Kajian Teologis Kegagalan Pendangan Umum Yang Mengusung Yohanes Pembaptis Sebagai Mesias

Jesus asked his disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt. 16:13, Mark. 8:27), then John the Baptist was the top answer, followed by Elijah, Jeremiah. This study uses a biblical study of the meaning of the whom do men say (general opinion) by using a qualitative writing method that is studied by biblical exegesis supported by various sources related to this research. Here it is found that public opinion greatly influences one's personal belief and confession of their faith in Jesus Christ. There is a meaning behind the rejection of Jesus' messiahship by carrying the popular John the Baptist figure. Perhaps if he announced himself as the Messiah, and waged a rebellion against the Roman empire which was colonizing Israelit at that time, it would be inconceivable if that happened. Researchers found the answer that the importance of personal spiritual experience closely with God between times when the truth became unpopular. By adhering to the Word of God, the Church of God can stand firm which is built on a solid rock foundation (Petra), namely Jesus Himself.

The COVID-19 Pandemic: How Pastors Communicate Faith and Hope to Virtual Congregations

This paper examines how pastors engaged an online presence to preach the Word of God and address the needs of their congregations, during the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa. This is set against the Biblical instruction of Jesus Christ to Peter, to “feed my sheep” in John 21: 17, as it is the very same instruction that holds for pastors in churches today. However, the normal operations of the ministry have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Christian church, a close-knit group of believers to whom social and physical distancing are foreign concepts, has had to adapt. Worship sites have been abandoned, and the absence of worshipers has become the norm. Pastoral ministries have been disrupted and call for pastors to embrace new technology to ensure that they have a digital presence with their congregation through social media. This paper argues that these circumstances give the church of God a unique opportunity to rethink how to continue ministry without physical contact. It adopted a mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach, using an online questionnaire and telephonic surveys to engage pastors. The paper utilises the Two-way Communication Model (TCM) and the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT). It concluded that pastoral care and spiritual counselling are essential in crises, that pastors have embraced social media in their mission, and that there is support for digital technology. The article recommendations that there should be a balanced communication strategy for Pastor’s ministries, and that government partners with faith-based organisations in different ways in a joint effort to combat the virus, while encouraging and supporting congregants.

Narratological reading of poverty-related parables (Lk 12:13–21; 14:15–24; 16:19–31)

Nigeria is an example of developing countries characterised by mass poverty in the midst of plenty. Coincidentally, the Nigerian church is stupendously rich. Pastor Emmanuel, a former National Coordinator of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Germany, notes that the annual revenue of the Nigeria church in 2014 is over ₦3 trillion while surprisingly, the national budget is ₦4.69tn for the year. Gigantic buildings, exotic cars and private jets are the hallmarks of the church’s wealth. Some pastors acquire jets ranging from ₦2.3 to ₦6.4 billion with additional ₦8.4bn for maintenance and salaries annually. Surrounded by this ‘affluence’ are thousands of poor, unemployed and barely surviving church members. This calls for the need to examine what Lukan Jesus would have wanted the church to do with her wealth. This article examines Lukan parables on the rich and the poor using narratological method. Thus, the parables’ context, the characterisation and the plot is analysed, including lexical-syntactical relationships. Finally, the lessons derived is used via socio-scientific reading of the Nigerian situation to arrive at a theology of social action for the poor. Most parables are open-ended, a literary device that ensures the readers take a decision, therefore the message focuses on the church rather than individual Christians.Contribution: The article recommends that church-owned institutions should make education accessible to the poor, rise against socio-economic policies that will impoverish people while seeking economic independence of the poor. Finally, the church should also integrate the differently-abled into the church.

Gender Relations in the Black Church

This chapter examines the lived experiences of women in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and presents a model for partnership in leadership with clerics and churchwomen. The model is based on the premise of the visionary founder and “Chief Apostle” of this denomination. Histories of churchwomen in this organization portray them as staunch supporters of ministries in the church. Women in leadership roles were defined by the founder as overseers—a term suggesting honorary prestige to women that was equal to clerical positions in the church. Following the death of the founder, however, churchwomen encountered barriers to leadership positions which lowered their status and authority thus impacting their inclusion, agency, and voice in matters of church leadership and governance.

Genre-based tradition of happy ending in Ye. Zamyatin’s Tales

The article deals with Ye.I. Zamyatin tales from the perspective of their compliance with the genre canons of a fairytale. The authors explore the Tales of Fita cycle as well as the tales “The Devourer” and “The Church of God” included in the collection “Big Kids’ Fairytales”. Special attention is paid to the endings of tales; the authors analyze their correspondence to the canons of folklore and literary fairytales formulated by the researchers of this genre: V.Ya. Propp, V.P. Anikin, and I.P. Lupanova. There is a mixture of the fairytale genre with the genre of socio-political satire in Ye.I. Zamyatin’s analyzed works. The authors analyze the plot and stylistic means used by the writer, their compliance with the standard canon. Within the study, the authors rely on the results of existing research in this area and attempt to explore the writer’s work in a new context. Traditionally works in the field of literary research into Ye.I. Zamyatin’s work focus on the dystopian motives and the analysis of political overtones in the writer’s satirical works. At the same time, the genre-related features of Ye.I. Zamyatin’s early works remain poorly understood and require particular academic attention. The novelty of this study consists in the fact that the study is focused on the analysis of the genre structure of Zamyatin’s “tales”. The authors use the method of comparative analysis, problem-logical, functional and systemic methods. The study allows one to determine the degree to which Ye.I. Zamyatin’s tales correspond to traditional plot-related and “formulaic” devices used in the endings of folk and literary fairy tales as well as study the specific features of mixing the genres of fairytale and satire in the famous Russian writer’s works.

Pentecostalism and African diaspora : a case study of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), in North America

Pentecostalism as a new wave of Christianity became more pronounced in 1970's and beyond in Nigeria. Since then scholars of Religion, History, Sociology and Political Science have shown keen interest in the study of the Churches known as Pentecostals because of the impact they have made on the society. The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was established by Pastor Josiah Akindayomi in Lagos,Nigeria in 1952. After his demise, he was succeeded by Pastor Adeboye Adejare Enock. The problem of study of this research was an examination of the expansion of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to North America, Caribbean and Canada. The missionary activities of the church could be regarded as a reversed mission in the propagation of Christianity by Africans in the Diaspora. The methodology adopted was historical. The primary and secondary sources of information were also germane in the research. The findings of the research indicated that the Redeemed Christian Church of God was founded in North America by Immigrants from Nigeria. Pastor Adeboye Enock Adejare had much influence on the Church within and outside the country because of his charisma. The Church has become a place of refuge for many immigrants. They are also contributing to the economy of the United States of America. However, the members of the Church were faced with some challenges, such as security scrutiny by the security agencies. In conclusion, the RCCGNA was a denomination that had been accepted and embraced by Nigerians and African immigrants in the United States of America.