7262397890599 ISBN 978-90-5972-623-9 Churches in many Western countries are faced with an adaptive challenge. Adaptive challenges arise when deeply held beliefs are challenged, when the solutions that once worked well become less appropriate, and when legitimate, yet competing, perspectives emerge. Adaptive problems will not go away by ignoring them, or by making technical adjustments. Many churches in the West need to change their vision and practices thoroughly, in order not to become contextually obsolete and irrelevant. Since this has to do with innovation and change, it will require leadership.

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Crossroads: An Exploration of the Emerging-Missional Conversation with a Special Focus on 'Missional Leadership' and Its Challenges for Theological Education

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Ecumenical Missiology: Changing Landscapes and New Conceptions of Mission

THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL PASTOR: NAVIGATING THE CULTURE OF AN ESTABLISHED CHURCH BY IMPLEMENTING ANTHROPOLOGICAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES Christopher Eric Turpin, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2016 Chair: Dr. George H. Martin This dissertation explores anthropological tools and resources and their potential usefulness in navigating the culture of an established church. The application of the principles contained herein can be used for church revitalization, pastor transitions, and established church leadership. These principles can also be applied to business and organizational cultures. Chapter 1 presents the research question that serves as the investigative guide for the dissertation. This dissertation argues that the pastor(s)/elders, and/or potential pastor(s)/elders, of established local churches, should know and implement many of the tools and resources of cultural anthropology within their ministry context in order to enhance understanding and communication between the pastor and his congregation, resulting in healthier pastor-congregation relations, healthier churches, and greater Kingdom effectiveness. Further, this chapter proposes an amalgamation of the research from the fields of anthropology/missiology, relevant organizational culture literature, and church leadership materials. Chapter 2 serves as a survey of much of the relevant literature surrounding the study of anthropology/missiology, church leadership, and relevant organizational culture literature. This literature review traces an overview of the development of anthropological thought and the value of anthropological tools and resources. The review then demonstrates how anthropology is being discussed in church leadership materials, but without significant interaction with anthropological resources. Due to the scope of this research, the author narrows his interaction with church leadership material to materials that include sections that seem to recognize that each established churches exhibit culture. Chapter 3 presents the author’s findings from anthropological research most relevant to the work of a local church pastor. Paul Hiebert’s book Anthropological Insights for Missionaries serves as a blueprint for the outline of the chapter. The chapter continues to look at available anthropological tools and resources, the ways they are understood and implemented by others, and potential applications toward established churches. Chapter 4 examines church leadership literature resources that consider established churches to exhibit culture. Aubrey Malphurs’ book, Look before You Lead serves as a blueprint for the outline of the chapter. The primary objective of this chapter is to demonstrate the fact that church leadership authors interact very little with the writings, research, paradigms, and tools of anthropologists or missiologists. Chapter 5 presents the author’s findings and conclusions. The focus is on developing the field of congregational cultural anthropology for the purpose of equipping pastors to understand and work through established church cultures. The author introduces a rapid assessment process (RAP) for understanding and navigating congregational culture. He concludes with an adaptation of Paul Hiebert’s method for engaging in critical contextualization, but for the purpose of transforming congregational culture. He also proposes the development of a field handbook for rapid assessment processes among established churches and an expansion of the field of congregational cultural anthropology.

The anthropological pastor: navigating the culture of an established church by implementing anthropological tools and resources

