Urban Congregations Research Articles

Challenges for Online Sermons and Online Communion during Covid-19 Pandemic: A Historical Perspective of Rural Congregations in the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe

This article aimed to investigate the challenges rural congregations face in the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe. The presentation employed literature review and documentary reviews such as church magazines because it is historical in nature. The findings showed that, unlike urban congregations who continued to benefit through digital gadgets to receive online sermons and online communion, rural congregations lag in all aspects involving digital sermons. Using face-to-face interviews and archival research, this paper proposes improved sermon dissemination packaging as key to the effective spread of the word in the face of difficulties in accessing technologically disseminated sermons in rural areas in Zimbabwe. Underpinned on the technological determinism theory, this paper unpacks technologically based preaching approaches that can be used to send sermons to all areas to improve Christian lives in rural areas in Zimbabwe. The study used a qualitative exploratory study designed to probe the perceptions and experiences of rural communities on issues about online sermon delivery communication. A qualitative research design enabled the researchers to interact with the study’s participants. Rural congregations in the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe faced several challenges. The most reported challenges were a lack of appreciation for using electronic gadgets to access platforms such as Zoom, Youtube, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Google Meet and a lack of data and network connectivity resources. It was recommended that the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe strive to make an effort to capacitate pastors in rural congregations and their congregations so that they are well equipped with user-friendly electronic gadgets even in remote areas. This helps the church to benefit and continue to be enlightened with the word of God and communion even during the advent of pandemics such as COVID-19.

RETROSPECTIVE CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF BARACK OBAMA’S AND OLUSEGUN OBASANJO’S POLITICAL COMMUNICATION FEATURES AND STYLES

Governments make calculated human capital commitment to political communication because of its indispensability and effectiveness as a veritable tool, which underlies and is underlined by massive government investment in public communication. Presidential communication is rooted in, influenced, and limited by, usually, certain written codes. This study examined why, when, and how two presidents said what they said, and why they did or not do as said. Thesis problem was unravelling how features and styles of two presidents facilitated their political communication and public policies. Study fitted into two models, using two political communication theories: mainly ‘Aristotelian Political Rhetoric;’ Walter Fisher’s ‘the Narrative Paradigm’ as theoretical guides. Using original communications of two presidents, this comparative and historical study bridged the sparse scholarship on comparative presidential political communication. Data were obtained from purposively selected sample population, collated, analysed and interpreted, deploying multiple instruments, majorly content and discourse analyses chosen for their effectiveness at measuring predetermined variables. Selected published presidential communications 178 and 158 each all totaling 336 obtained from secondary sources formed the sample population. Findings of study revealed both presidents were largely more dissimilar than otherwise. Their backgrounds reflected, not dominated their communications. As communicators, they were urban-romanticisers, but rural-jilters, promoting rural exclusion, and accessibility to selected urban congregations. Obama’s presidential communication was delivered using peculiar styles, like Olusegun Obasanjo’s, both relying on diverse notable features. Conclusively, presidential political communication should be additional statutory responsibility of presidents to legally guarantee accountability, and practical democracy. Presidential communication system must be deconstructed and reconstructed to promote professional speech-making, and polity-connected presidential political communication.

Conflagration: How Transcendentalists Sparked the American Struggle for Racial, Gender, and Social Justice

Conflagration: How Transcendentalists Sparked the American Struggle for Racial, Gender, and Social Justice

Why we pay outsiders to counsel our congregation members: investigating the motivation for funding a congregational assistance plan

ABSTRACTA Congregational Assistance Plan (CAP) is a formalized mechanism of counseling, premised on the model developed offering support to workers, Employee Assistance Programming, except for members of a church community. This Canadian study involved 44 church leaders representing both urban and rural congregations. Participants reported that they used church funds to pay for CAP for both spiritual and pragmatic reasons. CAP is viewed as an extension of the church’s ministry while also recognizing it was an economically efficient manner to help members of the congregation with psychosocial issues they did not feel comfortable sharing with ministers and deacons and often issues deacons. Ministers did not have the ability or comfort with which to assist.

