Senior Theses: Recent submissions
Now showing items 21-40 of 356
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Finding Your Role as a Musical Pastor: A Study of Vocation and Stewardship of Musical Acts
(2024)A pastor who is musically gifted should not feel that he must abandon music altogether for the sake of his ministry. Both can work together for the benefit of the church. If God has blessed a pastor with musical gifts, ... -
The Rise of the Cult of the Saints in the Western Church
(2024)This paper seeks to understand just why Saint Veneration emerged within the Western Church. It begins with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, citing sources such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the ... -
Life Between Pride and Despair: Finding a Balance in Pastoral Ministry
(2024)This paper attempts to explore the role of a humble confidence in the pastoral ministry. The research for this paper is based on several books and interviews from experienced pastors, college and seminary professors, ... -
Alcanzando a Todos Nuestros Vecinos: WELS Hispanic Ministry As Model For Congregational Intercultural Integration
(2024)Intercultural communities are increasing in our nation’s cities and neighborhoods and are finding their way into WELS churches. How has WELS served them? This thesis looks at how WELS churches have served intercultural ... -
"Smells Like Pietism" Comparing Pietistic Conventicles to Modern Lutheran Small Groups
(2024)Pietism has been criticized throughout history and one of the main reasons is its use of conventicles. However, there is a growing trend within the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) where congregations are starting ... -
The Devil Is Dead: A Historical Survey and Study of the Decline of the Doctrine of Evil
(2023)The doctrine of the Devil seems to be in decline in Western Christianity: A 2009 Barna study of American Christians found that less than forty percent of Christians believe that the Devil is a real being, not merely a ... -
Building with Wisdom: Conceptual Metaphors for House Building in Proverbs 3
(2023)How does Proverbs 3:19–20 function in the context of chapter 3? To answer this question, I utilize cognitive linguistics and conceptual metaphor theory to analyze both ANE sources and the Hebrew Bible. I conclude that in ... -
Pastor Pomeranus: The Life of Johannes Bugenhagen and the Lessons We Can Learn from His Pastoral Relationship with Martin Luther
(2023)The opportunity to study Lutheran history has revealed that there are many different aspects to the history of Lutheranism that a Lutheran needs to be enlightened on. It has also revealed that there are many more aspects ... -
Go and Make Disciples: How Discipleship in the Form of Small Groups Reaches and Cares for Single Adults in their Twenties and Thirties
(2023)According to the 2020 U.S. census, nearly 50 percent of the population is single or never-married. Statistics show an increase in the single population, but has that resulted in increased single adults in Wisconsin Evangelical ... -
Limits of the Burdens of Oaths and Vows upon Christian Consciences
(2023)Christians, particularly those engaged in public service, at times may be pressured to take actions that do not appear to be God-pleasing, pursuant to the obligations of broadly written oaths required by governmental ... -
God's Dwelling with Man: Prophecies Fulfilled Give Rich Meaning to the Festival of Pentecost
(2023)Is there a simple two sentence explanation that captures the importance of Pentecost? This paper focuses on the question “How do we preach and teach about Pentecost in a way that is meaningful to God’s people?” The methodology ... -
The Seelsorger Cares for Survivors' Souls: Burden or Blessing?
(2023)What can a pastor do? What can he say? When a person who comes to him and reveals the painful scars seared into the mind and body, they surely expect help. As the pastor listens to the details surrounding the trauma ... -
What is the Word of God? Understanding Divine Communication through a Relevance-Theoretic Model of Communication
(2023)What is the word of God? The question is a provocative one, no doubt. Or perhaps it is one which a person may be tempted to shrug off for being so patently obvious. To be sure, a fruitful answer to this question is accessible ... -
The Church in the Community: Showing Love to our Neighbors
(2023)“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31 NIV). What does it look like as Christians live out this command from Jesus? This paper looks at the importance of building relationships and loving our neighbors. Now, more ... -
Family Ministry the Lutheran Way
(2023)How do churches minister to families? This question has been asked by churches since ancient times. Families face new challenges in every generation. While our tools have remained the same, the power of God’s Word and the ... -
The Awkward Shepherd: Tactics For A Young Pastor To Improve His Interpersonal Communication Skills
(2023)Whether a pastor serves as a minister of a congregational flock or as a teacher of students in an institution, face-to-face communication plays a large role in his call. Yet for some pastors who have just graduated from ... -
A City Great to God: Ten Years of WELS Planting to Inform the Next One Hundred Missions
(2023)From the isolated beginnings of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), internal tensions have favored planting churches in non-urban settings. Numerous voices within the synod have seen this tendency as an area ... -
A Biblical Response to Christian Nationalism
(2023)American politics are messy, emotional, controversial, and particularly difficult to talk about–especially for Gospel-centered Christians who seek to put their hope in and focus on God’s kingdom. American politics are not, ... -
Finding Value in a Counterfeit World: A Biblical Evaluation of Feminism
(2023)Feminism is one of the most influential social justice movements today. It has exposed many terrible abuse cases toward women that were motivated by wicked intentions. However, while responding to abuse, the movement brought ... -
Rousing the Sleeping Giants: A Look into the Spiritual Leadership of Men
(2023)This thesis is aimed at the discipleship of males who did not have a strong model of spiritual leadership in their early lives (Practical Theology). There are numerous studies on training men up in a Christian way from a ...