The thesis of this study is to argue that the term “office” and its meaning, as found in the New Testament, cannot be applied without reserve to the understanding of office in the present-day institutionalised church. The focus of this study is on the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa, officially named the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika. For the past few decades, the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika, gave much consideration to the view it holds of “office”. It is nonetheless still necessary to obtain more clarity on the matter insofar as it pertains to the meaning and practical execution of ministry. In this regard, almost every theological discipline can contribute towards obtaining such clarity. From a Biblical and Reformed perspective, the logical place to look for the answer would be in the documentation of both the New Testament and the early church of the second and third centuries CE. This study investigates the origin of “office”, as well as the intention of office as found in the New Testament and writings of the early church. The use of the term “office” and its meaning, as found in the New Testament, would not be appropriate for an understanding of office in the present-day church, as it would amount to an anachronistic use of what early Christians called “ministry”. When explained from a kerygmatic perspective, ministries in the New Testament can only serve as a guideline for the understanding and intention of office in the present-day church. The development of “office” is explained particularly in terms of the development of the concept of “elder” from early Judaism until the times of the church of the second and third century CE. This development is illustrated against the background of the group of Jesus followers surrounding the historical Jesus, the Pauline and deutero-Pauline epistles, including the Pastoral Epistles, as well as the early church. A basic assumption of this study is that the understanding of office and church cannot be separated from one another. Therefore, the development of office is explained against the background of the developing institutionalisation of the earliest church. As the church increasingly began to have a character of institutionalisation, the understanding of office developed within more fixed structures. This study illustrates that Paul’s view of the church, ministries, kerygma and charismata, is of central importance for the understanding of the New Testament’s intention of ministries. / Dissertation (MA(Teologie))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / New Testament Studies / unrestricted

No summary available / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

Baptist pastors in the early years of the twenty-first century find themselves in a challenging yet exciting period of South African history. Much has changed in the socio-political and religious contexts, yet Baptist pastors are still prone to operate according to earlier models of leadership and ecclesiology, with the result that they find themselves in situations of heightened conflict. Their position with respect to the laity, with whom they share a common priesthood of believers, is also an ambiguous one. After orientating the reader to the nature of the problem and various starting issues (chapter 1), this practical-theological thesis seeks to explore the nature of the changes in the socio-political milieu (chapter 2), as well as in the religious context (chapter 3). Baptist pastors are affected by a range of expectations that emerge from a particular view of the Bible and from the wider church community, as well as from the media and their own experience of pastors. Chapters 4 and 5 seek to understand these expectations, especially as these expectations have combined to produce role conflict and role ambiguity. In such a situation it is more understandable that ministry can lack a pastoral centre and an unclear identity. Pastors have adopted a stance in the midst of such competing demands on their role identity and chapter 6 attempts to make their position clearer through empirical analysis, before embarking – in chapters 7 and 8 – on a description of a new model of pastoral ministry that is founded on the theatrical notion of the antagonist. Several implications for future ministry are explored in chapter 9, as we look forward to a revised praxis. The pastor as spiritual antagonist is approached from the vantage-point of the world of drama, since this angle, in its metaphorical richness, is seminal for a new understanding of the provocative role of the pastor in a world that is steadily devaluing spiritual leadership. The spiritual antagonist is described in terms of his/her character and ministry actions as one who is profoundly spiritual in his awe of God and in his determination to live reflectively. At the same time the spiritual antagonist is one who has an imaginative grasp on the communicative possibilities of being with people, and alongside people, intensely and for the purpose of provoking decision and faith. Whatever conflict is generated by such a stance is deliberately incorporated for educational and transformational purposes. Whatever is modelled – in the mode of the spiritual antagonist – by ordained pastors / elders becomes facilitatory for fellow believers in the congregation to fashion a similar identity. Thus an old division in Baptist ecclesiology is healed. / Practival Theology / (D. Th. (Practical Theology))

