Cultivating the preacher in the Free Christian Church of Lithuania
LE3 .A278 2018
2018
McNally, John
Acadia University
Doctor of Ministry
D.Min.
Ministry
Acadia Divinity College
Very few evangelical churches in post-communist Lithuania have younger generation preachers. Most preaching in churches is done by preachers with experience, who started to preach as the churches were revived right after the fall of the Soviet Union. Does the first generation Free Christian Church in Lithuania develop its preachers according to a plan that is portrayed in Scriptures? There is a need to examine the preaching and cultivate contemporary preachers and to attempt to do something better in the area of developing the younger generation of preachers. With the goal to discover the things that would be helpful for cultivating the preachers in the Lithuanian context, a method of qualitative research interviews was chosen. In order to have a broader view about cultivating a preacher, the additional following steps were taken: a) a Biblical rationale for preaching and preachers was examined; b) the sixteenth century Anabaptist church history and its messengers overviewed; c) theological-ecclesiological practices that lasted in Anabaptist churches throughout the centuries were considered; d) literature of contemporary preacher’s experiences were reflected on and e) a course was developed for further development of preachers in the Free Christian Church of Lithuania. This thesis combines a biblical foundation with historical and theological reflection, and an ecclesiological survey. The results that were discovered through this study have value to the Free Christian Church because they point to the weaknesses of the Free Church practice that prevent cultivating preachers, they reveal the strengths of contemporary eneration preachers, and they include the impact of globally recognized preachers.
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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3179