Text in English / Lebowakgomo congregation is situated in the Northern Province the growth point of former Lebowa Government The study was based on the understanding the procedures and processes which were followed when legitimising the congregational secession . Secession is an act to withdraw formally from a union, especially from a religious organisation. The secession of Lebowakgomo congregation from Lerato congregation took a decade before it was implemented. The secession was delayed by technical problems such as the expulsion of the minister, the death of an eider's son, the arrival of three ministers and various interpretations of the Church Order. The Process of secession was affected by the legacy of change within the community. That is, the idea of secession was introduced to the congregation by the minister in trying to curb congregation administration problems. This process could not take off because some of the congregants had not fully conceptualised the idea. The process of secession ended into conflicts of ideology and also in the interpretation of the Church Order of which lead to additional attitudinal developments within the management structures of the NGKA. The church council of Lebowakgomo also developed an attitude against the Synodical commission which lead to the involvement of the court of law as an arbitrator. The hypothesis tested in this thesis is: "Is Lebowakgomo congregation a legitimate congregation within the structures of the NGKA?" Lebowakgomo congregation is the first to challenge a decision made by the Synod. It is the first to demand its rights through the court of law. This was a drastic change with regard to the Church history of the NGKA. Thus, this study has traced the development of Lebowakgomo secession until it was legitimised by the court of law. The main thrust of this study was to provide academic reasoning to the following questions, Is secession legitimised after being approved by: - the Church council? - the Presbytery council? - after a secession ceremony was held? - after registration by the Synodical commission secretary? - after being published in the Church news paper? The positive ruling by the court of law in legitimising Lebowakgomo congregation within the structures of the NGKA, was noted in spite of dissatisfaction expressed by some church structures and church management. This clearly indicated that the role of church managers in a changing society is one in constant metamorphosis with regard to reconstructing and developing church organisation and management. / Church History / Th. M. (Church History)

Every system of church government, which declares to be Christian, takes its starting point in the New Testament revelation that Christ is the Head of his body, the church, (Col. 1:18); however each of these systems arrives at vastly different conclusions. The Presbyterian system of church government is founded on.the principle that Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became man, is the organic Head of the church, the elected mankind. "Bead" and "body" are bound together as one vital unity, undivided and unmixed. Therefore the church, as body of Christ, has no human head. Christ Himself governs the church, while He at the same time rules over heaven and earth. He, the Mediator, Who in the unity of his Person is indivisible, is Himself personally present in his church. He is also represented by the Holy Spirit, who works directly in the heart and mind of ail believers and speaks to them by means of the holy ~ Word of God. Christ reigns his church through his Holy Spirit by his Holy Word. The believers, as members ,in the body, the church, have come of age as a royal priesthood by anointment with the Holy. Spirit. Therefore the congregation is subject to the instructions of Christ to· the church. While the body still grows up unto Christ, its Head, He has given the off ices to the church for the perfecting of the saints in their ministry. The government of the Head is served in the church by the elders as a council of the church. Their instruction from the Head is to be shepherds to the saints and not to be lords over God's heritage. Of this ministration of the church government the congregation is the object. The Presbyterian church government, as organized in the Church Order of Dort (1618-19), maintains the church as· an organic unity that lives for, through and to Christ. The church is the subordinate of its Personal Head, the living and present Jesus Christ. Therefore the Church Order of Dort maintains the ministerial character of the offices in the church, the coming of age· of the believers and the Word of God as the border of all ministerial authority and power. The Presbyterian church government is then, according to the principles of the Church Order of Dort, the ministration of the one supremacy of the one Head, Jesus Christ, in his church as one body. / Oorspronklike uitgegawe as proefskrif voorgelê --PU vir CHO

