Family ministry in a postmodern church

This article is a revised version of aspects of the PhD thesis of Dr Thinus van Staden with Prof. Yolanda Dreyer as promoter.The aim of the article is to reflect on the necessity for family ministry in the church today, and to explore different models and methods for doing it. This article must be understood against the backdrop of the challenges facing mainline churches, of which the decline in numbers, the lack of support for programmes and initiatives on behalf of families, and the apparent inability to minister effectively to young people, are the most pressing. Since the early church there has been a close relationship between church and home. Not only did rituals and liturgies spill from the gathered congregation into homes; metaphors from family life also provided images and language to the early church. In the last few decades there has been a rekindled interest in the home as the primary incubator for faith formation. Several books, articles, organisations, programs, consultants and churches have described their approach as ‘family ministry’. From a practical-theological viewpoint, there must be a set of criteria by which these approaches could be evaluated. This article aims to contribute in this regard, and to critique different approaches to family ministry.http://www.hts.org.zaam201

Biblical perspectives on family ministry in a postmodern church

The aim of the article is to reflect on biblical-theological perspectives on family in order to enrich postmodern faith communities. In the post-biblical period the biological family was central to the process of the institutionalisation of the church and the spiritual aspect of family was underplayed. The church father, Augustine, indowed marriage with sacramental status. This emphasised the presence of God in the family, but ‘procreation’ dominated his theology of marriage. The sacramental status of marriage along with the dominance of patriarchy made marriage indisputable. This obstructed any possibility of thinking creatively about marriage in a postmodern context. In his reformation of marriage Martin Luther succeeded in deconstructing the sacramental status of marriage, but did not succeed in overturning patriarchal dominance. The reality of postmodern families differs vastly from that of biblical times and the times of Augustine, Aquinas and Luther. The challenge of the church in a postmodern world is to reflect in a responsible biblical theological way on the relationship between adults and children from the perspective of the kingdom of God. This article aims to contribute in this regard.This article represents a reworked version of aspects from the PhD dissertation (University of Pretoria) with Prof. Dr Yolanda Dreyer as supervisor. (http://hdl.handle.net/2263/40208)Hierdie artikel is ’n verwerkte weergawe van aspekte van die PhD-verhandeling van J.M.v.S. (Universiteit van Pretoria), met Y.D. (Universiteit van Pretoria) as promotor. (http://hdl.handle.net/2263/40208)http://www.hts.org.zaam201

Internal audit competencies : skills requirements for internal audit management in South Africa

Internal auditing is playing an increasingly important role within organisations. The growing demand for internal auditors, as business and corporate governance partners to organisational management, places a larger burden on internal audit managers in respect of the competence and skill requirements they need in order to meet their increasingly diverse and divergent responsibilities. In South Africa, internal auditing is regarded as a scarce skill profession. Published research addresses competencies in various disciplines and professions, including the general competencies required by internal auditors, and the role and function of internal audit managers. However, limited information is available with respect to the relative importance of specific competencies and skills required by internal audit managers. The purpose of this article is to broaden this knowledge area firstly, by identifying the relative importance of various competencies included in IIA guidance pronouncements as being mandatory for internal audit managers. Then, secondly, these ranked IIA competencies are compared with South African and global internal audit leaders’ perceptions of these competencies’ relative importance. The article concludes that the terminology used in the various IIA guidance pronouncements and the published reports on studies conducted by the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation are ambiguous and should be standardised. Furthermore, it is believed that quality-related issues are not appropriately addressed in the guidance pronouncements. This article also identifies substantial differences in the levels of importance attributed to quality-related competencies by the various internal audit leaders. Other areas where significant differences exist are those of soft skills (areas focussing on the performance of the audit engagement) and of operational and management research.http://www.saiga.co.za/publications-sajaar.htmam201

Are the knowledge areas covered by dedicated internal auditing programmes currently offered by South African public universities meeting expectations?

The role of internal auditors has changed especially dramatically over the last 20 years, with resultant challenges to their formally acquired competencies. In response, the internal auditing profession regularly updates its competency framework and its global internal audit curriculum to reflect these developments and the changing expectations of internal audit’s stakeholders, including those relating to the required knowledge areas. Very little research has been done on internal audit education in South Africa, and no studies have focused on identifying and understanding the knowledge areas being covered in higher education institutions. This article explores the latter by identifying the knowledge areas currently being covered by dedicated internal auditing programmes at South African universities, determining whether the expectations of global internal audit stakeholders regarding internal audit knowledge requirements has similarities with the expectations of their South African counterparts, and establishing whether they are being met by formal internal audit education programmes offered by South Africa’s publicly funded higher education institutions. A content analysis of knowledge areas covered by these South African universities’ courses was performed. A similar analysis was performed on the secondary data contained in the 2010 CBOK survey, in order to determine stakeholders’ knowledge requirement expectations. A comparative analysis was then carried out using the university programme content analysis and the secondary data’s indications of stakeholders’ expectations. The study found that the South African programmes cover nearly all the knowledge areas of the profession’s competency framework and globally recognised internal audit curriculum, which generally correlates with the expectations of internal audit’s stakeholders internationally and in South Africa. It was further revealed that South African internal audit stakeholders’ expectations and rankings of the importance of the official knowledge areas do not differ significantly from those held by stakeholders from the rest of Africa, and that stakeholders in Australia and North America display similar tendencies, also without statistically significant differences.http://www.saiga.co.za/publications-sajaar.htmam201

Professionalism apparent from South African internal audit functions’ use of the Standards

