Schoeman, W. J.Hendriks, H. J.Pienaar, Zachery Chalwyn2024-06-112024-06-112023http://hdl.handle.net/11660/12548Thesis (Ph.D.(Teologie))--University of the Free State, 2023𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒔 Ek glo van harte dat God die wêreld wil bereik deur gemeentes. Gemeentes klein of groot is God se voertuie/instrumente om ‘n stukkende en gebroke wêreld te kan bereik. Daarom behoort gemeentes missionaal in hulle identiteit, kultuur en karakter te wees. Gemeentes is in ‘n bepaalde plek, tyd en konteks, en behoort in die lig van die 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰 𝘋𝘦𝘪 ‘n verskil te maak. 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰 𝘋𝘦𝘪 verwys na die bestaansdoel van ’n gemeente. ’n Gemeente is daar om die evangelie en God se doel met die mens en wêreld uit te leef, of anders gestel, gemeentes is daar as die instrument waardeur die Koninkryk van God gestalte kry. Malan Nel (2015:89) onderstreep laasgenoemde as volg: “𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥”. ‘n Missionale gemeente is ‘n gemeente wat voortdurend onderskei oor die vraag naamlik: “Waarmee is God in die wêreld besig en hoe kan die gemeente by God se werk aansluit?” Malan Nel (2015:89) stel dit as volg: “𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 - 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯”. Kleingemeentes hoef nie te aspireer om eers groot te word om daardie verskil te maak nie. Kennon Callahan (2000) sê dat klein gemeentes nie hulle energie moet gebruik om groter te word nie, maar eerder om hulle sterk punte te ontwikkel. Callahan (2000:vii) sê verder: “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯”. God wil in Sy sending kleingemeentes gebruik ongeag hulle grootte, bronne en fisiese voorkoms. Daar is spreekwoorde in die Afrikaanse spreektaal wat lui: “𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘬𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘬𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴”, 𝘦𝘯 ”𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘬𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘦”. Die Skrif druk dit in Luk 17:6 so uit: “geloof soos ‘n mostert saad ”. Dit is ‘n metafoor wat aandui dat alhoewel die mostert saadtjies baie klein is, ontkiem dit en word dit baie groot. Toegepas op die klein plattelandse gemeentes beteken dit dat gemeentes, alhoewel klein, ‘n groot impak kan maak as hulle hul missionale identiteit herontdek en leef. Die klein plattelandse gemeentes van die VGKSA Vrystaat/Lesotho beslaan die meerderheid van die gemeentes in die sinode. Die meeste van die gemeentes is in ‘n oorlewings stryd en kan na verwys word as oorlewingskerke. Die gemeentes is meestal vakant of word bedien deur ‘n tentmaker of konsulent. Die kleingemeentes is in staat om ten spyte van haar grootte en tekort aan bronne, ‘n missionale identiteit te ontwikkel. Om dit ‘n werklikheid te maak is ‘n diepe nadenke nodig rondom vrae: Wie is ons? Waar is ons nou? Wat het ons? Wat sê die Woord? Wat verwag God van die gemeente in ‘n spesifieke tyd, plek en konteks? Waarheen is die gemeente oppad? Malan Nel noem gemeentes wat aan die vrae aandag gee identiteits gedrewe gemeentes (2015:89). ‘n Paradigma skuif is nodig van ‘n instandhoudings gemeente na ‘n missionale gemeente. Andersgestel, ‘n Paradigma skuif van ‘n ekklesiologiese verstaan van kerk wees na ‘n missionale ekklesiologiese verstaan van die kerk wees. Dit beteken dat die kerk ten volle bestaan vir die Missio Dei. Malan Nel beklemtoon dit as volg: “𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 - 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 (2015:89)”. Om laasgenoemde skuif te laat gebeur word ‘n nuwe soort leierskap benodig. Alan Hirsch onderstreep dit wanneer hy sê: “𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 (2006:152)”. Kleingemeentes kan slegs ontwikkel as missionale gemeentes indien daar ‘n wegbeweeg plaasvind van ‘n klassieke leierskapstyl na ‘n missionale leierskapstyl. Nelus Niemandt meen dat die huidige denke oor leierskap nie voldoende is om die kerk te help om missionaal te wees nie (2013:46)1. Mike Harrison onderstreep die belangrikheid van missionale leierskap om missionale gemeentes te ontwikkel: “𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 (2017:343)2”. Kleingemeentes moet hulle uniekheid herontdek. Callahan bevestig dit wanneer hy sê: “𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 (2000:𝘷𝘪𝘪)”. ___________________________________________________________________𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 I sincerely believe that God wants to reach the world through congregations. Congregations small or large are God's vehicles/instruments to reach a broken world. Therefore, congregations should be missional in their identity, culture, and character. Congregations are in a particular place, time, and context, and should make a difference considering the Missio Dei. A missional church is a church that constantly discerns the question: "What is God doing in the world and how can they participate where God is at work?". Small congregations do not have to aspire to first become big to make that difference. God wants to use them regardless of their size, resources, and physical appearance. There are proverbs in the spoken language that read: "𝘋𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴", 𝘢𝘯𝘥 "𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴". Scripture expresses it this way in Luke 17:6: "faith as mustard seed". Mustard seeds are small, but if they germinate, they make a large tree. It is a metaphor indicating that although the mustard seeds are very small, they germinate and grow very large. Applied to the small rural congregations, this means that congregations, though small can make a big impact if they rediscover and live their missional identity. The small rural congregations of the URCSA Free State/Lesotho comprise the majority of the congregations in the Synod. Most of the congregations are in a struggle for survival and may be referred to as survival churches. The congregations are mostly vacant or served by a tentmaker or a relieving minister. The small congregation is able to make a difference despite her size and lack of resources. To make this a reality, a deep reflection is needed around questions: Who are we? Where are we now? What do we have? What does the Word say? What does God expect of us in a spesific time, place, and context? Where is the congregation going? Malan Nel (2015:89) calls congregations that address these questions identity-driven congregations. A paradigm shift is needed from a maintenance church to a missionally oriented church. In other words, a paradigm shift from an ecclesiological understanding of church to a missional ecclesiological understanding of the church. This means that the church exists for the Missio Dei. Malan Nel (2015:89) emphasizes this: "It is not so much the case that God has a mission for the church in the world, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 - 𝘎𝘰𝘥'𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯". Small congregations can only develop as missional congregations if there is a move away from a classical leadership style towards a missional leadership style. Small congregations need to rediscover their uniqueness. Dudley puts it this way: 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘋𝘶𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺: “𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘰 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮”. Indeed, Carroll says: “𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭”. ___________________________________________________________________afThesisUniversity of the Free State