La crédibilité des Églises évangéliques a été mise à rudes épreuves par les temps qui courent si l’on se fie à ce qui est rapporté autant dans la presse écrite que dans la presse parlée à la grandeur du pays. L’un des principaux facteurs alimentant la quasi totalité des opinions négatives sur ces lieux réputés être « lieu de la rencontre entre les croyants et le Divin », c’est le manque de rigueur dans la gestion de leurs différentes activités. En dépit des rumeurs et des soupçons, certaines Églises essaient de se démarquer des mauvaises pratiques qui ne font que miner la réputation de la plupart d’entre elles. Afin d’amener les lecteurs sur des pistes éclairantes, je vais problématiser et proposer, de façon succincte, les différentes étapes du contrôle de gestion dans une Église évangélique grâce à l’observation et à l’analyse de cette pratique. Mon observation portera sur une Église, en particulier, qui en est à sa douzième année de fonctionnement et qui connaît une importante croissance au fil du temps. En tant que Pasteur de cette Église, tout en m’inspirant de mes expériences personnelles dans la gestion de diverses équipes d’employés dans la Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) , je vais esquisser les grands traits des valeurs privilégiées qui ont été à la base de ce succès. / If it is possible to trust the information reported as much in the print media as in the speaking press in our days, to the size of the country, the credibility of the evangelic Churches was put in hard test. When we consider what has been identified to be as one of the man factors feeding most of the negative opinions on these renowned places to be « space of the meeting between believers and the Divine », it is the rigorous lack in the management of their various activities. We are agreed to say that in spite of the rumours and the suspicious certain Churches are trying the best of what to be done in order to distance themselves from bad practices which are undermining the reputation of most of them. My intent is to bring the readers on enlightening tracks by proposing briefly the various steps of the strategic management control in an Evangelic Church through the observation and the analysis of this practice. That observation will set its focus on a particular Church, which is in its twelfth year of functioning and which now experiencing an important growth over the time. As Pastor of this organization I will try to refer to my managerial working experience with several teams of employees in the « Société de Transport de Montréal » (STM)2 in order to outline the privileged values which were at the root of this success.

This thesis is concerned with the issue of the publication of church newspapers and magazines and the regulation thereof by state institutions and organs of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in the period 1956-1989. The first chapter gives a general overview of the policy of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in the field of mass media and is divided into three parts: after the Second World War, after the communist putsch in February 1948 and after the invasion by armies of the Soviet Block in August 1968. To better understand the situation of the church in that period of time it was necessary to include a chapter that outlines the general context of the way in which the Communist Party perceived and understood the church and religion as such, and therefore the second chapter offers a short introduction to the 'church policy' of the Communist Party. The third chapter monitors general facts related to the publishing business of the time, with special reference to the church newspaper and its control and restriction by the Central Church Publisher and Secretariat for Church Affairs of the Ministry of Culture. The fourth and main part of this study focuses on the newspaper and magazines of the Czech Brethren Church, with each subsection containing a detailed description of the publishing...

There had been three different churches in Libštát for many years. This dissertation is covering the history of the Reformed church and the history of the Lutheran church. The group that had registered under the Reformed church after the issue of the Patent of the Tolerance was larger. Therefore, they were faster in getting their own minister. It was Jan Csomor, who came in 1783. They also managed to build their own church, which was consecrated in 1787. However, the Lutheran church was smaller in numbers, so they could not establish their independent church, thus they became a part of the church family with the seat in a remote village called Křížlice. They also did not manage to get the permission to build their own church, so they had been existentially struggling for quite a long time. In the end, they succeeded and built their own church in 1842. After that, they achieved independence from Křížlice in 1867 and got their first minister the very next year. The history of the whole community allows us to study the relations between the two churches and their following union in 1918. The last third of the 19th century seems to play the key role in the convergence of the two churches. The Reformed minister, Emanuel Havelka, and the Lutheran minister, Petr Marušiak, have probably played a crucial role in...