When stakeholders perceive that members of a profession do not live up to their professional obligations, the profession loses prestige. Professions use various measures, including professional standards, disciplinary processes and dedicated quality assurance standards to remain relevant to their clients and to the greater business community. The internal audit profession often expresses a desire to improve its standing as a profession. This paper asserts that members’ compliance with professional standards, including those on quality assurance, impacts on the internal audit profession’s standing. Firstly, this paper provides a theoretical overview of the link between professional standards and professionalisation, and secondly, describes aspects of the current use of professional standards by South African internal audit functions. The data used was collected by the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation as part of its 2010 Common Body of Knowledge study. A large percentage of South African chief audit executives responded, reporting that their internal audit functions did not comply fully with professional standards, while of those who did report full compliance, only a minority reported having implemented a quality assurance and improvement programme, and only a small number reported having had external quality assurance reviews. This paper contributes to corporate governance literature in a developing country setting and it provides insights into possible reasons why the internal audit profession’s quest for professionalisation remains a challenge.http://www.saiga.co.za/publications-sajaar.htmam2013ff201

Internal auditing : how South Africa compares

Despite South Africa being considered a developing country, internal auditing has developed a robust presence both in the private and public sectors. The CBOK research (conducted by the IIA’s IIARF) shows that local internal audit functions compare well with other more developed regions around the world. A factor that has contributed to the strength of South African internal auditing is the support contained in legislation and private sector codes of corporate governance: the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) continue to underpin public sector advances, while the King ll and King lll reports, with their codes of corporate governance, apply to all sectors in South Africa. All of this has placed South Africa’s internal audit functions collectively in a leadership role in Africa.http://www.saiga.co.za/publications-sajaar.htmam201

Gesinsbediening as bedieningsvennootskap tussen gemeentes en gesinne

The aim of this study is to reflect on biblical-theological perspectives on the relationship between the church and families. The study is undertaken against the backdrop of the challenges facing mainline churches, of which the decline in numbers, the lack of the support for programmes and initiatives on behalf of families, and the apparent inability to minister effectively to young people, are the most pressing. At the same time modernisation and globalisation have a negative impact on the well-being of families. This study aims to contribute to interplay between the church ministry and the ministry of families. Two research questions guide this study. The first is whether Reformed churches, and for the purposes of this investigation the Dutch Reformed Church and the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa, do enough to support and strengthen families in a postmodern context. The second question examines the underlying theories and family ministry programmes of existing family ministry initiatives. Four sub-movements within practical theology form the methodological framework of this study. The first movement describes the crisis within the church and families today (descriptive theology). The second movement explores some normative texts of the Christian tradition (historical theology) with regard to families. At different stages of the Old and New Testament, different theological perspectives and strategies can be identified. In the post-biblical period the biological family was central to the process of the institutionalisation of the church and the spiritual aspect of family was underplayed. The challenge of the church in a postmodern world is to engage in responsible biblical theological reflection on marriage and family, and specifically the relationship between the church and families from the perspective of the kingdom of God. The third movement within practical theology brings the findings of the previous two movements into dialogue with each other (systematic theology). In the love ethic of equal regard following this dialogue, marriage is seen as a non-hierarchical, post-patriarchal, life-long bond between two people. The family is iii described as the primary context for faith formation. Although several studies suggest that family form, and not only family function, plays an important role in the well-being of children and family members, the primary concern of the church should be to develop a spirituality of marriage and family. The fourth movement (strategic theology) within practical theology is made up of two separate, but related inquiries. Firstly, different models and methods for family ministry are investigated by means of a literature study. Secondly, a qualitative study done in five selected congregations is described in order to point out the underlying theories and resulting family ministry programmes. The findings suggest that only one of the five selected congregations has an integrated, coherent family ministry model. Although several different family ministry programmes were found in practice, a critical family ethic was lacking. This is the focus of the contribution of this study.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013.gm2014Practical Theologyunrestricte

Gesinsbediening in ’n postmoderne kerk vanuit Bybels-teologiese perspektiewe

Biblical perspectives on family ministry in a postmodern church. The aim of the article is to reflect on biblical-theological perspectives on family in order to enrich postmodern faith communities. In the post-biblical period the biological family was central to the process of the institutionalisation of the church and the spiritual aspect of family was underplayed. The church father, Augustine, indowed marriage with sacramental status. This emphasised the presence of God in the family, but ‘procreation’ dominated his theology of marriage. The sacramental status of marriage along with the dominance of patriarchy made marriage indisputable. This obstructed any possibility of thinking creatively about marriage in a postmodern context. In his reformation of marriage Martin Luther succeeded in deconstructing the sacramental status of marriage, but did not succeed in overturning patriarchal dominance. The reality of postmodern families differs vastly from that of biblical times and the times of Augustine, Aquinas and Luther. The challenge of the church in a postmodern world is to reflect in a responsible biblical theological way on the relationship between adults and children from the perspective of the kingdom of God. This article aims to contribute in this regard

Lokus van beheer en transformasionele leierskap.

Locus of control and transformational leadership. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between locus of control and transformational leadership. These constructs were selected by virtue of the lack of empirical research regarding the assumed relationship between them. The Locus of Control Inventory (LCI) of Schepers (1998) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), Form 5R of Bass and Avolio (1993) were administered to 102 respondents. The results indicate statistically significant relationships between: internal locus of control and transformational leadership; external locus of control and transactional leadership; and autonomy and transformational leadership

Predictive species-area relations and determination of subsample size for vegetation sampling in the Transvaal Waterberg

An expression for predicting the number of species in a given area is described. Derivatives of this expression, to increase sampling efficiency in a vegetation stand, include a minimum of four separate subsamples; a maximum number of subsamples when less than 10% increment in new species is achieved; and subsample size. It is also suggested that species diversity in terms of species per unit area can be more consistent when derived from this expression