Acta Theologica

“It all starts with urgency…” Engaging with the local ekklesia of Thessalonica as a window and mirror en route to sustained missionary impact

S. Joubert — 2024-11-14

Acts 17:1-9 and 1 Thessalonians 1, which form part of the church’s normative library, are two underestimated windows regarding our ecclesiological identity and our missional presence in the world. Both deal with Paul’s effective church planting efforts in the city of Thessalonica. By immersing ourselves in these texts, which also serve as hermeneutical mirrors, we intend to participate in a mimetic learning process, in order to come to terms with the nature of Paul’s embodied proclamation of the Gospel and his missional urgency. This urgency, which was embedded in his own imitation of the suffering and joy of Christ, was also transplanted into the lives of the Thessalonians. In turn, their commitment to the Word, their steadfastness in suffering, and their openness to people from different social strata and cultures turned them into embodied examples of the Gospel right across the Greek world. Hence, the challenge to us as contemporary believers is to creatively, yet urgently, synchronise our own theological agendas, as well as our ecclesial practices and missional activities, with these normative textual mirrors and windows.

Congregational vitality – a perspective from Galatians

F. Tolmie — 2024-11-14

The aim of this study is to shed light on the development of “an ecclesiology from below” for our time from the Letter to the Galatians. For this purpose, Schoeman's view of “an ecclesiology from below” is taken as point of departure, i.e., that it is “a theology lived and experienced in the faith community” (Schoeman 2020:102). To achieve this, the ecclesiology of the letter is scrutinised for aspects that might be relevant for faith communities in our time. The following aspects that might be relevant are identified and discussed: 1. God’s calling as the point of departure; 2. The centrality of the gospel; 3. The importance of “the hearing of faith”; 4. The role of ritual; and 5. The guidance of the Spirit.

The Trinity and an ecclesiology from below

R. Venter — 2024-11-14

The article investigates themes found in Kobus Schoeman’s practical theological work. The specific problem addressed focuses on the interaction between an ecclesiology from below and contemporary trinitarian scholarship, and the possible mutual enriching conversation. The article describes the views of Haight on the shift from an ecclesiology from above to one from below. This is followed by an examination of existing attempts at developing trinitarian ecclesiologies. The final part of the argument explores the dynamics of the dialectical interaction and proposes, as elements of a “trinitarian ecclesiology from below”, 12 coordinates that express a vison for thinking about the church. Weaknesses in the Haight approach are addressed and the existing trinitarian ecclesiologies are expanded with a focus on the work of each one of the triune persons. The vision of the church that transpires, highlights features such
as intellectual vibrancy, hospitality, publicality, vulnerability, and transgression, among some of the 12 coordinates. One crucial insight that emerges from the research is that the incarnation enables theology to think non-competitively about the theological and empirical dimensions of the church. The article demonstrates that a dialogue between specific contemporary discourses on the church and the Trinity could result in a fruitful theological outcome.

Preaching: Truth sharing as a prophetic voice

M. Nel — 2024-11-14

What kind of preaching and what kind of preacher will facilitate the cultivation of contextually relevant missional congregations? A main thesis in this search was and still is that integrating and coordinating all ministries are necessary to develop such missional congregations. But what role does preaching play as part of this whole? In this regard, interviews were held with 24 pastors and academics in the United States of America. In this and another teamresearch
project, it was discovered how challenging it is to help congregations transform into intercultural sensitivity and cultivate a new missional culture. In this article, I intentionally explore the work done by Patrick Johnson. He explored the work of three homileticians and eventually brought them in conversation with the ecclesiology of Karl Barth – in developing a “missional homiletics of witness” (Johnson 2015:139) – which I observe to include prophetic preaching that will challenge communities of faith towards missional faithfulness and transformation.

The use of empirical data in communal discernment and decision-making processes in the Dutch Reformed Church

L. Bosman — 2024-11-14

This article endeavours to present an overview of communal discernment processes developed in the Dutch Reformed Church over the span of two decades. The focus falls on the use of empirical data in these processes. The DRC research team, under the leadership of Prof. Kobus Schoeman, amassed a rich repository of data on the church and its congregations. This data, when used within a framework of discernment, can play an invaluable role in the development of a theology from below, where the theological foundations and concrete reality of the church’s context are taken into account. Discernment
processes then provide frameworks wherein God’s call and preferred future for the church as well as its identity can be discovered. The processes that are developed are becoming increasingly more precise and user friendly. This is important because discernment processes can be dauntingly complex and protracted. By paying attention to discernment processes developed in the ecumenical world, the self-developed processes can be enriched and corrected where necessary.

Towards an agency-oriented model of congregational vitality:

C.A.M. Hermans — 2024-11-14

The author defines ‘congregational vitality’ as a disposition of the members of the congregation, who act in a role within the social system of the congregation. He connects this agency-related perspective with a structural-functionalist perspective on local churches after the agentic turn. Functions are dynamic processes of a system that are ‘needs’ in terms of maintenance of stability or production of change Two functions are necessary for survival and continued operation (adaptation and goal attainment) and two functions are related to the quality and internal regulation of cultural patterns and values (integration and
pattern maintenance). Contextual changes, notably ethnic exclusivity and social justice, affect the congregational vitality of the actors. This loss of vitality deepens the crisis of congregations. The author concludes with two evidenceinformed programmes which can transform this loss of vitality related to the challenges that congregations face.

