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The concept �missional� is well established within the so-called missional conversation. It is however often �questioned� by scholars and pastors for different reasons. Sometimes it is almost dissected from the rest of theology, especially systematic theology. Recent developments in this field are given an account of in this article. The main purpose of the article is not to argue a case for the concept again. The purpose is to focus on whether theology and ministry in any way understand the radical implications if and when we are missional in being and doing. My assumption within the field of research on rediscovering discipleship in the development of missional congregations is that none of us have thought through how radical missionality is, especially over and against a �volkskirchliche� understanding and practice of church. The article will also touch on some radical changes in philosophy of ministry and doing ministry within a missional paradigm.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article focuses mainly on Practical Theology and specifically Congregational Development (�Missionarische Gemeindeaufbau�). This field stands in a direct relationship with Missiology. The article contributes to a growing understanding of the radical nature of missional thinking and practice in congregational life and ministry.

The church has the privilege of participating with God in his saving mission in a broken and suffering world, also known as the missio Dei (Bosch 1991:8–11, 390–393). This is its core, missional identity. However, many local churches are facing an identity crisis at their very core. The reasons are numerous. This article seeks to define, in a theoretical and theological way, the core identity of the local church and in the light thereof to explore two areas: (1) how the local church and particularly its pastor view the core identity of the local church, and (2) whether the identity of the local church is affected through the ministry of preaching – preaching that takes into specific consideration the aspects of hermeneutics and context. The research indicates that while the church may have an understanding of its core identity – certainly when it answers the questions ‘who are we?’ and ‘what are we called to be and/or do’ – it lacks significantly in its missional identity. Contributing factors are mentioned and remedial action is proposed.

Within the Reformed tradition, ‘calling’ is a core concept. Often, this biblical verse is cited when a pastor is installed or a new candidate is ordained, ‘The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it’ (1 Th 5:24 NIV). It is also confessed within this tradition that all Christians are called to be faithful ministers of the graces of God in whatever profession they may serve. In some Presbyterian congregations, it is a practice to say at the baptism of a child, ‘This is your ordination to ministry’. This article focuses on what is meant by calling when we use it in so many ways and with so many meanings. The first part explores the use of the concept in church history by different scholars and leaders – like in the Reformation. The second part briefly explores the implications and impact of the calling of someone into full-time congregational ministry.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a class of devastating, highly aggressive central nervous system tumours. While the classical appearance is easily recognisable, several variations occur. We present 6 cases of confirmed GBM that illustrate the unusual findings in histological subtypes, early presentation and spread on MRI imaging.

C48H54P4Ru, triclinic, P1̄ (no. 2), a = 12.029(5) Å, b = 13.439(5) Å, c = 14.582(7) Å, α = 79.962(17)°, β = 80.974(18)°, γ = 71.343(13)°, V = 2186.2 Å3, Z = 2, Rgt(F) = 0.0416, wRref(F2) = 0.1067, T = 223 K.

After a remarkable 86% increase in cereal production from 1980 to 2005, recent crop yield growth in China has been slow. County level crop production data between 1980 and 2010 from eastern and middle China were used to analyze spatial and temporal patterns of rice, wheat and maize yield in five major farming systems that include around 90% of China's cereal production. Site-specific yield trends were assessed in areas where those crops have experienced increasing yield or where yields have stagnated or declined. We find that rice yields have continued to increase on over 12.3 million hectares (m. ha) or 41.8% of the rice area in China between 1980 and 2010. However, yields stagnated on 50% of the rice area (around 14.7 m. ha) over this time period. Wheat yields increased on 13.8 m. ha (58.2% of the total harvest area), but stagnated on around 3.8 m. ha (15.8% of the harvest area). Yields increased on a smaller proportion of the maize area (17.7% of harvest area, 5.3 m. ha), while yields have stagnated on over 54% (16.3 m. ha). Many parts of the lowland rice and upland intensive sub-tropical farming systems were more prone to stagnation with rice, the upland intensive sub-tropical system with wheat, and maize in the temperate mixed system. Large areas where wheat yield continues to rise were found in the lowland rice and temperate mixed systems. Land and water constraints, climate variability, and other environmental limitations undermine increased crop yield and agricultural productivity in these systems and threaten future food security. Technology and policy innovations must be implemented to promote crop yields and the sustainable use of agricultural resources to maintain food security in China. In many production regions it is possible to better match the crop with input resources to raise crop yields and benefits. Investments may be especially useful to intensify production in areas where yields continue to improve. For example, increased support to maize production in southern China, where yields are still rising, seems justified.

