Contextual preaching within the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa

English: Summary of contextual preaching within the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa. This research has proved that preaching is very essential. It is not just an oration that a person or preacher can give to listeners. This means it is very dynamic, and it needs the whole commitment when one is preaching. Not everybody can preach. It comes from God to the listeners and it should be Christ centered. God makes use of the preachers to fuifiii and execute His will. The message delivered by the preacher is not his, but belongs to God himself. A preacher is a messenqer, As a messenger should always adhere to what the prophets said when saying, that whatever they say is from God. This means that a preacher who is to deliver the Word of God to the listeners should be a person who has been called to carry out God's message. That category is a category of legitimate messengers of God. They are spiritually driven. They are also guided by the type of training they have received from their theological training institutes. So preaching is not just an easy thing to do, its modus operandi needs some certain knowledgeable information, a commitment and self-determination. The study has revealed that the relevant and effective preaching, as well as the contextual preaching is essential to the lives of today's people, as such preachers should adopt to bring contextual preachinq to the congregations they are going to preach for. Scriptural It is explicit that there is no relevant preaching unless it emanates from the Holy Scripture itself. This means that the Holy Scripture characterizes both the relevant and contextual preaching. To reinforce preaching itself, a preacher should make use of supplimentaries like commentaries, literatures and any other relevant resources. Historical A relevant and contextual preaching is the one that a preacher does not regard him as a founder. This means that a preacher is not an alpha and omega in this regard. This is a continuation that he received from his predecessors. He should acknowledge that thecongregation he is preaching for does not receive the Word of God for the first time. Through the historical background in theology it is clear that some of them have been exposed to the Word of God long ago. Language God created His people in diversity of races and languages. This has been done through His good will. The Word of God should be conveyed to the people in the language they will understand. Due to this reason a preaching will remain a contextual preaching to the listeners. Culture The Word of God was brought to the people of multicultural believes. This means that they have accepted it in collaboration with their different cultures. The diversity of different cultures should not be regarded as detrimental to preaching. Pastoral The training of pastors should be contextual and relevant to the prevailing circumstances of the new South Africa. The pastors should adopt themselves positively with the prevailing situations in which their congregations live. Theological The most important aspect in this regard is that a preaching that is brought to the people should also be educative to those people who are going to receive it as the Word of God.