Table Of ContentUniversity of the Incarnate Word
Te Athenaeum
Teses & Dissertations
12-2013
Discipleship as a Catalyst for Personal
Transformation in the Christian Faith
Vanessa Marie Seifert
University of the Incarnate Word,
DISCIPLESHIP AS A CATALYST TO PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
by
VANESSA M. SEIFERT
A DISSERTATION
Presented to the School of Graduate Studies and Research
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSPHY
UNIVERSITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD
December 2013
ii
Copyright
Vanessa M. Seifert
2013
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DISCIPLESHIP AS A CATALYST TO PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
A Dissertation
by
Vanessa M. Seifert
APPROVED BY DISSERTATION COMMITTEE:
__________________________________
Chair of Committee, (Dorothy Ettling, Ph.D.)
___________________________________
Committee Member, (Roger C. Barnes, Ph.D.)
___________________________________
Committee Member, (Jessica C. Kimmel, Ph.D.)
___________________________________
Committee Member, (A. Paul Vasconcellos, Ph.D.)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my committee members for their expertise, efforts, and generosity
with their time. A special thanks goes to Dr. Dorothy Ettling, my committee chair, for her
countless hours of reading, reflecting, and encouraging as well for her patience throughout the
entire dissertation process. Thank you to Dr. Jessica Kimmel, Dr. Roger Barnes, and Dr. Paul
Vasconcellos for serving on my committee and for contributing to the process.
I also wish to thank Mission City for allowing me to conduct my research and for
providing any assistance that I requested. Special thanks goes to all the research study
participants from Mission City.
Thank you also to Herb and Judy Nordmeyer for the years of editing leading up to my
dissertation. Thank you, Katherine Puller, for your attention to detail with my dissertation line
edits. Thank you, Nicole Effle, for your assistance with my interview transcriptions.
I also wish to thank the staff and volunteers of the Benedictine Retreat Center in
Schuyler, Nebraska, for their generous hospitality. The Retreat Center provided an invaluable
sanctuary for my dissertation writing.
Finally, I would like to thank my doctoral studies professors and classmates for adding
joy to my dissertation journey.
Vanessa Seifert
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DEDICATION
I dedicate my dissertation work to everyone who has supported me along the way.
Special feelings of love and gratitude go to my husband, Brandon, whose never-ending support
enabled me to complete my dissertation. My parents, Libor and Alicia Frana, also offered words
of encouragement and support throughout my dissertation journey.
I also dedicate this dissertation to my many friends and my church family who have
supported me through the entire process.
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DISCIPLESHIP AS A CATALYST TO PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
Vanessa M. Seifert, Ph.D.
University of the Incarnate Word, 2013
Some Christian churches approach the majority of their faith expression with a “go to the
community” dynamic, while other churches focus primarily on attracting the community to
“come to them.” The problem is that there is a growing population of religiously unaffiliated
people in the United States for whom traditional forms of faith expression are not meaningful. A
new way of thinking about communal faith expression is needed if the church seeks to reach
people who are spiritually curious but not interested in the attractional church model. The
journey towards organizational change, even for churches, often begins with a commitment to
ongoing personal transformation. This study demonstrates how discipleship can serve as a
catalyst for personal transformation in the Christian faith. The purpose of this study was to
explore the perceptions of the leaders of Mission City in regard to how they foster personal
transformation in the participants of the Faith in Action (FIA) program. In-depth interviews and
collecting documents were the two primary research strategies for this qualitative case study.
Faith in Action leaders foster personal transformation in the program’s participants in a dynamic
fashion through a process that is built on spiritual formation and connected to a learning process
that results in organic growth patterns. The FIA process involves a personal transformation
journey rooted in spiritual formation that connects participants with God so that God can bring
the transformation that leads to missional living. God’s presence coupled with transformed
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perspectives enables participants to become catalysts who mobilize other Christians to become
the functioning body of Christ in their homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and third spaces to
serve the poor, the marginalized, and those in need. This study indicates that fostering
transformational discipleship will require church leaders to engage in a comprehensive overhaul
of their current discipleship practices. This process will also require them to challenge their
teaching and leadership assumptions, inventory their worldview, examine their leadership
approaches, and create systems and structures that enable collaborative leadership.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION TO A STUDY ABOUT DISCIPLESHIP ......................1
Context of the Study ................................................................................................1
Leadership in the Church .............................................................................3
The Christian Church in Changing Times ...................................................4
Missional Living ..........................................................................................8
Personal Transformation ..............................................................................9
Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................10
Purpose of the Study ..............................................................................................11
Research Questions ................................................................................................12
Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................................12
Definition of Terms................................................................................................13
Overview of Research Design ...............................................................................16
Setting of the Case .................................................................................................18
Significance of the Study .......................................................................................18
Limitations .............................................................................................................20
Delimitations ..........................................................................................................20
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................21
The Church in Transition .......................................................................................21
Missional Communities .........................................................................................26
Mission City ...............................................................................................32
Personal Transformation ........................................................................................34
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Transformative Learning Theory ...............................................................35
Constructive-Developmental Theory .........................................................40
Deep Change ..............................................................................................44
Conclusion .............................................................................................................46
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................47
Introduction ........................................................................................................47
Rationale for Qualitative Research ........................................................................48
Case Study .................................................................................................49
Case Setting ...........................................................................................................50
Participants .................................................................................................52
Researcher’s Background and Assumptions ..........................................................53
Constructivism ...........................................................................................54
Research Strategies ................................................................................................55
Interviews ...................................................................................................55
Documents .................................................................................................56
Data Collection Procedures ....................................................................................57
Personal Interviews ....................................................................................58
Review of Documents ................................................................................62
Protection of Human Subjects ...............................................................................60
Data Analysis .........................................................................................................60
Trustworthiness and Credibility .............................................................................62
Member Checks .........................................................................................63
Rich, Thick Descriptions ...........................................................................63
Audit Trail ..................................................................................................64
Triangulation ..............................................................................................65
