Pastoral Theology and Ministry

Researchers in the Ministry and Pastoral Theology cluster address the ever-changing needs of congregations and Christian communities, providing ministry leaders with the insights and tools they need to offer effective spiritual care and leadership. Themes explored in this cluster include church leadership and administration, family dynamics in pastoral life, the role of music and worship in ministry, pastoral care and counselling, and the role of digital media in congregations. Through these themes, AC’s researchers seek to enhance both the theoretical understanding and practical application of effective ministry in diverse contemporary contexts.

Recent Publications

Hukkinen, E., Luetz, J.M. & Dowden, T. (2025). Heutagogy as a Framework for Christian Discipleship: The Triadic Role of Biblical Wisdom Literature, the Teachings of Jesus Christ, and the Work of the Holy Spirit. Journal of Religious Education, 73(1) 95–114. | External link

Cho, Rog Hyeong (2024). Theological Considerations for a Paradigm Shift to Inter-Relationship Centered Worship: Focus on Activating I-R-C Family Worship. Reformed Theological Review, Vol 67 179-216. | External link

Creed, F. (2024). Why Churches Should Consider the Formation of Social Capital in the Design of their Welfare Programs. Journal of Contemporary Ministry, No. 9 (2024) 150-190.

Pegram, N. (2024). Professionals in Hospital Chaplaincy Provision In Cronshaw, D., Taylor, S., Kappelhoff, M., Transforming Work: Missiological Perspectives for the Church in the World. Leiden: Brill. | External link

Toh, H. L. and Thornton, D. (2024). Understanding “Love” in the English Lyrics of the Original Songs by the Multilingual New Creation Church Singapore. Religions, 15(5) 603. | External link

Winchester, R., Hovey, K., & Luetz, J.M.(2024). A Future Agenda for Research on In-Service Theological Training in Thailand and Beyond.. International Review of Mission, 113(1) 92-114.

Potts, D. J. (2023). Eco-theology and Pentecostal Pastor’s Families: Could an Intentional Focus on Eco-theology Strengthen Pentecostal Pastor’s Families? Journal of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity, Volume 43, 2023 – Issue 2. | External link

Thornton, D (2023). “This Is No Performance”: Exploring the Complicated Relationship between the Church and Contemporary Congregational Songs. Religions, 14(5) 578. | External link

Potts, D. J. (2021). Suffering in Silence: Examining the Silent Suffering of Christian Clergy Wives, A call to acknowledge their voice and value. Journal of Pastoral Care and Counselling, 75(1) 51–59. | External link

Potts, D. J. (2021). Investigating Theoretical Frameworks for Researching the Ministry/Family Journey – A Literature Review. Family Process

Potts, D. J. (2020). The Triple ‘A’ Formula for Flourishing Ministry Families: An analysis of the ministry/family journey of credentialed ministers and their spouses within the Australian Christian Churches. Pastoral Psychology, 69(2) 149 – 167. | External link

Thornton, D (2021). Meaning-Making in the Contemporary Congregational Song Genre. Palgrave Macmillan. | External link

Thornton, D. (2021). How YouTube Mediations of Global Contemporary Congregational Songs Contribute to an Understanding of the Genre. Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture, 10 445-466. | External link

Thornton, D (2021). A “Sloppy Wet Kiss”? Intralingual Translation and Meaning-Making in Contemporary Congregational Songs. Religions, 12 (10). | External link

Thornton, D. (2021). Music In Adam Possamai & Anthony J. Blasi (Eds), The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religion. SAGE Publications. | External link

Potts, D. J. (2020). As for Me and My House: Keys to a Flourishing Family and Fulfilled Ministry. Wipf & Stock

Thornton, D (2020). A Match Made in Heaven: Why Popular Music is Central to the Growth in Pentecostal Charismatic Christianities In Rocha, C., Hutchinson, M., and Openshaw, K. (Eds.), Australian Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements: Arguments from the Margins (pp. 109-125). Brill

Groza, A. (2019). The Seldom Acknowledged Difficulties of Leading Missional Churches: Challenges Faced by Those Who Seek to Explore Different Forms of Being and Doing Church. Ecclesial Practices, 6.2 163-181. | External link

Thornton, D (2019). Star Wars Soundtracks: The Worship Music of John Williams. Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, Star Wars Special Edition

Pegram, N. (2018). Emotion and Ministry, a Study in Research Methodology. Journal of Contemporary Ministry, 4 47-60. | External link

Thornton, D (2018). Preaching and Worship In White, A. (Ed), The Power of a Good Story: Five Views on Pentecostal Preaching. CTP Press

Pegram, N.D. (2017). Passion and Sustainable Ministry. Pointers: Bulletin of the Christian Research Association, 27(2) 7-10

