Academic articles by Prof. Ian Nell
Scriptura, 2024
Faith communities are found all over the world as spaces where people find a spiritual home and w... more Faith communities are found all over the world as spaces where people find a spiritual home and where spiritual formation takes place. For this contribution, the research question is: In what ways can the leadership in faith communities contribute towards spiritual resources for their members in the time of the Anthropocene? Faith communities are spaces where three resources (a shared narrative about climate change, shared values and shared symbols and practices) interact and where each of these can also make a unique contribution to raising awareness of ownership and space in the time of the Anthropocene. If the Anthropocene is considered as the period in which human activities have the dominant influence on the climate and the environment, these three resources offer important contributions for a greater awareness of humans' influence on the climate and the environment. The congregational leader as spiritual guide in the modes of storyteller, moral compass and symbolic worker can play a significant role in the process of mobilising people of faith in becoming involved in their environment and climate mobilisation.
Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 2023
Each congregation has its own spirituality. Within the Reformed tradition, it is usually linked t... more Each congregation has its own spirituality. Within the Reformed tradition, it is usually linked to faith formation. The purpose of this contribution is to address the following research question: How does faith formation take place in and through congregations? In answer to this question, attention will be paid to the following: Firstly, the function and purpose of faith formation will be looked at. Secondly, we will focus on some of the challenges that faith formation faces. Thirdly, the embodiment of faith formation is discussed. Fourthly, the connection between faith formation and desires is examined and finally the focus is on faith formation in and through congregations.
Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 2023
Scholars believe that we are amid one of the greatest cultural revolutions since the mass product... more Scholars believe that we are amid one of the greatest cultural revolutions since the mass production of books by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450. The art of book printing, which originated in Central Europe, turned the world on its head within 10 years. The mass production of books resulted in most people in Europe learning to read in less than one generation, which has led to major changes in all areas of social life and has affected the lives of millions of people for over a hundred years. According to these same scholars, we currently find ourselves in a similar position through what is known as the AI (artificial intelligence). In this article, the researcher wants to come to a better understanding of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and AI as part of it and the way they challenge preachers. The central research question is: In our pursuit to speak the truth of Jesus Christ to the powerful economic elite, what are the challenges and opportunities that the 4IR is posing to preachers?
In die Skriflig, 2022
Bringing methodology and theory closer: Development and challenges in South African homiletics. T... more Bringing methodology and theory closer: Development and challenges in South African homiletics. The homiletic landscape in South Africa is rich and varied. In this contribution, we attempt to paint with broad brushstrokes this landscape. We write as practical theologians with a shared love for homiletics, but also with an interest in doing what we preach in terms of research and teaching. Put differently, we argue in the light of existing literature that there should be congruence between theories we advance, and methodologies we employ. We dwell on themes such as decolonisation, justice and reconciliation, poverty and inequality that are characteristic of our homiletical landscape. We conclude with the thought that as Christianity in South Africa grows and preachers increase in number, so do the opportunities for empirical academic involvement in preaching. However, the occasion also poses a challenge for academics engaged in homiletics, namely, to practise what they preach by bringing theory and method in a closer relationship.
