scholarly journals Dort, Doleantie and Church Order

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-252
Author(s):  
Ryan Faber
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Church Polity ◽  
Local Congregations ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

This article attends to the relationship between minor and major assemblies as prescribed by the foundational principles of Reformed church polity proposed by Mary-Anne Plaatjies-Van Huffel. It reviews the limited autonomy of local congregations and the authority of broader assemblies in the Church Order of Dordrecht (1618/19), the touchstone of Dutch Reformed church polity. It considers the challenge to historic Reformed church polity posed by the ecclesiology of the Doleantie, a secession from the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (NHK) in 1886 under the leadership of Abraham Kuyper. Finally, it evaluates a contemporary church order (of the United Reformed Churches in North America), that explicitly codifies Doleantie ecclesiology. The church order fails to embody the principles of Reformed church polity set forth by Plaatjies-Van Huffel. This article concludes that it cannot be considered a Reformed church order.

scholarly journals The (Non)acceptance of Belhar in the Dutch Reformed Church: Analysing Synodical Debates of 2011 and 2013

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
George Jacobus Van Wyngaard
Keyword(s):  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
Open Session ◽  
Local Congregations ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

This article analyses the open session debates on the Belhar Confession at the 2011 and 2013 General Synod meetings of the Dutch Reformed Church. It identifies six key themes that repeatedly emerge from arguments made by delegates, namely: 1) accepting Belhar for the sake of the youth and future of the church; 2) Belhar as guide in the mission of the church; 3) Belhar as challenge to racism within the church; 4) Belhar and its relationship to liberation theologies; 5) the role of members in formal adoption of a new confession; and 6) adoption of confessions in ways which would not make them binding on all. From these themes three matters, which remain outstanding in terms of how the Dutch Reformed Church engages with the Belhar Confession, are raised: 1) the relationship between mission and racism; 2) the history of heresy and its implication for the present; and 3) the implication of and response to black and liberation theologies. These matters are identified as challenges given particular meaning in light of the emphasis on local congregations and members of the Dutch Reformed Church when discussing the Belhar Confession.

scholarly journals De kerk slopen of renoveren? De vrijmaking van de plaatselijke kerken bij de oprichting (1906) en de doorstart (1909) van de Gereformeerde Bond

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-26
Author(s):  
H. Van den Belt
Keyword(s):  
Political Power ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Local Congregations ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
Deep Crisis ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

Soon after the start in 1906 the ‘The Reformed League for the Liberation of the Dutch Reformed Churches,’ experienced a deep crisis. By 1909 the League, however, remade itself under the name ‘The Reformed League for the Promotion and Defence of Truth in the Dutch Reformed Church,’ a change often interpreted as a conscious shift away from the Doleantie and Abraham Kuyper’s ecclesiology. This article argues that in 1909 the Reformed League only renounced the appeal to political power for the liberation of the churches, an appeal that Kuyper was unhappy with. During its formative period the ecclesiology of the Reformed League emphasized the local congregations as the true confessional church, an emphasis that made its position within the Dutch Reformed Church vulnerable

scholarly journals Verkondiging deur musiek: 'n Aspek van kreatiewe geloofskommunikasie

2003 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsabé Kloppers
Keyword(s):  
Focal Point ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
God's Word ◽  
Musical Practices ◽  
Music Ministry ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

Communicating faith creatively through musicThe question of music ministry has become a focal point in the Dutch Reformed Church. The debate arises primarily from discontent about rigid and uninspired musical practices in the church. These practices are promoted and affirmed by one-sided theological views, according to which the spoken word as God's Word, is over-emphasized, and proclamation through music and other means is denied. In some Reformed churches this one-sidedness led to responses in the form of a music ministry with new one-sided approaches. In this article it is argued that music, singing and other forms of art need to be recognized and promoted as ways of communicating the Gospel on various levels. An encompassing strategy for creative communication of the faith within a more active liturgy needs to be developed. Liturgists need to be well-trained for such an encompassing task.

scholarly journals Five hundred years on: Some traces of the Reformation in the Church Orders of two South African Reformed Churches – Seen as temporary expressions of the Church Order of the Reformed Synod of Dordrecht in 1619

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Piet Strauss
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
African Churches ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

This article examines the influence of the Reformation of the 16th century on the Church Orders of two South African Reformed Churches, namely the Dutch Reformed Church and the Reformed Churches in South Africa. The five so-called solas, namely sola gratia [by grace alone], sola scriptura [by Scripture alone], sola fidei [by faith alone], solus christus [Christ alone] and soli Deo gloria [glory to God alone], are widely accepted as key expressions of the convictions of the Reformation. Although not necessarily in the same terms, the content of the solas are also found in the thought of Calvin. These matters influenced the Synod of Dordrecht (1618–1619) in its acceptance of the Three Formulas of Unity as reformed confessions of faith and its affirmation of the Dordt Church Order. The said South African churches accept the Three Formulas of Unity as confessions of faith and view their church orders as a modern version of the Dordt Church Order – adapted to the demands of the time. This article mainly examines the consequences of sola scriptura and sola fidei on the church orders of the two churches. In terms of these two solas, both have traces of the Reformation after 500 years.

