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1
Van der Watt, G. "Die Sendingpraktyk van die Ned Geref Kerk: Enkele tendense vanaf 1952 tot met die eeuwenteling." Verbum et Ecclesia 24, no. 1 (October 15, 2003): 213–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v24i1.322.
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In this past half century the Dutch Reformed Church was continuously building on the tradition of extended missionary involvement within South Africa as well as in several countries in Southern Africa. During the fifties and sixties there were a flourishing of activities, driven by, amongst other reasons, an idealism and optimism concerning the homeland-policy or grand apartheid. The seventies and eighties were therefore characterised by resistance; the DRC had to reconsider its approach. While the church had to largely withdraw from the traditional fields, it found alternative areas for involvement, mainly abroad. In the nineties a whole new world dawned and the church once again had to adapt. The emphasis shifted to local congregations and a variety of approaches. World mission came into the focus. The way ahead for the Dutch Reformed Family of Churches could only be as one united church, fulfilling it’s calling to mission within the African and especially South African context, while staying true to its reformed tradition.
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Müller, Retief. "Traversing a Tightrope between Ecumenism and Exclusivism: The Intertwined History of South Africa’s Dutch Reformed Church and the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian in Nyasaland (Malawi)." Religions 12, no. 3 (March 9, 2021): 176. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel12030176.
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During the first few decades of the 20th century, the Nkhoma mission of the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa became involved in an ecumenical venture that was initiated by the Church of Scotland’s Blantyre mission, and the Free Church of Scotland’s Livingstonia mission in central Africa. Geographically sandwiched between these two Scots missions in Nyasaland (presently Malawi) was Nkhoma in the central region of the country. During a period of history when the DRC in South Africa had begun to regressively disengage from ecumenical entanglements in order to focus on its developing discourse of Afrikaner Christian nationalism, this venture in ecumenism by one of its foreign missions was a remarkable anomaly. Yet, as this article illustrates, the ecumenical project as finalized at a conference in 1924 was characterized by controversy and nearly became derailed as a result of the intransigence of white DRC missionaries on the subject of eating together with black colleagues at a communal table. Negotiations proceeded and somehow ended in church unity despite the DRC’s missionaries’ objection to communal eating. After the merger of the synods of Blantyre, Nkhoma and Livingstonia into the unified CCAP, distinct regional differences remained, long after the colonial missionaries departed. In terms of its theological predisposition, especially on the hierarchy of social relations, the Nkhoma synod remains much more conservative than both of its neighboring synods in the CCAP to the south and north. Race is no longer a matter of division. More recently, it has been gender, and especially the issue of women’s ordination to ministry, which has been affirmed by both Blantyre and Livingstonia, but resisted by the Nkhoma synod. Back in South Africa, these events similarly had an impact on church history and theological debate, but in a completely different direction. As the theology of Afrikaner Christian nationalism and eventually apartheid came into positions of power in the 1940s, the DRC’s Nkhoma mission in Malawi found itself in a position of vulnerability and suspicion. The very fact of its participation in an ecumenical project involving ‘liberal’ Scots in the formation of an indigenous black church was an intolerable digression from the normative separatism that was the hallmark of the DRC under apartheid. Hence, this article focuses on the variegated entanglements of Reformed Church history, mission history, theology and politics in two different 20th-century African contexts, Malawi and South Africa.
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De Villiers, D. E. "The interdependence of public witness and institutional unity in the Dutch Reformed family of churches." Verbum et Ecclesia 29, no. 3 (November 17, 2008): 728–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v29i3.27.
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The Belhar Confession of the then Dutch Reformed Mission Church officially approved in 1986 confesses that the unity of the church should be made visible. Very little has since then come of this visible unity in the family of Dutch Reformed churches. Since 1996, however, new impetus has been given to the effort to bring about institutional unity. It has especially been in their ministries of public witness and service that these churches succeeded to a large extent to give visible and institutional expression to their unity. This would hopefully enable the churches of the Dutch Reformed family to play a more effective public role in the present South African society. They, however, face two serious restrictions in this regard: the limited scope for churches to play a public role within the new liberal democratic dispensation in South Africa and the limited motivation to play a transforming public role in the churches of the Dutch Reformed family. In the article a few pre-conditions for playing an effective public role the churches of the Dutch Reformed family have to meet are discussed. The most important one is that these churches should achieve full institutional unity as soon as possible. The conclusion of the article is therefore that the interdependence of institutional unity and public witness is a reality they will have to deal with effectively if they want to move forward.
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Knoetze, Johannes J. "POWERLESS PARTNERS: ONE BEGGAR TELLING ANOTHER WHERE TO FIND BREAD." Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 41, no. 1 (August 3, 2015): 40–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/104.
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The relationship between the ‘powerful’ Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) and the many churches that were planted by the mission work of the DRC has always been and still is a very sensitive matter. This paper will take a historical look at the relationship over the last decade (2004-2014) between the Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana (DRCB) and the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, especially the Dutch Reformed Church in the northern Cape (DRCnC). It was during this time that a paradigm shift started developing in the relationship. After some socio-economic changes and ‘new’ missiological reflection from the DRCnC on their own understanding of mission, the DRCnC took a definite decision to move away from a deed of agreement relation with the DRCB and work towards a partnership relation. After requests from the DRCB regarding theological education, the DRCnC decided to broaden its vision to the church in Botswana and not only the DRCB. This paper wants to look at the process of transformation of a power relation which involves learning, unlearning, relearning and new learning of the different contexts, as well as the understandings and realities of mission, ecclesiology, partnership, tradition, interdependence, theological education and leadership.
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Oakley, Robin. "The Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk and the Nama Experience in Namaqualand, South Africa." Itinerario 27, no. 3-4 (November 2003): 189–204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0165115300020829.
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In Steinkopf, a former coloured Reserve in the Northern Cape Province, the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk (NGS; Dutch Reformed Mission Church), a former sub-branch of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK; Dutch Reformed Church) forged a legitimate public space for the expression of Nama identity in the 1960s. The legitimisation of aboriginal identity was not accidental, but very much an expression of apartheid policies of the day. I hope to demonstrate both the content and the consequences of this particular episode in Steinkopf, and thereby contribute to an understanding of the links between a crumbling capitalist infrastructure and the ideological efforts to reinforce that infrastructure through processes of ethnic strengthening. My claim is that the NGK played an ideological role supporting the capitalist interests as it strengthened the super-structural pillars of the segregation and apartheid eras.