Academia Letters, 2021
We are theologians, we are males, we are also white, middle-aged and privileged. In theology, as ... more We are theologians, we are males, we are also white, middle-aged and privileged. In theology, as in many other disciplines, there are amongst others, African-, Black-, Latin-, Womanist-, and Feminist approaches. There was however until fairly recently 1 no Male-or White Theology. The answer why this is the case is simple-white and male has been, and to an extent still is, the dominant (heteronormative) perspective in many academic disciplines and tertiary institutions. Realising that this is the case, is important, as we cannot divorce who we are from how and what we teach. The students that we teach reflect the full diversity of South African society (race, gender, sexual orientation etc), so in all our lectures, also in our departmental staff room, we represent a minority. A reflexive praxis approach In this reflection, based on ongoing research, we follow a praxis approach and thus ponder questions such as "what is going on?" and "why it is the case?" aimed at improving the practice, in this case, the practice of theological teaching at some African universities. We do this by deliberately surfacing aspects of our own teaching philosophies as they have developed
Critical studies in teaching and learning, 2021
This article derives from a collaborative higher education project, conceptualised, and implement... more This article derives from a collaborative higher education project, conceptualised, and implemented by academics from seven South African universities. These academics are members of the South African Teaching Advancement at University (TAU) Fellowship. The project has its roots in the Department of Higher Education's National Framework for Enhancing Academics as University Teachers, which identifies six leverage points or 'imperatives for action', one of which is the imperative to develop expectations (attributes) of academics in their role as university teachers. TAU Fellows engaged in the collaborative enquiry over a period of three years, appropriating a conceptual framework posited by Henry Giroux, of teachers as transformative intellectuals. In this article, each author reflects on his/her own scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) endeavours, which provided the conceptual tools to illuminate what for them and the group, are valuable professional attributes. The metaphor of the Baobab tree is appropriated to signify 'rhizomatic thinking', which portrays teaching as subconscious, subversive, non-linear, multi-directional, serendipitous, esoteric, dynamic, unbounded, unpredictable, adaptive, and non-hierarchical. This SoTL enquiry enabled the TAU group to unveil and declare their professional attributes as they made public their praxis. The attributes include academics as imbued with the capacity for critical thinking and actively promoting critical thinking amongst their students; as active learning mediators; as responsive, innovative, and relevant curriculum designers; and as engaged professionals. Appreciation of the article is enhanced when the reader first views this video https://youtu.be/yoA9guMut-8.
Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 2021
The Covid-19 pandemic confronted the world and South Africans with the challenges of health care ... more The Covid-19 pandemic confronted the world and South Africans with the challenges of health care and "Zoomification". From the 29 th of March 2020 it was, because of the restriction and ban on gatherings, expected from ministers and faith leaders in South Africa to use online technology to preach their sermons. Many preachers had to rethink the format and content of their preaching. The question arose as to what sermons may look like during these times, and specifically the content and God images of the sermons. This chapter examines the sermon content of a purposive sample of ministers from the combined Stellenbosch circuit of the Dutch Reformed Church and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. Twenty-four sermons were analysed, making use of a combination of the Heidelberg method of sermon analysis and grounded theory in order to identify the core themes of their preaching and the God images used at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on the sermons, the researcher asked three questions: Which texts did the preachers choose? What themes emerged from the sermons? With which God images did the preachers work? Using ATLAS.ti, the sermons were coded, topics were identified, and God images were discerned. When I began writing these lines it was not, to be sure, inspiration but desperation, to be alive, to believe again in the love of God. The love of God is not a thing one comprehends but that by which-and only by which-one is comprehended. It is like the child's time of pre-reflective being, and like that time, we learn from its lack.
Transformation in Higher Education , 2021
Background: The shifting identity of a first-year class over a decade in terms of demography and ... more Background: The shifting identity of a first-year class over a decade in terms of demography and representation, inevitably led me to reflect deeply on what I teach them and how I facilitate the learning process. I had to pay close attention to decolonisation and contextualisation. The basic research question is: How does one reflect on the shifting identity of a first-year class and how does one decolonise a first-year module in Practical
Theology and Missiology?
Aim: To answer the research question by taking the following route. Firstly, aspects of the changed context and shifting identity will be discussed and secondly, attention will be given to what is meant by decolonisation, with specific reference to the curriculum. Thirdly, the focus will be on a proposed curriculum that uses a theo-dramatic approach. Fourthly, I reflect on the
learning process (pedagogy) and how it also contributes to a shift in my own identity.
Setting: The research is set against the backdrop of changes that took place over the last two decades in Higher Education in South Africa including the commodification of higher education, the lack of adequate financial resources and the #FeesMustFall movement.
Methods: As the research design, a case study is selected for the study project.
Results: The development of a new pedagogy.
