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Re-Introducing the Practice of Discernment As a Means of Determining God's Direction for the Church of God Reformation Movement Bruce W

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Re-Introducing the Practice of Discernment As a Means of Determining God's Direction for the Church of God Reformation Movement Bruce W Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Seminary 1-1-2013 Finding the way forward: re-introducing the practice of discernment as a means of determining God's direction for the Church of God reformation movement Bruce W. Steffensen George Fox University This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Steffensen, Bruce W., "Finding the way forward: re-introducing the practice of discernment as a means of determining God's direction for the Church of God reformation movement" (2013). Doctor of Ministry. Paper 60. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/60 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Seminary at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY FINDING THE WAY FORWARD: RE-INTRODUCING THE PRACTICE OF DISCERNMENT AS A MEANS OF DETERMINING GOD’S DIRECTION FOR THE CHURCH OF GOD REFORMATION MOVEMENT A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GEORGE FOX EVANGELICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY BRUCE W. STEFFENSEN PORTLAND, OREGON MARCH 2013 George Fox Evangelical Seminary George Fox University Portland, Oregon CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ________________________________ DMin Dissertation ________________________________ This is to certify that the DMin Dissertation of Bruce W. Steffensen has been approved by the Dissertation Committee on March 11, 2013 for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Spiritual Formation. Dissertation Committee: Primary Advisor: Deborah Loyd, DMin Secondary Advisor: Jared Roth, Ed.D Expert Advisor: Deborah Loyd, DMin Copyright © 2013 by Bruce W. Steffensen All Rights Reserved All scripture references are from The New American Standard Bible unless otherwise indicated. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All through this process I have referred to this project as “my dissertation,” but in truth it has never been a solo endeavor. There have been so many people that have participated in shaping the project, making space for the work, and encouraging me that I am a little embarrassed putting just my name on the by line. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Deborah Loyd who helped me resurrect the project when I thought it was all but dead. Her thoughtful feedback and gentle persistence kept me on track while letting me believe I was providing the momentum. I am also grateful to David Shrout, the executive director of The Churches of God in Oregon and Southwest Washington. He allowed me time to work on the project and then believed me enough to let me put my ideas to the test in a real life context. I appreciate my family who worked around me when I took over the dining room table. They were gracious enough to always ask me to go on outings with them, but lovingly understood when I could not. Most of all I am thankful for my friend, partner and wife, Debi. She gave up so many priorities, wishes and projects so I could pursue mine. I have learned more about the nature of Christ by watching her than any class I have ever taken or research I have ever done. -Bruce Steffensen iii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................................. IV ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................................................ VII CHAPTER ONE: PROBLEM ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 COMPETING SOURCES OF IDENTITY IN CHURCHES .................................................................................................................................... 2 Church as a Business ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Church as a Building ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 IDENTITY ISSUES SPECIFIC TO THE CHURCH OF GOD ................................................................................................................................ 8 Fading into the Crowd ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Local Autonomy ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Separation from the World .............................................................................................................................................................. 14 SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 CHAPTER TWO: OTHER APPROACHES ........................................................................................................................... 23 LOCAL CHURCH APPROACHES ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 DENOMINATIONAL LEVEL APPROACHES ................................................................................................................................................... 24 The Presbyterian Church .................................................................................................................................................................. 25 The United Methodist Church ......................................................................................................................................................... 28 The Southern Baptists ....................................................................................................................................................................... 35 The Church of God National Offices .............................................................................................................................................. 40 LESSONS .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER THREE: THESIS .................................................................................................................................................... 43 LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES ........................................................................................................................................................................... 43 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD ............................................................................................................................................ 46 The Discernment Process in Scripture ........................................................................................................................................ 46 Suspicious of Authoritative Structures ....................................................................................................................................... 51 iv Room for the Spirit .............................................................................................................................................................................. 52 The Body and the Word..................................................................................................................................................................... 54 TYING IT TOGETHER ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 56 Listening .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 57 Prominence of Scripture ................................................................................................................................................................... 57 Discernment ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 57 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER FOUR: ARTIFACT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................... 60 FORM OF THE ARTIFACT .............................................................................................................................................................................. 60 STRUCTURE OF THE ARTIFACT ...................................................................................................................................................................
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