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Rossouw, Pieter Fourie. "Inclusive Communities: A missional approach to racial inclusivity within the Dutch Reformed Church." STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal 2, no. 1 (July 30, 2016): 381. http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2016.v2n1.a19.
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This article dealt with racial diversity in homogenous white Afrikaans faith communities such as the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC). This study was partially an account of the researcher’s own discontent with being a minister in the DRC against the backdrop of his own journey of finding a racially integrated identity in a post-apartheid South Africa. It focused on the question of how a church like the DRC can play an intentional role in the formation of racially inclusive communities. The study brought together shifts in missional theology, personal reflections from DRC ministers and contemporary studies on whiteness. The researcher looked towards a missional imaginary as a field map for racial diversity in the church. This was mirrored against contemporary studies on white identity in a post-apartheid South Africa. From this conversation the researcher argued for a creative discovery of hybrid identities within white faith communities. Missional exercises such as listening to the stories of strangers, cross cultural pilgrimages and eating together in strange places can assist congregations on this journey.
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Müller, Retief. "War, Exilic Pilgrimage and Mission: South Africa's Dutch Reformed Church in the Early Twentieth Century." Studies in World Christianity 24, no. 1 (April 2018): 66–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/swc.2018.0205.
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The main subject of inquiry here is the interrelationship between war, mission and exile in South Africa's Dutch Reformed Church at the turn of the twentieth century. The first setting of note is the Anglo—Boer War (1899–1902) when a group of Boer soldiers decided to form the Commando's Dank Zending Vereniging (Commando's Thanksgiving Mission Society) after visiting a Swiss missionary station in the northern Transvaal. Next follows Boer experiences of exile on the islands of St Helena, Ceylon and elsewhere as prisoners of war. A number of these POWs were evangelised and recruited for mission through revivalist sermons preached by their chaplains. After their return, a substantial number of ex-POWs signed up for the DRC's missionary enterprise into wider Africa, most prominently Nyasaland. The missionary experience itself often lasted for several decades. These missionaries did not refer to their life contexts as pilgrimages as such, but they often described the mission field as a place of danger and adventure populated by wild and dangerous people and animals. This article therefore suggests that the missionary careers of the Anglo—Boer War recruits approximate voluntary sacred exile, which in having originated from their forced exile as POWs acquires a pilgrimage-like character.
8
Kritzinger, J. J. "Sending in die kerk: ’n Gevallestudie." Verbum et Ecclesia 13, no. 1 (July 18, 1992): 41–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v13i1.1046.
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Mission in the church: A case study Based on an enquiry into mission interest in the NG Church. Although there can be no doubt that mission is the essential task to which God called the church into being, to be his witness in the world, the empirical church often shows very little awareness of this. This article relates some results of research done in the Dutch Reformed Church in the Republic of South Africa on the church members’ interest in and involvement with mission. Some of the significant factors influencing the missionary interest of the members were (a) their personal spirituality and activities within the church, (b) their political leanings, and (c) the missionary preaching and enthusiasm of the ministers. A few aspects of the ministry are highlighted as worthy of attention.
9
Yorke, Edmund. "The Spectre of a Second Chilembwe: Government, Missions, and Social Control in Wartime Northern Rhodesia, 1914–18." Journal of African History 31, no. 3 (November 1990): 373–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021853700031145.
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The 1915 Chilembwe Rising in Nyasaland had important political repercussions in the neighbouring colonial territory of Northern Rhodesia, where fears were raised among the Administration about the activities of African school teachers attached to the thirteen mission denominations then operating in the territory. These anxieties were heightened for the understaffed and poorly-financed British South Africa Company administration by the impact of the war-time conscription of Africans and the additional demands made by war-time conditions upon the resources of the Company. Reports of anti-war activities by African teachers attached to the Dutch Reformed Church in the East Luangwa District convinced both the Northern Rhodesian and the imperial authorities of the imperative need to strictly regulate the activities of its black mission-educated elite. Suspected dissident teachers were arrested, while others were diverted into military service where their activities could be more closely supervised. With the 1918 Native Schools Proclamation, the Administration laid down strict regulations for the appointment and employment of African mission teachers. The proclamation aroused the vehement opposition of the mission societies who, confronted by war-time European staff shortages, had come to rely heavily upon their African teachers to maintain their educational work. The emergence in late 1918 of the patently anti-colonial Watch Tower movement, which incorporated many African mission employees within its leadership, weakened the opposition of the missions, and served to consolidate the administration's perception of the African teachers as a dangerous subversive force. Strong measures were implemented by the administration soon after the end of the war, with large numbers of Watch Tower adherents being arrested and detained.
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Müller, Retief. "Mission and Colonialism." Social Sciences and Missions 30, no. 3-4 (2017): 254–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18748945-03003006.
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This article focuses on two British colonial territories in southern and central Africa, Mashonaland and Nyasaland in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. It concerns the history of Afrikaner missionaries from South Africa’s Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), and their relationships with opposing interest groups. The period in question saw some inter-ethnic conflict among indigenous peoples, which included an underground slave trade, as well as much colonial-indigenous strife. The article particularly considers the balancing act missionaries sought to achieve in terms of their paternalistic, yet interdependent relationships with indigenous rulers over against their equally ambiguous relationships with the colonial authorities. As such this article presents a novel way of looking at Afrikaner missionaries and their entanglements with indigenous leaders.
11
Mbenga, B. "Dutch Reformed Church mission education and its secular reconstruction/transformation by the Bakgatla ba Kgafela African community of Rustenburg, South Africa, c.1903 – 1930s." Contemporary Journal of African Studies 6, no. 1 (May 31, 2019): 76–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/contjas.v6i1.5.
