Abstract
The church has the privilege of participating with God in his saving mission in a broken and suffering world, also known as the missio Dei (Bosch 1991:8–11, 390–393). This is its core, missional identity. However, many local churches are facing an identity crisis at their very core. The reasons are numerous. This article seeks to define, in a theoretical and theological way, the core identity of the local church and in the light thereof to explore two areas: (1) how the local church and particularly its pastor view the core identity of the local church, and (2) whether the identity of the local church is affected through the ministry of preaching – preaching that takes into specific consideration the aspects of hermeneutics and context. The research indicates that while the church may have an understanding of its core identity – certainly when it answers the questions ‘who are we?’ and ‘what are we called to be and/or do’ – it lacks significantly in its missional identity. Contributing factors are mentioned and remedial action is proposed.
Highlights
From the earliest biblical records there are indications that God’s people periodically suffered from an identity crisis
According to Rouse and Van Gelder (2008:33–34) there are three essential truths that stand out in the Bible but that inform the local church of its holy identity and purpose
This is the church’s holy identity and purpose and this needs to be rediscovered and recovered in many local churches today
Summary
From the earliest biblical records there are indications that God’s people periodically suffered from an identity crisis. What the researcher hoped to achieve in this question, was to solicit from each interviewee (without offering any promptings, ideas, suggestions) their personal view and understanding of the core identity of the local church. All the interviewees agreed with the statements expressed earlier: the church exists to serve God; the church exists to serve its members; the church exists to serve the world It was surprising, that the hermeneutical and contextual preaching made no significant contribution to them understanding the missional identity of the local church. That the hermeneutical and contextual preaching made no significant contribution to them understanding the missional identity of the local church This was the case among the respondents of a separate quantitative survey, conducted among 38 churches from this mainline denomination. This is understandable since the pastor or preacher of the local church largely conveys identity to the church
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