Spiritual Support

Spiritual support is defined as assistance that is provided by one church member to a fellow church member with the explicit purpose of bolstering and maintaining the faith of the recipient. Four issues are examined in this chapter: (1) a detailed theoretical explanation of the ways in which communities of faith promote spiritual support is provided; (2) issues in the measurement of spiritual support are discussed; (3) the scant empirical literature on communities of faith and spiritual support is reviewed; and (4) two submodels are presented that provide further insight into the nature of the relationship between communities of faith and spiritual support.

Faith Communities Today:

The Cooperative Congregational Studies Partnership is the sponsor of the Faith Communities Today series of national surveys of American congregations. It started out as a conversation about “church” member surveys at the 1995 annual meeting of the Religious Research Association and by 2000 had grown into a multi-faith coalition of 27 denominations and faith traditions that, assisted with matching funds from the Lilly Endowment, conducted the largest national survey of American congregations ever undertaken, as a research-based resource for congregational development. In 2003 the partnership became a self-sustaining program of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, and established a regular cycle of decadal and mid-decadal such surveys, with an occasional qualitative study sprinkled in, which has continued to this day. This article tells the history of how this unique experience of practical ecclesiology came to be, how it evolved, and what it has produced.

Discipleship and Stewardship: The Essential Combination that Can Enhance Financial Stability of the Church in Africa

While discipleship and stewardship are essential aspects in Christian life, combination of the two terms can provide financial stability and spiritual growth in the church. This study employed the literary method through the collection of journal articles from America, Europe Asia and Africa with topics which have addressed the two aspects. The findings show that it is important that every church member should surrender his/her life to Jesus before surrendering all that he/she has to Christ. The study recommends that church members must be led to be faithful stewards and faithful disciples by precepts and example. Church leaders and pastors need to call church members to surrender their lives to Christ before calling them to surrender their wealth for supporting the work of God. They should also make calls that church members should not only give tithe and offerings for sustaining the gospel work, but they should also engage themselves in making disciples for Christ.

Missio Dei dalam Konteks Indonesia: Analisis Naratif Matius 18:15-17 sebagai Misi Allah bagi Gereja

The Church is a fellowship of the sinners who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour. Ironically, even after receiving forgiveness of sin, congregations are still human beings who still have the potential to do sin or mistake. It can happen to anyone, whether he is a church member, servant, or even pastor. Besides that, sin and mistake can happen in multiple forms and places, internally or externally. This article itself is an effort to find a biblical formulation in order to face this reality within the church ministry. This formulation can be found within Matthew 18:15-17 which contains a special discourse in Matthew concerning the church. The Church often understands Missio Dei or God’s mission only for non-Christian. According to this research, by using a descriptive-analytical method toward Matthew 18:15-17, which is a proportional hermeneutic approach, there seems a concept that Missio Dei also goes to Christians who live in sin. God loves sinners and because of that, He arranges how a Christian community faces its members who did sin. In this case, Matthew 18:15-17 teaches a concept that Missio Dei happens in multidimensional, including the one who has known God, yet falls in sin again.AbstrakPemahaman Missio Dei yang terlalu terpusat pada gereja cenderung menempatkan sasarannya atas bangsa-bangsa yang belum terjangkau Injil atau daerah-daerah yang belum pernah dijelajah. Hal ini menyebabkan perhatian Missio Dei sangat dominan pada usaha kon-versi. Mereka yang telah terhisab dalam gereja dipandang sebagai “yang telah ditemukan”, sehingga tidak lagi menjadi sasaran utama dalam pembahasan misi. Padahal penekanan pada usaha konversi semacam ini dapat menjadi tantangan tersendiri dalam misi konteks Asia, terutama Indonesia. Melalui penelitian dengan menggunakan metode deskriptif analitis terhadap Matius 18:15-17, yaitu melalui pendekatan hermeneutik yang proporsional, ditemukan suatu konsep bahwa Missio Dei berlaku juga bagi mereka yang sudah Kristen namun jatuh dalam dosa. Allah mengasihi orang berdosa dan oleh sebab itu, Ia mengatur bagaimana komunitas Kristen menghadapi jemaat yang berbuat dosa. Dengan kata lain, teks Matius 18:15-17 mengajarkan satu konsep bahwa Missio Dei berlaku dalam berbagai dimensi, termasuk bagi orang-orang Kristen yang sudah mengenal Allah, namun berbuat dosa lagi.