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The paper analyses the nature of Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) mission education among the Bakgatla ba Kgafela of the Rustenburg District, South Africa. The emphasis of education was religious. A senior DRC missionary expressed the aim of education succinctly: “The purpose of education is to develop understanding, empathy and to win the children for Jesus Christ” (Maree, 1966: 65-66). The Bakgatla resented this racist policy, calling for the broadening of the curriculum, but unsuccessfully. Consequently, they built their own school. Teachers were recruited from some of the then prestigious educational institutions in South Africa, e.g. Tiger Kloof. The community funded teachers’ salaries and other expenses. The new school, named ‘Ramolope,’ after a local family patriarch who spearheaded its building, opened in the early 1920s. Radically different from the DRC school, it emphasised English, Mathematics and Science. It became enormously popular in the region. Some of the DRC mission pupils were leaving, to join the new school! Neighbouring communities began to copy the Bakgatla’s successful transformational model. This competition so upset the DRC missionaries that they excommunicated all the adult (DRC) Christian members of the Ramolope family. Eventually, the government took over the funding of the school.
12
Wethmar, C. J. "Die NG Kerk en Gereformeerdheid: Gestalte en uitdagings." Verbum et Ecclesia 23, no. 1 (September 6, 2002): 250–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v23i1.1251.
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The Dutch Reformed Church and the Reformed tradition: expression and challenges In this article a brief analysis is presented of the manner in which the Reformed tradition finds expression in die Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. Such an analysis presupposes answers to the questions why such an attempt is necessary and what the identity of the Reformed tradition is. These answers are suggested in the first two sections of the article. The third section contains the envisaged outline of the manner in which the Dutch Reformed Church represents the Reformed tradition. This leads to the conclusion that the contribution which this church could strive to make to the church scene in South Africa is to promote the combination of the faith dimensions of knowledge, experience and obedience which is characteristic of the Reformed tradition.
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Theron, J. P. J. "Met die oog op genesingsdienste in die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk." Verbum et Ecclesia 12, no. 1 (July 18, 1991): 92–108. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v12i1.1032.
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Towards healing services in the Dutch Reformed Church The position of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa with regard to the world wide recovery of the Church’s healing ministry is discussed. Features of liturgical healing services of other denominational churches are utilised to develop a model for the Dutch Reformed Church in Initiating this kind of public ministry.
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Borchardt, C. F. A. "Die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk en die Suid-Afrikaanse Raad van Kerke." Verbum et Ecclesia 8, no. 1 (July 17, 1987): 1–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v8i1.960.
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The Dutch Reformed Church and the South African Council of Churches The General Missionary Conference which was founded in 1904 became the Christian Council of South Africa in 1936. In 1940 a founder member, viz. the Transvaal Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church withdrew from the council. In 1968 a change of name to the South African Council of Churches reflected a deeper involvement in social and political matters and it gradually also became more representative of the black Christian point of view. Despite various invitations, the Dutch Reformed Church has not rejoined the Council and relations have been very strained, but at its last synod in 1986 the Dutch Reformed Church decided that informal discussions could be held.
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Crafford, D. "Uitdagings vir die Ned Geref Kerk in Suidelike Afrika met Malawi en Zambië as illustrasiegebiede." Verbum et Ecclesia 11, no. 1 (July 18, 1990): 17–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v11i1.1009.
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Challenges for the Dutch Reformed Church in Southern Africa with Malawi and Zambia as illustration areas What will be the challenges for the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa if in the coming decades its isolation from Africa could be ended because of political developments in a post-apartheid era? The Dutch Reformed Church planted indigenous churches in many African Countries like Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Namibia. The role of the church in Africa will be determined by its relations with these younger churches. The challenges in the fields of evangelism, church ministry, the youth and in the socioeconomic and political areas are illustrated specifically in the cases of Malawi and Zambia.
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Van der Watt, J. G. "Aktualiteit? Die Ned Geref Kerk in Suid-Afrika in die lig van die situasie in Duitsland." Verbum et Ecclesia 13, no. 2 (July 18, 1992): 200–220. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v13i2.1057.
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Actuality? The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa in the light of the situation in Germany The social and religious developments in Germany show certain clear tendencies. Secularism as well as the resulting focus on human and individual rights have influenced the relevance of the church in a specific way. These developments also had a profound influence on the morality of society. Since the same type of developments are currently taking place in South Africa, certain suggestions are made regarding the relevance of the Dutch Reformed Church in such a changing society in the light of what can be learnt from the situation in Germany.
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Boesak, A. "Kan die NG Kerk vandag nog iets vir Suid Afrika beteken?" Verbum et Ecclesia 29, no. 1 (February 3, 2008): 32–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v29i1.3.
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This article is the edited version of the presentation held at the University of Pretoria’s “Theological Day” on January 31, 2008. It seeks to answer the question: “Can the Dutch Reformed Church still make a difference in South Africa today?” This article places this question within the wider world and African contexts, then focuses on the South African situation. It describes the South African context as one of spiritual uncertainties and confusion, political tension, economic inequalities and social unravelling, which each in the their own way and together put particular challenges before the church. This paper answers the question the affirmative, provided that the Dutch Reformed Church meets its own direct challenges, the most important of which is the challenge toward reunification within the Dutch Reformed family of churches.
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Meijers, Erica. "White Brothers–Black Strangers: Dutch Calvinist Churches and Apartheid in South-Africa." Exchange 38, no. 4 (2009): 365–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/016627409x12474551163691.
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AbstractAfter apartheid was abolished in 1994, fierce discussions within the Dutch churches on the theme of apartheid were quickly forgotten. However, we could still learn from this important chapter of church history. Erica Meijers argues that the debates during the 1970s and 1980s have their roots in the changes which the churches underwent in the 1950s and 1960s. Apartheid confronted protestant churches with their own images of black and white, their role in the colonial area and their view of the role of the church in society. All this led to a decreasing solidarity with the Afrikaners and a growing focus on black reality in South Africa. White brothers became strangers and black strangers became allies. This is in essence the transformation of attitude which both the Netherlands Reformed Church and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands underwent between 1948 and 1972.
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De Villiers, D. E. "Suid-Afrika in die jaar 2000: Watter morele leiding kan die NG Kerk gee?" Verbum et Ecclesia 21, no. 1 (August 6, 2000): 33–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v21i1.1181.
