{"response":{"docs":[{"system_create_dtsi":"2026-05-29T19:48:34Z","system_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-29T19:48:36Z","has_model_ssim":["Etd"],"id":"16b77322-9a43-4cd9-bf13-18cb7835ee68","accessControl_ssim":["fdbed72c-d48a-4601-b662-f48ea1e3d4f9"],"depositor_ssim":["dminadmin@tiu.edu"],"depositor_tesim":["dminadmin@tiu.edu"],"title_tesim":["Where Do We Go From Here? Discovering How Denominational Leaders Understand the Issues and Solutions for Denominational Decline within the Synod of Lincoln Trails in the PC (USA)"],"date_uploaded_dtsi":"2026-05-29T19:48:33Z","date_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-29T19:48:33Z","isPartOf_ssim":["admin_set/default"],"hasEmbargo_ssim":["83e540ac-5f4a-4940-ac74-6cef6be1ab9f"],"hasLease_ssim":["74b01630-b4f2-4f81-a1d1-2a4472b66943"],"show_pdf_viewer_tesim":["1"],"show_pdf_download_button_tesim":["1"],"institution_tesim":["Atla RIM"],"degree_tesim":["Doctor of Ministry"],"degree_granting_institution_tesim":["Trinity International University"],"year_tesim":["2026"],"resource_type_tesim":["D.Min. Project"],"types_tesim":["Text"],"creator_tesim":["David Carlton"],"subject_tesim":["Presbyterian/Reformed Churches","Evangelism - Strategy","Bible - Isaiah","Church (Ecclesiology)","Bible - Luke - Acts","Bible - Matthew","Mission of the Church"],"abstract_tesim":["The Presbyterian Church (USA) has experienced more than five decades of continuous membership decline, falling from approximately 4.25 million members in the early 1960s to fewer than one million in 2024. This convergent mixed-methods study examined how leaders at three levels within the Synod of Lincoln Trails understand and respond to this decline. The researcher conducted thirty-four semi-structured interviews with the Synod Executive, Executive Presbyters, and Teaching Elders across five Presbyteries in Illinois and Indiana, supplemented by a twenty-seven-question survey of seventy-nine Ruling Elders serving on local Sessions.\r\n\r\nThe research was organized around five questions addressing leadership awareness of decline, strategies for reversing it, definitions of congregational viability, approaches to disciple-making, and implementable outputs. Findings revealed that while leaders at all three levels are aware of the decline, the depth of understanding varies significantly, with Ruling Elders demonstrating the least capacity to articulate its causes. A persistent knowing-doing gap emerged as the study’s most significant finding: leaders can describe what a healthy church looks like but lack the practical tools and frameworks to move their congregations toward that vision. The research also documented a denomination-wide evangelism deficit, competing definitions of congregational viability across leadership levels, and significant disconnection between the three tiers of Presbyterian polity.\r\n\r\nTwo practical implementations were developed in response to these findings: a research findings webinar designed to share key insights with leaders across the Synod, and a six-session pastoral coaching curriculum designed to help Teaching Elders translate awareness into congregational action. Together, these outputs address the central finding that the gap between knowledge and praxis is the primary barrier to adaptive change within the PC(USA).\r\n"],"rights_statement_tesim":["https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"thumbnail_path_ss":"/assets/work-a3b75da7abded620ab321410c80d102e5e2417b71c54de7ba7d4b0363da904f7.png","suppressed_bsi":false,"actionable_workflow_roles_ssim":["admin_set/default-default-approving","admin_set/default-default-depositing","admin_set/default-default-managing"],"workflow_state_name_ssim":["deposited"],"visibility_ssi":"open","admin_set_tesim":["Default Admin