No summary available / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

Baptist pastors in the early years of the twenty-first century find themselves in a challenging yet exciting period of South African history. Much has changed in the socio-political and religious contexts, yet Baptist pastors are still prone to operate according to earlier models of leadership and ecclesiology, with the result that they find themselves in situations of heightened conflict. Their position with respect to the laity, with whom they share a common priesthood of believers, is also an ambiguous one. After orientating the reader to the nature of the problem and various starting issues (chapter 1), this practical-theological thesis seeks to explore the nature of the changes in the socio-political milieu (chapter 2), as well as in the religious context (chapter 3). Baptist pastors are affected by a range of expectations that emerge from a particular view of the Bible and from the wider church community, as well as from the media and their own experience of pastors. Chapters 4 and 5 seek to understand these expectations, especially as these expectations have combined to produce role conflict and role ambiguity. In such a situation it is more understandable that ministry can lack a pastoral centre and an unclear identity. Pastors have adopted a stance in the midst of such competing demands on their role identity and chapter 6 attempts to make their position clearer through empirical analysis, before embarking – in chapters 7 and 8 – on a description of a new model of pastoral ministry that is founded on the theatrical notion of the antagonist. Several implications for future ministry are explored in chapter 9, as we look forward to a revised praxis. The pastor as spiritual antagonist is approached from the vantage-point of the world of drama, since this angle, in its metaphorical richness, is seminal for a new understanding of the provocative role of the pastor in a world that is steadily devaluing spiritual leadership. The spiritual antagonist is described in terms of his/her character and ministry actions as one who is profoundly spiritual in his awe of God and in his determination to live reflectively. At the same time the spiritual antagonist is one who has an imaginative grasp on the communicative possibilities of being with people, and alongside people, intensely and for the purpose of provoking decision and faith. Whatever conflict is generated by such a stance is deliberately incorporated for educational and transformational purposes. Whatever is modelled – in the mode of the spiritual antagonist – by ordained pastors / elders becomes facilitatory for fellow believers in the congregation to fashion a similar identity. Thus an old division in Baptist ecclesiology is healed. / Practival Theology / (D. Th. (Practical Theology))

This thesis examines the impact of the Reformation on the estates of ecclesiastical institutions and officials based in St Andrews. It argues that land and wealth were redistributed and power structures torn apart, as St Andrews changed from Scotland's Catholic ecclesiastical capital to a conspicuously Protestant burgh. The rapid dispersal of the pre-Reformation church's considerable ecclesiastical lands and revenues had long-term ramifications for the lives of local householders, for relations between religious and secular authorities, and for St Andrews' viability as an urban community. Yet this major redistribution of wealth has had limited attention from scholars. The first part of this study considers the role played by the Catholic Church in St Andrews before the Reformation, and the means by which it was financed, examining the funding of the city's pre-Reformation ecclesiastical foundations and officials, and arguing that (contrary to some traditional assumptions) the Catholic Church in St Andrews was on a reasonably sound financial footing until the Reformation. The second section considers the immediate disruption to St Andrews' religious lands and revenues caused by the burgh's public conversion to Protestantism, and then explores the more planned reorganisation of the 1560s. The disputes and difficulties triggered by the redistribution of ecclesiastical wealth are examined, as well as the longer term impact on St Andrews of the treatment of church revenues at the Reformation. Evidence for this study is chiefly drawn from the extensive body of manuscripts concerning St Andrews held by the National Library of Scotland, the National Records of Scotland, and the University of St Andrews Special Collections.

Welcoming visitors is part of our African culture. This research tries to reflect on house visitation in the Maranatha Reformed Church of Christ (MRCC), and the impact thereof, if any, in the spiritual lives of congregants. Traditionally, pastors, elders and deacons alone bear the responsibility of visiting families in the MRCC. This research therefore reflects on the issue of house visitation in the MRCC where it is seen and understood as the duty and responsibility of pastors, elders and deacons only. The research is a passionate call for the MRCC, as a church, to work on a ministry design where all members will be actively involved in visiting one another, a move from the traditional one where only pastors, elders and deacons visit households. Arguments are also presented on how technology could be used to the advantage of the church in this task. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

The goal of the research was to explore the ongoing problem of Baptist Pastors leaving the ministry and to attempt to discover the impact of this problem upon Baptist Churches by means of "focus group" interviews. The dissertation links the problem with a Baptist ecclesiology and seeks to understand the Baptist belief in the autonomy of the Local Church and the praxis of accreditation for pastoral ministry, plus the existence of so-called "subterranean Pastors" which has contributed toward pastoral termination. / Practical theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology)

Univ., Diss.-2005--Frankfurt (Main), 2004. / Literaturverz. S. 145 - 172.

The goal of the research was to explore the ongoing problem of Baptist Pastors leaving the ministry and to attempt to discover the impact of this problem upon Baptist Churches by means of "focus group" interviews. The dissertation links the problem with a Baptist ecclesiology and seeks to understand the Baptist belief in the autonomy of the Local Church and the praxis of accreditation for pastoral ministry, plus the existence of so-called "subterranean Pastors" which has contributed toward pastoral termination. / Practical theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology)