MIN 500 CULTURAL TRENDS AND MINISTRY: Your Assignments

Literature Review: 6-8 pages double-spaced
The primary project in this course is a review of the literature on a topic relevant to this course and, hopefully, to your CP. This paper provides you the opportunity to explore the research in an aspect of ministry. According to Creswell (2005), a review of the literature “is a written summary of journal articles, books and other documents that describes the past and current state of information, organizes the literature into topics and documents a need for a proposed study” (p. 79). To do this well, you must be able to select appropriate and relevant articles, books, and other resources, extract important information, summarize and synthesize that information in a cogent and coherent manner, abide by APA requirements for form and style, and put all of this material together in a logical and organized presentation.

To begin your research, select a topic relevant to the cultural trends you have been studying and to your CP subject. Then, using the LPU Library’s distance learning resources including the Atla/Atlas and ProQuest databases, an Internet search, and/or any local university level library to locate 5 to 7 recent journal articles (published within the last 10 years) that focus on the topic you have chosen. You should try to find research-based articles from peer-reviewed journals and avoid popular level discussion or opinion based material (as opposed to research based). You may substitute published books for no more than two journal articles. When in doubt, please contact the professor for direction.

Please follow the guidelines on how to write a LR provided by Jose L. Galvan, (2012) Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences. 5th ed. Glendale: Pyrczak. It is expected that the student will follow the principles provided by Galvan closely, including usage of direct quotations (which should be rare and are limited to no more than 20% of all references). The style sheet utilized, however, should follow APA style rather than that provided by Galvan.

NOTE: You are not writing your Capstone Project (CP) LR at this time, but only learning the research process, including how to find sources and review them for a coherent LR. If necessary, please narrow your topic to something manageable so as to stay within the maximum guidelines. If you are not sure in which direction you are going with your CP, feel free to choose a test subject simply to learn the process. Again, the focus for the LR assignment for the present class is simply to learn the research process; you will write your full LR for your CP later in your program.

Your presentation should include:
1. An introduction where you present the reader with an overview of the issue you have chosen and a brief discussion of the main ideas or themes that you will discuss.
2. A synthesis (not summary) of all resources where you link them together in some way either by discussing patterns, themes, and commonalities, or by tracing differences and contrasting points. In other words, you are offering your view of how all of the articles fit together and what can be learned from reading them.
3. A conclusion where you draw everything together with suppositions of your own. You should address the implications of the research, how you can apply what you have learned to your ministry situation, and how you would further investigate the topic you chose.
4. A complete reference page in proper APA format.

 KEY: This is not a typical research paper. Please read these instructions carefully as well as follow the guidelines provided by Galvan. It is expected that you will read and utilize Galvan as the primary guideline for this project. Failure to do so will substantially affect your grade.

Cultural Response Paper: 6-8 pages double-spaced
Choose one aspect of culture that is rapidly changing, explore the implications of these changes for your ministry context and formulate a reasoned response. Possible cultural pressures: Post-modern attitudes toward truth, technological advances, changing beliefs about what is right/wrong, (global) interconnectivity, etc. Don’t be limited by these choices, and if in doubt, feel free to contact the professor.

In other words, in light of a specific cultural trend that is (or will be) challenging the way ministry is presently done in your context, develop a reasoned response for change that will position your ministry to be more effective in its mission. Be sure to including specific details of how your ministry approach will be different in light of the specific cultural pressure you are addressing.

Key components of the paper should include:

• Description of a specific cultural trend based upon research and documentation (2 pages).
• Discussion on how the effectiveness of achieving stated ministry objectives is being threatened (2 pages).
• A strategy for change that will address specific elements within your chosen ministry that need to be adjusted to make them more effective in light of the specific cultural challenge faced. Key here is to stay focused on the specific cultural pressure chosen, addressing an appropriate ministry response to increase the effectiveness of the ministry at achieving its stated objectives (2–3 pages).

Space is limited so it is imperative that the student keep his/her focus limited to the issues involved. The objective of the paper is to help the student explore practical means of implementation for the concepts discussed in the class. It is hoped that at a future date the student will take these principles and apply them in a more comprehensive manner in their ongoing ministry assignments, as well as that this assignment will provide foundational research toward the Needs Assessment section of their Capstone Project.