Conclusion: With this contribution, I attempted to reflect, in the light of the changing profile of the class composition of a first-year module in Practical Theology and Missiology in terms of demography (BCI students), to what extent it also leads to a shift of identities.
Keywords: decolonisation; contextualisation; practical theology; #FeesMustFall movement;
pedagogy; curriculum; theo-drama.
Verbum et Ecclesia, 2020
Congregational studies: A rapidly developing field of study. Congregational studies are not so si... more Congregational studies: A rapidly developing field of study. Congregational studies are not so simple to define. This may be related to the relative novelty of the discipline, but also to the variety of people who practice it and the equally wide range of angles to the field. The purpose of this article is to look at various stages in the development of the field of congregational studies in the South African context, and more specifically within the Dutch Reformed Church over the past 50 years. The phases can be described as follows: the initial church-building phase, followed by the phase where the dynamics and identity of faith communities came into focus, and then by a phase in which the focus shifted to congregational studies specifically within the African context and greater focus on the empirical investigation of congregations in the form of various modes of congregational analysis, as well as the advent of a missional approach to congregations. A further and ever-evolving phase is the move towards a more aesthetic perspective of the field, known as a theo-dramatic approach. Together with the last phase, we just entered what I would call the post- COVID-19 phase. One can see massive changes in congregational ministry since the COVID-19 virus started to spread in South Africa. Overnight, ministers and church boards had to adapt to online modes of being and doing church and I am very sure this will be an enormous shift. In future, we will certainly speak about the church before and after COVID-19.
LitNet Akademies, 2020
In Suid-Afrika leef ons in 'n postkoloniale konteks. Die vraag is of mens hoegenaamd sou kon verw... more In Suid-Afrika leef ons in 'n postkoloniale konteks. Die vraag is of mens hoegenaamd sou kon verwys na "postkoloniale leierskap"; dit is dan ook die rede vir die vraagteken in die titel. Nadat begrippe soos kolonialisme, postkolonialisme en dekolonisering onder die soeklig gekom het, word na die belangrikste uitdagings gekyk wat teoloë en godsdienstige leiers in Suid-Afrika in die gesig staar en sal gepoog word om groter helderheid daaroor te verkry. Van die uitdagings wat ondersoek word, sluit in ekologiese, sosiopolitieke, ekonomiese en opvoedkundige uitdagings, die Vierde Nywerheidsrevolusie en ook geestelike uitdagings. Geloofsleiers moet op hierdie uitdagings reageer, en daarom sal die navorser na verskillende leierskapsbevoegdhede kyk wat 'n nuwe generasie teoloë moet toerus. Dit is met ander woorde bekwaamhede wat ons hopelik in staat sal stel om op verantwoordelike wyse op die uitdagings te reageer en wat gemeentes kan help om in 'n uiters onsekere wêreld te floreer.
Transformation in Higher Education, 2020
Background: Assessment of students for ministerial practice is traditionally performed through as... more Background: Assessment of students for ministerial practice is traditionally performed through assignments and oral examinations, which often only concentrate on the knowledge component and outcomes of the program. Assessing students in this way leads to a view of religious practitioners as people who are not really in touch with their parishioners and communicating in language that is not addressing their needs and this normally leads to a disjuncture between knowledge, practice, and context. Disjuncture of this nature signals a need for a broader set of competencies than simply working with and analyzing texts in theological education.
Aim: The aim of this research is to develop a set of competencies that responds to the reality that the practice of ministry takes place within a rich diversity of postcolonial settings and practices.
Setting: The research was done as part of my own interest in developing a competency framework for religious leaders. I am coordinating the Master of Divinity program as well as the Postgraduate Diploma in Christian Ministry at our Faculty of Theology. Both these programs directly relate to the preparation of students for ministerial leadership.
Methods: The central research question of this study was formulated as follows: What are the central ingredients for developing a competency framework for ministerial formation from a postcolonial perspective at a research-intensive university in South Africa? The method that was used to answer the research question was a literary study of primary and secondary sources related to a broad set of competencies and then narrowing it down to religious leadership as well as some qualitative empirical research in the form of personal interviews.