Rick Warren, purpose driven and the 40 days of purpose campaign More than 532 churches/congregations in South-Africa have already purchased “The purpose driven campaign kit” and completed the 40 days campaign or are planning to do so. The name Rick Warren is synonymous with “Purpose driven” and the popularity of his work as well as his influence in this country, justifie a study of this nature. This study wants to determine the effect of Rick Warren’s 40 days of purpose in the circuit of Klerksdorp of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika. Warren provides five purposes for a believer in the church in his book, A purpose driven life, which according to him is the church’s purpose of existence. The hypothesis of this study is that the 40 days of purpose is an excellent project for congregations to discover their purpose of existence, while it also strengthens the process of building the local congregation. Eight congregations participated in the research project.

In a qualitative empirical research project on youth worship, we discovered that ‘being together’ is primary quality of youth worship. This primary quality consists of at least four aspects. Firstly, community is celebrated through physical presence. More specifically, the physical presence of siblings plays an important part in the participation of youth in worship. Secondly, an empathetic and emotional aspect is essential for adolescents. ‘Being together’ in youth worship means being together in unity and trust and in equality, as kindred spirits. Thirdly, ‘being together’ in youth worship yields possibilities to cross social and ecclesiological boundaries. Fourthly, there is a theological aspect in ‘being together’ that could be described as ‘sharing faith and being in God’s presence’.

Discipling youth may be one of the ‘missing links’ in developing missional thinking and missional local churches. This is even more so where churches suffer from a very obvious estrangement among generations. This article draws on the most recent literature on developing missional churches. The departure point is the argument of a the New Testament scholar, who refers to the description of Matthew 28:16–20 as the manifesto of the church – a manifesto that lies on the same level of value as the Shema of Israel: ‘Listen, o Israel, the Lord our God is the only One.‘ This manifesto wants to tell us how new and differently we have to think on how people come into the body and how people will stay in the body. Picking up on three of my theological premises this article will work with a research question: What kind of church will make disciples in youth ministry? It will also work towards theological suggestions on how to make disciples in youth ministry in such a way that young disciples will make disciples.

In the first article it was attempted to provide insight into the corporate nature of being called to ministry. The article also tried to discern what the specifics of the� ministry of the public pastoral leader were. Equally important what I call in this article the teleological core of theological education. I want to build upon the concepts established in the first article. I explore the contributions of a number of well-known scholars who devoted much of their research to this field: Schner , Farley,� Wood, Hough and Cobb, Heitink, Van der Ven and others. The ultimate issue is that there is some consensus about the telos of� theological education. It is phrased differently and the different dimensions are indeed complementary. Concepts like �vision and discernment�, �critical reflection�� �reflective practitioner�, �hermeneutical-communicative competence�� and others are being discussed as it relate to the core research problem as described in article number 1. In this article I also explore the implications of the departure points for the praxis of recruiting, screening and training of future public pastoral leaders. The article points towards necessary changes that need to take place to get the local church involved in recruitment and screening - taking it serious that �we�� are all in the ministry. It also describes how a few churches are managing the process. In doing this, the place of the denominational community of churches is also emphasized and described.

In ecclecial circles it is a commonplace to say that the profession of the pastor� is under pressure. Pastors know that and congregations know that. Knowing it in itself does� not change much. However change starts with coming to understanding. In this sense change is in itself a hermeneutical� function. This article is the first of two in which I will explore a way to change the way local churches should assist in the discernment of a call by a member to become officially involved in public ministry within a congregation and, if it exists, a denomination. In this article the background of this� research, the corporate nature of �calling�, and ministerial perspectives on calling, recruitment and reviewing will be explored. The second article will explore the implications for theological education as it relates to the teleological core of theological education and recruitment, reviewing (screening), and training respectively.