Set"],"account_cname_tesim":["rim.ir.atla.com"],"human_readable_type_tesim":["Etd"],"read_access_group_ssim":["public","work_editor"],"edit_access_group_ssim":["admin"],"edit_access_person_ssim":["dminadmin@tiu.edu"],"_version_":1866553483384061952,"timestamp":"2026-05-29T19:48:37.302Z","score":1.0},{"system_create_dtsi":"2026-05-29T14:24:58Z","system_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-29T14:25:32Z","has_model_ssim":["Etd"],"id":"8ca2433c-d976-41e8-b6a4-fcc75f5e9242","accessControl_ssim":["cc602d47-fd91-4098-a29d-f013e7e92038"],"hasRelatedMediaFragment_ssim":["1914e613-fdfc-40db-bd87-b18620e9642f"],"hasRelatedImage_ssim":["1914e613-fdfc-40db-bd87-b18620e9642f"],"depositor_ssim":["jdechant@meadville.edu"],"depositor_tesim":["jdechant@meadville.edu"],"title_tesim":["The Support Triad: Using Agriculture and Liberal Spiritual Direction for Improved Outcomes from Carceral Peer Support"],"date_uploaded_dtsi":"2026-05-29T14:24:58Z","date_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-29T14:25:28Z","isPartOf_ssim":["admin_set/default"],"hasEmbargo_ssim":["3d10d4cf-72af-4428-80f3-385e10ab975c"],"hasLease_ssim":["473e061b-8705-458d-b0f6-70f6b054dc79"],"show_pdf_viewer_tesim":["1"],"show_pdf_download_button_tesim":["1"],"institution_tesim":["Meadville Lombard Theological School"],"degree_tesim":["Doctor of Ministry"],"degree_granting_institution_tesim":["Meadville Lombard Theological School"],"year_tesim":["2026"],"resource_type_tesim":["D.Min. Project"],"types_tesim":["Text"],"creator_tesim":["Davis, Jane E."],"keyword_tesim":["Peer support","Support triad","Carceral","Care Farm","Re-entry"],"subject_tesim":["Spiritual direction","New Mexico","Pastoral counseling","Agriculture","Prisoners--Deinstitutionalization"],"abstract_tesim":["The recidivism rate in New Mexico is much higher than the national average. This project argues that the use of a combination of effective reentry techniques will increase the efficacy of the demonstrated success of these efforts used separately. This research proposes an integrated support triad that brings together three evidence-based practices: peer support, pluralistic spiritual development, and agricultural therapy. Each of these approaches has demonstrated effectiveness when implemented independently, yet each also exhibits limitations. This model positions peer support workers, particularly those with lived experience of incarceration, as facilitators of spiritual development within an ecological, land-based context. In doing so, it offers a holistic, relational, and regenerative framework for reentry that aligns with emerging research on health, wellbeing, and desistance. The work outlines the rationale for this integration, examines the evidence supporting each component, and articulates how their combination can more effectively promote resilience, permit redemption, and support long-term flourishing and desistance."],"rights_statement_tesim":["https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"thumbnail_path_ss":"/downloads/1914e613-fdfc-40db-bd87-b18620e9642f?file=thumbnail","suppressed_bsi":false,"actionable_workflow_roles_ssim":["admin_set/default-default-approving","admin_set/default-default-depositing","admin_set/default-default-managing"],"workflow_state_name_ssim":["deposited"],"member_ids_ssim":["1914e613-fdfc-40db-bd87-b18620e9642f"],"member_of_collections_ssim":["Doctor of Ministry Dissertations and Projects"],"member_of_collection_ids_ssim":["061a0024-1d62-4dba-b274-091512484660"],"file_set_ids_ssim":["1914e613-fdfc-40db-bd87-b18620e9642f"],"visibility_ssi":"open","admin_set_tesim":["Default Admin Set"],"account_cname_tesim":["meadville.ir.atla.com"],"human_readable_type_tesim":["Etd"],"read_access_group_ssim":["public","work_editor"],"edit_access_group_ssim":["admin"],"edit_access_person_ssim":["jdechant@meadville.edu"],"_version_":1866533185316192256,"timestamp":"2026-05-29T14:25:59.556Z","score":1.0},{"system_create_dtsi":"2026-05-20T02:56:30Z","system_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-20T02:59:43Z","has_model_ssim":["Etd"],"id":"00451c8e-3e87-470b-8681-3fe549d0e15d","accessControl_ssim":["7b184337-762b-4f00-9bc1-0b43832cb816"],"hasRelatedMediaFragment_ssim":["ec8cba85-d2a4-4107-ba3b-db4596e61633"],"hasRelatedImage_ssim":["ec8cba85-d2a4-4107-ba3b-db4596e61633"],"depositor_ssim":["swright2000@gmail.com"],"depositor_tesim":["swright2000@gmail.com"],"title_tesim":["Border