Results: The research in the article looked at the ways in which a competency framework can help translate generic graduate attributes into a set of competencies that is specific to the field of ministerial training. Some empirical work showed evidence of a growing postcolonial
awareness in the development of these competencies.
Conclusion: Through this research, a competency framework for religious leaders have successfully been developed. The next phase of the research project will be to implement a framework, to have feedback and to make some adjustments.
HTS Theological Studies, 2019
Since the end of apartheid and the advent of democratic elections, South Africa has made great st... more Since the end of apartheid and the advent of democratic elections, South Africa has made great strides, but we still continue, at times, to be unable to practice sawubona. On one level, this is not surprising given our history of separateness. The article asks whether fresh expressions of church, such as the community supper at St Peters in Mowbray, Cape Town, indeed create a space for genuinely ‘seeing’ each other and practicing being human together. The article also explores some of the problems inherent in ethnographic work amongst the poor and the vulnerable by asking whether some types of ethnographic work actually practice a form of epistemic violence and muses upon the idea of the postcolonial gaze and ‘othering’ in
ethnography in contexts of poverty in the global South. Can ethnography, in some cases, be a form of academic pornography?
Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 2019
Outside the confines of the known: Cross-cultural experiences among a random sample of ministers ... more Outside the confines of the known: Cross-cultural experiences among a random sample of ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church This article looks at one of the questions posed in the Church Mirror questionnaire to a number of pastors of the Dutch Reformed Church. The question is: Tell us about the best experience you have had in your congregation where believers met across cultural boundaries or did something together? The sample forms part of a ministerial panel conducted every three years among ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church with the aim of finding out what pastors think and do about a number of current church activities. The choice to focus on this question comes against the backdrop of contemporary discourses related to the missional nature of church life and the challenge of multi-culturalism in faith communities. The study is qualitative in nature and falls within the interpretive paradigm as part of phenomenology. The data shows an interesting number of activities identified by the ministers related to multiculturalism and also provides some directions for missional development in the future.
Hervormde Teologiese Studies, 2019
The large number of xenophobic attacks that broke out in different places in South Africa during ... more The large number of xenophobic attacks that broke out in different places in South Africa during 2008 was still continuing unabated 10 years later. We were stressed to come to terms with the reality that this occurred in a country that is globally considered to be an example of reconciliation. It is clear that we were confronted by the politics of fear, which were manifested in xenophobia and all the other -isms. In this article, the primary causes of these xenophobic outbreaks were scrutinized and placed within the wider framework of a culture of fear. The central research question is: Why are we still struggling with this phenomenon more than a decade after it first appeared on South African soil? An in-depth analysis will be performed at
what is lying behind the culture of fear underlying these acts of violence. After exploring some of the factors related to a culture of fear by making use of a sociological frame, the author moved on to answer a second question: How do we, as preachers, researchers and practical theologians, respond in a theological way to the challenges posed by a xenophobic culture in our preaching activities? Finally, the impact of violence and fear on the practice of preaching
within a Christian context was discussed.
Preek Wijzer online preekvoorbereiding en preekschetsen, 2018
Professor Ian Nell (Stellenbosch Universiteit, Departement Praktiese Teologie en Missiologie) las... more Professor Ian Nell (Stellenbosch Universiteit, Departement Praktiese Teologie en Missiologie) las het boek van Beatrice de Graaf, ‘Heilige Strijd: het
verlangen naar veiligheid en het Einde van het kwaad’. Hij brengt in dit artikel haar concept van veiligheid in verband met de Zuid-Afrikaanse context,
met name aan de theologische faculteit van Stellenbosch Universiteit.
