), Rooted (Learning from Christ), Pruning (Suffering with Christ). The second part is a spiritual formation model exploring how we grow in maturity in Christ: we discover our true identity in relation to Christ (know), as we abide in Christ (be) by intentionally practicing spiritual disciplines, and over time, we bear the fruit of the Spirit in Christ (do). The third part is a research project that reproduces the knowing-being-doing model in the context of a spiritual direction relationship, where the participants are led to use their imagination in prayer. As the participants connect with God using their imagination, their experience of God deepens, and the fruit is a positive change in their relationship with God.

Anita Kwan-Wai Wong D.Min.

In this research portfolio, the author articulates spiritual formation using a model that involves three dimensions, Grow Deep, Grow High, Grow Wide. This will be explored through three avenues. The first is a spiritual formation model integrating the three dimensions. The model is by no means an ultimate or a perfect model. Spiritual formation is an evolving process, which involves the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. God has a different pathway for everyone of his beloved children. The second avenue is a spiritual autobiography describing the author’s own spiritual formation. It is the synopses of the author’s major life events with reference to the three dimensions. The third avenue is a field research project with a focus on social justice. It intends to answer the question “Can Lectio Divina transform us by shaping our view on social justice?” (Rom. 12:2). The research shows that Lectio Divina was able to shape the views of the participants on social justice, who are senior Asians, and did draw them closer to God. It shows that Lectio Divina was able to help the participants Grow Deep, Grow High, Grow Wide.