Awareness Encounters: Ministry of Reconciliation and Accompaniment at the U.S. - Mexico Border"],"date_uploaded_dtsi":"2026-05-20T02:56:28Z","date_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-20T02:59:34Z","isPartOf_ssim":["admin_set/default"],"hasEmbargo_ssim":["c8a275e7-e6e7-4179-95ca-b9d0f1ab1b65"],"hasLease_ssim":["0e400905-648b-4481-afc5-63abc2fdfb86"],"show_pdf_viewer_tesim":["1"],"show_pdf_download_button_tesim":["1"],"institution_tesim":["Atla RIM"],"degree_tesim":["D.Min."],"degree_granting_institution_tesim":["Catholic Theological Union"],"year_tesim":["2026"],"location_tesim":["U.S. - Mexico Border","El Paso - Ciudad Juarez"],"resource_type_tesim":["D.Min. Project"],"types_tesim":["Text"],"creator_tesim":["Wright, Scott"],"keyword_tesim":["U.S. - Mexico Border","Migrants as Agents of Conscientization","Ministry of Reconciliation and Accompaniment","Migrants as Agents of Transformation","Migrants as Agents of Evangelization","Border Awareness Encounters"],"subject_tesim":["Church Work with Immigrants - Catholic Church"],"alternative_title_tesim":["Ministry of Reconciliation and Accompaniment at the U.S. - Mexico Border"],"abstract_tesim":["This thesis-project addresses the phenomenon of global migration as it is experienced at the U.S.-Mexico border, and specifically, in the sister communities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The experience of Border Awareness Encounters brings participants from churches and universities into contact with migrants and border organizations, through a praxis of intercultural encounter, mutual solidarity, and border hospitality to migrants based on Pope Francis’ message “to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate migrants and refugees.”\r\nThis thesis-project argues that migrants and refugees are agents of conscientization, evangelization, and transformation, and as such are key to transforming the Church into a more pastoral and prophetic witness to the Gospel.\r\nBased on conversations with migrants and border organizations, and narratives shared by participants in week-long Border Awareness Encounters, this thesis-project will investigate how intercultural encounters help people see migrants and their families in the fullness of their human dignity as agents of conscientization, evangelization, and transformation, and how these intercultural encounters have impacted the participants of border awareness experiences, often leading to direct service, mutual accompaniment, advocacy and public witness on behalf of immigrants in communities, parishes, and dioceses when they return home.\r\n"],"license_tesim":["https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"],"rights_statement_tesim":["https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"thumbnail_path_ss":"/downloads/ec8cba85-d2a4-4107-ba3b-db4596e61633?file=thumbnail","suppressed_bsi":false,"actionable_workflow_roles_ssim":["admin_set/default-default-approving","admin_set/default-default-depositing","admin_set/default-default-managing"],"workflow_state_name_ssim":["deposited"],"member_ids_ssim":["cd577b06-7e1a-41e0-b5fc-b17cf70c15e4","ec8cba85-d2a4-4107-ba3b-db4596e61633"],"file_set_ids_ssim":["cd577b06-7e1a-41e0-b5fc-b17cf70c15e4","ec8cba85-d2a4-4107-ba3b-db4596e61633"],"visibility_ssi":"open","admin_set_tesim":["Default Admin