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South Africa in the year 2000: What moral guidance can the Dutch Reformed Church provide? An attempt is made in the article to answer the question: What moral guidance can the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) provide in the present South African society? Attention is given, first of all, to the room left for the DRC to provide such guidance in the new South Africa. The suitable nature and range of this moral guidance are discussed. Recommendations are also made about the style of the moral guidance and a suitable strategy for motivating the members of the DRC to fulfil their moral responsibility in society.
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Kgatla, ST. "Ministerial formation policies of the Northern Theological Seminary of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa:." STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal 5, no. 1 (June 10, 2020): 191–216. http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2019.v5n1.a10.
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This article investigates the theoretical and practical effectiveness of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa’s (URCSA) ministerial formation of the Northern Synod. The URCSA is part of the Reformed Movement (Calvinism) that was established by the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) of South Africa that mainly came from the Netherlands to establish itself in South Africa and later established ethnic churches called daughter churches into existence in terms of a racially designed formula. After many years of the Dutch Reformed Church missionary dominance, the URCSA constituted its first synod in 1994 after the demise of apartheid. It was only after this synod that the URCSA through its ministerial formation tried to shake off the legacy of colonial paternalism and repositioned itself to serve its members; however, it fell victim to new ideological trappings. This article is based on a study that traces some basic Reformed practices and how the URCSA Theological Seminary of the Northern Synod dealt or failed to deal with them in its quest for the ideal theological ministerial formation.
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De Villiers, D. E. "Die NG Kerk en die oorgang na ’n nuwe Suid-Afrika." Verbum et Ecclesia 20, no. 1 (August 6, 1999): 15–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v20i1.1163.
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The Dutch Reformed Church and the transition to a new South Africa The comprehensive transformation of the South African society that followed the transfer of political power to a new government in 1994 has had significant consequences for the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) and its members. In the article an analysis is given of these consequences. Attention is also given to the reaction of members of the DRC to the transformation of the society. An attempt is made to formulate a responsible approach to the new South Africa by the DRC and his members. The need for the DRC to inspire his members to be true to their Christian calling, to equip them to serve effectively and to find new and effective ways to witness publicly in the new South Africa, is stressed.
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Van der Merwe, Johan M. "Versoening en die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk: Die Algemene Sinode van 1994 as baken vir ’n lewe van volheid." Verbum et Ecclesia 38, no. 3 (October 6, 2017): 105–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v38i3.1626.
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The Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria chose oikodome as a Faculty Research Theme (FRT) in 2014. This term refers to life in its fullness. The Dutch Reformed Church, as one of the partners of the Faculty, contributed to life in its fullness through the important role it played in the reconciliation in South Africa since 1986. One of the beacons on this road of reconciliation was the General Synod of 1994. It became known as the ‘Synod of reconciliation’ as a result of the visits of Mr Nelson Mandela, Prof. B.J. Marais and Dr Beyers Naudé, and the important decisions that the meeting took. It was however, not only the visits of these important roleplayers in history which made the meeting a beacon on the road to reconciliation. This chapter shows that it was imbedded in a much larger context of reconciliation in South Africa in which the Dutch Reformed Church played an important role. By participating in the process of reconcilation in the country, the Dutch Reformed Church contributed to oikodome – life in its fullness for all.
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Saayman, Willem. "David Bosch – Some Personal Reflections David Bosch – quelques réflexions personnelles David Bosch – Einige persönliche Überlegungen David Bosch – Algunas reflexiones personales." Mission Studies 26, no. 2 (2009): 214–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/016897809x12548912398875.
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AbstractWritten by one of David Bosch's long-time colleagues, this paper provides an informal, yet important personal view into the life and work of David Bosch, revealing not only an internationally recognized missiologist, but also a man whose everyday life was intimately connected to his missiology. His was a life formed by missiology, yet his missiology also characterised his life. Key events in Bosch's life are related personally, including his early missionary experience in the Transkei, his role in the formation of the Southern African Missiological Society and its journal Missionalia, the worldwide impact of his magnum opus, Transforming Mission, and the devastation many experienced by his death in 1992. Bosch's focion ecumenical missiology, “alternative community”, and pacifism are explored alongside his commitment to, and tension with, the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. The paper concludes by lauding one of Bosch's greatest missiological contributions: his liberation of the definition of mission, moving away from “mission is…” and toward “mission as…” or, “mission in many modes”. Ecrit par l'un des collègues de longue date de David Bosch, cet article offre un point de vue personnel informel mais important sur la vie et l'œuvre de David Bosch, révélant non seulement un missiologue reconnu internationalement, mais aussi un homme dont la vie quotidienne était intimement liée à sa missiologie. On y découvre un récit personnel d'événements clefs de la vie de David Bosch, y compris les début de son expérience missionnaire au Transkei, son rôle dans la formation de l'Association sud-africaine de missiologie et sa revue Missionalia, l'impact mondial de son magnum opus, Transforming Mission et l'accablement de nombreuses personnes lors de sa mort, en 1992. L'auteur explore l'accent mis par Bosch sur la missiologie œcuménique, « la communauté alternative » et le pacifisme ainsi que son engagement dans l'Eglise réformée de Hollande en Afrique du Sud de même que ses tensions avec elle. L'article se termine par l'éloge de l'une des contributions missiologiques majeures de David Bosch qui a libéré la définition de la mission en allant de « la mission c'est » à « la mission comme… » ou « la mission de multiples manières ». Dieser Beitrag, geschrieben von einem langjährigen Kollegen von David Bosch, liefert eine informelle, aber trotzdem wichtige persönliche Sicht auf das Leben und das Werk David Boschs. Sie zeigt nicht nur einen international anerkannten Missiologen, sondern auch einen Mann, dessen Alltagsleben zutiefst mit seiner Missiologie verbunden war. Sein Leben war von der Missiologie bestimmt, aber seine Missiologie charakterisierte auch sein Leben. Saayman berichtet in persönlicher Form von Schlüsselereignissen im Leben Boschs, seine frühe Missionserfahrung in Transkei, seine Rolle im Aufbau der südafrikanischen missiologischen Gesellschaft und ihre Zeitschrift Missionalia eingeschlossen, der weltweite Erfolg seines opus magnum, Transforming Mission, und der Schock, den sein Tod 1992 für viele bedeutete. Der Artikel untersucht auch die zentralen emen Boschs wie ökumenische Missiologie, ,,Kontrastgesellschaft“ und Pazifismus zusammen mit seiner Bindung und Spannung mit der Holländischen Reformierten Kirche in Südafrika. Der Artikel schließt mit einer Lobeshymne auf eine von Boschs größten missiologischen Beiträgen: Seine Befreiung der Definition von Mission, die weggeht von ,,Mission ist…“ zu einem ,,Mission als…“ oder ,,Mission auf vielfältige Weisen“. Este trabajo, escrito por un antiguo colega de David Bosch, presenta una visión informal pero a la vez importante, sobre la vida y obra de David Bosch. Lo muestra no sólo como un misiólogo internacionalmente reconocido, sino también como un hombre cuya vida diaria estaba íntimamente ligada a su misiología. Su vida fue formada por la misiología, pero su misiología también definió su vida. El autor relata en forma personal ciertos acontecimientos importantes de la vida de Bosch tales como los comienzos de su experiencia misionera en Transkei, su papel en la formación del la Sociedad Misiológica de Sudáfrica y la revista Missionalia, el impacto mundial de su obra magna, La transformación de la misión, y la pérdida experimentada por su muerte en 1992. Se examina el énfasis de Bosch sobre la misiología ecuménica, una “comunidad alternativa”, y el pacifismo junto a su compromiso, y la tensión con la Iglesia Reformada holandesa en Sudáfrica. El documento concluye elogiando una de las mayores contribuciones de Bosch a la misiología: el liberarse de la definición de misión o sea, se aleja de “la misión es…” y se acerca a “la misión como…” o, “la misión en muchas maneras.”