Pegram, Nigel (2017). Appreciative Inquiry — A Strategy for Being a Healthy Church. Journal of Contemporary Ministry, 3 67-81. | External link

Thornton, D (2017). On Hillsong’s continued reign over the Australian contemporary congregational song genre. Perfect Beat, 17 (2) 164-182. | External link

Fogarty S. G. (2016). Light a Fire: How to effectively motivate volunteers in your church. Australasian Pentecostal Studies (translations: French, Finnish)

White, A. G. (2016). Pentecostal Preaching as a Modern Epistle: A Comparison of Pentecostal Preaching with Paul’s Practice of Letter Writing. Journal of Pentecostal Theology, 25.1 123-149. | External link

HDR Theses

An, Seong. Toward a model for the development of a missional church congregations in /GAPCK’ of Korean Presbyterian Church (PhD)

Asnicar, Paul. The Church as a Learning Community: Communal learning and inquiry as locally embodied expression of the gospel (PhD)

Blanche, Sean. The significance of emotional and spiritual intelligence in effective mentoring (PhD) Chandler, Geraldine. The nexus between church leadership and children’s church volunteerism (working title) (PhD)

Chung, Hye. Parental Education Plan for the Development of Youth Children’s Intimacy with God: Focusing on the Korean Church in Australia (PhD)

Delport, Vicki. Facilitating the progression of women into positions of senior leadership in the Australian Christian Churches: identifying opportunities and obstacles (DMin)

D’sa, Pamala. Workplace Gender Equality within CRC Churches International (DMin)

Green, Aziza. Approaching digital wisdom: How do Christian ministry leaders understand and apply digital literacies to participate and lead in digital contexts? (PhD)

Han, Dahan. Examination of the Possibility of Development of Ancient and Future Worship as an Alternative to the Worship Crisis of Immigrant Churches due to Postmodernism (PhD)

Law, Matthew. What leadership theories are exhibited in the thoughts and practices of ACC pastors and what are the potential implications for the next generation of pastors? (DMin)

Moores, Robert. The Impact of Retirement on Pastors, their Families and the Church (working title) (MPhil)

Narlapati, Suresh. How are small group leaders navigating the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in Perth? (DMin)

Rengger, James. A Mixed Methods Study of the Trinitarian Foundations of Local Church Caregiving ‘In the Moment’: Integrating Clinical Pastoral Education Practices and the Theology of Jürgen Moltmann into C3 Church Caregiving Praxis (PhD)

Smith, Bette. Challenges with intercultural communication using English between second-language English speakers in the multicultural church setting in Melbourne churches (DMin)

Staggs, Andrew. Supernatural Transformational Leadership and Strategic Intuition: Towards A Practical Theology of Strategic Pentecostal Leadership Development (PhD)

Webb, Mark. Pastors’ Perceptions About Leadership in Ministry and their impact on Burnout? A Phenomenological Study (PhD)

Yi, Seong Ho. Mission of the Gospel of the Triune God in the Australian Korean Diaspora Church: Focusing on Christopher Wright’s Missionary Hermeneutics (PhD)

HDR Theses (Completed)

Botross, Peter. Theological and Pedagogical Approaches to Equipping Disciple-makers in Victorian Baptist Churches (DMin)

Cat, Christopher. Unrealised Pentecostal Divine Healing Expectations: A Pastoral Dialogue With The Psychology Of Religion And Coping (PhD)

Creed, Fleur. The Church as a Place for Connection: Building Social Capital Across Social and Cultural Boundaries in Australian Communities (PhD)

Gurung, Bhupendra. What is the problem? The Restrictions of Female Leadership in Nepalese Pentecostal Churches (MPhil)

Hukkinen, Esa. Testing the effectiveness of a coaching approach for discipling Christians (PhD)

Kruithoff, Uwe. Factors influencing monoethnic churches’ longevity (DMin)

Lim, Chungkyung. An homiletical study of the expository sermon on the parable of the sower: based on Kevin Vanhoozer’s hermeneutical realism (PhD)

Polley, Nathan. Spiritual development of servant leaders in Aotearoa-New Zealand tertiary education contexts (DMin)

Reid, Stephen. The effectiveness of sports chaplaincy as Christian ministry in Australia (DMin)

Rhodes, John. Divine healing in Australian Christian Churches: a review of contemporary ministerial practice and perspective (DMin)

Tam, Susan. The Lived Experiences of Women in Leadership in the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PhD).

Winchester, Ross. Developing Transformational Pentecostal Leaders in Chiang Mai Province, Northern Thailand: A Model for In-Service Leadership Training (PhD)

LEAD RESEARCHERS

HDR CANDIDATES