Congregational involvement in HIV: A qualitative comparative analysis of factors influencing HIV activity among diverse urban congregations

Religious congregations can potentially reach disproportionately affected populations with HIV programming, however, factors that influence congregational involvement in HIV are not well-studied. Utilizing comparative case methods and in-depth qualitative data from a diverse sample of 14 urban congregations, we examine a range of attitudinal, organizational, resource, and demographic factors to systematically identify different case scenarios—i.e., combinations of characteristics—associated with the level and types of HIV activities in which the congregational cases tended to be involved. For example, White or mixed race congregations with active gay constituencies and an African-American congregation with a strong lay HIV champion were among the high HIV involvement case scenarios, compared to African-American congregations with a health emphasis but no lay HIV champion among the medium HIV involvement scenarios, and fundamentalist African-American and Latino congregations among the low HIV involvement scenarios. Two key factors that appeared influential across case scenarios included the existence of lay champions for HIV activities and the general theological orientation of the congregation.

“Younger People Want to Do it Themselves” - Self-Actualization, Commitment, and the Reinvention of Community

Current research indicates that younger Americans, driven by socioeconomic shifts and cultural trends prioritizing self-actualization, are increasingly disinclined toward traditional communal organizations. Yet a search for self-actualization may, in fact, lead religiously inclined young adults to traditional communal organizations, which are characterized by relatively strict organizational norms. To explore how such organizations respond to the tension between self-actualization and communal practices, this paper describes a multi-method study of an urban Jewish congregation that experienced a large influx of young adults. The paper demonstrates two related outcomes of the resultant tension: first, the strategic integration of self-expressive content into traditional organizational practices, in a manner that allows these practices to become vehicles for self-actualization; second, the leveraging of these young adults’ transience, in both formal and informal ways, in order to maintain organizational stability. These two seemingly paradoxical outcomes contribute to our understanding of how some communal organizations respond to young adults’ self-actualizing inclinations.

Discipleship in Urban Contexts

"With the current state of discipleship, congregations can no longer afford to rely on their church-centered programs as their main means of growing disciples. Programs do not disciple people; people disciple people. Becoming authentic communities who create intentional spaces where believers of all ages and stages in their faith journey can effectively and meaningfully connect with one another and with God, grow spiritually, and reach out to the world around them is of vital importance in urban discipleship. With the imperative to share the gospel in the cities, urban congregations need to objectively do their own discipleship reality assessment in light of Jesus’ example and command. A thoughtful assessment of the gap between Jesus’ intention and current practices will help them make necessary adjustments to their approach to discipleship."

Examining Sense of Community among Hispanic Catholic Parishes by Economic Status, Location-Site, and Family Size

In the present study, Roman Catholic deacons at one of the 216 Hispanic parishes across the U.S. reported on their parish sense of community (P-SOC), using the SCI-2, within the congregation. P-SOC was assessed among socioeconomic status of lower/working class (n = 109) or middle class (n = 107) Latino parishes, located in either an urban (n = 152) or urban cluster (n = 64) site, with the number of families within the parish to reflect a tiny (n = 76), small (n = 46), moderate (n = 38), or large (n = 54) size. A 2 × 2 × 4 MANOVA on four P-SOC sub-scale scores found no significant main or interaction effect for status, site, or size. It appears per public perception that a sense of connectedness and closeness exists in the Hispanic parishes that are poor, urban, and large congregations is a myth at best.

Transforming Conflict: A Peacebuilding Approach for an Intergroup Conflict in a Local Congregation

An intergroup conflict based on fundamental incompatibilities such as different group identity and values is the highest and the unhealthiest level of conflict in a local congregation setting. In this case, a peacebuilding process is required in order to transform the conflict situation to achieve sustainable peace. Different from peacemaking and peacekeeping, peacebuilding takes a longer period to transform the cultural, social and structural problems on the macro level as well as to change behaviours, perceptions and perspectives of individuals on the micro level. This article attempts to disclose the characteristics of intergroup conflict in an urban congregation in the UK to describe its serious intensity by analysing its nature and scale. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the conflict transformation approach, as a long-term peacebuilding process, can be used effectively not only to alleviate intergroup conflict but also to eventually promote rehabilitation and reintegration through fostering a culture of peace.

