Pastoral leadership in a congregational church setting: The case of the Baptist Convention of South Africa

This study attempted to explore the role of pastors in a congregational church setting by using the Baptist Convention of South Africa (BCSA) as a case study. The focus is on the type of leadership relevant for such a system. A proper understanding of congregational church governance and biblical pastoral leadership is encouraged. It is argued that the BCSA would do well to adopt an attitude that views ‘congregational church governance’ as ‘sacramental democracy’, where church members view church meetings to be just as holy as any other sacrament, for example, a holy communion or baptism. Such an understanding of congregational governance offers an environment that is conducive to effective pastoral leadership. The pastor relates to the church as a biblical leader, who uses his or her authority to empower others, as the pastor is also under the authority of Jesus Christ as a follower.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study has significance for Christian Ethics, Practical Theology and New Testament. It is undertaken within (intra-) the Christian leadership discourse, with interest in Applied Ethics that combines Philosophical, Theological and Human Science approaches, especially with reference to (South) African sociopolitical and ecclesiastical contexts. The research builds on the existing Christian leadership discourse.

JOHN McCABE (1939–2015)Requiem Sequence (1971)

This chapter explores John McCabe’s Requiem Sequence. This work, by one of Britain's most masterly composer-pianists, was written in memory of conductor Sir John Barbirolli (1899–1970) and composer Alan Rawsthorne (1905–71). It is simple in structure and highly practical to perform—an invaluable addition to the soprano recital repertoire, and also eminently suitable for a church setting. As would be expected, the keyboard writing is especially striking and idiomatic. The vocal tessitura concentrates on the upper middle range, which could expose any vulnerability in tuning or security of line, but could also serve as a useful exercise in preserving legato between registers.

Catholics and their Scriptures: Six Ways of Engaging with the Bible

In recent years the Catholic Church has been encouraging its members to engage with the Bible and a variety of resources have been produced to facilitate this. However, national surveys in Britain show that Catholics are some of the Christians least likely to engage with the Bible outside of a church setting. A small focus group of ordinary Catholics spent a year using five different resources to ascertain what ways of engaging with the Scriptures they found most helpful. Six ways were identified: reading the Bible in community; drawing on secondary expertise; valuing the literal and spiritual sense of Scripture; focusing on the Old Testament and the Bible’s unity; using accessible formats; and using a variety of resources. These are presented and discussed in the context of the Church’s recent teaching and instruction on the role of the Bible in the life of the believer.

Public Archaeology of Church Monuments

Church monuments within the parish church can provide a wealth of information to the public about the history of that community as well as broader social themes. However, traditionally, publicity available on monuments can be limited and churches operate disparate levels of public access and engagement. Where such access and information is available there is a tendency to focus on the most elaborate and anthropomorphic styles, such as effigies, with a concentration on who they represent. This article will consider why church monuments may be important to communities, and the impediments the public may face when engaging with church monuments, ranging from practical reasons such as accessibility, to the provision of misinformation, selective information, or the lack of any resources being provided. Finally, the article will consider how information about, and engagement with, funerary monuments within the parish church setting is consistent, well researched, and publicly available via digital and non-digital media.