Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda : WA (Wim) Dreyer and the reformation of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa
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Van Der Merwe, J.M.
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Abstract
Prof. W.A. Dreyer played an important role in the continuous reformation of the
Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (NHKA). This contribution to his Festschrift is not
about him. He would not want that. It is about the church and how his understanding of
reformed ecclesiology became the basis on which the transformation from ‘Volkskerk’ to
missional church took place. According to himself, that was his calling and his life’s work.
The importance of his contribution cannot be understood without the historical
background in which it played out. Neither is it possible to envisage what really happened
without acknowledging the theologians who played an important part in his life. This
article therefore starts with a short overview of the history of the NHKA. It then proceeds
with an overview of how important theologians in the NHKA influenced his ecclesiology.
It concludes with three specific contributions that Prof. W.A. Dreyer made which makes
him a key role player which led the NHKA on the way of Ecclesia reformata semper
reformanda.
CONTRIBUTION : Prof. W.A. Dreyer became an important church leader in the Netherdutch
Reformed Church. His leadership resulted in important changes in the church and especially
in the ecclesiology of the church. This article, which is part of his Festschrift, gives an
overview of his theological contribution through the lens of semper reformanda. By doing
so, it indicates how important is the role of church leaders. All the research is based on his
scholarly work.
Description
DATA AVAILABILITY : Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data
were created or analysed in this study.
This research is part of the project, ‘The Church and Poverty in South Africa’, directed by Prof. Johan van der Merwe, Department of Systematic and Historical Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria.
Special Collection: Wim Dreyer Dedication, sub-edited by Jaco Beyers (University of Pretoria, South Africa).
This research is part of the project, ‘The Church and Poverty in South Africa’, directed by Prof. Johan van der Merwe, Department of Systematic and Historical Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria.
Special Collection: Wim Dreyer Dedication, sub-edited by Jaco Beyers (University of Pretoria, South Africa).
Keywords
Prof. W.A. Dreyer, NHKA Apartheid, Ecclesiology, Transformation, Homosexuality, Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (NHKA), SDG-05: Gender equality
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG-05:Gender equality
Citation
Van der Merwe, J.M., 2023,
‘Ecclesia reformata semper
reformanda: W.A. (Wim)
Dreyer and the reformation
of the Netherdutch Reformed
Church of Africa’, HTS
Teologiese Studies/
Theological Studies 79(1),
a8908. https://DOI.org/10.4102/hts.v79i1.8908.