scholarly journals ’n Beperkte empiriese ondersoek van kreatiewe prediking in die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika

2004 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. De Klerk ◽  
C.J. Nagel

A limited empirical research project on creative preaching in the Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika (Reformed Churches in South Africa; GKSA) The aim of this article is to highlight the importance of creative preaching and to investigate this aspect of preaching as practised in the Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika. For this purpose an empirical research project in the field of Practical Theology was undertaken, and certain conclusions were drawn after the responses had been analysed. Guidelines of the Likert Scale were applied as measuring instrument to gauge the level and success rate of creative preaching in the GKSA, and to indicate possible new perspectives in this regard. The outcome of this research project was, however, that only an unsatisfactory percentage of the respondents experienced the verbal expressions used by preachers as clear, plain and communicative. Respondents indicated that complicated facts of faith are not always explained satisfactorily and in a concrete way by making use of metaphors and figurative language. Consequently, these respondents experienced a lack of meaning in public worship, and inter alia ascribed it to the use of sometimes incomprehensible language that does not carry sufficient clarity of expression. In this regard a serious rift can develop between the preacher and members of the congregation as far as dialogue (interaction) in the worship service is concerned.

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
H.J.C. Pieterse

The role of knowledge of God in the encounter with God in preaching In an era of modernism and postmodernism homiletics is confronted with the problem of reference to God in preaching. According to current epistemologies we cannot have any knowledge of God that can be defended as true knowledge in the forum of academic discourse. In reformed theological theory, according to Calvin, knowledge of God, knowledge of ourselves in the eyes of God, as well as of salvation in Christ is a sine qua non for an encounter with God in preaching in the context of the worship service. This article proceeds from the theological stance that we can find this knowledge only in Scripture through the work of the Spirit. Recent empirical research in Reformed Churches in the Netherlands has shown that church members attend the services expecting to have an encounter with God. The sermon in this expected encounter is still very important for them. A homiletical theory that works with these presuppositions (knowledge of God) has a further problem. There is a growing Biblical illiteracy in Western societies – also in South Africa. As an answer to this problem the author proposes that the teaching sermon along the lines of Calvin’s position on preaching should get more attention in our day.


Author(s):  
Elsabé Kloppers

Actions in the worship service: Enriching liturgy through musicThe worship service in the Reformed Churches in South Africa has of late come under pressure. On the one hand it is experienced as too rigid and “traditional”. On the other hand superficial forms of renewal create tension. In this article the worship service and the meaning of the liturgical actions in the worship service of the Afrikaans Reformed Churches are discussed, and related to world-wide ecumenical tendencies. It is argued that certain liturgical actions are a necessary part of the ritual of the worship service. The structure needs inner logic, although there should also be some degree of flexibility. Hymns and music offer the means for a more creative presentation of liturgical actions and traditional forms. Suggestions to enrich the liturgy through the use of hymns and liturgical forms in the Liedboek van die Kerk (2001) are offered.


2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindie Denny ◽  
Cas Wepener

The purpose of this article is to present one aspect of a larger research project. The Spirit tradition (Charismatic) and its liturgical rituals as well as the Meal tradition (Liturgical Movement) and its liturgical rituals through history were researched as well as the concomitant theology. The aim was to gain a better understanding of whether the future of Charismatic worship can benefit from a somewhat closer integration of aspects of the meal tradition, especially the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. This article will mostly be focused on the empirical research done in this project within three Charismatic churches in Gauteng, South Africa. This research seeks to contribute to Robert Webber’s model of bringing old and new together in synergy. In the end, this article poses a new model for Charismatic worship when liturgical-rituals of the Spirit are combined with the celebration of communion in a way that worshippers experience as being more meaningful.


