Date
5-16-2024
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Matthew A. Vander Wiele
Keywords
Discipleship, Spiritual Maturity, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, obedience, Christ, Deuteronomy 6
Disciplines
Christianity | Religion
Recommended Citation
Stuckey, Robert W., "A Phenomenological Study of Discipleship Experiences in Hartsville, SC, Baptist Churches" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5551.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5551
Abstract
Catchy quotes could describe an identified problem, but none were used here. Eternity is what is at stake. The American church is in trouble. Discipleship has been ineffective inside and outside the church for growth in the kingdom of God. This phenomenological qualitative study was performed to understand the discipleship experiences of pastors and mature Christians. The setting of this study was Hartsville, South Carolina, area Baptist churches. This study utilized semi-structured interviews to obtain data. The population was twelve mature Christians, comprised of a lead pastor and two mature Christians from four selected churches. The instrument utilized was two sets of semi-structured interview questions. One was designed for the pastoral participants, while the other was for mature Christian participants. Data from the interviews was analyzed utilizing Moustakas’ modified Van Kamm method of analysis, allowing the identification of composite descriptions or themes. Results showed two significant implications. First, a clear definition of discipleship with missional purposes should be established by pastors for organizational alignment. Second, a gap exists in discipleship in the home for mature Christians. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the lived discipleship experiences of mature Christians in Hartsville, SC, area Baptist churches. At this stage in the research, discipleship was defined as the personal growth of a follower of Christ to be obedient to Christ’s teachings and then make disciples. The theory guiding this study is Chris Shirley’s (2008) position on the local church’s biblical mandate given by Jesus to share the gospel, teach obedience, and make disciples.