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Office, Editorial. "Fokus op die Ned Geref Kerk binne die Ekumeniese toneel in Suid-Afrika." Verbum et Ecclesia 10, no. 2 (July 18, 1989): 128–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v10i2.1002.
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Firstly, reasons are given why the unity of the church is important. Then follows a brief historical overview of the ecumenical involvement of the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa. Despite a good track record through the years, the 1960s witnessed a growing tendency towards isolation supported from within and outside the DRC.
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Strauss, Piet. "Die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk en die Afrikanervolk kerkordelik verwoord." STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal 2, no. 2 (December 31, 2016): 447–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2016.v2n2.a21.
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The Dutch Reformed Church and the Afrikaner – in its church orderThe Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) and the Afrikaner people had close ties in the 1960’s. This was intensified by the apartheid system in South Africa. The policy of apartheid was supported by the DRC, most of the Afrikaners and the National Party in government. In 1962 the DRC determined in its church order that it will protect and build the Christian-Protestant character of the Afrikaner people. This group was singled out by a church that was to be for believers of all nations. It also gave the DRC an active part in the development of this group. The documents Church and Society-1986 and Church and Society-1990 changed all this. The close links between the DRC and Afrikaans cultural institutions ended and the DRC declared that it caters to any believer. The church order article about the Afrikaner was omitted.
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Strauss, Piet. "Church and state in two reformed church orders: An analysis of the orders of the Reformed Churches in South Africa and the Dutch Reformed Church post-1962." Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe 58, no. 4-2 (2018): 940–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2018/v58n4-2a5.
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Mahne, T. G. "Wie was Andrew Murray (1828-1917) in werklikheid?" Verbum et Ecclesia 20, no. 2 (August 10, 1999): 369–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v20i2.607.
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Murray (1828-1917) was an emissary of God. In the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, where he served as a full time minister for fifty eight years, he was elected Moderator six times. His influence, however, was not limited to the Dutch Reformed Church. Of the two hundred and fifty books (more than 20 000 pages) he wrote, some were translated into more than twenty languages. In spite of his intention not to write theological works, Murray was granted a doctorate degree in Theology by the University of Aberdeen in 1898. He was a man of prayer who published approximately thirty books about prayer. Murray, a mystic and peifectionist, was reared in an extremely legalistic home. As a student he joined the Secor Dabar association which was an offspring of the legalistic Reveil movement in the first half of the nineteenth century. At the age of roundabout 65, Murray was impressed by the writings of William Law (1686-1761), which fitted his mindset like a glove. But who was Andrew Murray actually? Other similar questions concerning his influence in the Dutch Reformed Church are equally important. First and foremost however: Who was this man? Was he possibly a "tossed salad" theologian? Still today we find traces of Murrayism in the Dutch Reformed Church. Fortunately his full-time service of fifty eight years has left behind a positive heritage of Scottish Calvinism.
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Vosloo, Robert Roux. "COMMEMORATION, REMEMORATION AND REFORMATION: SOME HISTORICAL-HERMENEUTICAL REMARKS IN LIGHT OF THE 1917 REFORMATION CELEBRATIONS OF THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH." Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 41, no. 3 (May 12, 2016): 79–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/764.
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In 2017 the 500th anniversary of the Reformation will be commemorated worldwide through various conferences, church and cultural events, and publications, also in Southern Africa. How should we commemorate the 16th-century Protestant Reformation in 2017 in Reformed circles in Southern Africa? Against the backdrop of this question, this article argues for the need of a self-critical reflection on the possible abuses associated with commemorations as such, as well as by a heightened historical consciousness of the way in which past commemorations of the Reformation functioned in processes of identity construction and ‘othering’. With this in mind, the article proceeds in two parts. In the first part the aspect of commemoration is problematised by referring to the critique of the possible abuses of memory associated with commemorations, as highlighted in the work of Tzvetan Todorov, also with reference to his distinction between commemoration and rememoration. The second part of the article then turns to some historical documents that give us a glimpse into the 400th anniversary of the Reformation in 1917 in Reformed circles in South Africa, and specifically within the Dutch Reformed Church. This is followed by some concluding remarks.
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Ross, Robert, and Tracy Kuperus. "State, Civil Society and Apartheid in South Africa: An Examination of Dutch Reformed Church-State Relations." Canadian Journal of African Studies 34, no. 2 (2000): 469. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/486436.