2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E.J. Smit

A few aspects regarding the reformed worship service and liturgical song in a multicultural South Africa Worship originates within a specific culture. Because cultures are constantly changing and developing, the church also has to deal with change in its worship services. In postapartheid South Africa, with its variety of cultures, the reformed churches will increasingly have to take cognisance of the realities and issues brought about by its multicultural context. When focusing in this regard on one of the important acts in reformed worship, namely the liturgical song, some fascinating issues present themselves. It shows that the reformed churches in South Africa are indeed facing exceptional challenges. In the liturgical song God affords his church the perfect gift with which these challenges can be met. If handled in the Biblical way, the reality of a multicultural context becomes an opportunity to witness to the world the forgiveness and reconciliation through Jesus Christ.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Koning ◽  
P.J. Buys

Postmodernism and urbanisation pose significant challenges and opportunities to Christian witness in the West. In South Africa, Reformed Baptists as well as the Reformed Churches in South Africa (RCSA) seem to be battling to engage with and reach new generations in the cities with the gospel. While the reasons for this may be many and varied, one reason for our faltering and seemingly ineffective witness can be traced back to inadequate and unbiblical views of contextualisation. While South African Reformed Baptists are passionately committed to biblical truth and orthodoxy, they appear to be negligent in the matter of faithful biblical contextualisation. Reformed Baptist pastors appear to be slow to take cognisance of and adjust to the unique challenges and opportunities that Postmodernism and urbanisation presents to gospel ministry in South Africa. Some conservative Baptists are suspicious of, or even critical of contextualisation, considering it a compromise with liberal theology. This article provides an overview of the findings of an empirical research that was done among a selected group of Reformed Baptist pastors as well as a selected group of ministers of the RCSA concerning their views on and practice of contextualisation. The article also provides some critical reflection on the findings and some proposals for more effective outreach to postmodern urban people.Keywords: Contextualisation, Reformed, Baptists Reformed Churches in South Africa Church, growth, Postmodernism


1994 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Spoelstra

This article attempts a further analysis of the current liturgical procedure and position of the so-called worship service in the Reformed Churches of South Africa (GKSA). In this article the acts or decisions of at least three Synods of the GKSA dealing with the so-called ‘elements' of a worship service (erediens) are analysed. It is argued that the liturgical procedure inherited from the Netherlands often fails to constitute a real encounter in worship between God and his congregation. A one-sided intellectual and instructional emphasis on the sermon is to be blamed for this failure.


1998 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Vorster

The mininstry of the minister in the Reformed churches in South Africa is strongly influenced by the insitutional model of the Church. The result of this pattern of ministry is that ministry in general is solely dependent on the work of the particular offices of minister. elder and deacon. The community of the saints and the general priesthood of the believers are thus neglected. This article explores ways in which the equipping task of the minister can be effectively rearranged in order to enhance the upbuilding of the church. In conclusion, it is stated that the Reformed minister can equip the believers by simultaneously using two patterns of ministry. On the one hand, the believers can he equipped by way of the ministry of the Word and Sacraments in the worship service and by the ministry of the Word in catechetical instruction and parish visiting. On the other hand, the Reformed minister can equip believers by enabling people with the gift of leadership to lead small groups in the congregation, with the ultimate aim of building up the community of the saints and the general priesthood of the believers.


1982 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 93-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
D C Macleod

The performance of two sea outfalls that have been in operation off the coast of Durban for over 10 years has been monitored for effects on the marine environment and public health. The discharge has been a mixture of domestic sewage and industrial waste from which a large proportion of the sludge has been removed but a 2-year research project, in which the balance of the sludge is also being discharged, has commenced. Performance of the outfalls and details of the monitoring programme are reviewed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
F.W. De Wet

The necessity of explicating metatheoretical assumptions regarding the view on reality in cientific practical theological research This article is the second in the research project “Metatheoretical assumptions in Practical Theology”. In this project – as indicated in the previous article − a group of reformed theologians is elucidating and discussing their metatheoretical and other perspectives regarding research in Practical Theology. In this article the necessity to explain metatheoretical assumptions concerning a view on reality, is discussed from a reformed perspective. The practical theological implications of a view on reality with its roots in the sixteenth-century protestant Reformation are critically compared with an alternative view on reality in the contemporary context which focuses more on the horizontal dimension of the action events taking place in praxis. This comparison is done with a view to responding to this alternative view in a responsible way. Essential characteristics of the sixteenth-century reformed view on reality seem to be its Scripture-determined vision and theocentric focus as well as the way in which human life and actions are represented as reflections of the “imago Dei”. The need to critically reflect on these characteristics and to newly align this view on reality with respect to challenges posed in the contemporary context, is explored.


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