ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY A PROJECT OF DISCOVERING THE ELEMENTS OF BELONGING AT MT. OLIVET BAPTIST CHURCH, COLUMBUS, OHIO A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULITY OF ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY YVETTE SARAH WEAVER ASHLAND, OHIO MARCH 3, 2021 Copyright © 2021, Yvette Sarah Weaver All rights reserved The Disciples of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church and In loving memory of The Reverend Dr. Charles Edward Booth Dear God It feels so good to make it this far, and I didn't think I could take it so long. There were days I wanted to quit, I said surely this is it but I held on. And I watched as so-called friends turn and walk away, it hurt so much I didn't have words to say. But even when my day turns to night and nothing seems just right Lord, I thank You for, for my life. For my life, Lord, I thank You, for every victory in You I've seen and all the moments I know it was You who kept me, so I thank You for, for my life. And I watched you take my family from there to here and when times were a little rough, God, I know You were near. And the moments I thought I'd fail, I was reminded of your nails, so I held on. And if I never live to see another day, there is nothing' I would change or take away, I've had so many ups that they far outweigh my downs Lord, I thank You for my life. I realized some didn't make it, I could've been one of the ones who lost my way and there were times, Lord, I knew I almost went crazy but I'm still here with my life. For my life, Lord, I thank You for every victory in You I've seen and all the moments I know it was You who kept me so I thank You for, for my life. It may not be all that I hope for and every dream has not yet been realized and to see Your face one day, God I know it's all going to be worth it, so I thank You, thank You for every mountain, every valley God, everything' You brought me through, thank You! I know, I know it was You God, I just want to take the time to say thank You Jesus, for my life. Smokie Norful APPROVAL PAGE Accepted by the faculty and the final demonstration examining committee of Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Ministry degree. _________________________________ __________________________ Academic Advisor Date _____________________________________ __________________________ Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program Date ABSTRACT The purpose of this project was to discover the elements of belonging to God and within Christian community for disciples of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, in the city of Columbus, Ohio. The assessment survey tool contained demographic information, thirty-two Likert scale questions, and four open ended questions. The results of the survey revealed that prayer, reading the Bible, observance of the Lord’s supper and baptism as the elements that contributed to the participants’ sense of belonging to God and Christian community. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES …………………………………………………… vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………. viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT OVERVIEW ………… 1 2. BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL, AND HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS …………………………………………… 25 3. REVIEW OF LITERATURE …………………………….... 61 4. DESIGN, PROCEDURE, AND ASSESSMENT ………… 101 5. REPORTING THE RESULTS ……………………………. 112 6. SUMMARY AND REFLECTIONS ……………………….. 140 Appendix PROPOSAL ……………………………………………………. 169 ASSESSMENT TOOL ………………………………………… 197 COVER PAGE ………………………………….………………. 202 REFERENCES ………………………………………………… 203 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1. Goal #1: Elements that Influence Belonging in Christian Community ……………………………………………………………….. 113 Table 2. Goal #3: Elements that Influence Belonging to God …………..116 Table 3. Goal #7: Influence of Preaching to Belonging in Christian Community ………………………………………………………………. 118 Table 4. Goal #4: Influence of Financial Contributions to Belonging in Christian Community …………………………………………………… 120 Table 5. Goal #2: Faith’s Impact on Sense of Belonging to God …..…..123 Table 6. Goal #5: Participation in Church Ministry Contributes to a Sense of Belonging in Christian Community ………………………… 126 Table 7. Goal #8: Influence of Receiving Assistance During a Crisis to Belonging in Christian Community …………………………. 129 Table 8. Goal #6: Influence of Relationship with Pastor to Belonging in Christian Community …………………………………... 132 viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ephesians 3:20 states, “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.” Thank you Lord, for allowing your power to work through me. Thanks, to my parents Dorothy and Fred Blackmon who believed from my birth, that God was going to do something special with my life. Thank you to the disciples of The Mt. Olivet Baptist Church who completed the Belonging Survey and the late Reverend Dr. Charles Edward Booth, who taught me the immeasurable value of prayer, dedicated study, and uncompromising integrity; with God’s help, my hands will remain on the plow. Thanks to Bishop Jerome H. Ross, Dr. I.T. Bradley and the Triedstone Missionary Baptist Church where I first experienced the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and acknowledged my call to the preaching ministry. Special thanks to Dr. Deborah Dennis my forever mentor, Dr. Charlene Watkins, Marcella Rogers, Eleanor Young, Francis Pugh and my editor Gwen Rogers. Thanks to Rev. Donald Bean for his spiritual insight. Thanks to Starlett Hylton, Trina Hazley and the late Faye Peyton who encouraged me to be my authentic self. Special thanks to Dr. Dawn Morton and Dr. Thomas Gilmore who encouraged me by their Godly examples of faith and prayer. I am indebted to my children Thomas (Sarah), Fredrick Weaver, and granddaughter, Hope Ali. Lastly, I thank God for my soulmate of thirty-four years, Thomas Lee Weaver. You have encouraged my every dream and loved me unconditionally. ix Thank you for your sacrifice, patience, and always reminding me to enjoy the journey. You have always been my protector and inspiration, I love you dearly. x CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT OVERVIEW Come Thou Fount Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love. Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy Help I’m come; and I hope, by thy good Pleasure, safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood; O to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above. The original text of the hymn "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" Come Thou Fountain, is a sacred hymn and song of praise that held great significance to me as I completed this project. More importantly, it has been my constant reminder that whether sinner or saint all human creation belongs to God. Therefore, throughout our Christian sojourn we must remain confident that nothing or no one can snatch us out of the powerful hands of God our creator. 1 As, His beloved, we were fashioned in His image and likeness to live in harmony with all mankind. Stephen Seamands, the author of Ministry in the Image of God suggests our being is “therefore being-in-relationship…relatedness to others is two-dimensional: vertical (relatedness to God) and horizontal (relatedness to other humans and the rest of creation)” (Seamands 2005, 35). Therefore, our belongingness is reliant upon our relationship with God and one another. As the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in relationship one belonging to the other, we too belong in community and are one with God. Purpose Statement and Research Question The purpose of this project was to discover the elements that influence participants' sense of belonging in community among a select group of Christians who are disciples of the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in the city of Columbus, Ohio. For consistency, the research question was revised to: What elements influence the sense of belonging in community, among a select group of Christians who are disciples of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, in Columbus, Ohio. Overview My contentment and gratitude to God for leading me to Mt. Olivet inspired me to implement a discovery project focusing on one of the core longing deficits entitled, belonging. Thus, the primary focus of this project was to discover the elements that influenced members of the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church to feel that they belonged to God and in Christian community. Belonging is knowing who we are and choosing where we want to be. 2 Specifically, the project was designed to probe how faith, relationship with the pastor, and participation in various ministries within the church influenced or contributed to feelings of belonging. Consequently, each participant completed a survey that consisted of five demographic, thirty-two quantitative and four qualitative questions. Just as we are confident by faith of our relationship and belongingness to God, we similarly should be able to experience a sense of belonging in Christian community. Overall, this project sought to assess what elements contributed to members feeling they belonged to God and in Christian community. The results from this discovery project are insightful to developing creative ways to engage and sustain disciples for ministry that will advance the kingdom of God.