Set"],"account_cname_tesim":["rim.ir.atla.com"],"human_readable_type_tesim":["Etd"],"read_access_group_ssim":["public","work_editor"],"edit_access_group_ssim":["admin"],"edit_access_person_ssim":["swright2000@gmail.com"],"_version_":1865674638926807040,"timestamp":"2026-05-20T02:59:45.915Z","score":1.0},{"system_create_dtsi":"2026-05-19T21:08:49Z","system_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-19T21:18:11Z","has_model_ssim":["Etd"],"id":"4e665ddf-c486-4d59-872d-158324c46ae4","accessControl_ssim":["bd471cea-41c8-45e1-9d76-428ac026beb6"],"hasRelatedMediaFragment_ssim":["fb1fd1b5-62ac-43d6-864b-73a7e80c119d"],"hasRelatedImage_ssim":["fb1fd1b5-62ac-43d6-864b-73a7e80c119d"],"depositor_ssim":["oswann@pts.edu"],"depositor_tesim":["oswann@pts.edu"],"title_tesim":["Empowering the Margins: Exploring Church Planting and Sustainability by Socioeconomically Disenfranchised Black Communities in Majority-White Mainline Denominations"],"date_uploaded_dtsi":"2026-05-19T21:08:48Z","date_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-19T21:18:11Z","isPartOf_ssim":["admin_set/default"],"hasEmbargo_ssim":["4ceeb94f-41b8-48a0-8d22-638e958a8a9c"],"hasLease_ssim":["daf7b9e2-67a2-41a1-ac18-b07db53d5fa8"],"show_pdf_viewer_tesim":["1"],"show_pdf_download_button_tesim":["1"],"institution_tesim":["Atla RIM"],"format_tesim":["PDF"],"degree_tesim":["Doctor of Ministry"],"discipline_tesim":["Missional Leadership"],"degree_granting_institution_tesim":["Pittsburgh Theological Seminary"],"advisor_tesim":["Dr. Scott Hagley"],"committee_member_tesim":["Rev. Dr. Edwin Chr. van Driel"],"department_tesim":["Doctor of Ministry"],"year_tesim":["2026"],"location_tesim":["Pennsylvania","Western Pennsylvania","United States","Aliquippa, Pennsylvania"],"resource_type_tesim":["D.Min. Project"],"types_tesim":["Text"],"creator_tesim":["Ogbon (Swann), Oghene'tega Violet"],"keyword_tesim":["Bishop Marvin Moreland","Rev. Marvin Moreland","Black church","Tega Swann","Deliverance Temple (COGIC), Aliquippa PA","Oghene'tega Violet Ogbon (Swann)","Church planting","Rev. Rich Shymoniak","Aliquippa, Pennsylvania","Church planting by marginalized communities","Rev. Vera Shymoniak","Sound the Alarm Ministries, Aliquippa PA","Church sustainability","Congregational vitality"],"publisher_tesim":["Pittsburgh Theological Seminary"],"subject_tesim":["Ecclesiology","Missions","Theology, Practical","Qualitative research","African American churches","Church development, New"],"language_tesim":["English"],"description_tesim":["This dissertation examines how Black congregations in socioeconomically marginalized communities establish, sustain, and embody forms of ecclesial life within broader denominational and institutional contexts that often inadequately recognize or support their ministry realities. Centered on two congregations in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, this qualitative multiple-case study explores how church plants and community-rooted ministries navigate questions of sustainability, leadership, legitimacy, and mission within contexts shaped by economic disenfranchisement, racial marginalization, and uneven institutional support.\r\n\r\nDrawing upon interviews, congregational narratives, theological reflection, and ecclesiological analysis, this study investigates the organizational, relational, and theological patterns that contribute to congregational continuity and resilience. Particular attention is given to the ways ministry within marginalized communities frequently operates through networks of relational trust, communal presence, shared responsibility, adaptability, and spiritual commitment rather than through institutional models typically associated with dominant church-growth paradigms.\r\n\r\nThe findings reveal that congregational sustainability within marginalized contexts cannot be adequately measured solely through traditional institutional metrics such as financial stability, numerical growth, or organizational scale. Instead, participating congregations demonstrated forms of ecclesial vitality rooted in relational ecosystems of care, interdependence, community memory, and grassroots leadership. The study further identifies tensions between dominant ecclesial assumptions and the lived realities of ministries serving marginalized communities, particularly regarding how legitimacy, effectiveness, and sustainability are defined and evaluated.