Christian life

Karen Cuthbertson

I am passionate about the concept of “home.” In fact, as a child, I spent much of my spare time outside in the garden where I created homes using bed sheets, clothes horses, and pegs. I loved creating spaces where I felt comfortable, safe, and able to invite friends to visit. As an adult, finding a true sense of home in this life through being transformed, renewed, and restored is my goal, and furthermore, to accept God’s invitation to participate in His Master Story of renewal and restoration in order to bring others home, too.

The journey of transformation is to be understood as something sublime and beautiful, fulfilling Jesus’ words that He has “come that you might have life to the full” (John 10:10). However, this journey can be particularly bumpy for those of us whose sense of home has been broken.

In this thesis I pursue answers to the questions: i) How do we find a true sense of home in this life? and ii) How do we continue to live when we are there? Then, through finding answers to these questions, I pursue the answer to my research question, iii) How do we create a sense of home from home for ourselves and for others in our Christian family/community/church?

The journey of transformation, the solution to the problem of brokenness, may be bumpy yet it is worth it, because it is our journey home. Home is where we are comfortable, safe, and able to invite friends and family to visit. We cannot journey alone, nor are we expected to do so. For this we cry out, “Come, Holy Spirit!”

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.

Jason T. Link

The purpose of this project was twofold: 1) to research how the church community can be a place of healing in people's lives, and 2) to suggest practices that when enacted would help a church to be a place of healing. Church life was differentiated into three levels: Pastorally, Relationally, and Congregationally. A group of people were interviewed who had received some type of healing and their lives and were asked to share how the church community helped in the healing process. Based off of the information gathered in the interviews, practices were suggested for the church at each of the three levels of church life.

Adam Chochran

The purpose of this project was to develop a holistic strategy to enhance religious support for the 135th Expeditionary Sustainment Command of the Alabama National Guard. There is a difficulty for National Guard Chaplains to cover units based on monthly schedules, unit locations, and staff requirements. This can serve as a hindrance to religious support to subordinate units. The project director will investigate the needs of religious support down to the company level. This will provide the information needed to assess the religious support needs. The project director will identify resources necessary to enhance the religious support strategy. The project director will identify personnel that will help in the holistic religious support strategy, in accordance with the command master religious plan. The holistic religious support strategy will guide religious support in the 135th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and its subordinate unit ministry teams.

Jon Derek Fortenberry D.Min.

This project aims to equip Longview Point Baptist Church members to be involved in orphan care. The project coordinator argues that as the congregation has a greater understanding of the theology of adoption, the love of Christ for the fatherless, his commands for his people to care for the fatherless, and the great need for orphan care, that more people will be involved in orphan care at all levels of engagement. Chapter 1 lays the theological foundation for the project, an overview of the project, and its goals. Chapter 2 delves into the project’s specifics at Longview Point Baptist Church in Hernando, Mississippi. Chapter 3 details the rest of the sessions and how the project coordinator challenged the participants to further action. Chapter 4 evaluates the effectiveness of the project and how the church will continue to encourage and equip members to be involved in orphan care. It also examines ways to improve the project if duplicated in another context.

Tiejun Wang

New Life Gospel Church (NLGC) Keller, TX a Chinese immigrant church, has been at a bottleneck for quite a while. The situation was analyzed through biblical research, historical review, and theoretical study. The analysis revealed that the Christians of NLGC Keller were still living in a state of spiritual war. Then, the project was designed to focus on solving this issue through ongoing heart transformation by the love of God.
The project is called “heart transformation project.” Only God’s love can transform the heart. Therefore, Christians’ hearts must be put into the circulation of God’s love. The argument is whether God’s love can continue transforming Christians’ hearts. If Christians’ hearts can continue transforming through receiving and giving God’s love in the love-circulating system, the church will certainly grow up sustainably.
Focusing on heart transformation, the project can be utilized as a discipleship training program. Through the process of transformation by God’s love, Christians are expected to grow up quickly to become acceptable to God after His own heart.

Steven So D.Min.