In South African higher education institutions, the student protests of 2015–2016 called for the ... more In South African higher education institutions, the student protests of 2015–2016 called for the decolonisation of higher education spaces and equal access to these spaces. We collected data from students and lecturers over the period of one year in order to better understand the reactions of students and lecturers and the effects the protests had on their experiences. Perspectives of affective theory, decolonisation and social justice were used. It was discovered that the protests had a great affective impact on participants. Strong emotions and beliefs affected the relationships between students and lecturers and African centrality was suggested as a framework for curriculum change. Some settler perspectives emerged and polarisation was evident. It is our hope that lecturers could use this research to assist them in decolonising their spaces of teaching and learning.
We are busy celebrating 500 years of reformation and one of the basic convictions of the reformer... more We are busy celebrating 500 years of reformation and one of the basic convictions of the reformers was that we know to (W)whom we belong. During the student uprisings that we experienced in 2015 and 2016, it became clear that the notion of ‘belonging’ was deeply contested. Students still experience that black people are socially, economically and psychologically abused by the white systems, including university campuses. In empirical research conducted in 2016 with colleagues from five other faculties, these feelings and experiences of exclusion, of not belonging and of injustice among theology students and even some lecturers, were confirmed. This led to the basic research question focused on the subject field for which I am responsible at the Faculty of Theology: how do we work together as lecturers and students to help create such spaces of human dignity in the training of students who are busy preparing for ministry practice in a postcolonial African context in which they experience belonging? This article endeavours to provide an answer to this question.
Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The empirical part of the research was conducted by colleagues from five different faculties including Arts and Science, Engineering, Law, Education and Theology. In that sense, the research was not only intradisciplinary but also interdisciplinary.
In discourses on leadership within the African context one regularly finds that scholars draw a d... more In discourses on leadership within the African context one regularly finds that scholars draw a distinction between so-called Western and African approaches to leadership. African leadership approaches are then often linked to notions of an African value system in which one of the first concepts that surface is the loaded notion of 'Ubuntu'. Scholars then point to the fact that in the understanding of 'Ubuntu' one finds a preference for a kind of spiritual collectiveness rather than for individualism with rational thinking as a central feature of Western thought. Applied to leadership, one therefore finds a consensus-seeking and problem-solving approach in Africa, rather than dissension, which is typical of Western styles of leadership. The purpose of this article is firstly to illustrate that this dualistic approach to leadership not only underwrites considerable contestation over the notion of 'Ubuntu' leadership, but that such an oversimplified understanding of African leadership can easily contribute to gender discrimination. Secondly, this problematic situation will be illustrated by referring to a recent case study on the absence of women from leadership positions within a specific denomination in Malawi. Some of the underlying factors contributing to this problematic practice will be scrutinised. Lastly, the article concludes by voicing the trust that a more nuanced approach to leadership from an 'Ubuntu' perspective can indeed make a contribution to the position of women in leadership. According to the understanding of the researcher, this can happen if the notion of 'Ubuntu' is placed within the broader discourses of critical humanism where the focus is on shared humanity.
The findings of the Archbishop’s Council in their 2004 report, to the effect that traditional for... more The findings of the Archbishop’s Council in their 2004 report, to the effect that traditional forms of church in Britain are under threat because of changing cultural patterns, emphasise the need to re-think church for our contemporary contexts. The ‘Fresh Expressions of church’ movement is one such initiative identified and approved of by the Archbishop’s Council. This article reports on research undertaken in a practical theological interpretation of The Filling Station, a Christian ministry that has grown significantly in its 10-year history and was formed as a missional endeavour in recognition of declining church attendance in traditional churches in Britain. This work explores whether The Filling Station is a Fresh Expression of church and whether it meets the values of authentic missional churches. In examining whether The Filling Station ought to be considered for import into appropriate local congregational contexts, it
enquires whether it satisfactorily addresses prevailing social trends affecting churches, including consumerism and the need for identity.
