Exploring the Work of the Holy Spirit in the Preaching Ministry of the Northcliff Union Church

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the role of the Holy Spirit in the preaching ministry at Northcliff Union Church located to the north-west of the Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD). As a pastor who has been pastoring the same congregation for around 12 years, I identified many challenges, which competes with other demands that are experienced in pastoral ministry both internally and externally. Internally, the senior pastor as in my case is responsible for vision casting, strategic planning, administration, the budget, the staff and the overall well-being of the ministry. Externally, prosperity preaching, or the health and wealth gospel is a major challenge preachers face, who desires to remain faithful to the biblical text. Preaching also competes with the constant flood of information, which inundates preachers and members of the congregation via the internet. There is also the temptation to slavishly follow the advances in technology that enable preachers to produce elaborate audio-visual presentations. For many seeing is hearing. There is also the challenge of what could be called ‘biblical illiteracy’ among congregations. This could be extended to preachers as well. Many are not properly trained and others after their college, university or seminary studies, no longer persist with rigorous study and research in sermon preparation. While evangelical preachers are of the opinion that the Spirit is vitally important in the preaching task, not all believe His work can be fully defined or understood. Those who are of the opinion that the Holy Spirit’s role in preaching is imperative also concede that its points to a spiritual mystical experience. The primary research question which will be addresses in this study is: How can effective Spirit-led preaching at the Northcliff Union Church be enhanced? The answer to the question lies in a multi-faceted approach to the preaching task. This includes the personal spiritual life of the preacher[s], active submission to the work of the Holy Spirit in the entirety of the preparation process until after the delivery of the sermon and an understanding, and appreciation of, the relationship between the Word of God and the Spirit of God in the life of the preacher, the preaching team and the members of the congregation.The purpose of this thesis is to explore the role of the Holy Spirit in the preaching ministry at Northcliff Union Church located to the north-west of the Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD). As a pastor who has been pastoring the same congregation for around 12 years, I identified many challenges, which competes with other demands that are experienced in pastoral ministry both internally and externally. Internally, the senior pastor as in my case is responsible for vision casting, strategic planning, administration, the budget, the staff and the overall well-being of the ministry. Externally, prosperity preaching, or the health and wealth gospel is a major challenge preachers face, who desires to remain faithful to the biblical text. Preaching also competes with the constant flood of information, which inundates preachers and members of the congregation via the internet. There is also the temptation to slavishly follow the advances in technology that enable preachers to produce elaborate audio-visual presentations. For many seeing is hearing. There is also the challenge of what could be called ‘biblical illiteracy’ among congregations. This could be extended to preachers as well. Many are not properly trained and others after their college, university or seminary studies, no longer persist with rigorous study and research in sermon preparation. While evangelical preachers are of the opinion that the Spirit is vitally important in the preaching task, not all believe His work can be fully defined or understood. Those who are of the opinion that the Holy Spirit’s role in preaching is imperative also concede that its points to a spiritual mystical experience. The primary research question which will be addresses in this study is: How can effective Spirit-led preaching at the Northcliff Union Church be enhanced? The answer to the question lies in a multi-faceted approach to the preaching task. This includes the personal spiritual life of the preacher[s], active submission to the work of the Holy Spirit in the entirety of the preparation process until after the delivery of the sermon and an understanding, and appreciation of, the relationship between the Word of God and the Spirit of God in the life of the preacher, the preaching team and the members of the congregation.