Diss.--Bonn. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Bonn, 1991/92. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [195]-213) and indexes.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Bonn, 1991/92. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [195]-213) and indexes.

Thesis (doctoral)--Münster, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [237]-257) and index.

Diss.--Munich. / Bibliographical footnotes.

Text in Afrikaans / Evangelisasiewerk het in die Hervormde Kerk nog nooit regtig van die grand af gekom nie. Jaar na jaar word daar op vergaderings verslag gedoen dat daar in die meeste gemeentes op hierdie gebied nie·veel gebeur nie. Hierdie studie het gevra na die werklike stand van sake tans in die Kerk; die paradigmaverskuiwing wat besig is om plaas te vind; en na 'n moontlike nuwe teorie om die huidige praxis mee te probeer wysig. Die resultate van die ondersoek het die volgende opgelewer: - Tans is daar ongeveer 15% van die gemeentes wat hoegenaamd op 'n georganiseerde wyse by evangelisasiewerk betrokke is; - 0,38% van die totale lidmaattal van die Kerk is toegerus vir evangelisasiewerk, en gebruik hulle opleiding; - Die Kerk het egter reeds die regte besluite in sy vergaderings geneem, soos bv dat die gemeente die evangelis is en dat elke lidmaat betrokke moet wees. Hierdie besluite moet geimplementeer word. Myns insiens kan dit alleen gebeur wanneer daar op gemeentevlak met harde teologiese arbeid deelgeneem word aan die huidige gesprek random 'n prakties-teologiese ekklesiologie. / When the annual reports of the Hervormde Kerk are being studied, it becomes clear that the church finds itself in a crisis. The essence of this crisis manifests itself in the fact that the church is not evangelising the world as it is suppose to do. This study was undertaken to ask what is really going on in the field of evangelisation in the church; to look at the paradigm shift that is taken place at the moment; and, to ask for a new theory to try to alter the current praxis. The results of this study are: - Only 15% of the congregations of the church are involved in organised evangelisation activities; - 0,38% of churchmembers are trained and are using their training to do evangelisation; - The church has already realised that the congregation is suppose to be the evangelist and that every member must be involved in this ministry. But it has not yet come from the ground. This can only happen, I believe, when the congregation starts to participate in finding an ecclesiology for the time and context that we are living in. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / Th. D. (Praktiese Teologie)