Preaching and performance is a relatively recent development in homiletical discourses and preach... more Preaching and performance is a relatively recent development in homiletical discourses and preaching practices. ere is much promise in approaching preaching in this creative way. Attention will be paid to dierent promises related to this homiletical approach. In a next round of reection the attention shis to the way in which a specic approach to performance, also known as theo-drama, can not only enhance the preaching act, but also helps to understand the paradoxical role of the preacher, the audience and even God in the preaching event. is will be illustrated by looking at one of the sermons of John de Gruchy, which he preached in a very specic time in the history of South Africa. Attention will also be given to the way in which he performed a prophetic and therefore paradoxical role in his opposition to the apartheid government.
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Academic articles by Prof. Ian Nell
Theology and Missiology?
Aim: To answer the research question by taking the following route. Firstly, aspects of the changed context and shifting identity will be discussed and secondly, attention will be given to what is meant by decolonisation, with specific reference to the curriculum. Thirdly, the focus will be on a proposed curriculum that uses a theo-dramatic approach. Fourthly, I reflect on the
learning process (pedagogy) and how it also contributes to a shift in my own identity.
Setting: The research is set against the backdrop of changes that took place over the last two decades in Higher Education in South Africa including the commodification of higher education, the lack of adequate financial resources and the #FeesMustFall movement.
Methods: As the research design, a case study is selected for the study project.
Results: The development of a new pedagogy.
Conclusion: With this contribution, I attempted to reflect, in the light of the changing profile of the class composition of a first-year module in Practical Theology and Missiology in terms of demography (BCI students), to what extent it also leads to a shift of identities.
Keywords: decolonisation; contextualisation; practical theology; #FeesMustFall movement;
pedagogy; curriculum; theo-drama.
Aim: The aim of this research is to develop a set of competencies that responds to the reality that the practice of ministry takes place within a rich diversity of postcolonial settings and practices.
Setting: The research was done as part of my own interest in developing a competency framework for religious leaders. I am coordinating the Master of Divinity program as well as the Postgraduate Diploma in Christian Ministry at our Faculty of Theology. Both these programs directly relate to the preparation of students for ministerial leadership.
Methods: The central research question of this study was formulated as follows: What are the central ingredients for developing a competency framework for ministerial formation from a postcolonial perspective at a research-intensive university in South Africa? The method that was used to answer the research question was a literary study of primary and secondary sources related to a broad set of competencies and then narrowing it down to religious leadership as well as some qualitative empirical research in the form of personal interviews.
Results: The research in the article looked at the ways in which a competency framework can help translate generic graduate attributes into a set of competencies that is specific to the field of ministerial training. Some empirical work showed evidence of a growing postcolonial
awareness in the development of these competencies.
Conclusion: Through this research, a competency framework for religious leaders have successfully been developed. The next phase of the research project will be to implement a framework, to have feedback and to make some adjustments.
ethnography in contexts of poverty in the global South. Can ethnography, in some cases, be a form of academic pornography?
what is lying behind the culture of fear underlying these acts of violence. After exploring some of the factors related to a culture of fear by making use of a sociological frame, the author moved on to answer a second question: How do we, as preachers, researchers and practical theologians, respond in a theological way to the challenges posed by a xenophobic culture in our preaching activities? Finally, the impact of violence and fear on the practice of preaching
within a Christian context was discussed.
verlangen naar veiligheid en het Einde van het kwaad’. Hij brengt in dit artikel haar concept van veiligheid in verband met de Zuid-Afrikaanse context,
met name aan de theologische faculteit van Stellenbosch Universiteit.
Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The empirical part of the research was conducted by colleagues from five different faculties including Arts and Science, Engineering, Law, Education and Theology. In that sense, the research was not only intradisciplinary but also interdisciplinary.
enquires whether it satisfactorily addresses prevailing social trends affecting churches, including consumerism and the need for identity.
Theology and Missiology?
Aim: To answer the research question by taking the following route. Firstly, aspects of the changed context and shifting identity will be discussed and secondly, attention will be given to what is meant by decolonisation, with specific reference to the curriculum. Thirdly, the focus will be on a proposed curriculum that uses a theo-dramatic approach. Fourthly, I reflect on the
learning process (pedagogy) and how it also contributes to a shift in my own identity.
