000			02131nam a22001697a 4500
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008			210923b20192019sa ||||fom| | 00| e eng d
040			_cZA-BrSAT
100			_aHayes, Ryan F. _9674
245			_aAn analysis of factors contributing to congregational fractures within four Churches of Christ congregations in Zomba, Malawi: A practical theological study
260			_aJohannesburg South Africa _bSouth African Theological Seminary _cOctober 2019
300			_a178 pages _bPDF _cA4 _eAbstract, TOC
502			_bMaster of Theology _cSouth African Theological Seminary _d2019 _gDr. Roger Tucker
520			_aThe purpose of this thesis is to elucidate the causes of conflict and division within four Churches of Christ in Zomba, Malawi. This topic is examined through the processes of empirical research through focus groups and subsequent corroboration with literary sources. Before the empirical research was carried out, the assumption was that the primary reasons for the conflict related to the leaders’ lack of education in relation to ecclesial and theological matters. After the research, it became clear that the reasons for the conflict were much deeper. A new theory was therefore developed considering the research, which was that personal and systemic anxiety relating to unstable identity formation is the ground out of which conflict and division occur in the four Zomba congregations. The letter to the Galatians is utilized as a normative guide to understand the importance of anxiety and identity in Zomba congregations. Paul’s exhortations are also utilized to form the transformative intervention for this context. Several interventions are suggested to ameliorate the problem in context, but the most important of which is a whole-life discipleship model created for Zomba church leaders. It is the assumption that such a program will effectively ameliorate the root causes of anxiety and unstable identity formation. In doing so, the symptoms of conflict and division will be amended over time.
942			_2ddc _cTHE
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