\r\nThis dissertation argues that broader theological and institutional conversations surrounding church planting, sustainability, and leadership formation must become more attentive to the experiences and insights emerging from marginalized congregational contexts. By centering the voices and practices of underrepresented ministry communities, this research contributes to practical theology and ecclesiology through a more relational, contextually grounded understanding of church, mission, and congregational life.\r\n\r\n"],"abstract_tesim":["This qualitative multiple-case study examines how two Black congregations in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania establish and sustain ecclesial life within socioeconomically marginalized contexts shaped by racial inequity, economic disenfranchisement, and uneven institutional support. Drawing on interviews, congregational narratives, theological reflection, and ecclesiological analysis, the study explores patterns of sustainability, leadership, legitimacy, and mission. Findings reveal that congregational vitality in marginalized communities often emerges through relational trust, communal presence, adaptability, grassroots leadership, and spiritual commitment rather than dominant institutional metrics. The study contributes to practical theology and ecclesiology by offering a relational and contextually grounded understanding of church, mission, and sustainability.\r\n"],"license_tesim":["https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"],"rights_statement_tesim":["https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"rights_notes_tesim":["Copyright retained by the author. This work is made publicly accessible for academic and educational purposes under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives International 4.0 license. No commercial use or derivative works are permitted without the author’s permission."],"bibliographic_citation_tesim":["Ogbon (Swann), Oghene’tega. \"Empowering the Margins: Exploring Church Planting and Sustainability by Socioeconomically Disenfranchised Black Communities in Majority-White Mainline Denominations.\" Doctor of Ministry Research Project, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 2026."],"thumbnail_path_ss":"/downloads/fb1fd1b5-62ac-43d6-864b-73a7e80c119d?file=thumbnail","suppressed_bsi":false,"actionable_workflow_roles_ssim":["admin_set/default-default-approving","admin_set/default-default-depositing","admin_set/default-default-managing"],"workflow_state_name_ssim":["deposited"],"member_ids_ssim":["fb1fd1b5-62ac-43d6-864b-73a7e80c119d","35b2de94-45c1-4d60-947c-ca3a505d8341"],"file_set_ids_ssim":["fb1fd1b5-62ac-43d6-864b-73a7e80c119d","35b2de94-45c1-4d60-947c-ca3a505d8341"],"visibility_ssi":"open","admin_set_tesim":["Default Admin Set"],"account_cname_tesim":["rim.ir.atla.com"],"human_readable_type_tesim":["Etd"],"read_access_group_ssim":["public","work_editor"],"edit_access_group_ssim":["admin"],"edit_access_person_ssim":["oswann@pts.edu"],"_version_":1865653151549358080,"timestamp":"2026-05-19T21:18:13.955Z","score":1.0},{"system_create_dtsi":"2026-05-16T20:49:41Z","system_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-16T20:49:47Z","has_model_ssim":["Etd"],"id":"da2bf07f-01c5-4163-8ee1-078a979a2a45","accessControl_ssim":["0a507872-3ccf-4621-b7ac-3b07ee29667d"],"hasRelatedMediaFragment_ssim":["994a36dd-da98-4e52-8db2-57a04d5fd2b1"],"hasRelatedImage_ssim":["994a36dd-da98-4e52-8db2-57a04d5fd2b1"],"depositor_ssim":["peterctremblay@gmail.com"],"depositor_tesim":["peterctremblay@gmail.com"],"title_tesim":["Podcast Preaching: Proclaiming Catholic Social Teaching to Generation Z"],"date_uploaded_dtsi":"2026-05-16T20:49:41Z","date_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-16T20:49:41Z","isPartOf_ssim":["admin_set/default"],"hasEmbargo_ssim":["9bf63780-4b09-40ed-9a16-58a7eaed6f17"],"hasLease_ssim":["f5f7306d-29cc-4a43-9345-fa8a0a79579d"],"show_pdf_viewer_tesim":["1"],"show_pdf_download_button_tesim":["1"],"institution_tesim":["Atla