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Elbourne, Elizabeth, and Tracy Kuperus. "State, Civil Society and Apartheid in South Africa: An Examination of Dutch Reformed Church-State Relations." African Studies Review 43, no. 3 (December 2000): 167. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/525085.
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Smith, Nico J. "THE RELEVANCE OF UNITY TO THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH IN SOUTH AFRICA." Scriptura 83 (June 12, 2013): 315. http://dx.doi.org/10.7833/83-0-888.
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Le Roux, J. H. "Politieke mag, die Ou Testament en kerkeenheid." Verbum et Ecclesia 17, no. 2 (April 21, 1996): 359–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v17i2.524.
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Political power, the Old Testament and church unity The family of Dutch Reformed Churches in South Africa are involved in tense discussions on church unity. One aspect which must be discussed thoroughly is the legitimation of political "power. Not only in the past but also the present Mandela government is religiously supported. It is argued that this a dangerous venture. Some examples from the Old Testament are used to illustrate this point. It is stated that Israel became disillusioned in political power and therefore reformulated royal theology.
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Julius, Elize. "Identity, Unity and Historiography: The Piketberg Ecclesial Narrative Revisted." Religion and Theology 16, no. 1-2 (2009): 53–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156973109x450000.
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AbstractThe aim of this essay is to develop a critical assessment of the history of the family of Dutch Reformed churches in Piketberg. The purpose of this is to determine a more adequate theological framework for the deconstruction of the traditional ecclesiological and socio-cultural anthropologies as a first step in the process of establishing sound ecclesiological and socio-cultural relations in the ongoing process of being church. Within this ecclesiological exploration, the focus will be on the schism within the once one Reformed congregation of Piketberg into three separate congregations and specifically on the unique understandings of the reasons for the divide along racial lines. The emphasis for this study is on the theological accountability of the church and all her members, with a specific emphasis on theological identity within the Reformed church in South Africa. The case study will thus focus on the stories of one particular place in the hope of raising more general ecclesiological questions of identity, culture and race.
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Theron, P. F. (Flip). "From Moral Authority to Insignificant Minority: The Precarious State of the Dutch Reformed Church in a Post-Apartheid South Africa." Journal of Reformed Theology 2, no. 3 (2008): 228–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156973108x333722.
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AbstractThis article focuses on the transformation of the 'dearly beloved church' of the Afrikaners from a formerly mighty social institution in the 'old' South Africa to just another minority group in the 'new.' It argues that the Reformed tradition needs a 'political theology' in which the church's message of the cross is not compromised in search of social glory and political power.
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Naude, Piet. "CONSTRUCTING A COHERENT THEOLOGICAL DISCOURSE: THE MAIN CHALLENGE FACING THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH IN SOUTH AFRICA TODAY." Scriptura 83 (June 12, 2013): 192. http://dx.doi.org/10.7833/83-0-879.
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Spannenberg, I. J. J. "Kritiese realisme, die Bybel, die gereformeerde belydenisskrifte en die Christelike geloof." Religion and Theology 2, no. 2 (1995): 191–205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157430195x00131.
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AbstractA number of overviews on the Biblical Sciences in South Africa have recently appeared. This article pays special attention to the one written by F E Deist (1994) Ervaring, rede en metode in Skrifuitleg: 'n Wetenskapshistoriese ondersoek na Skrifuitleg in die Ned Geref Kerk 1840-1990. Deist identifies two epistemological traditions in the Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk): naive realism and critical realism, and indicates the 'ebb and flow' of these traditions in the history of the Biblical Sciences. Since the seventies critical realism has experienced a high tide. The article discusses the effects that this high tide has for the relationship between the Biblical Sciences and Dogmatics, the Biblical Sciences and the Reformed confessions of faith, and the Biblical Sciences and the Christian religion.
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Dillenburg, Elizabeth. "Molding Nineteenth-century Girls in the Cape Colony into Respectable Christian Women." Girlhood Studies 12, no. 2 (July 1, 2019): 137–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/ghs.2019.120211.
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S. E. Duff. 2015. Changing Childhoods in the Cape Colony: Dutch Reformed Church Evangelicalism and Colonial Childhoods, 1860–1895. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.In Changing Childhoods in the Cape Colony: Dutch Reformed Church Evangelicalism and Colonial Childhoods, 1860–1895 (hereafter Changing Childhoods), S. E. Duff explores shifting notions of childhood and, more specifically, the emergence of new ideas about white childhood in the Cape Colony, South Africa, during the late nineteenth century by examining various efforts to convert and educate children, especially poor white children, and improve their welfare. As indicated in the title, Changing Childhoods draws attention to the multiplicity of experiences of children who existed alongside each other in the Cape Colony and how they were shaped by a variety of factors, including religion, location, class, race, and gender. While many histories of childhood elide the experiences of boys and girls, Duff pays careful attention to the different constructions of girlhood and boyhood and how gender shaped the lives of boys and girls, men and women. Throughout the book, girls appear not as passive observers but as complex agents shaping and participating in broader social, political, cultural, and economic transformations in the Cape.
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Rossouw, P. J. "Pastorale sorg aan beswaardes en ongeduldiges met die oog op die opbou van die gemeente." Verbum et Ecclesia 12, no. 1 (July 18, 1991): 75–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v12i1.1031.
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Pastoral care for the objectors and the impatient: a church growth perspective The aim of this article is to develop a pastoral theological perspective to a recent pastoral problem. This problem is the growing polarization within churches (with the focus on the Dutch Reformed Church) in South Africa today due to theological, church policy, social, economical and political factors. These factors are outlined and analysed systematically. Special attention is paid to the two poles - the objectors and the impatient. The "objector" is described as the church member who experiences an increasing concern and impasse with the church regarding new directions that are followed, and which are not correct according to his convictions and perceptions. The "impatient" is described as a church member who experiences an Increasing impasse with the church because according to him the church is not going far enough in concretizing the full consequences of church policy (as spelled out in Church and Society for example). The nature, symptoms and needs of both are examined and guidelines for a directed pastoral care are proposed.
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Kokobili, Alexander. "An Insight on Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Struggle Against Apartheid in South Africa." Kairos 13, no. 1 (April 18, 2019): 115–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.32862/k.13.1.5.
