Leading Cultural Change in the Established Church Through Preaching: Select Discourses from the Teaching Ministry of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke

Abstract

This thesis argues that pastors can reshape an established church’s evangelistic culture by utilizing the teaching methods of Jesus. Chapter 1 provides an overview of organizational culture and how cultures are shaped and reshaped. Chapter 2 exegetes Luke 11:1-13, examining how Jesus used direct instruction to reshape the established religious culture and showing how this method can be used to reshape evangelistic culture in the church. Chapter 3 describes how Jesus used confrontation to reshape established religious understandings about the law of God and examines how confrontation can be used to reshape evangelistic culture in the church. Chapter 4 examines how Jesus set high expectations for his followers to help them advance the mission of God and makes application for how pastors can do the same. Finally, chapter 5 offers broader implications for the church and demonstrates the need for further research.