RIM"],"degree_tesim":["Doctorate of Ministry"],"degree_granting_institution_tesim":["Aquinas Institute of Theology"],"year_tesim":["2026"],"resource_type_tesim":["D.Min. Project"],"types_tesim":["Collection"],"creator_tesim":["Peter Tremblay"],"keyword_tesim":["Catholic Social Teaching","Dialogue Preaching","Inductive Preaching","Social Media","Podcast Preaching"],"subject_tesim":["Social Justice","Campus Ministry","Church and Social Problems","Catholic Church","Preaching"],"alternative_title_tesim":["Proclaiming Catholic Social Teaching to Generation Z"],"abstract_tesim":["\tMembers of Generation Z are regular social media users and podcast listeners. They often become aware of ethical, social, cultural, and moral issues unfolding worldwide in real time through social media. Gen Z is open to learning about an ethical framework to help them navigate these issues. Many members of Gen Z know that the Catholic Church has ethical teachings on social matters. However, they are often unaware of the specifics or the breadth of issues in Catholic Social Teaching beyond topics of gender and sexuality. \r\n\tThis ministerial intervention incorporated a homiletical methodology that combined a collaborative process of sermon preparation, an inductive homiletical plot structure, and a dialogue preaching technique to create a preaching podcast about Catholic Social Teaching for Gen Z. Generation Z college students assisted at every step of the podcast production. Members of Gen Z helped develop the script, record, edit, and publish a podcast about Catholic Social Teaching. The podcast is titled Peace and Good. \r\n\tThis project used questionnaires to collect data about Gen Z college students’ awareness and understanding of Catholic Social teaching. A short post-episode survey collected data on listener engagement during the episode. The data demonstrate that a preaching podcast is successful in raising awareness and understanding of Catholic Social Teaching among Gen Z college students. The data also demonstrate that a podcast that combines dialogue preaching and inductive plot flow is successful in engaging Gen Z listeners.\t\r\n"],"rights_statement_tesim":["https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/"],"thumbnail_path_ss":"/downloads/994a36dd-da98-4e52-8db2-57a04d5fd2b1?file=thumbnail","suppressed_bsi":false,"actionable_workflow_roles_ssim":["admin_set/default-default-approving","admin_set/default-default-depositing","admin_set/default-default-managing"],"workflow_state_name_ssim":["deposited"],"member_ids_ssim":["994a36dd-da98-4e52-8db2-57a04d5fd2b1"],"file_set_ids_ssim":["994a36dd-da98-4e52-8db2-57a04d5fd2b1"],"visibility_ssi":"open","admin_set_tesim":["Default Admin Set"],"account_cname_tesim":["rim.ir.atla.com"],"human_readable_type_tesim":["Etd"],"read_access_group_ssim":["public","work_editor"],"edit_access_group_ssim":["admin"],"edit_access_person_ssim":["peterctremblay@gmail.com"],"_version_":1865379580212150272,"timestamp":"2026-05-16T20:49:55.997Z","score":1.0},{"system_create_dtsi":"2026-05-14T16:11:42Z","system_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-14T16:11:43Z","has_model_ssim":["Etd"],"id":"f3ca4bcb-800d-4cde-be16-dac2a01c0913","accessControl_ssim":["3ccd1504-444b-4e51-ba08-f0a1cbe89bc2"],"depositor_ssim":["katerascoe@yahoo.com"],"depositor_tesim":["katerascoe@yahoo.com"],"title_tesim":["Towards an Authentic Body of Christ: Encouraging Conversations  with Humility and Curiosity in the Church"],"date_uploaded_dtsi":"2026-05-14T16:11:41Z","date_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-14T16:11:42Z","isPartOf_ssim":["admin_set/default"],"hasEmbargo_ssim":["f75b2673-14e7-48e1-8c3c-0f84912a331c"],"hasLease_ssim":["dfa61cba-2223-438a-85e1-10a39eb5811a"],"show_pdf_viewer_tesim":["1"],"show_pdf_download_button_tesim":["1"],"institution_tesim":["Atla