This project aims to provide leadership training focusing on equipping church leaders with the art of listening. The project gives a literature review on leadership and listening based on publications and dissertations over the last twenty years. The literature review shows that even though authors and researchers recognize listening is essential for leaders, there is no systematic training designed for the local church context. Then, the project examines a biblical and theological reflection on listening. After that, the project looks at a detailed description of an eight-session training that covers biblical teaching on listening, church application of listening, the servant attitude in listening, skills in active listening, and how to listen to God, self, and others. The training includes an active listening practice, which is purposely designed to be done in a short period to stretch the listening effort. At the end of this project, the actual training is evaluated. It provides some analyses based on the assessment results collected from the participants. It also includes a summary of the feedback gathered from the participants and future plans for the training.

Chin Sul Chang

This project aimed to develop a senior ministry strategy for Atlanta Bethany United Methodist Church. Driven by low birth rate, worldwide population aging is expected to accelerate in the future. Churches are also faced with a crisis in which the number of children and the younger generation going to church is falling and growth stalled. Strengthening the senior ministry, which is demanded by the world we live in today, is a mission Churches must take upon themselves and a way to change this crisis into an opportunity. The project director first conducted extensive research on materials related to senior ministry and based on vigorously researched theories, set specific directions for the senior ministry of a church to take. Then, through research and analysis of the unique environment of Atlanta Bethany United Methodist Church, the project director carried out the process of developing an effective senior ministry strategy.

The strategy was developed through a process of establishing a strategy development team within the Church and, through four meetings, building common understanding and gathering opinions, and conducting surveys. The finalized strategy was presented to the Church’s official committee and received approval. The outcomes of each state were sent three times to outside specialists, and the strategy was completed after making revisions based on their assessments. In this process, it was assessed that the ministerial goal of developing a senior ministry strategy as well as personal career development goal of enhancing knowledge of senior ministry and improving strategy development skills were sufficiently achieved. It is hoped that the developed senior ministry strategy is effectively practiced at Atlanta Bethany United Methodist Church and provides much help the Church and its congregation.

Harry Buis

How should a Christian sanctify the Lord's Day? What principles should direct him in making use of this day according to the will of God? This problem has become increasingly perplexing in our nation today. It is a problem which is especially acute for many people in the Reformed Church in America. Many of these people came from a background of strict Sunday observance. Is this observance primarily cultural or is it biblical? If it is a combination of the two, on what basis can one untangle these
strands?

This problem is especially critical because today, as never before, the Reformed Church in America is reaching out into the typical American community with an evangelistic approach. As she does so, she must not lose her rich heritage; rather she must share it. On the other hand, she ought not to impose upon others any part of that heritage which is culturally conditioned rather than essentially Christian. Even those aspects of that culture which are commendable ought not to be made requirements for membership in the Church of Jesus Christ.

In dealing with Americans of many different cultural and religious backgrounds, one finds no greater variety of viewpoint than that toward the proper use of the Lord' s Day, for America itself is undergoing a great change in its attitudes toward the use of Sunday. In a few generations, this day has been changed from one largely used for rest and worship to one used largely for work and leasure. The Puritan Sabbath, which had a large influence in earlier American history, has given way to a far different viewpoint. The result is confusion of thought on the subject, and therefore prevailing practices are based on expediency rather than on definite principles.

Benjamin Zandstra

This project is designed to provide average readers with a relational overview of Christian life. it reflects a Reformation perspective or the centrality of grace and is presented with the hope of increasing the reader's clarity in understanding and living a complete Christian life. The Context is described by means of a summary of selected aspects of the research done by the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries and the Search institute. The contents were used in the adult education program of the Surprise Valley Parish, United Church of Christ, in rural, northeastern California.

The introduction is intended as an invitation, to pull the reader into considering a comprehensive view of their faith. The Conclusion provides the reader with a summary along with a sense of commission that suggests directions for further exploration and implementation.

The four Chapters describe standing in grace with ourselves, others, the world, and God. The approach begins with the reflexive relatlonship and moves continuously outward until it culminates with one's ultimate relationship. Throughout, God's grace in Jesus of Nazareth is the point of reference for understanding the nature of these relationships. This is done with a view toward describing how a maturing Christian faith might manifest itself in these relationships in the ever-changing temporal context. Also, basic resources for growth are suggested along with questions for reflection and discussion.