The future of empirical research in and through the Dutch Reformed Church

C. Van Wyngaard — 2024-11-14

This article is my contribution to a Festschrift for Kobus Schoeman. It focuses attention on Schoeman’s relationship with the Dutch Reformed Church’s (DRC) empirical research work. It situates Schoeman within the DRC and provides an overview of the empirical research projects from within the DRC and to which Schoeman contributed uring his career. The article outlines Schoeman’s analysis of the state of the DRC. The article then discusses three foci that will require more attention in the coming years within the empirical research agenda of the DRC. These foci include situating the DRC within a broader ecumenical environment through empirical research; attending to more critical analyses in the interpretation of empirical data, and revisiting historic empirical research data to examine longitudinal attitudinal shifts in the DRC.

Ecumenical ecclesiology as a tool for township congregations to facilitate transformation of the (South) African society

K.J. Pali — 2024-11-14

South Africa is experiencing a proliferation of ecumenical church organisations since the advent of democratic South Africa. Many of these organisations occur in the townships in the form of minister fraternals, some of whom are affiliated to a larger and higher ecumenical body such as SACC and others. Nearly every town in South Africa has a minister fraternal. The goals of these minister fraternals are fellowship, reaching out to each other, and societal involvement to deal with social ills in partnership with other societal structures such as the state and business sectors. This study aims to explore how congregations in the townships (in Mangaung, Bloemfontein, and Qwaqwa), through their local ecumenical organisations, function together to facilitate the transformation of their identity and mission. This empirical study implements a critical theory approach to analyse sources and data used in this study.

Embodied and hybrid pedagogies:

I. Nell — 2024-11-14

This article aims to explore ecumenical tours as one example of glocal learning and as a case in point. Making use of the central concepts of embodied and hybrid pedagogies as hermeneutical lenses, the main research question is: Does the exposure of students through ecumenical tours, as part of the Master of Divinity programme, foster embodied and hybrid pedagogies, and if so, in what ways? Factors at play in ecumenical exposure include the content of the
programme, the diversity of the student population, as well as the reflective and participatory practices of teaching, learning, and assessing in lived faith contexts. The article especially emphasises a one-day pilgrimage among the lived faith practices.

The School for Social Innovation at Huguenot College and congregational vitality through faithful innovation

C.J.P. Niemandt — 2024-11-14

This article presents a case study and the story of the School for Social Innovation (SSI) at Hugenote Kollege in Wellington, South Africa. It explores the influence of Andrew Murray Jr, the history of the college, the relationship between the college and the Dutch Reformed church in South Africa, and the establishment of the School for Social Innovation (SSI). It explores the concept of “social innovation”. The research provides a brief overview of SSI programmes, the short courses presented
for church and community leadership on the theme of social innovation, and the social awareness programme known as #Integritas. The article also explores the interface and mutual insights between social innovation and faithful innovation and proposes ways in which the narrative of the SSI might enrich discourses on congregational vitality. These explorations might unearth theories, practices, and approaches to leadership that engage with Schoeman’s work and broaden the understanding of congregational vitality through faithful innovation.

Kobus Schoeman: A “bridge-builder” practical theologian, bridging divides in the publics of the church, the academy, and society

D.N. Andrew — 2024-11-14

The concept of “bridge-builder” is used within the context of higher education, understood as a form of engaged scholarship, where researchers function within both the academy and their field of practice or industry. The article focuses on the academic contribution of Prof. Kobus Schoeman whose career can be described as revolving between society, his work as a spiritual leader and minister within the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa (DRC), and as academic/researcher at the Universities of Pretoria and the Free State. The article focuses first on how his sociology background impacted on his understanding of the church and, more specifically, congregations as a researchable phenomenon, and how insights and experience in statistical analysis accompanied his theological journey and its positive implications for the three publics. Secondly, the article focuses on his theological contribution, illustrated through the themes in his writings, the students he supervised, as well as the projects he led with colleagues locally and globally. Thirdly, the article considers the impact of these two publics ecumenically and societally for the South African context and its global relevance. These endeavours show the many ways in which Schoeman can be described as a “bridge-builder” who refused to be irrelevant and impractical in his theological journey and who demonstrates how the local congregation can become a safe space for reflexive praxis, an “ecclesiology from below” in the truest sense.

A travel journal by a preacher during the annual Pentecost prayer meetings in the Dutch Reformed Church:

J.-A. van den Berg — 2024-11-14

A travel journal by a preacher during the annual Pentecost prayer meetings in the Dutch Reformed Church is an autoethnographic description of, and reflection on historical, geographical, theological, as well as intimate and personal topics. Of prime importance is an auto-ethnographic description of two experiences by the researcher, namely two series of Pentecost prayer meetings which he conducted in May 2024 in two congregations of the Dutch Reformed
Church. These two experiences have, as background, the researcher’s personal and collegial relationship with the receiver of the Festschrift, that conveys the academic research they did together over the past few years. Throughout the course of this article, these descriptions are linked to perspectives arising from a collegial relationship with the work of the receiver of the Festschrift. Arising from these reflections, perspectives are provided for the ministry of Pentecost prayer meetings in the Dutch Reformed Church.

Foreword

J.-A. van den Berg — 2024-11-14

The eye is the window or light to the soul. A window lets light in. In many churches worldwide, the sunlight is bright and colourful as it brings to life awe-inspiring images through stained-glass windows. The front page of the Festchrift for colleague Kobus Schoeman depicts one of the stained-glass windows of the DRC mother church in Stellenbosch. As this work of art is rich in symbolism and begs to be unlocked for a deeper meaning, so are these contributions in the Festchrift, dedicated to colleague Kobus Schoeman on the occasion of his retirement. As the windows in a church convey the gospel, so do the different contributions.

Interview with Prof. Kobus Schoeman on the occasion of his retirement at the end of 2024

J.-A. van den Berg — 2024-11-14

Prof. Jan-Albert van den Berg interviewed Prof. Kobus Schoeman.