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Item 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, CorneliaThe 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.Item Exploring Challenges of Theological Education for Women in Evangelical Churches in Ndola, Zambia.(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg, 2022) Phiri, Rachel Eva Melhorn 1055; Amenyedzi, Seyram B.; Brodie, RobertNumerous women from evangelical churches within Ndola, Zambia desire to do theological education. As the women pursue theological studies, they encounter obstacles which hinder their studies. This empirical research, in the field of Practical Theology, explored the challenges experienced by some women from evangelical churches in Ndola. The study was done through finding the current situation of the women, as well as the reason they find themselves in their present circumstances. Next, the research devised a model of what the situation should be in Ndola with women doing theological studies. And lastly, the study discovered some possible ways of responding to the situation with the women from Ndola, Zambia. In order to come to know the barriers, qualitative interviews with four different groups of participants were conducted. In the first task, the interviews provided the current situation with women from Ndola, Zambia doing theological education. Through the second task, the influences that hindered the women from doing theology courses were discovered. The third task was vital to determine what the ideal situation should be. This was done through a biblical and theological reflection on women in the Bible, as well as, seeking wisdom from educators at institutions within Ndola, concerning women and the way they learn. The final task provides suggestions for overcoming the obstacles after determining what the ideal situation should be. A data analysis and findings point to ten different obstacles, called themes, that women encounter as they pursue theological education. The themes are as follows: lack of resources, time management, misunderstood on the reason for pursuing theological education, mentality concerning the priority of educating males over females, learning styles and teaching methods, online learning, the value of a woman as a person, gender imbalance in theology classrooms, and the perception of female leadership in the church. The influences of each of these themes point to a number of trends, which provided the reason for the themes. Lastly, a possible response to the challenges encountered by women from Ndola, Zambia to pursue theological education is proposed as recommendations.Item Evangelism Practices of the Church of Pentecost in the Afigya Kwabre District, Ghana (1962 To 2016): Towards Designing a New Missional Strategy(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Gyamfi, Onyinah 1962; Kipimo, Jesse F.This dissertation investigates the Church of Pentecost in the Afigya Kwabre District of Ghana, evangelism practices between 1962 and 2016, and develops a new missional strategy for the church. The research literature review surveys educated articles, books, and other credible scholarships that focus on the spectrum of evangelism, missions, and church growth. It also includes a biblical and theological assessment of the early church's evangelism in selected chapters in the book of Acts of the Apostles that can be applied to all evangelism praxes. The purpose of the study is to begin to create awareness in the church about declining problems. The survey asks to what extent evangelism practices contribute to the church's growth and how the church is experiencing a decline. This analysis assists in facilitating the design of a new missional strategy. The findings showed that they made an innovative contribution to the unprecedented and phenomenal growth of the church and made the church become the leading classic Pentecostal in Ghanaian society. The research shows factors responsible for the decline are obstructing and influencing the development of the church. Additionally, the study further examined evangelism in selected chapters of the book of Acts and analyses; the mode of evangelism, manifestation of God’s accredited power and miracles performed by Apostles, combined with the empirical and literacy findings to facilitate adopting a new missional approach. The significance of this study is that despite the phenomenal growth, it informs the theoretical awareness and understanding of a decline in the evangelism praxis. Thus, recommending a focus on a new missional approach to evangelism hitherto lacking. Finally, it informs empirical understanding to mitigate and overcome the decreased challenges to foster a better way of evangelism practice, sustains the gains and keeps on spreading the Gospel in Ghanaian society.Item Formação de Liderança Pastoral: Uma análise da Igreja Evangélica Holiness do Brasil(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Yahiro, Roberto Shinze 1968; Barro, Antônio C.A contextualized pastoral leadership is based on understanding the reality in which it is present and adapting the leadership in a practical way to meet the local-temporal reality. There is a need to seek a multidisciplinary ministerial vision and updated missional biblical interpretation. In the postmodern world, the formation of a pastoral leadership has very distinct needs from the beginning of the ministry of the CIEHB. The challenge, however, is not to lose the essence and, at the same time, to be relevant today. Thus, in a liquid society that is marked by the fluidity of social relations, the demand for