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When you preach, you know from experience that what happens in the preaching event is uncontrollable and, therefore, full of mystery. The liturgy and the sermon are part of it and are related to something that happens, but we know this ‘something’ is uncontrollable. Investigation and reflection on resonance in preaching are on the trail of the mystery of the sermon as an event. We know that something mysterious happens when we preach that cannot be controlled by the preachers or listeners. In this article, I discuss the concept of uncontrollability in Hartmut Rosa’s scholarly contributions and mystery in the work of John de Gruchy. I then discuss four Christmas sermons of the Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, in search of the mystery of uncontrollability. In trying to understand preaching that resonates, I ask: How does the preaching event reflect the aspects of uncontrollability and transcendence in Archbishop Makgoba’s sermons? Archbishop Makgoba is known for his thought-provoking sermons that often delve into complex issues. The mystery in his sermons lies in his ability to explore profound spiritual concepts and connect them to everyday life. He uses metaphorical language to convey deeper meanings, leaving room for interpretation and contemplation. The mystery in his sermons also stems from his engagement with the unknown aspects of faith and the divine, encouraging his audience to grapple with the mysteries of existence.

Scholars believe that we are amid one of the greatest cultural revolutions since the mass production of books in Gutenberg around 1450. The art of book printing, which originated in Central Europe, turned the world on its head within 10 years. The mass production of books resulted in most people in Europe learning to read in less than one generation, which has led to major changes in all areas of social life and has affected the lives of millions of people for over a hundred years. According to these same scholars, we currently find ourselves in a similar position through what is known as the AI (artificial intelligence). In this article, the researcher wants to come to a better understanding of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and AI as part of it and the way they challenge preachers. The central research question is: In our pursuit to speak the truth of Jesus Christ to the powerful economic elite, what are the challenges and opportunities that the 4IR is posing to preachers?

Bringing methodology and theory closer: Development and challenges in South African homiletics. The homiletic landscape in South Africa is rich and varied. In this contribution, we attempt to paint with broad brushstrokes this landscape. We write as practical theologians with a shared love for homiletics, but also with an interest in doing what we preach in terms of research and teaching. Put differently, we argue in the light of existing literature that there should be congruence between theories we advance, and methodologies we employ. We dwell on themes such as decolonisation, justice and reconciliation, poverty and inequality that are characteristic of our homiletical landscape. We conclude with the thought that as Christianity in South Africa grows and preachers increase in number, so do the opportunities for empirical academic involvement in preaching. However, the occasion also poses a challenge for academics engaged in homiletics, namely, to practise what they preach by bringing theory and method in a closer relationship. Contribution: The article engages current homiletical research in South Africa by means of a literature study, specifically highlighting the challenges and opportunities posed to the discipline of Homiletics within a postcolonial South African context, and at ecumenical faculties of Theology. These challenges and opportunities are especially important for a discipline such as Homiletics in South Africa with its strong Protestant and Reformed roots, to reflect on future methodologies pertaining to research and teaching.

The article focuses on the ongoing challenges of post-reunification Germany, particularly the experiences of East Germans in the transformation process. Topics include the public perception of East-West differences, the lasting social and economic impacts of reunification, and the role of the "Zukunftszentrum" in addressing these issues through research and cultural reflection.

The large number of xenophobic attacks that broke out in different places in South Africa during 2008 is still continuing unabated ten years later. We are still under pressure to come to terms with the reality that this occurred in a country that is globally considered to be an example of reconciliation. In this article the primary causes of these xenophobic outbreaks stemming from fear are scrutinised and placed within the wider framework of a culture of fear. Finally, the impact of violence and fear on practice of preaching within a Christian context is discussed, asking the question: How do we go about preaching within this fearful context?

In einem Hochendemiegebiet der alveolären Echinokokkose (AE), einer Zoonose verursacht durch den Fuchsbandwurm Echinococcus multilocularis wurde in Südwestdeutschland ein Feldhase (Lepus europaeus) während der offiziellen Jagd erlegt. Bei der amtlichen Fleischuntersuchung zeigten sich makroskopisch für eine AE suspekte, subkapsulär im Leberparenchym liegende, zystenähnliche Veränderungen von ca. 1–3 cm Größe. Auch im Rahmen einer an der Hasenleber durchgeführten Ultraschall- und MRT-Untersuchung ergab sich bildmorphologisch der hochgradige Verdacht auf eine AE. Um die Struktur des Inhaltes der Zysten nicht zu zerstören, wurde auf ihre Eröffnung verzichtet. Die histologische und immunhistochemische Untersuchung durch eine Referenzpathologie für Echinokokkose konnte die Verdachtsdiagnose der AE oder die Differentialdiagnose einer Zystizerkose, verursacht durch T. crassiceps oder T. pisiformis, nicht bestätigen. Die histopathologischen Befunde sprachen für das Vorliegen eines Cholangiofibroms (Von-Meyenburg-Komplex). Dieser Befund wurde anhand der Bildmorphologie des Ultraschalls und der MRT als Caroli-Krankheit eingeordnet. Der vorliegende Fallbericht zeigt, dass als Differentialdiagnose einer AE oder einer Zystizerkose auch an ein seltenes Cholangiofibrom mit der makroskopisch-/bildmorphologischen Ausprägung einer Caroli-Krankheit gedacht werden sollte.

