http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/365209834

Converting the converted : helping members of the First Baptist Church of Napa, California maximize their spiritual transformation via Christian praxis based on select passages from the Gospel of John

The problem this thesis attempts to address is an incomplete conversion resulting in a lacking experience of salvation (stunted transformation) on the part of members at the First Baptist Church of Napa, California, and ultimately, Christians in the United States who evidence similar symptoms. The abundant life Jesus promised to give his disciples is one marked by cognitive, affective and volitional differences when compared to life prior to conversion in becoming a disciple of Christ. Research indicated that a probable cause for this lack of experience of salvation was due in part to an incomplete conversion experience, in which some aspects of conversion were lacking or nonexistent. The solution to this problem focuses on developing seven components of conversion, in order to create or strengthen the foundation necessary to provide for the discipleship Jesus called for leading to the abundant life he promised. The principles of Shared Christian Praxis are implemented in the design. The project described herein utilized select passages from the Gospel of John as the Christian Story from which participant's present action was critically reflected upon, leading to Creative Imagination whereby cognitive, affective and volitional are more in line with the Christian Story. An evaluation of the project illustrates that the immediate goals of the project were met: intellectual, affective and volitional changes occurred in every session. The evaluation of depth and duration of the transformation was beyond the scope of this design.

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