“A Refugee Pastor in a Refugee Church”

This article discusses “refugee-refugee hosting” in a faith-based context. It looks particularly at Congolese churches in Kampala, Uganda, that play a crucial role for Congolese refugees seeking refuge and protection. The article analyzes hybrid forms of hosting in a faith-based context and discusses the implications of this for how guest and host categories are perceived. Four different patterns of refugee-refugee hosting are explored in which the relationship between host and guest as well as pastor and church member differ. The article argues that social status and hierarchies are important for how hosting is practiced. Moreover, religious ideas of gift giving, sacrifice, and reciprocity also influence hosting in this context.

A City-State on a Hill

This chapter examines the founding and the incorporation of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. Joseph Smith works with new church member John C. Bennett to draft a charter that grants Nauvoo an unprecedented combination of powers. Smith and Bennett argue that such powers are necessary to protect the Latter-day Saints from a repeat of the persecutions they experienced in Missouri and that the federal government’s refusal to protect religious minorities made such protections even more important at the local level. Illinois is divided between the Whigs and the Democrats at this time, and both parties are courting the support of the Mormons. As a result, the charter is approved overwhelmingly by the Illinois state legislature.

MODEL PEMURIDAN AKSELERASI YESUS KRISTUS DALAM MULTIPLIKASI JEMAAT DI GEREJA SIDANG JEMAAT ALLAH SURAKARTA

The objective of this research is to explain the accelerated discipleship model of JesusChrist according to the Synoptic gospels and modern discipleship experts to multiplicate the churchmembers of GSJA (Church of General Assembly) Surakarta.The research method here is a qualitative research with literature study consists of: books,papers, magazines, website, reports, and other writings data related to the research questions.From the result of the research, then the researcher propose a Model of AcceleratedDiscipleship to Multiplicate Church Member in GSJA Surakarta consists some aspects as follow:first, biblical and contextual discipleship history; second, discipleship principles (selection orscreening), training center (training, development, anointing, exampling), multiplication (sending,controlling, multiplication); third, discipleship components, such as: teacher (Jesus Christ-TheGreat Teacher, Hoy Spirit The Councelor, teacher/trainer), relationship (friendship,interdependent), subject matter and curriculum (The Bible, KTBK series), method (inductivecontextual), discipleship acceleration, and output of discipleship; fourth, discipleship acceleration;and fifth, result of discipleship.Keywords: Discipleship, Acceleration, Jesus Christ, Multiplication of Church Member

A more comprehensive comprehension and appropriate application: An answer to dwindling faith commitment from the book of Hebrews