The Trinitarian Culture and Corporate Worship Practices of Canadian Pentecostals: A Contribution from the Theology of Colin Gunton Michael A. Tapper Thesis advisor: Catherine E. Clifford This thesis represents a unique analysis of the trinitarian impulses of an important corporate worship practice among the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC), the largest Evangelical denomination in Canada. It considers whether an inconsistency exists between the PAOC’s trinitarian statement of faith and formative expressions of this denomination’s belief conveyed in 82 of the most commonly used contemporary worship songs from April 2007 to March 2013. Lyrical music, it is defended, represents a forming, measurable, and confirming indicator among the PAOC of contemporary religious understanding. In order to assess the trinitarian dispositions of the PAOC music lyrics, Colin Gunton’s theology is utilized as a framework for this evaluation. Gunton was a leading figure in the advancement of trinitarian theology before his untimely death in 2003. His balanced integration of the notions of relationality, particularity, and perichoresis provides the rationale for eight qualitative content analyses that are original to this project and intended to verify the trinitarian views in the PAOC lyrics. This analysis is oriented around three major areas of trinitarian assessment: the doctrine of God, human personhood, and cosmology. The data from these content analyses are compiled, presented, and carefully analysed. Then, returning to the trinitarian work of Gunton, implications and considerations for the PAOC are offered. This study shows that Gunton’s trinitarian theology provides a resource to identify and correct the trinitarian deficit and individualistic and cosmologically dualistic orientation of PAOC commonly used songs. Ultimately, this thesis proposes that Gunton, in accordance with several key Pentecostal and worship studies interlocutors, can serve as a helpful theological source for the dynamic practice of a trinitarian faith among the PAOC. DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners.

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The Trinitarian Culture and Corporate Worship Practices of Canadian Pentecostals: A Contribution from the Theology of Colin Gunton

CHRIST THE WARRIOR KING: A BIBLICAL, HISTORICAL, AND THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DIVINE WARRIOR THEME IN CHRISTOLOGY Phillip Ross Bethancourt Doctor of Philosophy The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2011 Supervisor: Russell D. Moore Chapter 1 introduces the dissertation’s thesis, highlights its methodology and establishes its goals. This dissertation argues that the divine warrior theme is a central Christological feature in both biblical and historical theology, which carries significant implications for contemporary issues in systematic theology. This chapter also sets the argument within the contemporary context of various approaches to theme of warfare in Scripture. Chapter 2 offers a historical analysis of treatments of the divine warrior theme in Christology. It reveals that prominent theologians throughout church history have recognized Christ as warrior king, particularly through their understanding of the atonement as victory. Chapter 3 explores how the divine warrior theme is a central feature in the messianic expectation of the Old Testament. It highlights how a biblical theology of warfare interplays with the Old Testament’s emphasis on the unfolding kingdom of God. Chapter 4 argues that the New Testament presents Christ as a warrior king in its messianic fulfillment. The New Testament’s treatment of the person and work of Christ presents him as a conquering messianic warrior. In addition, both the inaugurated and consummated dimensions of eschatology center on Christ the warrior king’s victory. Chapter 5 demonstrates how the divine warrior theme in biblical theology yields beneficial insights into contemporary issues in systematic theology. It examines how a divine warrior Christology contributes to evangelical theology in the areas of the atonement, salvation, eschatology, and providence. Chapter 6 concludes the dissertation by offering a summary of arguments and considering areas for further research related to the subject. It suggests that evangelical theology could benefit significantly from further exploration of the divine warrior theme in Christology. VITA Phillip Ross Bethancourt PERSONAL Born: January 8, 1982, Freeport, Texas Parents: John and Debbie Bethancourt Married: Cami Lynn Lawhon, January 8, 2005 Children: Nathan Ross, born January 28, 2009 Lawson James, born July 13, 2010 EDUCATIONAL Diploma, Memorial High School, Houston, Texas, 2000 B.B.A., Texas A&M University, 2005 M.S., Texas A&M University, 2005 M.Div., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008 MINISTERIAL Associate College Minister, Central Baptist Church, College Station, Texas, 2004-2006 ACADEMIC Garrett Fellow, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008-2010 Director of Academic Advising – School of Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008 Director of Research Doctoral Studies, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2009 Director of Academic Advising and Research Doctoral Studies, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2009-2011 Adjunct Instructor, Boyce College, 2010 Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President for Academic Administration, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2011 Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and Instructor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2011ORGANIZATIONAL Evangelical Theological Society

Christ the Warrior King: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Analysis of the Divine Warrior Theme in Christology

The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church The Forgotten Ways Handbook: A Practical Guide for Developing Missional Churches

The Missional Church and Denominations: Helping Congregations Develop a Missional Identity

ChurchMorph: How Megatrends Are Reshaping Christian Communities. By Eddie Gibbs. Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, Baker Academic 2009. Pp. 224. $17.99.

