Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Jeanette Bryson

Second Advisor

Stanley Patterson

Third Advisor

Robert Johnston

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to develop a theoretical and practical framework for implementing a ministry of ecological stewardship for Seventh-day Adventist churches in Korea and ultimately to cultivate an environmental consciousness among Adventists. In order to identify the dynamic relationships of factors involved in eco-stewardship ministry, the study first examined the environmental consciousness and practice of the pastors and members of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Korea. Then it focused on investigating the factors that would possibly affect one’s responsible environmental behavior and the implementation effectiveness of eco-stewardship ministry.

Method

This study used a survey design with an instrument developed to identify relationships among demographic data, eco-theology, eco-knowledge, eco-awareness, and eco-behavior. Focus group interviews were conducted to examine the sentiment of Adventist pastors and members with regard to implementing an eco-stewardship ministry.

Results

Eco-theology and eco-knowledge were not significantly related with eco-behavior. However, eco-awareness was shown to have a positive relationship with responsible eco- behavior. The factors that were identified to be positively related with eco-awareness were eco-theology, eco-knowledge, age, level of education, and the location of residence. Pastors were more aware of the necessity of an eco-stewardship ministry and had more of a sense of responsibility for the environmental problems than their church members. Both pastors and members generally believed that Adventism does have a relatively positive influence on their practice of eco-sustainable behavior, and that many Adventists teachings are related to environmental care.

Conclusion

The findings of this study show that eco-stewardship ministry needs to focus on increasing the level of environmental awareness, rather than controlling the environmental behavior itself. While eco-awareness is mainly influenced by one’s knowledge or experiential information, education is a recommended approach to the ministry of creating an awareness of the importance of eco-stewardship, based on the environmentally related messages of the Adventist church.

Subject Area

Environmental responsibility--Korea; Environmental responsibility--Religious aspects--Seventh-day Adventists; Environmental ethics--Korea; Ecotheology--Korea; Christian stewardship--Seventh-day Adventists; Seventh-day Adventists--Korea

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/454

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