German text / Die vorliegende Arbeit widmet sich der Bedeutung des Allgemeinen Priestertums im missionarischen Gemeindeaufbau. Leitend ist dabei die Frage, inwieweit die Verwirklichung des Allgemeinen Priestertums ein Wachstumsfaktor für Gemeinden darstellt. Die Untersuchung beginnt mit einer biblisch fundierten Definition des Gemeindewachstums. Darauf aufbauend folgt eine Erläuterung der Typologie des Gemeindewachstums sowie eine Darstellung der primären Wachstumsfaktoren und ihrer Zusammenhänge. Im Anschluss wird auf der Grundlage der biblischen Begründung sowie des Forschungsstandes ein ekklesiologisches Konzept des Allgemeinen Priestertums entworfen. Ausgewählte Schwerpunkte der kirchengeschichtlichen Entwicklung vertiefen die dogmatischen und praktischen Erkenntnisse zur Verwirklichung des Allgemeinen Priestertums. Die biblische Begründung des Allgemeinen Priestertums bildet im weiteren Forschungsverlauf die Grundlage zur Entwicklung einer quantitativen Umfrage. Unter Verwendung des eigens erstellten Fragebogens wird die Verwirklichung des Allgemeinen Priestertums in der Ev. Gemeinde Schönblick sowie in der Ev. Kirchengemeinde Bernhausen vergleichend und hypothesenprüfend untersucht. Auf der Basis der quantitativen Ergebnisse folgt mit Hilfe von unterschiedlichen Leitfadeninterviews eine qualitative Umfrage in der Ev. Gemeinde Schönblick. Die Analyse der qualitativen Studie erfolgt durch die Anwendung der Grounded Theory hypothesengenerierend. Schließlich wird das empirische Gesamtergebnis dem ekklesiologischen Konzept des Allgemeinen Priestertums gegenübergestellt, um individuelle Handlungsanweisungen für den Glaubenden sowie Strukturprinzipien für den Gemeindeaufbau zu begründen. Die Doktorarbeit (Thesis) leistet damit einen empirischen Beitrag zum Verständnis des Allgemeinen Priestertums als Grundfrage eines missionarischen Gemeindeaufbaus. Die Ev. Gemeinde Schönblick dient dabei als Modell einer wachstumsorientierten Gemeindearbeit. / The present work deals with the meaning of the priesthood of all believers in missionary church development. The leading question is: To what extent is the development of the priesthood of all believers a factor of growth in the work of a given congregation? The study begins with a biblical definition of church growth. From this starting point, the types of church growth are discussed and key growth factors and their context are elucidated. On the basis of this biblical foundation and drawing on current research, an ecclesiological concept for the priesthood of all believers will then be formulated. Selected key factors in the historic development of the church will serve to underpin the dogmatic and empirical findings pertaining to the realisation of the priesthood of all believers. The biblical foundation of the priesthood of all believers forms the basis of the development of a quantitative survey which will be done during the course of the study. Using a specially designed questionnaire, the praxis of the priesthood of all believers in the evangelical congregation of Schönblick as well as in the church of Bernhausen is examined, compared, and the hypothesis is tested. On the basis of the quantitative results a qualitative survey of the evangelical congregation of Schönblick is conducted with the help of various guided interviews. The analysis of the qualitative study is done using the Grounded Theory in a way that generates a hypothesis. Finally, the overall empirical result is put in juxtaposition to the ecclesiological concept of the priesthood of all believers in order to establish reasons for individual instructions of the believers as well as structural principles for the congregation. The doctoral thesis provides an empirical contribution to the understanding of the priesthood of all believers as a foundation of church growth. The evangelical congregation of Schönblick serves as a model of a church oriented towards growth. / Practical Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