"It's Kind of a Dichotomy": Thoughts Related to Calling and Purpose from Pastors Working and Counseling in Urban Resource-Poor Communities.

Pastors serving low-income urban areas are first-responders to emotional issues by default, since fewer mental health resources are available. Thus, it is important to understand how pastors serving urban resource-poor areas reflect on their counseling role. Forty-eight Black, Hispanic, and White pastors with urban congregations in Los Angeles or Chicago reflect on their pastoral calling and its relation to their counseling role. Through phenomenology, the pastors' lived experiences as they counseled in an urban context were explored. Analysis revealed complex feelings about their counseling role in light of their resource-poor environments. Recommendations are provided based on the findings.

Making Disciples: Obstacles and Opportunities in Urban Congregations

AbstractThis article looks at the current theological understanding and practice of evangelism in the United Methodist Church. In the early 2000s, the denomination crafted and adopted the mission statement “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.” As someone who has worked at both the local church and denominational levels of the United Methodist Church, I have seen a gap between the denomination's stated mission and the actual ministry of local churches due to two primary obstacles. Congregations are unsure of what it entails to make disciples and do not understand that the purpose is for the transformation of the world. Through interviews and the study of local congregations, impediments to fulfilling this statement emerged. The article concludes by offering an example of an outlier congregation that is effectively engaged in life‐affirming evangelism in an urban setting.

Abstract A30: African American pastors' perspectives on their role in addressing health disparities

Abstract Purpose: Faith-based interventions are community-based approaches that recognize the central role the church plays in African-American communities. Pastors potentially exert an important influence on health behavior, serving as role models, disseminators of health information, and gatekeepers for health promotion programs, including those aimed at cancer prevention and control. This study explores pastors' perceptions and motivations related to being change agents in their churches and communities. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 African-American pastors in 2010-2011 using a semi-structured guide. Pastors were asked about their perspectives on influence in relation to their congregation and community. Questions focused on perceptions of their influence as well as how they have been influenced by their congregations, communities, and other roles (i.e., being bi-vocational, as a family member). Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using a combination of theory-guided and grounded theory approaches. Results: Participants ranged in age, gender, and religious denomination. While our question asked about influence in general, many pastors' spoke about the health needs of their community as a motivating force, we have great disparity where sickness and disease is concerned. It is important that we use the church to reach people. Within this context of health, two themes emerged and add to our understanding of pastors as influencers of health behavior change. Organizational change theory recognizes the role leadership plays in the implementation of programs and pastors have been noted as the producers of culture within their churches. In our study, pastors acknowledged this influence and spoke of it as a responsibility. Pastors spoke of acting on this responsibility by promoting programs or outreach efforts to meet the needs and “improve the quality of life” (i.e., spiritual, physical, emotional, and financial) of their congregations and communities. They also spoke of the traits and characteristics a pastor requires to be influential. Some spoke of being a “facilitator” to the ideas and wants of their congregation/community, others spoke of being leaders and the motivating force behind initiatives, and still others used the term pioneer and felt they were most influential in helping create a vision or developing new ways for their congregation/community to address health issues. While discussing their influence, pastors spoke about congregation and community synonymously, with the community considered just a larger congregation. Pastors also felt their ability to be influential was modified by their religious denomination and ethnicity. They spoke of denominations with less structure providing more opportunities for pastors to be influential at a local level. In addition, pastors felt their ability to be influential was sometimes limited due to a lack of resources, which they felt was not as important an issue for White pastors and pastors with more affluent and urban congregations. Conclusion: Our findings provide insight into developing effective faith-based interventions. They add to the current theories on pastors as change agents indicating pastors see themselves as important figures and want to foster a culture of holistic health within their churches and communities. However, collaborations between churches and researchers must acknowledge individual differences in pastors' perspectives on their role as behavior change agents and gatekeepers of African-American communities. To be successful, these efforts must take into account each pastor's strengths as well as their vision for themselves and their role in their congregation and community. Pastors' dedication to holistic, congregation-based health improvement holds great promise for reducing health disparities. Citation Format: Paige Pirkey, Brook E. Harmon, Emma Draluck, Christine E. Blake, James R. Hebert. African American pastors' perspectives on their role in addressing health disparities. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A30.