RIM"],"degree_tesim":["DMin"],"degree_granting_institution_tesim":["Pittsburgh Theological Seminary"],"year_tesim":["2026"],"resource_type_tesim":["D.Min. Project"],"types_tesim":["Text"],"creator_tesim":["Rev. Dr. Kathryn Rascoe"],"keyword_tesim":["body of Christ","humility","listening","forbearance","curiosity"],"subject_tesim":["Humility","Mutual forbearance","Peacebuilding","Listening","Congregations - internal conflict","Curiosity","Interpersonal relations"],"abstract_tesim":["This paper, and the project on which it is based, proposes that the Church, unified as the body of Christ, is called to learn from its differences, requiring authenticity of its parts and conversation between them. Beginning with the assumption that the core issue preventing authentic conversation is a lack of a framework and basic tools that provide purpose and comfort in the interaction, the proposed solution for fostering authenticity in communication is to implement basic \"ground rules\" for small group discussions based on the principles of humility and curiosity, rooted in the theological concepts of forbearance and a scriptural understanding of the body of Christ found in 1 Corinthians 12. The project investigates how setting a common goal (intentionally living into/as the diverse “body of Christ”) and ground rules (forbearance, humility, curiosity) at the outset of group interaction could lead to more authentic individual contributions to conversations in a faith setting. Concepts were presented in a series of four discussion forums and  relevant conversation skills were practiced in pairs or small groups. Data collected from observations of the forums, responses of participant surveys and follow up questions, indicate that participants did increase in their comfort with difficult conversation settings and topics after being introduced to a theological framework and the concepts of humility and curiosity, supporting the hypothesis.  It is hoped that practice of this intentional engagement will build a more authentic representation of the body of Christ within the Church and model respectful disagreement within a diverse community for the wider world. \r\n"],"rights_statement_tesim":["https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/"],"thumbnail_path_ss":"/assets/work-a3b75da7abded620ab321410c80d102e5e2417b71c54de7ba7d4b0363da904f7.png","suppressed_bsi":false,"actionable_workflow_roles_ssim":["admin_set/default-default-approving","admin_set/default-default-depositing","admin_set/default-default-managing"],"workflow_state_name_ssim":["deposited"],"visibility_ssi":"open","admin_set_tesim":["Default Admin Set"],"account_cname_tesim":["rim.ir.atla.com"],"human_readable_type_tesim":["Etd"],"read_access_group_ssim":["public","work_editor"],"edit_access_group_ssim":["admin"],"edit_access_person_ssim":["katerascoe@yahoo.com"],"_version_":1865180883840925696,"timestamp":"2026-05-14T16:11:44.370Z","score":1.0},{"system_create_dtsi":"2026-05-14T14:31:55Z","system_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-14T14:31:56Z","has_model_ssim":["Etd"],"id":"423f01e8-e437-42cb-b49c-1b176ec038fd","accessControl_ssim":["fb96b446-e608-463b-b3e6-61ee1d43243d"],"depositor_ssim":["bsymonds82@gmail.com"],"depositor_tesim":["bsymonds82@gmail.com"],"title_tesim":["One Congregation's Journey to Discovering it's Gifts, Opportunities, and Limitations"],"date_uploaded_dtsi":"2026-05-14T14:31:55Z","date_modified_dtsi":"2026-05-14T14:31:55Z","isPartOf_ssim":["admin_set/default"],"hasEmbargo_ssim":["803f1fbe-f658-4b88-917b-6a6571b97e91"],"hasLease_ssim":["7672fe30-31b8-4235-ba3c-f90cea51732a"],"show_pdf_viewer_tesim":["1"],"show_pdf_download_button_tesim":["1"],"institution_tesim":["Atla RIM"],"degree_tesim":["Doctor of Ministry"],"degree_granting_institution_tesim":["Pittsburgh Theological Seminary"],"year_tesim":["2026"],"resource_type_tesim":["D.Min. 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