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A Critique of Salvation Narratives in the Salvation Army in Australia”

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A Critique of Salvation Narratives in the Salvation Army in Australia” ABSTRACT WE HAVE A GOSPEL: A CRITIQUE OF SALVATION NARRATIVES IN THE SALVATION ARMY IN AUSTRALIA by Laithe J. Greenaway The Salvation Army used to sing, “We have a gospel that matches the hour.” What is the message of salvation for this hour that God calls the Army to embody and proclaim? The purpose of this research is to help The Salvation Army in Australia in its proclamation of the gospel by providing a critique of understandings of salvation in the Army. This study examines both historical and contemporary understandings. It identifies changes in order to allow consideration of whether these changes have furthered a faithful contextual embodiment of God’s calling to be The Salvation Army. The researcher utilized an historical document study, a questionnaire given to members of Salvation Army Leadership Teams across Australia, and followed with ethnographic observations and interviews with key informants. The research instruments helped to identify the words and images used to describe salvation. They also helped to identify varying understandings of the source, nature, and telos of salvation. The data was analyzed using Template Analysis (Brooks et al.). The research shows that the Army has a broad understanding of the reach of salvation. There are varied understandings of how ministries relate to salvation. Among contemporary leaders, there is an increased appreciation of the mystery of God, but there is also a tendency towards depersonalizing God. The historical emphasis on pardon has been replaced by more “positive” presentations of the Gospel. The preferred contemporary presentation is “transformation.” This concept weakens the emphasis for new birth and is vague in its goal. Finally, the research identified that contemporary understandings of salvation have adopted the culturally popular themes of “acceptance” and “non-judgment.” DISSERTATION APPROVAL This is to certify that the dissertation entitled WE HAVE A GOSPEL: A CRITIQUE OF SALVATION NARRATIVES IN THE SALVATION ARMY IN AUSTRALIA presented by Laithe J. Greenaway has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the DOCTOR OF MINISTRY degree at Asbury Theological Seminary Dissertation Coach Date Director, Doctor of Ministry Program Date Dean of the Beeson Center Date WE HAVE A GOSPEL: A CRITIQUE OF SALVATION NARRATIVES IN THE SALVATION ARMY IN AUSTRALIA A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Laithe J. Greenaway May 2019 © 2019 Laithe J. Greenaway ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 NATURE OF THE PROJECT .....................................................................1 Overview of the Chapter .........................................................................................1 Personal Introduction ..............................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................3 Purpose of the Project ..............................................................................................4 Research Questions ..................................................................................................4 Research Question #1 ..................................................................................4 Research Question #2 ..................................................................................4 Research Question #3 ..................................................................................4 Rationale for the Project ..........................................................................................4 Definition of Key Terms .........................................................................................7 Delimitations ...........................................................................................................9 Review of Relevant Literature ...............................................................................10 Research Methodology .........................................................................................12 Type of Research ......................................................................................12 Participants ................................................................................................13 Data Collection .........................................................................................14 Data Analysis ............................................................................................15 iii Generalizability .........................................................................................16 Project Overview ..................................................................................................17 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW FOR THE PROJECT .........................................18 Overview of the Chapter ........................................................................................18 Biblical Foundations ..............................................................................................18 Salvation in the Old Testament ..................................................................18 Salvation in the New Testament ................................................................26 Theological Foundations ........................................................................................39 Developments in the Understanding of Salvation .....................................39 Atonement Theories ...................................................................................40 Significant Missteps in Presenting Salvation .............................................45 Holistic Mission .........................................................................................49 Differing Contexts of Salvation .................................................................61 Development of Understandings of Salvation in the Army ...................................69 Contributing Influences (Wesley and Holiness Revivalism) .....................69 The Army’s Initial Approach to Salvation .................................................77 Appropriating Salvation and the Role of the Holy Spirit ..........................79 Adoption of the Military Metaphor............................................................83 The Development of a Holistic Understanding of Salvation .....................85 Later Expressions of Salvation in the Army ..............................................89 Research Design Literature ...................................................................................98 Summary of Literature ........................................................................................100 iv CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR THE PROJECT Overview of the Chapter ......................................................................................105 Nature and Purpose of the Project .......................................................................105 Research Questions ..............................................................................................106 Research Question #1 ..............................................................................106 Research Question #2 ..............................................................................107 Research Question #3 ..............................................................................107 Ministry Context(s) ..............................................................................................108 Participants ..........................................................................................................114 Criteria for Selection ...............................................................................114 Description of Participants ......................................................................118 Ethical Considerations ............................................................................119 Instrumentation ....................................................................................................120 Expert Review ..........................................................................................124 Reliability and Validity of Project Design ..............................................128 Data Collection ...................................................................................................129 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................133 CHAPTER 4 EVIDENCE FOR THE PROJECT ............................................................136 Overview of the Chapter .....................................................................................136 Participants ..........................................................................................................136 Research Question #1: Description of Evidence .................................................139 Research Question #2: Description of Evidence .................................................160 Research Question #3: Description of
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