Abstract:
In view of the overall dissatisfaction with the preaching of God’s Word in general, it is necessary to find a practical theological solution to the problem. The importance of a personal house call by the minister or preacher with a view to actual and topical preaching already seems to pose an answer. A visit by the preacher gives the member of his congregation an opportunity to make a contribution to the sermon/message. The preacher must not only give a thorough exergesis of the text, but it is imperative that he should also be familiar with his listeners. The text as well as its context is of cardinal importance for the actual preaching. Knowledge of the context creates space for the text to make the message topical under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The listeners want to hear the Lord in their own circumstances as well as to experience Him as their personal living redeemer. When either the context or the listeners’ participation in the preaching is underrated, the listeners remain untouched by the message and hardly experience a Word- or Spiritual event. The dialogical communication process requires personal contact between preacher and listeners during which not only the preacher hears the voice of God and delivers a message in the course of his visit, but so that the church member will also be able to share his experience with God with the preacher, and then with the congregation. Members of the congregation are also biblically tasked to uplift one another with the Word of God. It is a source of great concern that more and more preachers and church councils have come to regard personal home visits as old-fashioned or even obsolete. The empirical research has strongly supported the concern and needs of church members as regards fruitful home visits by officials of the church. Church councils and spiritual leaders should firmly establish the practice of house calls as one of the basic cornerstones of a healthy and constructive communication with the view to the practical and topical preaching of God’s Word.
