Ten commandments

April Rae Gutierrez

“Embodied Spiritual Practices for Brown and Black Bodies Exploring Sabbath Rest” addresses spiritual formation, discussing an approach to Sabbath Rest for healing and restoration that is countercultural on personal and societal levels. Through a retreat, participants engaged in embodied spiritual practices that promote rest as a tool for spiritual formation and transformation that is rooted in decolonizing theology and spiritual practices. Working in collaboration with The Board of Young Peoples Ministry and the Hispanic /Latino Ministry of the Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church, the retreat model was reviewed by the committees for use in the work of spiritual formation for Black and Latinx Young Adults. The implementation of this project and retreat shows that culturally relevant spiritual practices that honor Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) stories and spiritual practices may deepen the encounter with God and relationships with participants within the retreat setting.

Matthew A Taylor

The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which Church of God preachers use the Ten Commandments to address their socio-political and ecclesiastical contexts. What may appear to some as a crisis of ambiguity about the nature and place of the Ten Commandments in the public and religious spheres in America could be regarded as an opportunity for clarity on the part of preachers. The study addresses the need for Church of God preachers to engage in cultural dialogue through a fresh preaching of the Ten Commandments. The literature review surveys scholarly works regarding the context and meaning of the Decalogue in the Old and New Testaments, the meaning of the Commandments in light of a corrosive postmodern value system, and views of scholars and preachers regarding how to preach the Ten Commandments. The study included interviews with six Church of God Movement preachers, with the goal of learning about their experences related to the place of the Decalogue in the pulpit. The study asked how the preachers handled the Decalogue, exposited the Commandments, and trained congregations in discipleship.

Raymond William Maher

Sin and sinners are often meaningless terms in contemporary culture. Right and wrong have largely been reduced to personal opinions even in those who regularly attend church. One pastor documented through national surveys, polls, studies, and articles how right and wrong in contemporary culture have become divorced from the Ten Commandments. Conducting research at a congregational level and among other community Christian churches, resulted in the finding that the Ten Commandments are seen as God's rules for right and wrong but not in a personal sense for one's daily life as a Christian. Many regular church goers are operating from the conviction - I know it is wrong according to God, but God forgives me in Christ, so I'll do it anyway! The pastor undertook a seven Sunday Bible study and preaching series focusing on the Ten Commandments using the lessons of the day. During the seven-week series the average of people in church increased 6% over the previous year average. The Ten Commandments series gave the congregation the truth that when it comes to God's commandments, all are sinners in need of the Saviour Jesus Christ.

Margaret V Schultz-Akerson

This project recognizes Luther's Large catechism as an underutilized resource and assesses its potential for the ecumenical field of spirituality. Limited to the Ten Commandments the research involved reflection on Luther's explanation of the latter nine commandments in light of a proper observance of the First Commandment. Responses recommend developing a resource that facilitates reflection on Luther's original writing and looks past what is off-putting to what still nourishes today.

James W Thurman

The goal of this project is to produce a model for developing biblically sound local church programming. It studies the ten commandments in an effort to discover God's will for the church as it promotes the love of God and neighbor in the world. The project evaluates the impact of biblical theology on local church programming. At the same time it offers a critique of the church growth movement, the Bethel Bible Series, systems management theory and the shepherding model of ministry.

William Edgar Kopp

The author presents the thesis that the "gods" implied in the first commandment are to be found in the archetypal images of the collective unconscious and adds two corollaries to his hypothesis, first that Jung's psychological theories offer significant insight into our polytheistic nature, and second, that a methodology based upon Jungian psychology could assist persons in their personal struggle with a polytheistic psychology and facilitate movement toward a "radical monotheism" (cf H Richard Niebuhr). The hypothesis and accompanying corollaries were studied using an already existing Jungian study curriculum produced by the Centerpoint Foundation, called Centerpoint I. The curriculum was enhanced by the addition of Ira Progoff's journaling methodology, the personal journals of the participants being the major evaluative data sources for the research itself. The data was generally in support of the hypothesis and its corollaries, namely, that our polytheistic tendencies are rooted in the human psyche and that heightened personal consciousness equates with a movement from polytheism toward monotheism.

Bradley C Stahl

"Equipping a Generation X Ministry Team (GXMT) to Communicate Effectively the Ten Commandments in a series of Postmodern Worship Services" was a project designed to reach Gen Xers through ministry in the local church led by Gen Xers. The GXMT consisted of eight Gen Xers who were equipped by the director. This equipping process included group meetings, exposure to other worship services, assigned books, periodicals, audio tapes and web-sites, as well as personal observations and reflections. With this knowledge, the GXMT then engaged in brainstorming sessions to communicate effectively the Ten Commandments in a series of postmodern worship services.