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Preaching That Leads to Transformation at the North Street Church of Christ in Nacogdoches, Texas Curtis Barbarick [email protected]

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Preaching That Leads to Transformation at the North Street Church of Christ in Nacogdoches, Texas Curtis Barbarick Curtisbarbarick@Gmail.Com Abilene Christian University Digital Commons @ ACU Doctor of Ministry Project/Theses Doctor of Ministry 2014 Preaching that Leads to Transformation At The North Street Church of Christ in Nacogdoches, Texas Curtis Barbarick [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/dmin_theses Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Ethics in Religion Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Organizational Communication Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Rhetoric Commons, and the Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Barbarick, Curtis, "Preaching that Leads to Transformation At The orN th Street Church of Christ in Nacogdoches, Texas" (2014). Doctor of Ministry Project/Theses. 11. https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/dmin_theses/11 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Doctor of Ministry at Digital Commons @ ACU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Project/Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ ACU. ABSTRACT This doctor of ministry thesis presents the results of a project to develop a process whereby the sermon would be enhanced for listeners at the North Street Church of Christ in Nacogdoches, Texas, so that preaching would be more effective in leading to transformation. The theology and methodology of John Wesley were utilized as a lens by which to think about and implement this practice. The intervention involved a six-week session with a focus group that represented a cross-section of the congregation. Participants in this group were asked to engage in a lectio divina exercise on a particular text daily, journal about the experience, listen attentively to the sermon on the same text on Sunday morning, and meet with a group of others who were engaged in the same practices for the purpose of discussion. Group members were to propose ways in which they might be able to implement, in the coming week, what they had learned. Each was encouraged to choose one of those possible implementations and practice it. The following meeting would begin with a discussion of the implementation. Evaluation of the process revealed that such preparation before the sermon, engagement with others about the sermon, and practicing lessons learned helped to bring about transformation in the lives of the participants. In addition, the process also revealed that the diversity of the group contributed significantly to the learning and growth of the participants. The thesis concludes with suggestions for the elders in how to utilize this process going forward. Preaching that Leads to Transformation At The North Street Church of Christ in Nacogdoches, Texas A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School Abilene Christian University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Course BIBM 725 Project Thesis Seminar By Curtis Barbarick May 2014 This thesis, directed and approved by the candidate’s committee, has been accepted by the Graduate Council of Abilene Christian University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Ministry ____________________________________ Dean of the Graduate School Date ____________________________________ Thesis Committee ____________________________________ Chair ____________________________________ ____________________________________ To Lisa For your love and support through many years of partnership in ministry Thank you for all the papers you typed on an actual typewriter and for all the times you proofread other papers. You are the best! TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1 Title of Project .................................................................................................................2 Ministry Context ..............................................................................................................2 Identifying the Problem ...................................................................................................5 The Purpose of the Project ..............................................................................................7 Basic Assumptions ..........................................................................................................9 Definitions .......................................................................................................................9 Delimitations .................................................................................................................10 Limitations .....................................................................................................................11 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................11 II. THEOLOGICAL LENS—JOHN WESLEY ................................................................13 The Life of John Wesley ...............................................................................................13 The Theology of John Wesley .......................................................................................17 Prolegomena ..........................................................................................................17 God .........................................................................................................................21 Humanity................................................................................................................23 Sin ..........................................................................................................................26 Salvation ................................................................................................................29 The Atonement.......................................................................................................35 Perfection ...............................................................................................................39 Wesley and the Theology of Transformation ................................................................46 Biblical Practices for Transformation ...........................................................................51 Wesley’s Methodology ..................................................................................................53 Implications of John Wesley for the North Street Church of Christ .............................56 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................60 III. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................61 Group Participants .........................................................................................................61 Format of the Sessions ..................................................................................................62 Evaluation of the Methodology .....................................................................................66 Field Notes .............................................................................................................67 Insider Evaluation ..................................................................................................68 Independent Expert ................................................................................................69 Validation of the Process ...............................................................................................70 IV. RESULTS ....................................................................................................................76 Introduction ...................................................................................................................76 The Impact of Lectio Divina .........................................................................................78 The Process ............................................................................................................78 Group Experience ..................................................................................................79 Lectio Divina in Light of Wesley...........................................................................83 Group Learning .............................................................................................................85 The Process ............................................................................................................85 Group Experience ..................................................................................................88 Group Learning in Light of Wesley .......................................................................91 Resonating with the Sermon ..........................................................................................93 The Process ............................................................................................................93 Group Experience ..................................................................................................96 Hearing the Sermon in Light of Wesley ..............................................................101 Implementation of the Lesson .....................................................................................103
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