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This article focuses of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s role against the apartheid system of racism and socio-political inequality in the Republic of South Africa. Tutu often denounced apartheid in his speeches and public advocacy promoting equality, reconciliation, and peaceful coexistence of all South Africans. The ideology of apartheid robbed the black race in South Africa of their human dignity which contradicts the Holy Bible which states, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). Despite this, the white National Party of South Africa in 1948 legitimized apartheid as a political system and gained support from the Dutch Reformed Church despite its anti-Christian ethics. Apartheid was adopted to place the white minority in the upper class, while the black majority was left with fewer rights and fewer privileges in South Africa. Desmond Tutu was one of the few Christian leaders in Africa who championed the course for black theology in the demolition of apartheid in South Africa. Tutu’s attitude during the apartheid struggle was not by violent protest or riots but rather through his sermons and public participation in activities clamoring for national unity, love, and equality of all South Africans.
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Van Dyk, Dion. "EXPERIENCES OF THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH (DRC) IN ZIMBABWE AND THEIR RELEVANCE FOR DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE DRC IN SOUTH AFRICA." Scriptura 83 (June 12, 2013): 296. http://dx.doi.org/10.7833/83-0-886.
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Coertzen, Pieter. "CHARTERS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: THE MAGNA CARTA (1215), ORDINANCE NO. 7 OF 1843 (SOUTH AFRICA), AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN CHARTER OF RELIGIOUS RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS (2010)." Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 42, no. 3 (March 9, 2017): 191–206. http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/2065.
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In June 2015 a conference was held in Oxford to commemorate the 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta (the Great Charter). In 1865 Ordinance no. 7 of 1843 was hailed as the Magna Carta of the Dutch Reformed Church. At the conference in Oxford a paper was given on the “Magna Carta and South Africa”. This article grew out of that paper. In the article, the historical development of religious freedom in different time periods are touched upon to end with the South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms (SA Charter), which was signed by many religions in South Africa on 20 October 2010 – its Constitutional setting and background while the differences between the Magna Carta, Ordinance no. 7 of 1843 and the SA Charter are accentuated. The biggest difference between the three documents are that the Magna Carta and Ordinance no. 7 of 1842 were documents that originated from the authorities and were granted to the churches, while the SA Charter is a document that grew from the religious communities itself.
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Nel, Marius J. "The Relationship Between Christian Metanarratives and Authoritative Scriptures in South African Society." Religion & Theology 26, no. 1-2 (June 21, 2019): 72–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15743012-02601002.
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Abstract In studying the interaction between the three monotheistic religions in South Africa it is important to note that each of them functions as a metanarrative in that they all attempt to provide a more-or-less coherent perspective on reality. The different, but also overlapping, metanarratives of Islam, Judaism and Christianity furthermore each has a complex relationship with their respective authoritative Scriptures, communities of faith, contemporary societies and each other. It is therefore necessary to investigate the manner in which each religion’s metanarrative functions within the spheres of the academy, faith community and broader society. This contribution describes one of the projects of the envisioned Centre for the Interpretation of Authoritative Scriptures (CIAS) that is in the process of being established at Stellenbosch University. The focus of this project will be on the relationship between the metanarrative contained in the Christian canon, a specific faith community (the Dutch Reformed Church) within South African society in the period 2009–2019.
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Nel, Marius J. "The role of Matthew’s ἀφίημι-logia in the decisions of the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in post-apartheid South Africa." STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal 2, no. 1 (July 30, 2016): 339. http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2016.v2n1.a17.
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This article investigates the use of the verb ἀφίημι in selected pericopae in the Gospel of Matthew and the decisions of the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) on forgiveness in the post-apartheid South Africa. It argues that while forgiveness is an important topic in Matthew that is interwoven with a number of other important theological themes, it has been a neglected theme in the decisions taken by the General Synod of the DRC since 1994. Not only are there no explicit references to Matthew’s understanding of forgiveness, but are neither of the two references to forgiveness in the Acta of six General Synod’s references to asking forgiveness by the DRC for its active participation in apartheid. The article concludes with a number of suggestions on how Matthew’s ethic of forgiveness can inform the South African reconciliation process without it being reduced to a timeless fixed formula.
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Van der Westhuizen, Marichen, and Ignatius Swart. "The struggle against poverty, unemployment and social injustice in present-day South Africa: Exploring the involvement of the Dutch Reformed Church at congregational level." STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal 1, no. 2 (January 22, 2016): 731. http://dx.doi.org/10.17570/stj.2015.v1n2.a35.
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This article is based on an exploration of the involvement of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) at congregational level in the struggle against poverty, unemployment and social injustice in present-day South Africa. The exploration arises from the thesis that South African citizens continue to regard poverty, unemployment and social injustice as the key challenges to be met in order to build a healthy nation. Historically, the DRC acted as a prominent partner of the government to address the basic needs of the poor and the sick, especially among the country’s white population. But the structural and social changes that followed the transformation to the new democratic South Africa impacted significantly on this partnership. This in turn required that the role of the DRC in addressing social issues in the country be revisited. The essential purpose of this article is, firstly, to provide better insight into the nature and extent of the current social services rendered by congregations of the DRC in addressing the challenges of poverty, unemployment and social injustice; and secondly, from this vantage point, to present some recommendations in conclusion on how the DRC could, in terms of its own striving towards even deeper and more effective social engagement, further enhance its contribution to address the identified challenges at congregational level.
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Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-Anne. "Whose Land Is it anyway? A historical Reflection on the Challenges URCSA Encountered with Land and Property Rights." Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 46, no. 2 (October 26, 2020). http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/7359.