training to influence and mobilize the skills of those being led is great. And, with great humility, pastoral leadership must foster the growth of members of their communities. The effective leader does not need to have all the answers, but that, in ministerial partnerships, one can motivate his collaborators to seek for answers to reach his goal of speaking and living the gospel to its fullest. In this sense, the ministry of the apostle Peter will be studied as a proposal for training and transforming pastoral practice in its context. Having theological knowledge without practice becomes sterile, on the other hand, practice without theological basis becomes dangerous and does not produce good fruit. In this work, a historical study was carried out of the implantation of the CIEHB in Brazilian soil, nuances of theological formation, struggles faced by being an ethnic church, some reports about the laity who were and are part of the pastoral ministry. It also dealt with the importance of pedagogy in the formation of the pastoral leadership of the CIEHB. Paulo Freire addresses the pedagogy of context and generating words, leading to the autonomy of human beings in their actions. Peter has its relevance for the history of engagement and overcoming, a simple man, but he became the leader of the first century Christians, so the apostle Peter can be seen as a model of pastoral leadership for the present day Holiness church. Peter still leaves the legacy in his epistles, writing to the dispersed pilgrims on a strange land. Finally, interviews were conducted using questionnaires and approaches from the researcher to the ministers of the CIEHB in order to deepen, understand and perceive paths for a direction of formation and support of the pastoral leadership of the Holiness Church of Brazil. Thus, a curriculum of pastoral leadership ministerial update and formation was proposed so that the CIEHB can understand the context in which it operates and how it can meet current needs more effectively.Item Church and State Relations in Zambia: An Evangelical Perspective(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Munshya, Elias 1978; Turaki, YusufuChurch and State Relations in Zambia: An Evangelical Perspective contributes to the debate regarding how Church and state relations emerged in Zambia and how religion plays a massive role in Zambia’s political development and civic engagement. Tracing the history of religion’s impact on pre-independence and post-independence Zambia, this study examines three impacts of religion on politics and government: religion legitimating government, religion providing checks and balances and religion providing the tools for change and revolution. This study used qualitative methods and is guided by a literature review on the historical development of Church and state relations in Zambia. Nevertheless, this literature data is analysed and framed within Osmer’s (2008:4) practical theology approach, which first examines the descriptive-empirical task and then moves to the interpretative task. It then examines the normative task and, finally, proposes a pragmatic approach upon which a practical action can be based. Past studies on Church-state relations in Zambia have ignored the Evangelical contribution. Furthermore, some have neglected to account for the impact of the African Traditional Religion world-view on Zambia's religious character which mainly explains why Zambians have had few problems with a political worldview that synergizes the religious and the temporal. Unlike the European models of Church and state, the models in much of Africa, and hence Zambia, are not about which of the two institutions controlled the other between the Church and the state – but rather, how the Church, in this case, the Evangelical Church, should live in political space and in a state that has officially declared itself to be a Christian nation. This official declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation presents both the opportunities and the challenges for the Evangelical Churches in Zambia to live out their spiritual mission without being perceived as the arm of the Christian state. Specifically, how can the Evangelical Church live out its mission in a state that has declared itself Christian?Item Novos Desafios, Novos Paradigmas: Ministério Com Jovens E Ação Missional No Contexto Urbano—Uma Análise A Partir Da Igreja Evangélica Holiness De Londrina - Brasil(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Yahiro, Dilma Higa 1967; de Lara Proença, WanderThis thesis presents the importance of contextualizing the message of the gospel in the cities. It analyzes the context and culture, according to concepts presented by Latin American theorists such as Van Engen, Charles E., Jorge Barro, Tito Paredes, René Padilla, in addition to other authors. The Holiness Church of Londrina is delimited as a case study, which, initially, in terms of evangelization, addressed Japanese immigrants in rural contexts. This history reveals the ecclesiastical and doctrinal identity of the community, which is important for the analysis of the generational transition. Bibliographic researches show the challenges for young people in the urban context, such as the issue of consumerism, individualism, new family configurations, demands, pressures and the increase in psychological disorders. And, in order to know this reality, a field research is developed through questionnaires, focus groups and interviews with young people from the Holiness church in Londrina. It was found that the new challenges that the youth ministry must observe