German text / Die vorliegende Arbeit widmet sich der Bedeutung des Allgemeinen Priestertums im missionarischen Gemeindeaufbau. Leitend ist dabei die Frage, inwieweit die Verwirklichung des Allgemeinen Priestertums ein Wachstumsfaktor für Gemeinden darstellt. Die Untersuchung beginnt mit einer biblisch fundierten Definition des Gemeindewachstums. Darauf aufbauend folgt eine Erläuterung der Typologie des Gemeindewachstums sowie eine Darstellung der primären Wachstumsfaktoren und ihrer Zusammenhänge. Im Anschluss wird auf der Grundlage der biblischen Begründung sowie des Forschungsstandes ein ekklesiologisches Konzept des Allgemeinen Priestertums entworfen. Ausgewählte Schwerpunkte der kirchengeschichtlichen Entwicklung vertiefen die dogmatischen und praktischen Erkenntnisse zur Verwirklichung des Allgemeinen Priestertums. Die biblische Begründung des Allgemeinen Priestertums bildet im weiteren Forschungsverlauf die Grundlage zur Entwicklung einer quantitativen Umfrage. Unter Verwendung des eigens erstellten Fragebogens wird die Verwirklichung des Allgemeinen Priestertums in der Ev. Gemeinde Schönblick sowie in der Ev. Kirchengemeinde Bernhausen vergleichend und hypothesenprüfend untersucht. Auf der Basis der quantitativen Ergebnisse folgt mit Hilfe von unterschiedlichen Leitfadeninterviews eine qualitative Umfrage in der Ev. Gemeinde Schönblick. Die Analyse der qualitativen Studie erfolgt durch die Anwendung der Grounded Theory hypothesengenerierend. Schließlich wird das empirische Gesamtergebnis dem ekklesiologischen Konzept des Allgemeinen Priestertums gegenübergestellt, um individuelle Handlungsanweisungen für den Glaubenden sowie Strukturprinzipien für den Gemeindeaufbau zu begründen. Die Doktorarbeit (Thesis) leistet damit einen empirischen Beitrag zum Verständnis des Allgemeinen Priestertums als Grundfrage eines missionarischen Gemeindeaufbaus. Die Ev. Gemeinde Schönblick dient dabei als Modell einer wachstumsorientierten Gemeindearbeit. / The present work deals with the meaning of the priesthood of all believers in missionary church development. The leading question is: To what extent is the development of the priesthood of all believers a factor of growth in the work of a given congregation? The study begins with a biblical definition of church growth. From this starting point, the types of church growth are discussed and key growth factors and their context are elucidated. On the basis of this biblical foundation and drawing on current research, an ecclesiological concept for the priesthood of all believers will then be formulated. Selected key factors in the historic development of the church will serve to underpin the dogmatic and empirical findings pertaining to the realisation of the priesthood of all believers. The biblical foundation of the priesthood of all believers forms the basis of the development of a quantitative survey which will be done during the course of the study. Using a specially designed questionnaire, the praxis of the priesthood of all believers in the evangelical congregation of Schönblick as well as in the church of Bernhausen is examined, compared, and the hypothesis is tested. On the basis of the quantitative results a qualitative survey of the evangelical congregation of Schönblick is conducted with the help of various guided interviews. The analysis of the qualitative study is done using the Grounded Theory in a way that generates a hypothesis. Finally, the overall empirical result is put in juxtaposition to the ecclesiological concept of the priesthood of all believers in order to establish reasons for individual instructions of the believers as well as structural principles for the congregation. The doctoral thesis provides an empirical contribution to the understanding of the priesthood of all believers as a foundation of church growth. The evangelical congregation of Schönblick serves as a model of a church oriented towards growth. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

This study explores the history of the Toba Batak community in the city of Medan from1912 to 1965. The Toba Batak have traditionally lived in the rural interior highlands ofSumatra. In this region, their specific ethno-religious identity was developed. Thecrucial factor in the process was the activities and the theological convictions of theGerman Rhenish mission on which the Toba Batak themselves had a significant impact. During the first few decades of the 20th century the Toba Batak began to migrate to the plantation region on the east coast of Sumatra and its commercial entrepôt Medan.In this region, where the Malay Muslim culture was the local dominant culture, theystrove to fulfil their cultural ideals, among which the ideal of harajaon (kingdom) iscentral. The main analytical question pursued is: How did the Toba Batak ethno-religious identity develop in Medan, within the framework of the ethnic, religious, social andpolitical currents in the city? This question is analysed in terms of their changing relations to their area of origin,the interaction with other groups in Medan and the efforts of the Toba Batak to buildup their own organisations. The main focus is on the development of Christiancongregations, but the analysis also takes voluntary, political and women's organisationsinto account. The changing conditions for local ecumenical co-operation are alsoexplored. A wide selection of sources is used, such as missionary reports and correspondence, Dutch colonial records and Toba Batak written and oral sources. Most of these sources have not or only partly been employed in previous research.