We Are Here Now: A New Missional Era Introducing the Missional Church: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Become One

The first part of this paper seeks to demonstrate how predominant Christiania, under Christendom, divorced mission from ecclesiology, and marginalized missiology from the theological curriculum. This is not only a problem for the west, as this model was then exported and replicated worldwide through the agency of the Protestant missionary movement. In the second part the paper explores the factors which have led us to a more adequate ecclesiology. Since we have recovered the missionary dimension in ecclesiology the paper argues that this must also be reflected in our theological curriculum. ********** Christianity is culturally conditioned. Not only the various expressions of our faith but also its theological presuppositions and concerns are conditioned by the context in which Christianity develops. This paper traces the theological developments which took place in Christendom which were then inherited by western Protestant nations, which, until recently, was the normative Christianity for the vast majority of believers. (1) Western theological formation arose when Europe was effectively an island, isolated from engagement with the wider world. During this time the church was developing an abnormal theology, namely a missionless ecclesiology. This time was also characterized by the "canonization" of the theological curriculum used for ministerial formation. A missionless church saw no necessity for the inclusion of missiology in the theological curriculum. This paper argues that the Protestant missionary movement then exported this defective ecclesiology. As ministerial formation became increasingly necessary in the countries which received Protestant missionaries the pattern for formation was modeled on defective western assumptions, which marginalized missiology and created an ongoing dependency through the promotion of English-medium education. This is highlighted in the example of the Theological Education Fund. The dominant cultural milieu determines the development of Christianity, and its theological agenda. During Christendom this resulted in the development of an introverted theology as the church did not have to contend with a pluralistic context. Assuming the adequacy of such theology, the Protestant missionary enterprise then exported it in cross-cultural transplantation, as Christianity became a truly global faith. Whilst it is acknowledged that the heartland of Christianity, has shifted southward, this paper contends that the legacy of Christendom's abnormal ecclesiology still exerts powerful influence. In particular this is exacerbated by the perpetuation of anachronistic models for theological formation and education. The Theological Distortion of Christendom The Evolution of Missionless Ecclesiology The establishment of a Christianized society in western Europe left no place for mission within the empire. This led to theological introversion as the church became consumed with ministering to its members and maintaining its territorial integrity. The introversion of the church was then compounded by the rise and rapid expansion of Islam, isolating Europe from the rest of the world, and cutting off established land routes for trade. Europe in effect became an island. The only conceivable place to do mission was in distant lands, far removed from the church. Theological reflection became increasingly abstract, acontextual, intellectual and concerned with ecclesiology. The church had, in effect, divorced mission from its agenda. The Protestant missionary endeavour arose during and subsequent to the Enlightenment. It was thus profoundly imbued with Enlightenment ideas and assumptions. "According to the Enlightenment the goal of intellectual labour was to formulate universal principles that met rigorous scientific standards and would be applicable everywhere. Since context was suspect, the goal was to derive knowledge that was independent of context". …

Mark Laing

Papers

The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church The Forgotten Ways Handbook: A Practical Guide for Developing Missional Churches

The Missional Church and Denominations: Helping Congregations Develop a Missional Identity

ChurchMorph: How Megatrends Are Reshaping Christian Communities. By Eddie Gibbs. Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, Baker Academic 2009. Pp. 224. $17.99.

We Are Here Now: A New Missional Era Introducing the Missional Church: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Become One

Recovering Missional Ecclesiology in Theological Education