Rising average temperatures and the increased occurrence of heat islands increase the vulnerability of urban society in Halle (Saale) and Mannheim as well. Dealing with the associated challenges requires not only locally adapted strategies, but in particular an interdepartmental approach and the participatory involvement of those affected. Real laboratories in both cities open up the possibility of testing this in a transformative process. The aim here is, among other things, to learn with and from each other and to generate new knowledge to address the urgent issues. This article discusses the opportunities and challenges that real laboratories are confronted with in terms of knowledge already in the discovery phase and what needs to be taken into account to support this process in the best possible way.

Congregational studies: A rapidly developing field of study. Congregational studies are not so simple to define. This may be related to the relative novelty of the discipline, but also to the variety of people who practise it and the equally wide range of angles to the field. The purpose of this article is to look at various stages in the development of the field of congregational studies in the South African context, and more specifically within the Dutch Reformed Church over the past 50 years. The phases can be described as follows: the initial church-building phase, followed by the phase where the dynamics and identity of faith communities came into focus, and then by a phase in which the focus shifted to congregational studies specifically within the African context and greater focus on the empirical investigation of congregations in the form of various modes of congregational analysis, as well as the advent of a missional approach to congregations. A further and ever-evolving phase is the move towards a more aesthetic perspective of the field, known as a theo-dramatic approach. Together with the last phase, we just entered what I would call the post- COVID-19 phase. One can see massive changes in congregational ministry since the COVID-19 virus started to spread in South Africa. Overnight, ministers and church boards had to adapt to online modes of being and doing church and I am very sure this will be an enormous shift. In future we will certainly speak about church before and after COVID-19. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article looks at congregational studies from a historical perspective and reaches the conclusion that it is still a relatively young and developing discipline that can benefit from an aesthetical approach to the field. This challenges the traditional perspective that congregational studies are only interested in the analysis of congregations. This scientific approach strengthens newer hermeneutical interpretations of congregations. The fields involved are congregational studies, sociology and ethnography through the lens of critical qualitative research.

We are busy celebrating 500 years of reformation and one of the basic convictions of the reformers was that we know to (W)whom we belong. During the student uprisings that we experienced in 2015 and 2016, it became clear that the notion of ‘belonging’ was deeply contested. Students still experience that black people are socially, economically and psychologically abused by the white systems, including university campuses. In empirical research conducted in 2016 with colleagues from five other faculties, these feelings and experiences of exclusion, of not belonging and of injustice among theology students and even some lecturers, were confirmed. This led to the basic research question focused on the subject field for which I am responsible at the Faculty of Theology: how do we work together as lecturers and students to help create such spaces of human dignity in the training of students who are busy preparing for ministry practice in a postcolonial African context in which they experience belonging? This article endeavours to provide an answer to this question. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The empirical part of the research was conducted by colleagues from five different faculties including Arts and Science, Engineering, Law, Education and Theology. In that sense, the research was not only intradisciplinary but also interdisciplinary.

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Calvin as “practical theologian”: the contribution of a theodramatic paradigm In order to ask the question about the role and place of a specific discipline (in this case Practical Theology), one must realise where one comes from. This article seeks to answer the question about the role of Practical Theology within the field of theology in conversation with some perspectives offered by the sixteenth-century reformer, John Calvin. It is argued that Calvin lived in a century that scholars regard as one of the golden periods in which the world of the arts and theatre flourished. Hence Calvin’s age was characterised by a dramatic vision of human existence and such a vision also had an impact on his own theological thinking. Against this backdrop, the article engages the question of the role and place of practical theology by proposing a theodramatic approach in which the possibilities that the notion of “re-dramatisation” holds, come to the fore.

The images of the mirror and the window offer useful per- spectives when we consider renewal in public worship and preaching. This article focuses specifically on renewal in preaching. Are our sermons often simply a mirror reflecting what is happening in society? Shouldn’t our sermons rather be a window offering new views, new perspectives on God and the world, that is views that can help us to live creatively and imaginatively in a time of tremendous challenges for the church and believers. This article investigates the metaphor of hos- pitality as a possible mechanism for renewal in preaching and helping us to see through the window.