Die moreel-etiese ontwikkeling van middel-adolessente in die een en twintigste eeu word deur talle faktore beïnvloed. In hierdie studie val die klem spesifiek op die invloed wat sommige tipes musiek in die middel-adolessent se lewe uitoefen. Veral gedurende adolessensie wat as ‘n tyd van onsekerheid gekenmerk word, kan die invloed van sommige musiek ‘n negatiewe uitwerking op hulle lewe uitoefen. Middel-adolessente moet gedurende hierdie lewensfase die versekering hê dat hulle hulself na hulle ouers en kerkleiers kan wend, ten einde leiding te ontvang en toegerus te word om enige negatiewe boodskappe wat in sommige musiek voorkom, te identifiseer en pro-aktief daarmee te handel. Hierdie studie is onderneem vanuit die Pinkstertradisie en spesifiek die AGS-Kerk, met die doel om die kerk se moontlike rol in die moreel-etiese toerusting van middel-adolessente te bespreek. In hierdie navorsing is beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe navorsingsmetodes gebruik wat getoon het dat musiek ‘n negatiewe invloed op die ontwikkeling van middel-adolessente se lewe kan uitoefen. Daar is gevind dat musiek middel-adolessente onder meer kan aanmoedig om alkohol en dwelmmiddels te misbruik, seksueel losbandig te wees, gewelddadig en rebels op te tree, by homoseksuele praktyke betrokke te raak, eiesinnig te wees en leuens te vertel. Middel-adolessente benodig hulp en volgens die Bybel het ouers en kerkleiers die verantwoordelikheid om kinders moreel-eties toe te rus. In hierdie studie is die grammaties-historiese metode van eksegese ingespan om vanuit die Efésiërsbrief riglyne neer te lê wat AGS pastore/jeugpastore kan gebruik om middel-adolessente moreel-eties toe te rus. / MA (Pastoral studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Every system of church government, which declares to be Christian, takes its starting point in the New Testament revelation that Christ is the Head of his body, the church, (Col. 1:18); however each of these systems arrives at vastly different conclusions. The Presbyterian system of church government is founded on.the principle that Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became man, is the organic Head of the church, the elected mankind. "Bead" and "body" are bound together as one vital unity, undivided and unmixed. Therefore the church, as body of Christ, has no human head. Christ Himself governs the church, while He at the same time rules over heaven and earth. He, the Mediator, Who in the unity of his Person is indivisible, is Himself personally present in his church. He is also represented by the Holy Spirit, who works directly in the heart and mind of ail believers and speaks to them by means of the holy ~ Word of God. Christ reigns his church through his Holy Spirit by his Holy Word. The believers, as members ,in the body, the church, have come of age as a royal priesthood by anointment with the Holy. Spirit. Therefore the congregation is subject to the instructions of Christ to· the church. While the body still grows up unto Christ, its Head, He has given the off ices to the church for the perfecting of the saints in their ministry. The government of the Head is served in the church by the elders as a council of the church. Their instruction from the Head is to be shepherds to the saints and not to be lords over God's heritage. Of this ministration of the church government the congregation is the object. The Presbyterian church government, as organized in the Church Order of Dort (1618-19), maintains the church as· an organic unity that lives for, through and to Christ. The church is the subordinate of its Personal Head, the living and present Jesus Christ. Therefore the Church Order of Dort maintains the ministerial character of the offices in the church, the coming of age· of the believers and the Word of God as the border of all ministerial authority and power. The Presbyterian church government is then, according to the principles of the Church Order of Dort, the ministration of the one supremacy of the one Head, Jesus Christ, in his church as one body. / Oorspronklike uitgegawe as proefskrif voorgelê --PU vir CHO

