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Congregations need to re-imagine their calling in their movement from isolation to involvement. Congregations need, from a theological perspective, to answer the question: What is the calling of the congregation? The calling or mission of the congregation provides purpose, direction, and meaning to congregational life. The theoretical understanding lies in a movement in congregational life from isolation towards involvement. The aim is to place congregational life on a continuum, with a limited interaction of the congregation with the environment, on the one hand, and open and engaged interaction of the congregation with the environment, on the other. What is the empirical or contextual position in which congregations find themselves? It is possible to imagine a movement for congregations towards the future. In imagining a movement towards the future, a congregation needs to engage with attitudes and practices that facilitate such a movement.

The issue of domestic violence is not a private matter. It inadvertently affects all members of society, including service professionals who assist victims and perpetrators. Among those inflicting violence are members of the Christian community, despite their orthopraxy that condemns violence. Some believe that clergy, the “shepherds of the flock”, play a pivotal role in fostering attitudes that either condone or condemn violence in society. Subjugating women restricts them from reaching their full potential. An understanding of the ways in which clergy manage institutionalised systems of dominance may lead to a cultural shift that does not tolerate dominance by one over another. This qualitative study uses a Feminist Liberation Theology framework1 to explore the perceptions of clergy from the Midlands region of KwaZulu-Natal on the issue of dealing with domestic violence in the Christian community.

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The article explores authentic Christian leadership, as it applies to workplaces of parachurch organisations in Lesotho. The leadership of parachurch organisations have a responsibility to transform society through the influence they can exert on their employees. A qualitative methodology was used that involved interviews with ten chief executive officers and ten focus-group interviews from ten parachurch institutions based in the Maseru district, Lesotho. The theoretical framework and empirical analysis propose a leadership strategy that pays attention to servant leadership and team leadership that peruse an open and inclusive communication strategy. The empirical analysis indicates that leadership, through a competent and ethical example, is an essential dimension of authentic leadership in the workplace. Christians holding leadership positions in parachurch organisations must have strong intentions if they hope to influence and impact on the workplace for God and become the answer to the problems facing Lesotho.

Congregations need to re-imagine their calling in their movement from isolation to involvement. Congregations need, from a theological perspective, to answer the question: What is the calling of the congregation? The calling or mission of the congregation provides purpose, direction, and meaning to congregational life. The theoretical understanding lies in a movement in congregational life from isolation towards involvement. The aim is to place congregational life on a continuum, with a limited interaction of the congregation with the environment, on the one hand, and open and engaged interaction of the congregation with the environment, on the other. What is the empirical or contextual position in which congregations find themselves? It is possible to imagine a movement for congregations towards the future. In imagining a movement towards the future, a congregation needs to engage with attitudes and practices that facilitate such a movement.

This article2 aims to determine the reasons why members of one congregation migrate to another, and to identify factors that play a role in this process. These are determined by the nature and functioning of congregations. This qualitative research involved members of three different congregations that had recently experienced a positive growth in membership numbers. The effects of secularisation and the Enlightenment, and their consequences at various levels, as well as the theories of McDonaldisation and Consumerism were taken into consideration to explain the migration of church members between congregations. The answer is not simple in the sense that two tendencies can be identified: 'push' factors that activate the tendency to move out of the previous congregation, and a drawing or 'pulling' tendency, representing those factors that attract people. It can be stated that the reasons for migration can, to a large extent, be traced to the nature and functioning of the congregation. In addition, clear tendencies can be identified in terms of 'push' and 'pull' factors.

Churches, especially mainline churches, reported the past few years a decline in their membership numbers. This trend of declining membership deserves attention and asks for a practical theological reflection. Behind the declining statistics are believers, congregations and churches that should be part of a broader reflection. Membership not only describes a static and geographic relationship, it can also be described as dynamic and fluid. The purpose of this article is to discuss this declining trend of church membership from a practical theological perspective. This phenomenon is discussed for the church in general and then the specific situation of the Dutch Reformed Church is described in more depth. The latest Church mirror data (an empirical survey in the DRC) is used as a quantitative lens. Against this background it is clear that the relationship between member and congregation exists within a dynamic and changing context, which can no longer be described in simplistic terms. Membership should be seen as a fluid and variable concept that describes the relationship with the congregation. The challenge is to develop a new ecclesiology with new terms and metaphors to describe this relationship.

This paper summarises a phenomenological study that was designed to explore the victim's lived experience of undergoing a motor vehicle hijacking. The aim of the study was to add to the knowledge and understanding of this complex phenomenon. The design of the study was qualitative. Data was collected through in-depth unstructured interviews with four people who had very recently been hijacked. The interviews were recorded on audiotape and transcribed verbatim for each subject. Both intra-individual and inter-individual analyses of the data were conducted. This paper presents a discussion of the findings of common and contrasting themes and patterns. The nature of the victim's experiences during, immediately after and in the days following the hijacking trauma is elucidated. This information can contribute towards building a theoretical framework for understanding the victim's experience of motor vehicle hijacking. Hierdie artikel verskaf 'n oorsig oor 'n fenomenologiese studie wat ontwerp is om die slagoffer se geleefde ervaring van 'n motorkaping te ondersoek. Die doel van die studie was om by te dra tot die kennis and begrip van die komplekse verskynsel. Die ontwerp van die studie was kwalitatief. Data is versamel deur indiepte, ongestruktureerde onderhoude met vier persone wat onlangs gekaap is. Die onderhoude is opgeneem op oudioband en verbatim getranskribeer vir elke persoon. Beide intra-individuele en inter-individuele ontledings van die data is gedoen. In die artikel word die bevindings ten opsigte van gemeenskaplike en kontrasterende temas aangebied. Die aard van die ervarings tydens, direk daarna en in die dae na die kaping word bespreek. Die inligting kan bydra tot die vorming van 'n teoretiese raamwerk ten einde die slagoffer se ervaring van 'n motorkaping te verstaan. (Health SA Gesondheid: interdisciplinary research journal: 2002 7(1): 33-45)