Christian Discipleship A Tool To Discover How Church Growth May Be Ingnited At Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, Mansfield, Georgia

The purpose of this study is to discover how church growth may be ignited at Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, (AME) Mansfield, GA. The church has been in decline since 2007. The same trend of declination is being experienced by churches nationally and globally.1 The hypothesis is Intentional Christian discipleship can make the church grow. The mission of the church is to make disciples, so that the church can grow. Qualitative methodology has been used as well as some other methods. This research project is informed by my understanding of contextual theology, especially the praxis method. The praxis method is a practical method, which is composed of word and action. It uses a lot of reflections in its study 2. Karl Barth says that, only the doer of the word is the hearer. 3 I believe if Mt. Zion AME Church practice caring of one another the church will grow. The research project used andragogy which is the method and practice preferred and used for adult learners. The project focuses on spiritual growth for the adult learners, similar with Jesus' approach of making disciples. The first disciples were people of age and he trained them. When they had matured in his teachings, he let them go, two by two, to evangelize.4 The intent of this project is to create a focus group, to resourcefully provide them with appropriate information and enable them with the requisite confidence, with the intent being to send them into the community to recruit family, friends and other community members to join our fellowship. The ultimate intended goal is to see personal spiritual growth, which will lead to an awakened disciple who will invite other people to join the church. This might eventually stop membership decline at Mt. Zion AME Church and ignite church growth

Variation in the Response of Three Different Pinus Radiata Kraft Pulps to Xylanase Treatments

Two xylanase preparations (Pulpzyme HC and Xylanasc E) were assessed for their ability to enhance the refining properties of three different Pinus radiata kraft pulps. Both preparations selectively solubilized a significant proportion of the available xylan; however, xylanase E proved to be more aggressive, regardless of the pulp type. The selective removal of pulp xylan improved pulp beatability by increasing the apparent densities of the resultant handsheets over their corresponding controls. There were, however, variations in the response of the different pulp types, with an unbleached kappa 70 pulp showing the greatest improvement in sheet densification, as compared to an isothermal-cooked (kappa 33) and a fully bleached pulp. In general, xylanase treatments improved tear strength at a given density without significant loss in tensile strength and intrinsic fiber strength. These results suggest that xylanase treatments may be a means of enhancing the collapsibility/flexibility of certain kraft fibers while maintaining intrinsic strength

Cases in Cooperation and Cutting the Cake

Cooperative game;sharing problem

The hybrid and dualistic identity of full-time non-tenure-track faculty

Colleges and universities rely on full-time non-tenure-track (FTNT) faculty to achieve their teaching, research, and service missions. These faculty are deemed both symptomatic of and partly responsible for academe's shortcomings. The ascriptions, however, are made with little attention to the faculty themselves or to their consequences for FTNT faculty. Through analysis of interview data of university faculty, the authors present and explain FTNT faculty self-representations of professional and occupational identity. Assumptions drawn from institutional and professional theory contextualize the research, and narrative analysis infuses the application of the framework of cultural identity theory. These FTNT faculty are found to possess hybrid and dualistic identities. Their work and roles are a hybrid and contain some elements of a profession and some of a "job." Their identity is dualistic because as teachers, they express satisfaction, whereas as members of the professoriate, they articulate restricted self-determination and self-esteem. This troubled and indistinct view of self-as-professional is problematic both for FTNT faculty as they go about their daily work and for their institutions, which are in no small part responsible for the uncertain conditions and identities of FTNT faculty. © 2011 SAGE Publications

A Quantitative Analysis of the Synergy Among Self-Reported Faith, Health and Health Care Practices of Black Baptists: A Culturecology Perspective

In the Black community, faith, spirituality and religion appear to influence health and health care decisionmaking. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the synergy between faith, health and health care practices of Black Baptists using a Model of Authentic Culturecology as the conceptual framework. The public health importance of this study relates to expanding the understanding of factors that influence health and health care decisionmaking.The study objectives are related to communication between pastor and congregants about health and health care issues, prayer and rating of general health status, and belief in God/Jesus as a healer and health care utilization behaviors. A secondary analysis was conducted using a cross-sectional dataset of 1,327 African American men and women who attended the first Joint Black National Baptist Convention held in Nashville, Tennessee from January 24-28, 2005. A series of regression analyses were completed to determine the relationships regarding pastor-congregant communication, and faith and religious influences on health and health care decisionmaking.Having been told that you have hypertension or asthma was a significant predictor for talking to a pastor when sick. Males and females differed significantly in talking to their pastor about personal health issues. Men communicated more often than women. Eating vegetables daily was a significant predictor for communicating with a pastor about physician interactions. Participants who pray before and/or after making a medical decision were more likely to report their health status as excellent or good. Additionally, the belief that God/Jesus is a healer was a significant predictor for the last visit to a physician when the respondent's sex was considered.It appears that faith positively influenced the respondents' perception of health and health care decisionmaking, and their relationship with their pastors is an important factor. More research is needed for further clarification of these synergistic interactions