Closely linked to the phenomenon of the decline in church member numbers in the Western church, is the phenomenon of dwindling their faith commitment. This is the phenomenon in which church members do not show the same vitality and zeal as before and are in danger of abandoning their faith. The current article contributed to the arsenal of studies, aimed at addressing the phenomenon by presenting the solutions deduced from a single biblical book, namely the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews is arguably one of the most fitting biblical books to shed light on how the phenomenon can be addressed, as Hebrews was written to a church that experienced a decline in faith commitment. The primary aim of the article was to determine what solutions the writer of Hebrews proposes for addressing his addressees’ dwindling in their faith commitment, while the secondary aim was to reflect on how the writer’s solutions can be applied in the 21st century church. In order to achieve these aims, reconstruction by means of exegesis and a detailed literature study is used in the article. It begins with the reconstruction of the context of the addressees, specifically to determine the reason(s) why they dwindled in their faith commitment. This was followed by reconstructing the writer’s solution for his addressees’ dwindling faith commitment. Next, the writer’s solution was fleshed out in the light of the whole of Hebrews by tracing the major themes and broad lines found in the book. It is noted that the writer addresses the issue by guiding and exhorting his addressees to come to a more comprehensive comprehension and appropriate application of their confessed faith. This he does by shaming, frightening, reminding, guiding and assuring them. By means of reflection, it is suggested in the conclusion that the same strategy can be applied in the church today to address the phenomenon of dwindling faith commitment.Contribution: The article indicated the relevancy of the book of Hebrews for the church in the 21st century, especially in terms of addressing the issue of dwindling faith commitment. As such, the article gives practical suggestions on how the issue can be addressed from the book of Hebrews by pastors, ministers, pastoral counsellors, Bible students, and church members.

Rekonstruksi Pemahaman Berkat Berdasarkan Tafsiran Kejadian 12:1-3 Di Gereja Toraja Jemaat Kollo Klasis Tondon

Blessing is the most important part of life of christians, expecially in Gereja Toraja Jemaat Kollo Klasis Tondon. Many people assume that Lord’s blessing is just a good things, while the distress, suffering, and other disaster is not a blessing of the Lord. This comprehension also developing in church members of Jemaat Kollo Klasis Tondon. This is inspiring the writer to do research, how theology of Lord’s blessing in Genesis 12:1-3 and how the comprehension that should be owned by church members of Jemaat Kollo Klasis Tondon about Lord’s blessing. The purpose of this study is to know the theology of Lord’s blessing according to the Holy Bible in Genesis 12:1-3 and the comprehension that should be owned by church members based on exegesis Genesis 12:1-3. Writer use historical analysis and background analysis as well as text analysis , and expalin how comprehension of the church member about Lord’s blessing and how the comprehension that should be owned by church members based on exegesis Genesis 12:1-3 with using a qualitative research and study fieldwork.

Urgensi Menemukan Model Pemuridan Sesuai Tipe Spiritualitas Jemaat

God wants His church to experience growth both in quantity and quality. One of the ways to achieve church growth is through the discipleship process. Through discipleship, every church member is encouraged to experience growth in his spiritual life towards spiritual maturity, that is, like Christ. A spiritually mature believer will have a desire to serve, testify to spread the good news so that many people can become part of the community of faith in the Lord Jesus, thus impacting the growth of the church. This paper intends to describe church growth, a model for spirituality and discipleship. By using literature study, which is to explore the relevant literature to answer the discussion, then the results are presented descriptively. From this discussion, it can be concluded that the type of church spirituality can be an alternative answer for determining the model of discipleship in the church.AbstrakTuhan menghendaki gereja-Nya mengalami pertumbuhan baik secara kuantitas maupun kualitas. Salah satu cara untuk mencapai pertumbuhan gereja adalah melalui proses pemuridan. Melalui pemuridan, setiap anggota gereja didorong untuk mengalami pertumbuhan dalam kehidupan rohaninya menuju kedewasaan rohani, yakni serupa dengan Kristus. Orang percaya yang dewasa rohani akan memiliki kerinduan untuk melayani, bersaksi untuk mewartakan kabar baik sehingga banyak orang dapat menjadi bagian dari komunitas iman pada Tuhan Yesus, sehingga berdampak pada pertumbuhan gereja. Tulisan ini bermaksud mendeskripsikan pertumbuhan gereja, model spiritualitas dan pemuridan. Dengan menggunakan studi pustaka yaitu menggali literatur yang relevan untuk menjawab pembahasan tersebut kemudian hasilnya disajikan secara deskriptif. Dari pembahasan tersebut, dapat simpulkan bahwa tipe spiritualitas jemaat dapat menjadi alternatif jawaban untukmenentukan model pemuridan di gereja.