Cilia are microtubule-based cellular organelles that mediate signal transduction. Cilia are organized into several structurally and functionally distinct compartments: the basal body, the transition zone (TZ), and the cilia shaft. In vertebrates, the cystoprotein Inversin localizes to a portion of the cilia shaft adjacent to the TZ, a region termed the "Inversin compartment" (InvC). The mechanisms that establish and maintain the InvC are unknown. In the roundworm C. elegans, the cilia shafts of amphid channel and phasmid sensory cilia are subdivided into two regions defined by different microtubule ultrastructure: a proximal doublet-based region adjacent to the TZ, and a distal singlet-based region. It has been suggested that C. elegans cilia also possess an InvC, similarly to mammalian primary cilia. Here we explored the biogenesis, structure, and composition of the C. elegans ciliary doublet region and InvC. We show that the InvC is conserved and distinct from the doublet region. nphp-2 (the C. elegans Inversin homolog) and the doublet region genes arl-13, klp-11, and unc-119 are redundantly required for ciliogenesis. InvC and doublet region genes can be sorted into two modules-nphp-2+klp-11 and arl-13+unc-119-which are both antagonized by the hdac-6 deacetylase. The genes of this network modulate the sizes of the NPHP-2 InvC and ARL-13 doublet region. Glutamylation, a tubulin post-translational modification, is not required for ciliary targeting of InvC and doublet region components; rather, glutamylation is modulated by nphp-2, arl-13, and unc-119. The ciliary targeting and restricted localization of NPHP-2, ARL-13, and UNC-119 does not require TZ-, doublet region, and InvC-associated genes. NPHP-2 does require its calcium binding EF hand domain for targeting to the InvC. We conclude that the C. elegans InvC is distinct from the doublet region, and that components in these two regions interact to regulate ciliogenesis via cilia placement, ciliary microtubule ultrastructure, and protein localization.

Preaching is considered to be a core ministry in building up local congregations. Within the Reformed tradition this is even truer. The researcher has, over years, tried to discern certain core �qualities� of preachers and principles for preaching that will accomplish building local congregations into missional units. Assuming that preachers are serious about leading congregations towards true missionality, the article attempted to focus on a few of these core criteria for both preacher and preaching. In doing so, the article drew mainly on the wisdom of well-known preachers in the USA, wisdom that will be used to guide the researcher�s future empirical study of preaching in the South African context. Prof. M�ller, who is honoured in this Festschrift, wrote his DD thesis on preaching and I hope that this will reconnect his current work to his original research.

Advances in sample preparation and electron microscopy have allowed the structure of cilia to be explored at an unprecedented level of detail.

The Confession of Belhar: A spirituality of reception in the local church. The GeneralSynod of the Dutch Reformed Church took the following decision during October 2011: �TheGeneral Synod decides to make the Confession of Belhar part of its confessional foundation,that is, in terms of its church ordinances, and commission the Moderamen to prepare thenecessary processes regarding ecclesiastical law.� This article deals with the perception of,the reception of and resistance against Belhar as confession in a local congregation, ElardusPark. The research also describes how this obstructs the development of missional focus. Themain contribution of this article is to argue that the ecumenical concept�s full reception shouldbe assessed within the broader framework of building up a missional local church where aspirituality of reception is fully developed in terms of a missional positioning in Africa.

Building up the local church: A ministry of reformation. Building up the local church is not simplistic. It is a comprehensive ministry. The challenge is to return the ministry to the people of God and to equip them to be faithful as God's representatives in this world. Any local body of believers is called to seek the coming of the Kingdom of God within its own context and in this world. This is our (the body of believers, including the offices) calling - not only to seek the coming of the Kingdom but also to be a showcase of and for the Kingdom. There is, however, often a disturbing discrepancy between the so-called defined and empirical subjects when it comes to any given local church. The academic discipline as well as the ministry of building up the local church has everything to do with helping the local church to become what it is supposed to be. In this sense it is nothing less than a ministry of reformation - facilitating, guiding, equipping believers to become in an increasing way who they already are in Christ.