AFRIKAANS: Om Kerk van Jesus Christus op aarde te wees, vra dat daar altyd van twee werklikhede kennis geneem word naamlik die Bybelse ekklesiologie en die aardse konteks waarin hierdie ekklesiologie elke dag in die mens se lewe moet realiseer. Die werklikheid van die Bybelse ekklesiologie moet as onveranderlike vertrekpunt vir die aardse uitlewing van kerk-wees geld. Hierdie studie toon aan dat die Bybelse ekklesiologie gesien moet word binne die raamwerk van ʼn groter dinamiek naamlik dié van God se koninkryk. Daarom moet eers verstaan word waaroor God se koninkryk gaan voordat verstaan kan word hoe die kerk binne hierdie koninkryk moet funksioneer. Al is Kerk en Koninkryk nie dieselfde nie, staan hulle ook nie los van mekaar nie. Die gestalte van die kerk word mede bepaal deur die gestalte van die koninkryk. In die Ou Testament word vanuit Gen 12:2 as vertrekpunt beklemtoon dat God sy verbondsvolk seën sodat hulle weer ʼn seën kan wees en die hele aarde God as die Almagtige Heerser sal raaksien. Al wat God van hulle verwag, is om aan hom gehoorsaam te wees en nie die gode van die ander nasies te dien nie. So sal die volk van God as gestuurde volk sy liefde in hierdie wêreld sigbaar maak. In die Nuwe Testament val die klem op die feit dat die koninkryk ʼn werklikheid geword het in Jesus Cristus se koms en dat die kerk as gestuurde volk die evangelie van Christus aan die wêreld moet verkondig sodat God se liefde, soos dit in die koms van Jesus Christus gestalte kry, bekend gemaak kan word (Matt 28:19-21 en Luk 24:48). Wanneer dan na die Kerk van Jesus Christus gekyk word vanuit die perspektief van God se koninkryk, kan mens nie anders nie as om raak te sien dat die kerk die roeping het om ook vandag nog aan God as die Almagtige Heerser en Jesus Christus as die liefdevolle Verlosser gestalte te gee in die manier waarop ons in die een en twintigste eeu kerk is. Die probleem wat in hierdie studie aangespreek word, hou verband met die feit dat die NGK nie daarin slaag om die konteks van die tyd waarin die vooruitgang van die elektroniese kommunikasie media hoogty vier tot voordeel van haar missionale roeping benut nie. In die studie word aangetoon wat die veranderende wêreld waarin ons leef behels, en watter eise dit aan kerk-wees stel. In aansluiting daarby word aangetoon hoe die massamedia benut kan word om in diens van missionale kerk-wees te staan. Die massamedia wat kortliks behandel word, is Twitter, Facebook, Podcasts, Linkedin, werfjoernale en die gemeentelike webblad. Die eerste vyf word slegs kortliks bespreek terwyl die gemeente se webblad breedvoerig behandel word. Die rede daarvoor is die verskil in aard tussen die massamedia en die webblad. Eersgenoemde se bedoeling is veral daarop gerig om die bevordering van interaktiewe kommunikasie met beperkte hoeveelheid teks te bevorder terwyl die webblad van die gemeente die geleentheid bied om uitgebreide inligting te verskaf wat oor ʼn wye verskeidenheid van temas gelowiges kan toerus en begelei om missionale kerk van Jesus Christus te wees. Om die relevantheid van die studie en die hipotese te bevestig, is ʼn kwalitatiewe studie gedoen van al die webblaaie (144) wat tans (Nov 2012) by gemeentes in die NGK bestaan. Die resultaat daarvan word interpreteer en aanbevelings in dié verband word gedoen. Aan die einde word tot die volgende konklusies gekom: In hierdie studie is die volgende navorsingsdoelwitte bereik: (1) God se koninkryk is die primêre fokus en rede vir bestaan van die ganse skepping. (2) God se bedoeling met sy Kerk op aarde volgens sy Woord is om gestalte aan God se koninkryk te gee. Daarom het die kerk ʼn missionale roeping. (3) Die konteks waarbinne hierdie roeping vandag uitgeleef moet word, hou verband met die verstaan van die dinamiese veranderende samelewing waarin die postmodernisme ʼn groot rol speel. (4) Benutting van elektroniese massamedia bied ʼn gulde geleentheid aan die kerk om hierdie missionale roeping kommunikatief uit te leef. (5) Die kwalitatiewe navorsing bevestig die hipotese naamlik dat die gemeentes van die NGK nog geensins besef wat die waarde van die Internet is ten opsigte van missionale bediening nie. ENGLISH: Being the Church of Christ on earth requires that two realities must constantly be taken into account namely the ecclesiology of the Bible and the context of the earthly life where this ecclesiology has to be actualised. The reality of the Biblical ecclesiology must be seen as the unchangeable departing point for the church in practice every day. This study is indicates that Biblical ecclesiology always operates within the bigger framework of the kingdom of God. Therefore, it is necessary to first understand the meaning of God’s kingdom before we can understand the relation between the church and the kingdom. Although God’s kingdom and the church of God are not identical, it is also true that the two don’t operate loose from each other. The stature of the church is being co-defined by the stature of the kingdom. In the Old Testament, with Ex 12:2 as point of departure, it is being emphasized that God blessed his covenant people with the presumption that they will also be a blessing to the other nations so that all will recognize God as the only almighty King. God’s only expectation from his people was that they should obey him and worship him alone and not the gods of the other nations. In that way the people of God as his sent people, will reveal God’s love for all. In the New Testament the emphasis falls on the fact that God’s kingdom became a reality through the incarnation of Jesus. The church, as his sent people, must proclaim Christ’s Gospel to the world as it is revealed in the coming of Jesus Christ so that the whole world can become part of his kingdom (Mt 28:19-21 and Lk 24:48). Looking at the church of Jesus Christ from the perspective of God’s kingdom, one can not but recognize the necessity for the church of the twenty first century to obey the calling from God to witness to this world that God is the almighty ruler and that His love for the world became reality in the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. The problem that is being addressed in this study concerns the fact that the Dutch Reformed Church does not seem to succeed in making the most of the context of our time with the explosion of the electronic mass media, in favour of its missional calling. This study explores the impact of the macro changes we experience in the present context of our time and shows what opportunities it provides for the church to be missional in its functioning. The following electronic mass media are being explored: Twitter, Facebook, Podcasts, Linkedin, Blogs and especially the webpage of the congregation. The five first mentioned, are only touched on briefly while the webpage of the congregation is being researched extensively. The reason for this lies in the difference in structure. The first mentioned mass media is meant for interactive communication with restricted volume while the webpage gives opportunity for providing extensive and permanent information concerning a wide variety of relevant articles and issues for the missional ministry of the congregation. To confirm the relevancy of the study and the hipothesis, a qualitative study of the existing webpages (144 on Nov 2012) in congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church is being done. The results of this study are interpreted and recommendations are being made. Finally the following conclusions are being formulated: In this study the following research goals have been achieved: (1) God’s kingdom is the primary focus and reason for existence of the whole creation. (2) God’s purpose for his church on earth, according to His Word, is to give stature to his Kingdom. For this reason the church has a missional calling. (3) The context in which this calling must be exercised, is related to understanding the dynamic changing society where the postmodernism plays a huge role. (4) Utilizing the mass media provides a golden opportunity to the church to fulfill her missional calling communicatively. (5) The qualitative research confirms the hypothesis that the congregations of the DRC do not as yet understand the value of using the Internet in missional ministry. / Thesis (DD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted

