Pentecoastal preaching and Christology : an emperical study

Abstract

Pentecostal preaching and Christology: an empirical study is a qualitative study conducted in the Western Reef Region of the Assemblies of God (Back to God) church. The study seeks to answer the question: How is Christology as a doctrinal element manifested and treated in contemporary preaching of Pentecostal churches in the Western Reef Region? The rationale behind this study is that while there has been wide research about preaching in various settings and times, not much has been written about preaching and Christology in the Pentecostal churches of the AOG (BTG), especially in the Western Reef Region. The theoretical framework of the study is Richard Osmer’s four core tasks of Practical Theological Interpretation, namely, the Descriptive task, the interpretive task, the normative task and the Pragmatic task. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 entail a literature study and they discuss Pentecostalism, preaching and Christology respectively, while Chapter 5 is empirical work. Data collection was done through ten sermons, and qualitative semi-structured interviews with five of the preachers whose sermons were analysed. Data was presented in narrative form and the ‘emic’ view of the participants. Data analysis was done through Atlas.ti computer software. Presentation, analysis and interpretation of data from the semi-structured interviews followed the thematic structure of the focus group interview schedule. The study revealed that the participants understood what Pentecostalism is. They also knew what preaching entails, its fundamental components, as well as the differences between Pentecostal preaching and preaching in other church traditions. Furthermore, the study revealed that while interviewees had a fair understanding of Christology, they felt that it was not sufficiently expressed in the churches of the Western Reef Region. Interviewees also felt that preaching in the Western Reef Region was not at a satisfactory level, mainly due to the lack of theological training for pastors. Participants indicated that the pragmatic way forward for the improvement of preaching in the region should be pre-ministerial theological training, which has to be taken as a matter of urgency. Furthermore, interviewees suggested that there should be ongoing workshops for practicing ministers.