Journal of Contemporary Ministry
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Discipling Kenyan Gen Z’s on Sexuality: Reflections from the Global Study on Youth Culture
Get PDFThe African continent is among the youngest continents in terms of its demographic make-up. This means that strategic ministry within the continent must engage African youth. While there is some research surrounding millennials, there is a gap in research surrounding Gen Z, that is, those born after the 2000s. Fortunately, there has been recent research on Global Youth Culture (GYC) by OneHope that explored different aspects of Gen Z (ages 13-19) youth culture in twenty countries in five continents, Kenya being one of them. This article is a theological reflection of the findings of that research, exploring the implications for discipling Gen Z in the specific area of sexuality. While similarities are drawn between African (Kenyan) youth culture and other countries, this article also considers how the African (Kenyan) society in general still views sexuality as a taboo topic and how Church leaders can help parents and congregations to approach the topic of sexuality from a biblical worldview perspective and to engage in compassionate ministry.
Keywords
Gen Z; Practical Theology; Youth Culture; Youth Ministry; Youth Sexuality
Helping the Healers by Supporting Secure Attachment Relationships with God
Get PDFChristian counsellors, chaplains and psychologists are agents of the church’s mission to heal. As such, they need psychological and spiritual resources to help them maintain their own homeostasis whilst also offering healing to others. COVID-19 is a challenge not just to physical health, but to the psycho-spiritual health of everyone. In the context of the pandemic, a vital resource for Christian healers and those in need of healing is secure attachment to God. Attachment is a relational bond that functions to provide safety and security in contexts of threat. A believer’s reported relationship with God includes features of attachment and can be assessed as secure or insecure. Secure attachment to God is associated with both psychological health and spiritual well-being. Thus, particularly during COVID-19 when human attachment relationships may be strained, churches should not only recognise and address material suffering but also support secure relationships with God. This paper uses both the literature on attachment to God and insights from Trinitarian theology to suggest ways in which churches can help their healers maintain secure attachment to God and thus resource them for their challenging but vital work
The impact of childhood abuse and conservative church culture on the re-victimisation of women
Get PDFThe impact of domestic violence on Australian society is widespread. Research has told us that women who have been abused in childhood are three times more likely to experience domestic violence or sexual assault in their adult life. The research presented in this article involves a focus group of Christian women who have experienced some form of domestic violence, either in childhood or as an adult. The study reveals that conservative church culture has the potential to render Christian women more vulnerable to abusive relationships and domestic violence. This is particularly true of women who have experienced childhood abuse. When there is particular emphasis on certain doctrines, such as male headship, submission and forgiveness, abuse victims may be further disempowered and lack the ability to recognise and respond appropriately to abusive relationships. The findings of this research highlight the need for change within certain church communities in order to protect women and children against family violence.
Keywords
Domestic violence, conservative church, abuse, submit, re-victimisatio
Chaplaincy at the Crossroads: Spiritual Care in and for a Multifaith Australia
Get PDFEven though chaplaincy has been part of Australia’s history since 1788, the theology and praxis of chaplaincy has not been as discussed as it should have been in general or for the various sector chaplaincies such as military, health care, criminal justice, emergency services, educational, industrial and sports. Chaplaincy would appear to be at the crossroads. The mainstream churches have been gradually withdrawing from chaplaincy services yet, at the same time, the need for spiritual care services has been expanding, as seen in the 2019-20 bushfires, and many volunteers have come forward. As well, there has been the movement towards multifaith chaplaincy as Australia’s religious profile has become vastly more diverse over the past three decades.
