Date of Award
1-31-2025
Document Type
Major Applied Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Department
Practical Theology
First Advisor
Mart Thompson
Scripture References in this Resource
2 Corinthians 9:14; Ephesians 3:14-21; 1 Peter 2:9; Romans 8:34
Abstract
Aschenbeck, Keith D. “Creating a Cultural Liturgy of Intentional Prayer: Leading Grace Lutheran Church into Greater Understanding and Engagement with the Surrounding Community.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2025. pp. 166
Grace Lutheran Church, like many churches, has historically approached mission and ministry with the consumer-driven approach model of attraction. The result has often had them looking at how to shape and form how the world sees them so that they would be appealing as a place to worship. This way of approaching ministry has become a cultural liturgy that forms many decisions about what ministry programs and actions to initiate.
This MAP aimed to instill a new cultural liturgy of intercessory prayer that would shape and form the members of Grace through the word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. The habits that we create in life also form us. Prayer is foundational to the life of every Christian. However, one element often absent from Christian prayer is the New Testament priestly function given to Christians as a priesthood of believers interceding with God on behalf of others for forgiveness. The congregation was instructed in intercessory prayer through a worship service, sermon, and seminar. A brief liturgical rite for intercession accompanied by devotions and prayers adapted from Scripture was provided to congregation members.
In this project, evaluation was conducted through two quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews regarding the lived experience of fourteen participants. The data shows that intentional intercessory prayer is an effective tool for instilling a new cultural liturgy for the shaping of hearts and minds of Christians toward Christian outreach.
Recommended Citation
Aschenbeck, Keith, "Creating a Cultural Liturgy of Intentional Prayer: Leading Grace Lutheran Church into Greater Understanding and Engagement with the Surrounding Community" (2025). Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project. 239.
https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin/239
Creative Commons License
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