From discussions with the teenagers of Waverley Congregation, and their poor attendance of the worship service and catechesis, it became obvious that these members’ requirements are not be addressed. In the investigations into this problem, the world of the teenager was first of all addressed. In order to be able to bring the joyous message of the Gospel to them, one first needs to understand the world of the teenager. Otherwise preaching can quite easily be made off as irrelevant, and the unlocking of the message of the sermon into the language and situation of the teenagers cannot be achieved. This entails the first chapter. In the second chapter the focus is mainly on the worship service itself. Additional to this, attention was given to what the reformed identity of the Dutch Reformed Church entails.Attention was also given to renewal and other influences on the worship service. Renewal is not discarding or change, but should rather be thought of in terms of enrichment. Old truths and habits must be seen, used and interpreted anew in the ways of being a church, in such a way as to address the teenagers in their milieu. The third chapter contains the empirical research that was conducted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with some teenagers from the congregation. According to this 91.67% of the teenagers normally attend church with their parents or family. This supports what has surfaced in the literature study, namely the very important influence that parents have on the spiritual forming of children. The other, very interesting, result from the empirical research was the fact that 50% of the teenagers said that they went to church to listen to the Word of God. The other 50% expressed a clear need that the sermons be simpler and more on their level. These results support the literature study, namely that a person wants to meet with God, and specifically via the sermon. One of the big needs expressed by the teenagers is to praise the Lord via contemporary music. Approximately 75% of the respondents were of the opinion that the music has to change if the worship service is to address the teenager. The question is, however, whether the music is really the mayor need, and whether it is not maybe the requirement to hear the Word of God in the language of the teenager. After all, the sermon is the heart of the Gospel, and people go to church to hear the voice of God. Finally the fourth chapter addresses a number of possibilities in order to better address the teenagers. As an experiment the evening worship service and catechesis have been combined at Cunningham Avenue. Over the last three months this has been a fruitful arrangement. The youth council and the “coffee bar parents” increases the involvement of the congregation in the Youth and Family Ministry. This follows the worship vision of the Waverley Dutch Reformed Church congregation, namely that of healthy relationships and the fact that the congregation must be a congregation for the family. / Dissertation (MA(Teologie))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