This paper will deal with the confused nomenclature issue. It will then examine the challenges facing spiritual care and chaplaincy, including (i) pluralisation and integration of faiths other than Christian (Buddhist, Hindu & Muslim), (ii) chaplaincy training, and (iii) spiritual care, all as related to an underlying theological framework based around a ministry of presence, professionalism in institutional settings, and pastoral outreach and social care in multifaith contexts
Bordered by COVID-19 and the EU-27: Imagining a theology of global domicile
Get PDFThe European Union legislates the free movement of people, capital and goods, within and between its member states. This political commitment has been hard-pressed by the undocumented migrants entering the EU. The COVID-19 pandemic catalysed restrictions upon the free movement of people within the EU. Whilst legal, these restrictions posed a significant existential threat to the EU. Accompanying these is an increasing tendency to prioritise the claims of the nation state above all other obligations, including those of international law or any sense of moral or ethical obligation. European churches play an active role in refugee advocacy and welfare, fostering processes of welcome and integration, accompanied by the development of ecclesiologies that simultaneously transcend borders and acknowledge their legal and political necessity. This paper highlights the responses of nation-states to migrants and contrasts these with a constructive diaspora theology that is fit for purpose within the context of the European Union and its member states
A reflective reply to Clayton Coomb’s Unapologetic Apology for Megachurch Worship Practices: (and an introduction to German idealism for Christians)
Get PDFIn a recent keynote address published in the Journal of Contemporary Ministry, Clayton Coombs presented an unapologetic apologetic for contemporary, communal worship in the Christian megachurch context (Journal of Contemporary Ministry, Issue 6 2022). The basis for his argument was a correlation between features of megachurch worship praxis and Christian revivals; interpreting the former through the lens of the latter provided for Coombs undeniable evidence of divine imprimatur upon megachurch worship praxis. This article offers a reflective reply to Coombs, with particular focus on the dichotomy of reason and revelatory experience in Coombs’ implicit epistemology. By recourse to German idealist philosophy, particularly the work of Immanuel Kant, F. H. Jacobi and G. W. F. Hegel, I will show where arguments such as Coombs’ have previously been made – based on a similar epistemological approach – and why utilising ‘God-says-so’ arguments in the context of Christian discourse, a method central to Coombs’ epistemological defence of megachurch worship, raises important ethical and relational questions.
Key words: Pentecostalism, divine command theory, theological ethics, German idealism, Kant, Jacobi, Hegel, theological language, religious epistemology, worshi
Book Reviews
Get PDFAndrew Singleton, Mary Lou Rasmussen, Anna Halafoff and Gary Bouma, Freedoms, Faiths and Futures: Teenage Australians on Religion, Sexuality and Diversity - Dixon
Neil Francis, Religiosity in Australia - Hughes
Jason Goroncy and Rod Pattenden, Imagination in an Age of Crisis: Soundings from the Arts and Theology - Lambert
Robert Dixon and Mary Eastham, Encountering God: Practical theology and the mission to heal, Explorations in Practical Theology series - Maher
Hughes, Philip. Australia’s Religious and Non-Religious Profiles: Analysis of the 2021 Census Data - Rei
Should Actions Speak Louder Than Words? Using the Past Deeds and Present Actions of Jesus to Unlock the Evangelical Debate on Divorce
Get PDFThis article is about evangelical divorce at the intersection of practical theology, ethics, and biblical hermeneutics. It aims to provide pastoral insights on a subject where scholarship has confused rather than informed ministry practice.
The article begins with current interpretations of Jesus’ words on divorce in the Synoptic Gospels, showing many relevant voices are marginalised, and the dominant ones cannot agree. Despite occasional position changes by prominent scholars, there is no progress towards a normative consensus.
John’s Gospel is then examined as a source of Jesus’ historical deeds. Practical theological readings of two passages highlight his radical compassion and restorative posture towards women with broken marriage covenants that challenge evangelicals to better imitate Christ towards the divorced.
Jesus’ ongoing actions after his ascension are explored as a vital aspect of evangelical ethics and practical theology. However, the practicalities of discerning Christ’s continuing salvific work amongst the divorced remain elusive.
Finally, a proposal is made to combine the words, historical deeds, and ongoing actions of Jesus into a normative symbiosis wherein each illuminates and moderates the others. Tentative implications for ministry to the divorced are offered after theological reflection on this basis.
Key Words: Normative Symbiosis, Imitation of Christ, Contemporary Actions of Jesus, Practical Theological Readings of Scripture, Evangelical Theology of Divorce