Where to Find Christian Philosophy?: Spatiality in John Chrysostom’s Counter to Greek Paideia

[...]it will be argued that the preacher invests the concept of Christian philosophy with spatial qualities to make the monastic ideal available to his urban congregation. Chrysostom vigorously attacks these aspirations of the urban elite in his treatise On Vainglory, contrasting them with the care for the soul.59 Within the schools themselves, another social hierarchy cements the elitist character of Greek teaching. Since traditional philosophy is based on formal logic and argumentation-in the same way as rhetoric depends on the mastery of formalized techniques-there is an assignment of social roles to experts or authorities on the one hand and neophytes on the other, who have yet to complete their skills. Since he wants to make the monastic life a guideline not only for monks, but for all Christians he stresses the close ties between the rural ascetics and the urban population.80 That is also why Chrysostom repeatedly projects ascetic values onto Paul; by transferring the ascetic lifestyle to the Apostle he directs his flock back to the beginnings of the Church as a template for their conduct.81 The ordinary believers need living models, in addition to biblical characters of ancient times, in order to mould their souls according to the religious virtues.82 Thus the social dimension of philosophia is operational not only in the practice of virtue, especially charity, but already during the pedagogical process. [...]Chrysostom intimates, Christian knowledge will contribute to creating a humane urban society, which is tied together by mutual acts of love and the community of 'teachers' and followers.

Urban Parish nurses: A qualitative analysis of the organization of work in community-based practices

In the changing political economy of the health care environment, it is critical to understand the role of community providers serving vulnerable groups as central to their core service missions. Religion becomes salient in the work of health care providers in church communities. This study deconstructs and critically examines the factors that shape the work of nurses in urban congregations. The design utilized in-depth semi-structured interviews and a survey that included educational background, years in practice, congregation demographics and outreach activities. Nurses discussed how their faith-based work aligns along broader common dimensions of their practice. The organization of work is a useful sociological framework in which to explore this community-based nursing specialty.

Das frühe Christentum und die Bildung

Early Christianity is often regarded as an entirely lower-class phenomenon, and thus characterised by a low educational and cultural level. This view is false for several reasons. (1) When dealing with the ancient world, inferences cannot be made from the social class to which one belongs to one's educational and cultural level. (2) We may confidently state that in the early Christian urban congregations more than 50 per cent of the members could read and write at an acceptable level. (3) Socialisation within the early congregations occurred mainly through education and literature. No religious figure before (or after) Jesus Christ became so quickly and comprehensively the subject of written texts! (4) The early Christians emerged as a creative and thoughtful literary movement. They read the Old Testament in a new context, they created new literary genres (gospels) and reformed existing genres (the Pauline letters, miracle stories, parables). (5) From the very beginning, the amazing literary production of early Christianity was based on a historic strategy that both made history and wrote history. (6) Moreover, early Christians were largely bilingual, and able to accept sophisticated texts, read them with understanding, and pass them along to others. (7) Even in its early stages, those who joined the new Christian movement entered an educated world of language and thought. (8) We should thus presuppose a relatively high intellectual level in the early Christian congregations, for a comparison with Greco-Roman religion, local cults, the mystery religions, and the Caesar cult indicates that early Christianity was a religion with a very high literary production that included critical reflection and refraction.

A “Double Alienation”

Scholarship on Christianity in Malaysia has been dominated by denominational church history, as well as the study of urban, middle-class and English-speaking church congregations in the post-Independence period. In focusing on the vernacular Chinese Protestant church in Malaysia, and one of its most prominent para-church organisations, called The Bridge, this paper draws attention to the variegated histories of Christian conversion and dissemination in Malaysia, and the various modes and meanings of Christian identity as incorporated into different local communities and cultures. The history of the Chinese Protestant church suggested in the first part of the paper takes as its point of departure the distinction between mission and migrant churches, the latter being the origin of the vernacular Chinese churches in Malaysia. The second part of the paper traces the emergence of a Chinese para-church lay organisation called The Bridge, and the Chinese Christian intellectuals behind it, in their mission to engage the larger Chinese and national public through literary publications and other media outreach activities. In so doing, these Chinese Christian intellectuals also drew on the resources of an East Asian and overseas Chinese Christian network, while searching for their destiny as Chinese Christians in the national context of Malaysia. By pointing to the importance of regional, Chinese-language Christian networks, and the complexity of vernacular Christian subjectivity, the paper hopes to fill a gap in the existing literature on Christianity in Malaysia, as well as make a contribution to on-going debates on issues of localisation, globalisation and authenticity in global Christianity.