Setting: The research is set against the backdrop of changes that took place over the last two decades in Higher Education in South Africa including the commodification of higher education, the lack of adequate financial resources and the #FeesMustFall movement.
Methods: As the research design, a case study is selected for the study project.
Results: The development of a new pedagogy.
Conclusion: With this contribution, I attempted to reflect, in the light of the changing profile of the class composition of a first-year module in Practical Theology and Missiology in terms of demography (BCI students), to what extent it also leads to a shift of identities.
Keywords: decolonisation; contextualisation; practical theology; #FeesMustFall movement;
pedagogy; curriculum; theo-drama.
Aim: The aim of this research is to develop a set of competencies that responds to the reality that the practice of ministry takes place within a rich diversity of postcolonial settings and practices.
Setting: The research was done as part of my own interest in developing a competency framework for religious leaders. I am coordinating the Master of Divinity program as well as the Postgraduate Diploma in Christian Ministry at our Faculty of Theology. Both these programs directly relate to the preparation of students for ministerial leadership.
Methods: The central research question of this study was formulated as follows: What are the central ingredients for developing a competency framework for ministerial formation from a postcolonial perspective at a research-intensive university in South Africa? The method that was used to answer the research question was a literary study of primary and secondary sources related to a broad set of competencies and then narrowing it down to religious leadership as well as some qualitative empirical research in the form of personal interviews.
Results: The research in the article looked at the ways in which a competency framework can help translate generic graduate attributes into a set of competencies that is specific to the field of ministerial training. Some empirical work showed evidence of a growing postcolonial
awareness in the development of these competencies.
Conclusion: Through this research, a competency framework for religious leaders have successfully been developed. The next phase of the research project will be to implement a framework, to have feedback and to make some adjustments.
ethnography in contexts of poverty in the global South. Can ethnography, in some cases, be a form of academic pornography?
what is lying behind the culture of fear underlying these acts of violence. After exploring some of the factors related to a culture of fear by making use of a sociological frame, the author moved on to answer a second question: How do we, as preachers, researchers and practical theologians, respond in a theological way to the challenges posed by a xenophobic culture in our preaching activities? Finally, the impact of violence and fear on the practice of preaching
within a Christian context was discussed.
verlangen naar veiligheid en het Einde van het kwaad’. Hij brengt in dit artikel haar concept van veiligheid in verband met de Zuid-Afrikaanse context,
met name aan de theologische faculteit van Stellenbosch Universiteit.
Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The empirical part of the research was conducted by colleagues from five different faculties including Arts and Science, Engineering, Law, Education and Theology. In that sense, the research was not only intradisciplinary but also interdisciplinary.
enquires whether it satisfactorily addresses prevailing social trends affecting churches, including consumerism and the need for identity.
In selecting contributors, we have been mindful that critical thinking in higher education is a global concern with a potential worldwide audience of millions. All educators across all the disciplines are interested—or should be interested—in critical thinking. It is arguably a central concern of higher education of our time. We have, therefore, been keen in embarking on this volume to solicit contributors from around the world and from all continents, as well as from a range of disciplines and wide perspectives. To this end, this volume includes contributions from five continents, ten countries, and over eighty institutions, making the resulting book a truly global product of the collective efforts of dozens of scholars.
changing times? These questions will be addressed in the paper. It will be argued that prophetic preaching could and should play a part in a new search for meaning. This should however be practiced anew and under changed conditions. It will also be argued that a ‘theodramatic paradigm’ provides a helpful practical-prophetic framework in the search for meaning in this regard. Such a framework will be based
on the theological model (theorems) provided by classical and recent studies and expanded by applying it to the notion of prophetic performance derived from the Belhar Confession.
Cas Wepener, Professor in Homile cs and Liturgy, Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch
University.
van geloofspraktyke oor denominasionele grense heen.
Cas Wepener, Professor in Homeletiek en Liturgie , Fakulteit Teologie, Universiteit Stellenbosch.