Wesley Theological Seminary

Shaun Donald Yaskiw

Senior military leaders have a special responsibility for the well-being of those under their command - including their spiritual well-being. Moral injury has the potential to significantly corrode the well-being of military personnel, those who lead them, and the institution. Military chaplains have a unique advisory role to play in helping military leaders care for the spiritual well-being of their personnel. Senior military chaplains have the additional opportunity to help senior military leaders shape the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) so as to seek to prevent moral injury, reduce its incidence, and mitigate its effects when it occurs.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Edwin Eng Wei Wong

This project paper seeks to provide practical tools to help pastors and leaders understand congregational culture to effectively lead their ministries. Drawing pointers from the servant-leadership practices of Nehemiah as well as other resources, the author formulates approaches to managing transition and leading change. Recommendations, based on broad observations from a survey on a small group of itinerant pastors in Singapore, are subsequently drawn.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

George Winkfield

The purpose of the project was to develop a worship experience that honored the past but better represented Loch Raven UMC’s multicultural present and future. The project was intentional about including other cultures into the worship at Loch Raven. The first phase added a cultural component with a sermon that addressed cultural diversity. The second phase of the intervention used an integrated approach that utilized a theme and cultural diversity throughout the service that connected to a sermon series. Outcomes suggest that when cultural diversity is integrated into the theme of the service it produces more overall engagement in worship.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Patricia Ann Robinson Williams

This project seeks to re-affirm the hermeneutics of liturgically-inspired worship preparation among congregants of the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. The Senior Pastor's admonition to congregants to prepare spiritually to enter the forthcoming new sanctuary forms the project rationale. Using narrative inquiry methods, the intervention seeks to demonstrate the value of liturgical preparation to sacred space dwelling and spiritual sanctification. The researcher collects and codes narrative responses as intuitive, reflective, contemplative or interpretive and intersects these ideas with spatial, symbolic and sensible aesthetics. Results from these analyses define aesthetically and textually-induced revelations as effective for spiritual transformation.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Jungang Wang

Most Chinese people, within whom traditional culture is deeply embedded, reject Christianity because they see only conflict between the values of the culture they cherish and the Christian faith. After the author lays out the biblical-theological foundations for the lecture series by analyzing the biblical resources, this dissertation explains the practical process of this research project including the survey before the lectures themselves, the observation description of the lectures, and the communications after the lectures. The analysis suggests that the lecture series is an effective way to remove misunderstanding of young adults in the Beijing Nankou Church. It not only benefits young adults but also the whole congregation.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Rudolph Hendrik Van Graan

After a discussion on the meta-shift in mainline churches in the United States, the trauma associated with decline, and suggesting building blocks for the future, the author offered three imaging tools, the Vision Board, SoulCollage® and the Visual Faith Project, that might help search committees and leadership teams in small and vulnerable congregations in the United Church of Christ discerning a vision and tangible goals for the future. Although these tools are focused on the individual, the author showed how each one of these tools could be used in the context of a group or a congregation as a whole.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Emma J. Valentine

This project addresses the need for the Northern Virginia Baptist Association to become a resource center on mental illness to assist its congregations. The researcher did a qualitative review of literature on the impact of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia; facilitated focus groups and interviews with professionals from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, and religion, as well as lay people; and examined a case study of a family with a mentally ill son. Results of the study suggest that pastors and leaders can work collaboratively within the Association to provide a user-friendly resource center for those seeking help with mental health issues.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Timothy B. Tutt

This project explores sermons related to war and peace preached in the 1900s at Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ in Bethesda, Maryland. The sermons were the centerpiece of an eight-week worship and education series intended to help the congregation better articulate a proactive theology of peace that would nurture their ongoing commitments to being creative, vigorous peace-mongers in the face of future wars and rumors of war. The project included sermons preached in worship, an education series, and two surveys exploring the impact of sermons on congregants’ views of war and peace.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Semisi Turagavou

The author researched about the way forward to enhance the Divisional School's education program. This project paper described the importance of merging theological and biblical curriculum with vocational subjects. In the process of writing the paper, the author visited Divisional schools and interviewed stakeholders as methods of collecting information. Through researched and interviewed, the author affirmed that merging the two programs is definitely a positive way forward for enhancing the Methodist Divisional Schools' programs. In this regard, students of Divisional schools are not only learning biblical subjects, but they are also enriched and equipped with vocational skills.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]

Braulio Torres

How can we intentionally move from doing ministry for people, to doing ministry with the people? This project presents an analytical process of a model developed as a way to help local churches focus their efforts on doing ministry with people. The model asks us to consider the activities of the local church using three components: biblical foundation, contextual focus, and practical application. The reader will discover that this model can be applied to any ministry endeavor.

[Note about entry: Abstract submitted to the Atla RIM database on behalf of the author. The text appears in its entirety as it does in the original abstract page of the author’s project paper. Neither words nor content have been edited.]