MTh Theses

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14194/2591

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Start date: 2009Subject: search.filters.subject.Missions

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    Towards a Strategy for improving the Practice of Missions in the Divine Grace Church of God in the Chawama Compound, Lusaka, Zambia
    (South African Theological Seminary, 2016) Shamuteya, Laban Kabunda; Light, Vernon
    This thesis is based on the realisation that the Divine Grace Church of God (DGCG) seems to be lacking in its operative theology in relation to missions in its ministry context. The main objective of the thesis is to formulate a theologically-informed strategic plan to ensure that the praxis of DGCG with regard to missions is faithful to God and optimally relevant to its ministry context. The secondary objectives are: (1) to interpret the operative theology of DGCG with respect to missions; (2) to determine what faithful praxis in relation to missions would look like for DGCG in its ministry context, and (3) to develop a communicative and strategic plan to strengthen the praxis of DGCG in relation to missions. The research design and methodology employed in this study are based on Browning’s strategic practical theology (1991:55-74). It is a holistic approach that has four steps and each step covers a chapter in this thesis, except that steps 2 and 3 are included in one chapter. Both qualitative empirical and literary methods are employed to gather the needed data. The thesis begins with an analysis and interpretation of empirical data to determine the operative missions theology of DGCG (chapter 2). It moves on to consider a theological analysis with a view to forming theological perspectives and imperatives to guide the practice of missions in DGCG (chapter 3). This leads to the formation of appropriate programmes to embody these theological imperatives. The final chapter (4) considers ways of communicating and implementing these strategic programmes. The following are the findings of the thesis. First, though DGCG is found to have good programmes that seem to cover almost all areas of church life and witness, its operative theology in relation to missions is found to be lacking in holistic kingdom mission. The result is failure to adequately impact society by life, word and deed. Second, chapter 3 deals with this inadequacy by providing theological imperatives to inform beliefs and practices of missions which are more faithful to Scripture. Third, ways by which DGCG would effectively communicate and implement the resulting new praxis of missions are finally outlined.
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    Die Dringlichkeit der strategischen Konsolidierung junger Christen/Gemeinden bei Paulus exemplarisch im 1. Thessalonicherbrief (2,17-3,10), mit möglichen Implikationen für die Gemeindegründungs-, bzw. Gemeinderevitalisierungsbewegung: Eine exegetisch systematische Untersuchung.
    (South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg, 2022) Luz, Edgar 1972; Vogt, Titus; Vogt, Titus
    In dieser Arbeit wird die Frage untersucht, welche Priorität der Apostel Paulus der Nacharbeit mit seinen jungen Konvertiten einräumt. Es wird erforscht, welche Dringlichkeit und Strategie hinter den uns offenbarten apostolischen Maßnahmen und Aktivitäten in seinen neuen Gemeinden stehen. Als Modell wählen wir die Gemeinde in Thessaloniki. Darin wird zuerst allgemein die Frage nach der Existenz einer Strategie bei Pls. aus verschiedenen Perspektiven erörtert. Anschließend werden die gängigen Ansätze in der aktuelleren biblisch-theologischen Fachliteratur auf die letztlichen Ambitionen des Apostels für die jungen Konvertiten in Thessaloniki analysiert und die Resultate in einer kurzen Synthese vergleichend aufgearbeitet. Hierbei sehen wir, dass die Ansätze weniger Alternativen als Komplementierung zueinander darstellen. Eine längere Einführung in den 1 Thess.-brief versucht, neben den allgemeinen Einleitungfragen, vor allem die Länge des Erstaufenthaltes und die genaue Abfolge der Nacharbeitsinitiativen festzulegen. Dieser folgt eine intensive Auseinandersetzung mit dem curricularen Inhalt der katechetischen Erstunterweisung, die Pls. der Gemeinde bei seinem ersten Aufenthalt in Thessaloniki gab. Dieser wird nachfolgend richtungsweisend in einen kurzen ersten Fazit zusammengefasst, wobei hier ein Schwerpunkt auf die „parakaleo“ Wortfamilie im 1 Thess.-brief gelegt und unter den drei Aspekten des integrierten Dienstes, inhaltlichen Dichte und intensivierten Dynamik kategorisiert wird. Hierauf folgt eine kurze textkritische Untersuchung unseres Modelltextes aus 1 Thess 2,17-3,10 mit dem Ziel, sich zu familiarisieren mit dem weiteren Kontext, inneren Aufbau, Sprache und Stil. Einer detaillierten dreiteiligen Einzelexegese folgt ein längeres Fazit mit der Analyse der in der Forschungsfrage wichtigen Aspekte auf dem Hintergrund der Details des Textes und seiner Auslegung. Diese wird tabellarisch aufgearbeitet und mit einem kurzen Schlussplädoyer abgerundet. Abschließend wird versucht, die erarbeiteten Prinzipien in einigen kurzen Thesen für die Missions- und Gemeindearbeit des 21. Jahrhunderts fruchtbar zu machen.
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    A Socio-Rhetorical Analysis of Paul’s Speech in Acts 17:16–34: Implications for a Missions Strategy Beyond the Ewes in the Global Evangelical Church in Ghana.
    (South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg, 2022) Sackitey, Francis Lawer 1967; Van Deventer, Cornelia; Van Deventer, Cornelia
    The command Jesus gave the Church to make disciples of all nations in Matthew 28:16–20 calls for a missions strategy that takes into consideration the socio-cultural, religious, and linguistic backgrounds of those the Church reaches out to. The writer of the Acts of the Apostles narrates how in carrying out the mandate of the Great Commission, the Holy Spirit through the apostles, adopted various mission strategies to fulfil that mandate. The Apostle Paul’s speech in Acts 17:16–34 is one of the classic examples of how the early missionaries adopted the socio-cultural, religious, and linguistic background of their audiences to carry the gospel message across. This thesis adopts a socio-rhetorical analysis methodology to analyse Paul’s speech in Acts 17:16–34 with the aim of distilling implications of the speech for missions strategy which will take care of the socio-cultural, religious, and linguistic settings of the people the Church evangelises. Many scholars, having researched the Areopagus speech, have proposed that the gospel message must be contextualised into the cultural context of those evangelised. One major gap in those studies however is how the Church must articulate the gospel in a multicultural and linguistic context to distil theological and missiological truth(s) for the African (and, in this case, Ghanaian) context, where language planning and the accommodation of tribal distinctions are frequently undermined in the Church’s missions strategy. The research considered the context of the book of Acts, examined the socio-rhetorical context of Paul’s speech in Acts 17:16–34, undertook a socio-rhetorical analysis of the speech, and explored its significance for missions strategy. The practical significance of the socio-rhetorical interpretation of Paul’s speech in Acts 17:16–34 is the acquisition of handles for the Global Evangelical Church in Ghana and abroad to expand its missions plan beyond service to the Ewe people. The research revealed that though the early Church struggled to integrate Jews and Gentiles as worldviews, language practices, history, and other factors were anything but monolithic, the apostle Paul adopted a missions strategy that demonstrates a worthwhile attempt to bridge tribal and language barriers in his mission work.
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