Teaching theological discrernment : youth ministry programme in ECWA Nigeria and contemporary hip hop culture

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Theological discernment as discussed in this study is the normative process of reflection, decisionmaking, thinking, and the judgement of right and wrong in relation to the elements and outlets of hip hop culture. The study pleads for a normative process of theological discernment as an ethical, theological and practiced response to the learned behaviour of hip hop culture through the praxis of the Christian faith, Christian life and Christian ministry as a guiding lens in situations of life. Theological discernment is synonymous with thinking theologically and biblically about daily issues and questionsof concerns. This research study investigated, 'How does the ECWA youth ministry programme equip its youth with the theological discernment to identify and engage with the challenges and opportunities within hip hop culture? as its primary research question and 'How can the faith community equip youth to engage HHC in cosmopolitan cities? To investigate these research questions, I engaged the research design of qualitative study. I made use of the research methodology of theoretical (literature) and empirical study, and a practical theological framework as promoted by Richard R Osmer. This framework consists of an investigative structure of four theological tasks: the descriptive-empirical task (What is going on?); the interpretive task (Why is this happening?); the normative task (What ought to be happening from God's perspective?); and the pragmatic task (What action should be taken henceforth?). With the aid of these tasks, I investigated thoughts, experiences of lifestyles and behaviours through engagement of primary and secondary data of literature, and primary data of participants in Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA). The findings from the literature and empirical study reveal and propose how practical theology through youth ministry program (and beyond program) can practically and missionally equip the youth as social actors through a theology of youth ministry and theological models such as you[theology], theology of genetivus subjectivus, deliberative theology, theology of listening and equipping young people as lay theologian. It is Bible studies, prayers, discipleship and mentorship, symbiotic networking of youth ministry and cultural gatekeepers (academician, practitioners, administrators, and parents), receptionhistory theory, enculturation, acculturation and a hip hop church that can equip ECWA youth with thetheological discernment to identify and engage with the challenges and opportunities of the lifestyleand behaviours of contemporary hip hop culture. The equipping will not eradicate the challenges normaximise the opportunities of hip hop culture in society, but it will enable the equipped youth to discern theologically how to navigate this phenomenon in society using a normative lens.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University