Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2005

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Bruce L. Bauer

Second Advisor

Rudi Maier

Abstract

Problem

Adventism in Croatia will soon celebrate its one hundredth anniversary. The church is becoming increasingly traditional and formal. Baptisms have been in decline for the last ten years. Gradually the less important issues such as life style, worship style, music, and food have become a focus. It seems that many members have lost sight of what genuine Christianity is all about, not knowing the difference between form and meanings and unconsciously moving towards formalism and legalism. Therefore, there is a need for personal and corporate spiritual renewal which can only come through a deeper understanding of God and by having a closer relationship with him.

Method

Library research, questionnaires, interviews, and observations were conducted in order to discover how Adventists picture God and how that picture compares with the biblical view of God. Ten percent of Croatian Adventists participated in a survey that covered various areas of life including religion and lifestyle. On the basis of the research, an implementation strategy has been developed using a logffame matrix to set out a clear overall goal for revitalizing Adventist churches in Croatia. According to the implementation strategy four pilot project churches and four pastors were chosen to field test this project.

Conclusion

It is assumed that if a more biblical picture of God is developed among the Adventist Church members, their faith will be renewed and revitalized, the church will become more caring and mission oriented, and the members will not replace genuine religion with dead forms and traditions.

Subject Area

God--Attributes; Church renewal--Seventh-day Adventists--Croatia; God--Attributes; Seventh-day Adventists--Croatia

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dmin/508

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