CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Digital Commons @ Olivet Olivet Nazarene University Digital Commons @ Olivet Faculty Scholarship – Christian Education Christian Education 12-2008 The Relationship between Ministry Praxis and Spiritual Development Milestones in the Lives of Children Leon Marcel Blanchette Jr. Olivet Nazarene University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/ched_facp Part of the Christianity Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons Recommended Citation Blanchette, Leon Marcel Jr., "The Relationship between Ministry Praxis and Spiritual Development Milestones in the Lives of Children" (2008). Faculty Scholarship – Christian Education. 1. https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/ched_facp/1 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Christian Education at Digital Commons @ Olivet. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship – Christian Education by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Olivet. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Copyright © 2008 Leon Marcel Blanchette, Jr. All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MINISTRY PRAXIS AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES IN THE LIVES OF CHILDREN __________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education __________________ by Leon Marcel Blanchette, Jr. December 2008 APPROVAL SHEET THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MINISTRY PRAXIS AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES IN THE LIVES OF CHILDREN Leon Marcel Blanchette, Jr. Read and Approved by: Hal K. Pettegrew U Date To Teri, the love of my life, and to Sarah and Emily, the joys of my heart TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . vii LIST OF TABLES . viii LIST OF FIGURES . x PREFACE . xii Chapter 1. RESEARCH CONCERN . 1 Introduction to the Research Problem . 1 Research Purpose . 5 Research Questions . 6 Delimitations of the Study . 6 Terminology . 7 Research Assumptions . 11 Procedural Overview . 12 2. PRECEDENT LITERATURE . 16 History of Spirituality . 16 Biblical Call to Children‘s Spiritual Nurture . 24 History of Psychology and Developmentalism . 64 A New Approach . 88 iv Chapter Page 3. METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN . 131 Research Design Overview . 132 Population . 132 Sample . 132 Delimitations . 132 Limitations of Generalization . 133 Research Methods . 133 Research Procedures . 141 Summary . 142 4. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS . 143 Compilation Protocol . 143 Analysis of Findings . 144 Evaluation of Research Design . 182 5. CONCLUSIONS . 186 Research Purpose . 186 Research Implications . 187 Research Applications . 208 Research Limitations . 213 Future Research . 213 Appendix 1. DECADAL GROWTH RATES . 215 2. FOCUS GROUP MEMBERS . 216 v Appendix Page 3. PROPOSED DEFINITIONS OF SPIRITUALITY . 217 4. DEVELOPING A THEOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD . 219 5. INSTRUMENTATION: INITIAL EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE . 220 6. INSTRUMENTATION: CHILDREN‘S SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT SURVEY (CSDS) . 221 7. FOLLOW UP LETTER No. 1 . 228 8. FOLLOW UP LETTER No. 2 . 229 REFERENCE LIST . 230 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AAGR Annual Average Growth Rate ANOVA Analysis of Variance CR Contemplative-Reflective Models CSDS Children‘s Spiritual Development Survey df Degree of Freedom DGR Decadal Growth Rate DVD Digital Video Disc F F Statistic (MSgroup/MSerror) IA Instructional-Analytic Models MDAE Media-Driven Active-Engagement Models MS Means Square p Probability PP Pragmatic-Participatory Models SS Sum of Squares vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Scores for item 1 . 144 2. Scores for item 2 . 146 3. Scores for item 3 . 147 4. Scores for item 4 . 148 5. Scores for item 5 . 150 6. Scores for item 6 . 151 7. Scores for item 7 . 152 8. Scores for item 8 . 154 9. Scores for item 9 . 155 10. Scores for item 10 . 157 11. Scores for item 11 . 158 12. Scores for item 12 . 159 13. Scores for item 13 . 160 14. Scores for item 14 . 162 15. Scores for item 15 . 163 16. Scores for item 16 . 164 17. Scores for item 17 . 166 18. Scores for item 18 . 167 viii Table Page 19. Scores for item 19 . 168 20. Scores for item 20 . 170 21. Scores for item 21 . 171 22. Scores for item 22 . 172 23. Scores for item 23 . 174 24. Scores for item 24 . 175 25. Research questions no. 2-6 . ..