Conventional wisdom and antiquated stage development theories have had a negative effect on children's spirituality. This paper looks at an innovative spiritual practice (embodied prayer) that instead promotes children's agency and embodied engagement in multi-layered meaning making. It traces both the ways in which children respond to higher…

A 2015 Barna report revealed that a meager 20 percent of regular church attenders in the United States participate in any church discipleship activities. With declining attendance and more than four thousand churches closing in the United States since 2019, one would wonder what impact this lack of discipleship has had on the overall health of the…

This research project explores how awareness and participation in Christian spiritual disciplines increased among adults involved in Sunday school revitalization at Temple Baptist Church in Gainesville, Texas. The first two chapters include a biblical and theological basis for the spiritual disciplines and a brief historical sketch of Christian…

We make two interventions in two evolving scholarly literatures. First, we show how fractal metaphors escape a recurring dichotomy in Christian pedagogical scholarship, the either/or of alienation from one's object of study versus union with it in "an act of love." Second, we try to replace recent interdisciplinary work's emphasis on…

The purpose of this project was to develop a training program at Hickory Grove Baptist Church to equip men for leadership. The focus of the training was to help men understand and demonstrate the principles of being a disciple of Christ who can make disciples so they can provide effective leadership within the church and in their homes. Chapter 1…

A well-informed perception of leaders is critical in how members of worship congregations experience spiritual formation. This study focuses on six selected worship congregations of Kenya's Christ Is The Answer Ministries (CITAM). The Straussian grounded-theory design was employed to analyze interviews and focus group discussions. The findings…

Education for pluralism--for living well with others in the midst of deep, inescapable differences--is a significant concern for philosophy of education. In this paper, the author draws the attention of philosophers of education to the resources for educating for pluralism that can be found in an altogether unexpected site: the liturgical…

This article examines to what extent any engagement with the themes of the Satan, demonic evil, and spiritual warfare appear in the scholarship and teaching within Christian higher education institutions. A review of the course descriptions from 104 of the 115 governing members of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities was conducted…

The following paper gives an abbreviated account of the argument in the recent book 'Challenges for Religious Education: is there a disconnection between faith and reason?' In paying particular attention to the perceived opposition between the systematic development of religious faith, on the one hand, and, on the other, the central educational…

Personal Spirituality and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs) are very much a part of people's lives. The construct of OCBs are comprised of non-prescribed employee activities that add value to the organization. The construct was first conceptualized, described, and developed by Dr. Dennis Organ in 1983. Personal Spirituality is a belief…

The present paper reports findings from interviews with thirty ex-choristers from cathedrals and collegiate chapels in England, aged from eighteen to eighty. These interviews explored choristers' religious commitments before entering choir school and factors for staying with, leaving, or later returning to religious practice. The findings suggest…

In this quantitative study, discipleship strategies of churches in the Christian and Missionary Alliance were surveyed, to determine if discipleship strategies were effective at fulfilling the mission of helping people connect with God and grow spiritually. Data were collected from 30 church attenders from Western Pennsylvania churches, 27 of…

This research recognized the current perception of preschool ministry and First Sarasota Baptist Church in Sarasota, Florida. In order to motivate and equip members to contribute to the spiritual formation of children ages two to six, an eight-week training course was developed for forty participants. Their progress was determined using a pre-test…

This dissertation explores the transformational paradigm shift in spiritually stagnated leaders of Korean-American immigrant churches. It addresses the issue of spiritual stagnation, which affects 25% of Christians in over 2,500 churches, leading to burnout and emptiness. The Korean-American church's collectivistic, hierarchical, and high-context…

Poverty impacts the holistic wellness and care of single mothers, and single-mother families are at higher risk of poverty than other household types. College is a vehicle for academic growth and development, fostering opportunities for spiritual formation. This phenomenological qualitative study investigated the impact of Christian spiritual…