scholarly journals Die “kerklike gesag” van kerkvergaderings soos in die kerkorde van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Strauss
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Ecclesiastical Authority ◽  
Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

The ecclesiastical authority of the assemblies in church as in the church order of the Dutch Reformed Church The point in discussion in this article is Article 20.1 of the church order of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC). In accept- ing the first version of this church order, the first general synod of the DRC in 1962 used the church order of 1959 of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (RCN) as an example. The exact wording of Article 20.1 happened to be part of the latter.   Article 20.1 gives an indication of the authority of assemblies because this is nowhere else attended to in the church order of the DRC. It explains that the authority of church governing bodies like assemblies comes from Christ. He as the actual Head of the church lends authority to these assemblies, without abdicating his position as the Head of his church. He remains the Source and Owner of ecclesiastical authority.  This means that ecclesiastical authority is founded and based on the Word of God by which it sumultaneously is limited. In exercising it’s authority, an assembly is also bound to do it in accordance with the character of the church. To speak of authority in the church is not in conflict with the character of the church as a community of believers connected by love.

scholarly journals Armoede

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Van der Merwe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Early Childhood Development ◽  
Childhood Development ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Church Education ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

Poverty: A challenge for the Afrikaans reformed churches, 1994-2019This contribution gives an overview of how four of the important reformed churches in South Africa responded to the challenge of poverty from 1994 to 2019. Following an introduction, the first part of the chapter defines poverty and describes the extent of the crisis. It then gives an overview of how the Dutch Reformed Church responded by imbedding compassion into the missional calling of the church. It also describes how early childhood development became the focus of the church in the struggle against poverty. The chapter then describes how the Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa was guided in her action by the Belhar Confession. The church integrated the struggle against poverty with the struggle of justice and reconciliation in a post-apartheid South Africa. The focus of the reformed churches in South Africa in addressing poverty was the role of the deacons in the local church. Education is also an important part of their fight against poverty. The Dutch Reformed Church of Africa rose to the challenge by making important structural changes in the church after 1995. This led to the empowerment of deacons in local churches through which the church addressed the poverty of members. The research shows in conclusion how the four churches used different routes to respond to the challenge of poverty in South Africa over the past 25 years.

scholarly journals ’n Kerkorde in gereformeerde kerke toegepas op die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerkorde van 2013

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Piet J. Strauss
Keyword(s):  
Free Flow ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
Ofthe Word ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

Church order in reformed churches applied to the church order of Dutch Reformed Church of 2013. 1 Corinthians 14:40 with its call for the affairs of the church to be transacted ‘decently and in order’ as well as a general need in churches for stipulations in this regard, form the backbone of the need for church orders. Proper, acceptable church orders are, therefore, focused on the practices of the church: the offices, assemblies, church services, discipline,relations, and other affairs of the church.In order to be channels for the free flow of, and obedience to the authority and content ofthe Word of God in church, implementing the church order should not be an aim in itself.The order of a church cannot be a strict law that should be literally applied in church affairs. A church order should serve the church in its calling to be a church of the Word of God.

Kerkorde en erediens

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Piet Strauss
Keyword(s):  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
The Core ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Triune God ◽  
Church Service ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

A church order and church service – Article 48 of the Church Order of the Dutch Reformed Church investigatedFor the church order of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), article 48, the core of a church service is the fact that the Triune God is meeting his church and that this meeting should be determined by the core truths or lines of the relationship between God and his church or believers. This point of departure for a church service has been maintained in article 48 since 1962. It is accepted by many churches and creates the understanding that a church service is initiated by God who speaks and his church or the believers who answer. The rhythm of God who speaks and the church who answers should be the basic movements in each service.The content and changes of church order article 48 of the DRC from 1962–2017 are investigated. Some of the changes reveal some thought or beliefs in the DRC on these issues at that time.

scholarly journals Ampsherstel as ’n bedienaar van die Woord – ’n Gereformeerd-kerkregtelike benadering

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Piet Strauss
Keyword(s):  
17Th Century ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Present Practice ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
Church Office ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

The restoration of a preacher or minister in church – a Reformed approachThe article is looking into the history and present practice in reformed churches with a connection to the Dutch Reformed Church of the 16th and 17th century, on the restoration of deposed preachers or ministers in the church office. Out of the Dutch Reformed history comes a tendency to list certain sins in church orders as serious enough to make it impossible for the relevant church assemblies to restore someone in office, regardless of the specific context. This list prevents assemblies from using their own discretion when a matter of restoration as a minister is attended to. It thereby kills the pastoral-judicial character of church affairs. Against this stoned approach, writers and churches opt for room for the said assemblies to decide in their own pastoral orientated discretion over matters of restoration in the office as a minister. A room to which a certain framework of broad guidelines is applied.

scholarly journals POWERLESS PARTNERS: ONE BEGGAR TELLING ANOTHER WHERE TO FIND BREAD

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-55
Author(s):  
Johannes J Knoetze
Keyword(s):  
Theological Education ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
New Learning ◽  
Northern Cape ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

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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