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

This study was undertaken around the following problem statement: As a result of erratic pastoral care for the ministers' corps of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) by the denomination, ministers are often left to their own resources (to fend for themselves?) and consequently experience solitude. Because of developments in society and the church, they exist and function more and more on the periphery of the lives of people and of society. With some ministers, this results in an alienation from their calling and uncertainty about how this calling should be realised in specific circumstances and contexts. From this, the following research hypothesis was formulated: When the DRC appoints pastors pastorum as an essential component of a comprehensive and holistic approach to the pastoral care of the minister, ministers will fulfil their calling with renewed self-confidence, improved competence and greater authority. This study was approached from the methodological question: Who does what, regarding who, how, where, when, why? The DRC functions according to the presbyterial synodal system of church government. Each pastor and congregation is, although selfreliant, also part of the DRC and the Church of Christ in general. The presbyterial synodal church government system is not the only way in which the church can be managed and is also not infallible. The weaknesses in the system have a negative effect especially on pastors who have attained an exceptionally important position in the system. The system of corporate episcopes is inadequate in current circumstances.</p. Concerning episcope. The service of episcope is scripturally defined, but the nature thereof depends on place, time and circumstances. In churches with an episcopal character, the episcope are the function of the bishop and possess an individual character. A general consensus exists that these episcope can be executed in a synodal-collegial manner, OR in an episcopal-personal manner. It is not necessary to apply the service in the figure of the bishop exclusively. It is essential to supplement the system of corporative episcope in the DRC with a system of personal episcope. The function of episcope must be applied to all levels of church life. Concerning the pastor. The term pastor is preferred to that of minister or preacher. No definition is given for a pastor, but the profile of the pastor is described in terms of the triangle: person, office and profession. The calling of the pastor is considered to be fundamental to this triangle. The pastoral care of pastors comprises the totality of activities provided by the entire church in order to, by means of a personal episcope (thus officially), communicate the gospel to the pastor in all facets of his humanity and, by utilizing all possible aids, to enable the pastor to fulfill his calling with renewed self-confidence (security of identity), authority (security of office) and competence (security of profession). On the strength of this description, the following resposibility is assigned to each church assembly in the process of pastoral care of pastors: The synod functions on the level of profession and office with favourable results on the personal level of the pastor. The circuit functions on the level of mutual care among pastors. The church council and congregation function on the level of the general priesthood of believers. The pastor pastorum The ministry of the pastor pastorum should be founded upon the metaphor of the shepherd. To be able to use this nowadays, the metaphor should be deconstructed first in order to look past the various romantic portrayals thereof. Then it has to be reconstructed in order to be applicable to current circumstances. The position and profile of the pastor pastorum is pointed out. Special attention is paid to the pastor pastorum as shepherd and as person who should be able to think systemically. Empirical research <lo>The empirical investigation attempts to connect the who and the what to the where and the when.<ol> <lo><li>The empirical investigation confirms the supposition that a need exists for pastoral care among pastors.</li> <li>The pastor prefers to be pastorally cared for by the church.</li> <li>For the pastor, the receiver of the pastoral care, it is not really important which church assembly the care emanates (comes?) from. Care from a major assembly which is removed further than the regional synod from the pastor, would, however, not be effective. </li> <li>It seems that lack of a vision on the whole is a serious problem, especially in churches from the reformed tradition.</li> <li>Solutions concerning pastoral care of pastors should be directed towards the person of the pastor as well as towards the structure in which the pastor works.</li></ol> The church can and must learn from other church traditions. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Practical Theology / PhD / Unrestricted