If you do not count it, it does not count: a pilot study of valuing urban congregations

The value of urban congregations to local economies has been widely recognized but insufficiently measured. This study attempts to formulate and test a methodology for measuring this value. By applying different methods of valuation to a variety of factors, we achieve the first systematic measurement of the yearly contribution that an urban congregation makes to its city’s economy. The limitations and possibilities of our methodology are discussed, managerial implications are outlined, and further research and testing is suggested.

The Organization of HIV and Other Health Activities within Urban Religious Congregations

Most religious congregations in the USA are involved with some type of social service activity, including health activities. However, relatively few formally engage with people with HIV, and many have reported barriers to introducing HIV prevention activities. We conducted a qualitative case study of HIV involvement among 14 urban congregations in Los Angeles County in 2007. In-depth qualitative interviews of lay leaders and clergy were analyzed for themes related to HIV and other health activities, including types of health issues addressed, types of activities conducted, how activities were organized, and the relationship between HIV and other health activities. We identified three primary models representing how congregations organized HIV and other health activities: (1) embedded (n = 7), where HIV activities were contained within other health activities; (2) parallel (n = 5), where HIV and other health activities occurred side by side and were organizationally distinct; (3) overlap (n = 2), where HIV and non-HIV health efforts were conducted by distinct groups, but shared some members and organization. We discuss implications of each model for initiating and sustaining HIV activities within urban congregations over time.

Religious congregations' collaborations: with whom do they work and what resources do they share in addressing HIV and other health issues?

This study explores how religious congregations interact with other community organizations to address health and, in particular, HIV-related needs within their membership and/or local communities. Case study data from a diverse sample of 14 urban congregations (6 Black, 4 Latino, 2 White, and 2 mixed race-ethnicity) indicate that they engaged in three types of relationships to conduct HIV and other health-related activities: (a) resources flowed to congregations from external entities, (b) resources flowed from congregations to external entities, and (c) congregations interacted with external entities. These types of relationships were present in roughly equal proportions; thus, congregations were not primarily the recipients of resources from other organizations in these interactions. Financial, material, and human capital resources were shared across these three relationship types, and the most common organization types that congregations were involved with for health efforts were prevention and social service organizations, health care providers, and other congregations. In addition, congregations tended to have more collaborative relationships with other faith-based organizations (FBOs) and tended to engage with non-FBOs more to either receive or provide resources. Results suggest that congregations contribute to community health by not only sponsoring health activities for their own members but also by providing specific support or resources to enhance the programming of other community organizations and collaborating with external organizations to sponsor congregation-based and community-based health activities.

’n Begronde bedieningsmodel vir die diakonia van die gemeente

A founded model for the ministry of the congregation’s diakonia. This article describes a founded model for ministry in the Reformed Church of Randburg (RCR) and the process that was followed to develop this model. The article is the last of four articles. Each of these articles describes a phase of this process, which leads to the developed model. Osmer’s model for research in Practical Theology was followed in the research. The article describes the research conducted according to the final phase (pragmatic) of Osmer’s model. The question of how practical ministry in an urban congregation such as the RCR should look like is addressed by the suggestion of a model for the ministry. This model is founded on the research results described in the previous three articles. In this article, the research question of what a founded model for ministry may look like and what the developing process entails is being answered. At first, various angles of approach to the research on ministry in congregations, is described. To accomplish this, recent literature was examined. Secondly, the points of departure in the research are stated. Thirdly, the process that the congregation followed to develop the model is described. In the fourth place, the results of the previous research on which the model is based, are summed up. Lastly, the most important aspects of the model for ministry in the congregation are described.