Date of Award

5-20-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

First Advisor

Karoline Lewis

Second Advisor

Richard Rehfeldt

Abstract

We desire it. We long to be in its presence. We look for it in everything we see and hear and smell and touch and taste. We someday hope to have it surrounding us, holding us close. It is intimacy with God. Moreover, in it, we are somehow able to find a connection with God. Intimacy with God first belongs to God. God is the measure by which all intimacy is evaluated. Some would say that God is intimacy. God is revealed to us through intimacy which is both accurate and right; one might say, an intimacy that is authentic or honest about God’s essence, being, and character. An argument will be made for intimacy with God, which was lost, to its rightful place as a vital and indispensable part of the individual journey. By the biblical preacher taking intentional time to unpack the scripture, acknowledging the images present in the text, and by referring to the theology of the hymnody chosen for a given Sunday, a preacher may begin to show that reclaiming intimacy with God is once more attainable. All three of these elements have the power, whether consciously observed or unconsciously absorbed, to affect hearers both personally and corporately as the biblical preacher assists their journey toward a more authentic and deeper intimacy with God.

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