Die moreel-etiese ontwikkeling van middel-adolessente in die een en twintigste eeu word deur talle faktore beïnvloed. In hierdie studie val die klem spesifiek op die invloed wat sommige tipes musiek in die middel-adolessent se lewe uitoefen. Veral gedurende adolessensie wat as ‘n tyd van onsekerheid gekenmerk word, kan die invloed van sommige musiek ‘n negatiewe uitwerking op hulle lewe uitoefen. Middel-adolessente moet gedurende hierdie lewensfase die versekering hê dat hulle hulself na hulle ouers en kerkleiers kan wend, ten einde leiding te ontvang en toegerus te word om enige negatiewe boodskappe wat in sommige musiek voorkom, te identifiseer en pro-aktief daarmee te handel. Hierdie studie is onderneem vanuit die Pinkstertradisie en spesifiek die AGS-Kerk, met die doel om die kerk se moontlike rol in die moreel-etiese toerusting van middel-adolessente te bespreek. In hierdie navorsing is beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe navorsingsmetodes gebruik wat getoon het dat musiek ‘n negatiewe invloed op die ontwikkeling van middel-adolessente se lewe kan uitoefen. Daar is gevind dat musiek middel-adolessente onder meer kan aanmoedig om alkohol en dwelmmiddels te misbruik, seksueel losbandig te wees, gewelddadig en rebels op te tree, by homoseksuele praktyke betrokke te raak, eiesinnig te wees en leuens te vertel. Middel-adolessente benodig hulp en volgens die Bybel het ouers en kerkleiers die verantwoordelikheid om kinders moreel-eties toe te rus. In hierdie studie is die grammaties-historiese metode van eksegese ingespan om vanuit die Efésiërsbrief riglyne neer te lê wat AGS pastore/jeugpastore kan gebruik om middel-adolessente moreel-eties toe te rus. / MA (Pastoral studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa faces many challenges, as a country. Our communities are struggling with many issues such as poverty, inequality, rape, abuse, violence, corruption and many more. Yet, our faith community seems reluctant to lament these issues during their worship services. This research looks specifically at the practice of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. The question that this research wrestles with is: “Given the challenging times that we live in, in what way could a re-discovery or a re-claiming of lament in liturgy, against the background of healing and hope, obtain new meaning in our congregations?” The assumption of the research is that if the church wants to be relevant in the lives of their members today, she would need to revisit and reclaim the process of lament in the liturgy. It could further be argued that a re-thinking and a re-introduction of lament in liturgy could have far-reaching and enriching implications in the life of the faith community, especially where the healing of memories is concerned. Part of the research was a literature study while another section consisted of empirical studies. Congregations from the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, in the Western Cape, took part in the studies. The main focus of the research was descriptive empirical and the information gathered had to be interpreted. Through the normative task, theological reflections could be carried out and finally possible criteria could be deduced in terms of how lament could be re-integrated into existing liturgies of our church. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid Afrika word gekonfronteer met baie uitdagings. Ons gemeenskappe gaan gebuk onder geweldige druk en word daagliks gekonfronteer met armoede, ongelykheid, verkragting, mishandeling, geweld, korrupsie en nog vele meer. Ongeag hierdie uitdagings blyk dit asof ons geloofsgemeenskap teensinnig is om te weeklaag gedurende eredienste. Hierdie navorsing kyk spesifiek na die praktyk rondom weeklaag in die liturgie van spesifieke gemeentes in die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider Afrika. Die vraag waarmee hierdie navorsing worstel is: “Gegewe die uitdagende tye waarin ons lewe, op watter manier kan die herontdekking of die her-besit van weeklaag in liturgie (teen die agtergrond van heling en hoop), nuwe betekenis aanneem in ons gemeentes?”. Die uitgangspunt van die navorsing is dat as die kerk relevant wil bly in die lewens van haar lidmate, dan het sy nodig om die proses van weeklaag, binne die liturgie, weer te besoek en te eien. Verder kan dit geredeneer word dat ‘n nuwe denkpatroon en ‘n nuwe bekendstelling aan weeklaag in die liturgie verreikende gevolge kan hê in die lewens van die geloofsgemeenskap, veral waar daar na die heling van ons verlede gekyk word. Een deel van die navorsing was ‘n literêre studie terwyl die tweede deel ‘n empiriese studie was. Gemeentes van die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika het deel uitgemaak van die empirisie navorsing. Die klem van die navorsing was beskrywendempiries en die data moes interpreteer word. Gedurende die normatiewe deel kon daar teologies gereflekteer word oor die maniere waarop weeklaag weer deel van die bestaande liturgie gemaak kan word in ons kerk. Verskeie moontlikhede het aan die lig gekom in hierdie verband.

Diss.--Pontificia Università gregoriana, Rome. / "Los documentos forman parte actualmente del fondo de manuscritos de la Biblioteca Bancroft de la Universidad de California." "Documentos": p. 151-324. Bibliography: p. xv-xxiii.

Thesis (DD(Kerkgesk.)--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 262-276).

Thesis--Bonn. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 322-351) and index.

Proefschrift--Utrecht. / "Stellingen": p. [355]-358. Bibliography: p. 5-15.