Exploring the conditions in which African religious movements emerged during the colonial period or in the post-colonial period has been a popular course of study. Our understanding of religious movements has been largely limited to the conditions which galvanized them. We must …
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The dissertation falls into two parts. Part one deals with the Problem of Unity in Indonesian Society and its Christian Churches. The first chapter sets forth the Indonesian's major problem which is the unity of the nation amidst the astounding diversity of its political orienta…
The archaeological record and literary sources indicate that the interiors of churches in the early Byzantine Empire were richly adored from floor to ceiling. In this study, it is asserted that all of the surfaces which received decoration were integral components of the overall…
The region of Charente-Poitou in western France was dotted with small, rural ecclesiastical structures built in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The majority of these churches featured a distinctive entry configuration comprised of a set of concentrically stepped archivolts o…
How can we approach the surviving evidence on Paliochora in order for it to become a site of cultural consciousness in a wider medieval context? Its architectural and iconographic identity is hidden in its thirty-four Late and Post Byzantine churches. This thesis constitutes the…
This study examines the emergence and expansion of church construction in the Decapolis from the fourth to the seventh centuries. The number of churches in these communities during the Byzantine period suggests a significant Christian presence in cities on the fringes of the eas…
In this dissertation I explore religion and music as key sites through which members of the shrinking Yoruba middle class (re)negotiate their positions in a contemporary Nigerian society that is characterized by democratic transition and economic liberalization. Based on two yea…
The quality of preaching in the region of Galilee is rather poor. At best it may be categorized as a topical style. Narrative preaching is unknown to most of the pastors, preachers and leaders of the region due to a lack of awareness and education. The purpose of this study was …
Scholars commonly argue that the unity of modern Europe was anticipated by the medieval religious community of Latin Christendom. This study examines the meaning of Latin Christian identity from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries viewed through one particular lens: the divisi…
Pastors have been called by God to disciple their flocks. Moreover, they have been called to equip the flock to disciple others in order to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). Southern Baptists have long decried the woes of deficient discipleship. However, many have n…
Ineffective financial decision-making has frequently led to nondenominational church failures and contributes to 4,000 to 8,000 churches closing each year in North America. Grounded in stewardship theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore effecti…
Christian churches in the United States are notoriously resistant to change, whether in regard to leadership, worship style, church governance, positions on social issues, or myriad other aspects of congregational life. Yet the ability to navigate change successfully is vitally …
Small membership churches are struggling with the very real issue of their continued survival. However, there is no wealth of information nor work addressing the issues of small membership churches. The purpose of this thesis is to devise a vehicle by which I can analyze and int…
In recent years, journalists and scholars alike have grown wary about the state of political discourse in the US. Numerous scholars have indicated that a major reason for the precipitous decline in civil discourse is the proliferation of rights talk, a rhetorical strategy predic…
This research is an investigation into the role of encounter in conversion and its implications for mission by Pentecostal and charismatic (P+c) churches within the United Kingdom. Initially, contemporary conversion praxis is explored in literature associated with the ecumenical…
This is an ethnographic study of Coptic immigrant churches in North America. I argue that the Coptic Church places greater importance on its youth from the second generation in immigrant societies. "A church without youth is a church without a future" is an often-repeated quote …
The nature of the seafarers' life is one of mobility and therefore separation from family and the local religious community. In terms of Christian Mission, this makes evangelism difficult and fellowship and nurturing by the church almost impossible. The focus of this dissertatio…