in order to be relevant in discipleship with youth and missional action in the context in which they are inserted, imply a rupture in paradigms, a change in habits and ecclesiological traditions.Item Factores De Resistencia Y Receptividada La Conversión Cristiana Evangélicaen El Contexto Sevillano-Español(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Alvelo, Máximo Álvarez; Bergsma, PabloNo abstract providedItem Abtreibung im Islam: Eine literarische Untersuchungder wichtigsten islamischen Positionen und ihrerGemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zur christlichen Position evangelikaler Prägung im Blick auf Möglichkeiten und Grenzen zur Zusammenarbeit für den Schutz des ungeborenen Lebens(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Nyffenegger, Thomas 1976; Schirrmacher, ChristineChristen evangelikaler Prägung und religiöse Muslime haben in gesellschaftspolitischen Fragen wahrscheinlich mehr Übereinstimmung als ihnen gemeinhin bewusst sein dürfte. In diesem Zusammenhang stellt sich mir die Grundsatzfrage, welchen gemeinsamen Nenneres zwischen evangelikalen Christen und Muslimen in der Abtreibungsfrage gibt. Um dies herauszu-finden, erforscheich in der vorliegenden Arbeit das Thema Abtreibung im Islam. Ich untersuche dabei die wichtigsten islamischen Positionen und arbeite Gemeinsamkeiten und Un-terschiede zur christlichen Position evangelikaler Prägung heraus. Ich tue dies immer mit der Frage im Hinterkopf, welche Möglichkeiten und Grenzen zur Zusammenarbeit für den Schutz des ungeborenen Lebens sich daraus ergeben. Dabei arbeite ichprimär literarisch, indem ich relevante Literatur zum Thema analysiere und vergleiche.Nach einer Einführung in das islamische Recht (Scharia) und die Bioethik im Islam unter-suche ich die grundsätzliche Haltung der beiden Religionsgemeinschaften zur Abtreibung und wie sie ihre Position begründen. Dabei wird klar, dass beide Gruppen Abtreibung grundsätzlich ablehnen, es aber signifikante Unterschiede in der Begründung gibt. Bei der Frage nach dem Beginn des menschlichen Lebens bzw. dem Zeitpunkt der Beseelung des Embryos gehen die Meinungen weit auseinander. Diese Frage istauchinnerislamisch höchst umstritten und die islamische Mehrheitsmeinung weicht von der christlich-evangelikalen Position stark ab. Ebenso gibt es zu den vier von mir thematisierten vier Indikationen für eine Abtreibung mehr Unterschiede als Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen der evangelikalen Ethik und den wichtigsten islamischen Positionen. Insgesamt zeigt sich, dass das Potenzial für eine Zusammenarbeit zwi-schen evangelikalen Christen und religiösen Muslimen in der Praxis bereits auf inhaltlicher Ebene im Wesentlichen auf den Kampf gegen weitere Legalisierungen der bestehenden Abtrei-bungsgesetze in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz beschränkt sein dürfte.Item Mich sehen lernen, wie Gott mich siehtSelbst und Gotteserkenntnis in neuererevangelikaler Erbauungsliteratur(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Bittner, Tanja Hannelore 1974; Kubsch, Ron; Kubsch, RonNo abstract providedItem Ephesians 1:15–2:10as a deterrent to rural Serer Christians in Evangelical Baptist Churches of Senegal reverting to the Pangool (ancestral spirits) in times of life stress.(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg, 2022) Campbell, Charles C.; Churchill, TimothyThe main research question of this exegetical thesis is “How might rural Serer pastors in the Association of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Senegal (AEEBS) employ Ephesians 1:15–2:10 as a deterrent to the practice of rural Serer Baptist Christians reverting to the Pangool (the ancestral spirits) during times of life stress”? Chapter 2 looks at the religious background of Ephesus, suggesting in part that the Ephesians relied on their goddess Artemis to protect them from invisible spiritual threats. Chapter 5 shows how the rural Serer rely on their Pangool (ancestral spirits) for protection against invisible spiritual threats. Thus, the first hypothesis of the thesis is that if the Ephesian and Serer worldviews concerning the threatening nature of the invisible world are similar, then would not the application of Paul’s teaching be similar also? The second hypothesis is that Paul in this passage use his knowledge of the Ephesians’ cultural and religious background, especially their quest for spiritual protection, to convince them to totally commit themselves to Christ for their spiritual protection. The exegesis in the third chapter looks for evidence of this hypothesis. The exegesis focuses on the power of God that is available to the Ephesians, and the contrast/comparison between God’s power that raised Christ physically from the dead to the heavenly realms, and God’s power that raised the Ephesians spiritually from the dead to the heavenly realms. The exegesis attempts to answer two important questions: How is this power available to the Ephesians? What are the implications of being seated in the heavenlies with Christ? Chapter 4 takes a closer look at the different perceived types of spiritual threats to the Ephesians, confirming their overwhelming dependence on Artemis. Chapter 5 explains the domination of the Pangool (ancestral spirits) in all of the rural Serer life-transition ceremonies, and chapter 6 suggests that Serer Baptist pastors could use the exegeted passage to create a confession of faith to be used during all those ceremonies, so that believers would not revert to the Pangool in times of life stress. Chapter 7 conclusion highlights the validity of the hypotheses.