A church with character and its social capital for projects amongst the poor

Abstract

In this article I present a theoretical framework for my argument that specific congregations which are renewed to address the current culture and context, according to the vision presented by Professor T.F.J. Dreyer, are competent to generate projects directed to the poor and humble as social capital. The problem addressed in the article, also phrased as the research question, is: what is the nature and diversity of care in the form of projects as social capital amongst the poor in renewed congregations as it emerges from the sermons on Matthew 25:31−46? The goal of the grounded theory analysis of sermons on this text in a research cycle of selective coding, collected from renewed congregations, will be the identification of projects, types of projects, and their properties. I discuss the idea of local theologies as a motivation of contextual religious action by the congregation in projects amongst the poor, provide a description of poverty in South Africa; show the role of religious faith communities in addressing poverty, followed by conceptualisation of social capital in projects of congregations, and lastly I give a description of two examples of projects thus far discovered in analysed sermons.<p><strong>How to cite this article:</strong> Pieterse, H.J.C., 2011, ‘A church with character and its social capital for projects amongst the poor’, <em>HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies</em> 67(3), Art. #1046, 8 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.v67i3.1046</p&gt

South Africa’s service-delivery crisis: From contextual understanding to diaconal response

“…Whereas I have so far drawn on his earlier research to come to this conclusion, such an emphasis on projects does not appear to be a lesser feature in the work derived from the more recent and current phase of his ongoing research on the role of preaching in the South African context of poverty (Pieterse 2011a(Pieterse , 2011b(Pieterse , 2012(Pieterse , 2013a(Pieterse , 2013b. Thus, whilst the main distinction from his earlier research could now be considered the way in which Pieterse has been developing his thesis on a direct causal relationship between the act of prophetic preaching and the activation of a diaconal church from his actual undertaking of empirical research, his perspective and his emphasis on projects have basically remained the same.…”

“…In South African practical-theological scholarship in the post-apartheid era, the work of Hendrik Pieterse deserves special appreciation for the way in which he has developed, through on-going research over a prolonged period of time, a theoretical perspective on the role that the Christian church could play through its preaching to promote diaconal practices of social change in South Africa's many poor communities (Pieterse 2001(Pieterse , 2002(Pieterse , 2004(Pieterse , 2011a(Pieterse , 2011b(Pieterse , 2012(Pieterse , 2013a(Pieterse , 2013b.…”

“…In what may be described as a deliberate attempt to develop, on the basis of an open-coding analysis of sermons on the above-mentioned text, a more diversified and extensive classification of existing projects (see Pieterse 2011a:2, 2012:2) through which selected congregations of the two churches are displaying their concrete care for the poor, Pieterse's work has clearly taken on a new dimension through the way in which he now distinguishes between two categories of diaconal projects amongst the poor on the basis of this analysis. Whilst now making a distinction between 'congregational projects of charity' and 'congregational projects of empowerment'(Pieterse 2011a(Pieterse :7, 2012(Pieterse :5-6, 2013a(Pieterse :187-190, 2013b:6-7) -of which the different subcategories and single examples in the subcategories are listed in Box 1 -he nevertheless remains appreciative of both types of projects as contributing meaningfully to solving the country's poverty problem (see Pieterse 2011a:3-4, 2011b:96) and as presenting signs of a renewed church in the 21st century (Pieterse 2011a:1-2) making a social difference.…”