Denver Seminary

Michael C Merriner

Does soliciting input from others when preparing a sermon increase the transformational quality of that sermon? Six sermons preached at Clear Wather Church in Anchorage, Alaska were prepared with the help of a feed-forward group and compared to six sermons prepared without input. Listeners assessed the transformational quality of each sermon by completing a listener survey. There was no statistically significant difference in how the listeners assessed either set of sermons. The results of this quantitative study call into question the theory that soliciting input when preparing sermons increases their transformational quality.

Harold Hyung Park

Constructivist grounded theory was used to generate a substantive theoretical model for the development of resilience and coping strategies of Christian adoptive parents. "Resilience: Extending Beyond Self" provides a unique theory which illustrates processes in response to adoption-related parenting challenges. The core category that emerged from the research was "seeking connection." Two other categories were also raised including, "turning it over to God," and "seeking new perspectives." These three areas represent protective factors which increasethe likelihood of desirable outcomes in high-stress parenting situations. The model theorizes that the underlying motivation for these three categories is to find support and belonging.

Gerald J. Neufeld

When Jesus told parables, they were effective and powerful. People are still enthrolled by stories.Stories effect listeners neurologically and emotionally, drawing them into the story, causing them to identify with the characters, waiting to see what happens to them.Parables need to be alllowed to tell their story, allowing their power to work, leading to change.Preaching Jesus' parables in a narraive fashion helped the people of Grace Church understand the Kingdom, more fully embrace kingdom values, encouraging them to live those values, focusing on others, reaching out to others, and loving others as Jesus does.

Gregory A Schmalfeldt

Emergency department nurses perform in a highly stressful setting. As a result, researchers have identitifed compassion fatigue as a problematic side-effect of caring for patients with significant emotional and physical distress. Without purposeful intervention, compassion fatigue can lead to more serious conditions such as secondary stress syndrome or burnout. This study explored root causes of exposure to suffering, futility, detachment from patients, and leadership influence. To mitigate the effects of compassion fatigue, the researcher provided a holistic self-care program among emergency department nurses (N=10) at a community-centered hospital. Participants benefited from improved emotional intelligence, physical resilience, spiritual sensitivity, and interpersonal support.

Richard Lee Johns

The author studied the subject of receiving communication from God (hearing God's voice) from a biblical, physiological, and historical perspective. The author conducted a project on the effect of a 12-week cognitive behavioral intervention on Seventh-day Adventist Church members that helps them properly and biblically discern God's communication with them in a way that increases their intimacy with God and avoids the extremes of hearing God's voice in other voices or not hearing from God at all. A mixed methods approach was used and the results showed a greater level of attachment to God was achieved. Qualitative feedback suggested participants believed they were better able to discern communication from God after completing the intervention.

Donald R Kerns

Congregational leaders took part in an intervention ("Salt, Light, and All the BELLS") to model, teach, and coach participants toward greater evangelistic commitment, knowledge, and practice. The intent was that changes in them will make Advent Presbyterian's church culture more evangelistic. Participants' relationship to evangelism, experience in the class, and efforts to witness were studied within a phenomenological framework, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative results were inconclusive, due primarily to the sample size. Qualitative content analysis of participant statements and actions, however, yielded positive results. Leaders experienced increasees in their skills, knowledge, confidence, and practice of evangelism.

Harold Hyung Park

Constructivist grounded theory was used to generate a substantive theoretical model for the development of resilience and coping strategies of Christian adoptive parents. "Resilience: Extending Beyond Self" provides a unique theory which illustrates processes in response to adoption-related parenting challenges. The core category that emerged from the research was "seeking connection." Two other categories were also raised: "turning it over to God" and "seeking new perspectives." These three areas represent protective factors which increase the likelihood of desirable outcomes in high-stress parenting situations. The model theorizes that the underlying motivation for these three categories is to find support and belonging.

Timothy C Strickland

The researcher hypothesized that Toronto area church leaders who participated in a short-term revitalization training cohort would be equipped to begin leading revitalization in their churches. Using quantitative and qualitative research methods to study the impact of the revitalization training on the participants, the researcher concluded that the hypothesis was correct. The theological chapter studies church revitalization leaders as strategic, missionary leaders. The literature review chapter studies the following church revitalization themes: the type of leader needed, church leadership structure, outward missionary focus, leading change, and minstry areas to change.

Randall E O'Brien

Will a cognitive-behavioral small group curriculum on peacemaking principles from the Sermon on the Mount result in an increase in cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects among Eagle Brook Church's small group attendees? Matthew 5-7 provided Jesus' principles for peacemaking. Exploration of reconciliation literature, notably from Glen Stassen and Ken Sande, further provided practical teaching and application to conflict situations. A nine-week learning environment of lecture, small group discussion, and role-play delivered the foundational teaching. Pre-testing and post-testing confirmed that application of Jesus' principles changed the participants' cognition, affect, and behavior in conflict reconciliation.

James Foo

The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify the factors that contribute to satisfaction in remarried relationships. This study was conducted utilizing that qualitative research methodology of the ethnographic interview. Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory provided scales to measure marital interaction processes and marital satisfaction. The objective of this study was to understand the experiences of those couples in long-term remarriages and the demonstrations of satisfaction as related to marriage relationship. The construct of the research study is that of a phenomenological qualitative design.