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The proposal to amend the Constitution of South Africa 1996 regarding the expropriation of land without compensation has invigorated a robust discourse with regard to the land issue in South Africa. Cognisance should be taken of how the land issue was handled during the apartheid dispensation and the way it has played out in the constitutional democracy dispensation since 1994 in South Africa. This article will attend to issues relating to land in the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). URCSA was constituted in 1994 due to a merger of two racially segregated churches, the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA). The DRMC was constituted through mission endeavours of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) during 1881 to serve so-called coloured members of the DRC. The DRCA was constituted in or about 1910 to serve African members. In order to understand the controversy in URCSA from 1994–2012 with regard to property rights, one has to understand how the colonists and missionaries (and later the apartheid regime) utilised “divide and rule” and supremacy strategies to secure property rights for churches of people from mixed descent and Indian people (the DRMC) and the Reformed Church in Africa [RCA]); while at the same time restricting property rights for churches of members from African descent (the DRCA). This is evident in the way the constitutions of the above-mentioned mission churches were drafted. This article will attend to the following subthemes: property rights of the DRMC challenged by apartheid laws; property rights of the DRCA challenged by apartheid laws; a court case regarding the expropriation of land without compensation; controversy regarding property rights (1998–2012); from litigation to out-of-court settlement on property rights (1998–2012); and lastly out-of-court settlement between the DRC, the DRCA and URCSA.
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Van Wyngaard, Arnau. "The Dutch Reformed Church Mission in Swaziland - A dream come true." HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 74, no. 1 (February 27, 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.v74i1.4785.
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This article covers the time from 1652 onwards when employees of the Dutch East India Company – most of whom were members of the Reformed Church in the Netherlands – arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in present South Africa. With time, a new church, the Dutch Reformed Church, was established in the Cape. In 1836, a number of pioneers moved from the Cape to the east of South Africa and some of them eventually made Swaziland their new home. Although most members of the white Dutch Reformed Church opposed any integration with Christians from other races, there was nevertheless a desire that they should join a Reformed Church. In 1922, the first Dutch Reformed congregation in Swaziland was established in Goedgegun in the southern region of the country, intended for the exclusive use of white, Afrikaans-speaking church members. In 1944, the first Reformed congregation for Swazi members was formed, which later became known as the Swaziland Reformed Church. This article documents the history of this church and concludes with a description of the Swaziland Reformed Church in 1985, with four missionaries from South Africa ministering in the four regions of Swaziland.
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Botha, Jaco, and Dion A. Forster. "Justice and the Missional Framework Document of the Dutch Reformed Church." Verbum et Ecclesia 38, no. 1 (January 31, 2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve.v38i1.1665.
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This article engages with the Missional Framework Document of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) from the perspectives of solidarity with the poor and justice for South African society. The democratic South Africa continues to face significant socio-economic problems and an increasingly dissatisfied population. In the light of this, the article presents an introductory conversation with the Missional Framework Document in order to ask whether it offers an adequate response to South Africa�s current contextual challenges. The lens through which this article will engage the Framework Document is the theological paradigm of justice, specifically the theory of justice presented by Nicholas Wolterstorff as well as some important contributions from contemporary South African scholars who advocate for a theology from the margins of society. It is contended that the DRC remains a predominantly white middle-class church. This social, economic and political location has an impact on the missional theology of the church as expressed in the Framework Document. Hence, we engage with the Missional Theology of the DRC by means of a paradigm that operates from the �underside� or the economic, political and social �margins� of South African society. We argue that any missional theology aimed at furthering God�s Kingdom in South Africa at present must develop in community with the marginalised majority of the nation. The critical engagement with the Framework Document will be done by sketching a theological landscape where current contextual realities are brought into relief against a kairos moment on which the efficacy of this church�s mission, indeed its public work and witness, is being called into question.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This interdisciplinary study in Systematic Theology and Ethics engages the missional theology found in the Missional Framework Document of the Dutch Reformed Church. Methodologically, the research advocates for a contextual engagement with the missional theology proposed by this important document. The outcome of this contextual theological consideration is an invitation for the Church to consider the ethics of justice as an important aspect of their approach to faithful Christian mission in the South African social, economic and political context.
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Ungerer, André G., and Malan Nel. "Die verband tussen gemeentebouprosesse en missionale gemeente-ontwikkeling." HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 67, no. 2 (March 7, 2011). http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.v67i2.931.
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This article dealt with the process of building up the local congregation and the manner in which missional objectives are achieved. The article was undertaken against the background of the disturbing decline in membership numbers, particularly in the two traditional Reformational churches in South Africa, namely the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) and the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa. This decline is in line with similar tendencies in mainstream churches the world over. The key aspects of the theory of building up the local church was discussed and mission in the current South African context dealt with, particularly in view of the fact that an entirely new mission field has opened itself up with the influx into the country of so many people from neighbouring countries who have come to live in our midst. Missional objectives for the local church, as well as aspects that can be subjected to empirical testing are determined all along. The hypothesis wanted to verify whether local churches that have undergone a structured process of building up the local church are more successful missionally than those that have not undergone a structured process.
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Van der Watt, Gideon. "Gisbertus Voetius (1589–1676): Some perspectives on his influence on developments in the South African Dutch Reformed Church’s missiology and mission practice." In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi 53, no. 3 (July 15, 2019). http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ids.v53i3.2449.
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Gisbertus Voetius (1589–1676) played a significant role in the Synod of Dordt 1618–1619. As orthodox Calvinist and leading intellectual in the Dutch Second Reformation, he helped to shape the religious, philosophical and cultural landscape of the 17th century Dutch ‘Golden Age’. He was the first Protestant to have developed a comprehensive ‘theology of mission’. This article reflects on Voetius’ missiology, and specifically its influence on developments in the mission practice and theology in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. The article also enters into a conversation with Voetius from a current South African missional discourse.
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Kgatla, Selaelo Thias. "Twenty-fifth Anniversary of Church Unity between former DRMC and DRCA, 1994." Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 45, no. 3 (November 7, 2019). http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/6224.
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T
Church unity between the former Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA) took place in 1994 under particularly difficult circumstances. South Africa was on the brink of civil war, as the oppressed majority of the country was pressurising the apartheid regime to surrender to their legitimate demands for a democratic dispensation. The regime was relentless and violently resisted any change that would franchise black people. The struggle involved political, social, economic and religious dimensions and many people lost their lives as a result. It was under these circumstances that the DRMC and the DRCA forged ahead with church unity. The most enabling means for survival in the struggle for unity of the two churches was their faith in God as expressed in the Belhar Confession. This article explores the circumstances under which church unification was forged between the two Reformed churches and their eventual unity in 1994, as well as the concrete steps they took in their ritual of unification.