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Theological Forum

Vol. XXV, No. 2, July 1997

 

NARRATIVE PREACHING AS INTERMEDIARY TO THE

UNLOCKING OF THE COVENANT IN A PROCESS OF

CONGREGATIONAL UPBUILDING

A. J. Carstens

The phenomenon of the upbuilding of the church (German: Gemeindeaufbau) has been the focus of theological discussion during the past decade or two especially in Dutch and German literature (cf. Dingemans, Te Velde, Hendriks, Goedhart, Schwartz and Schwarz, etc.).This has also been true in the South African context (Nel, Burger, Hendriks, Kellerman, etc.). Although the American literature do not really use the term upbuilding of the church, literature on the church and her functions do cover much of the same ideas (cf. Getz, Dudley, Hopewell, Nelson, etc.). Homiliticians would, when studying these literature, immediately look for the role of preaching in the upbuilding of the congregation. What strikes me is that not much attention is given to the importance of preaching.

In the field of the church growth movement, which is a different phenomenon than the upbuilding of the church, Comfort (1983) states that in listening to most of the experts in this field, one might easily get the impression that preaching only plays an insignificant role or no role at all in the process of church growth. In this regard he refers to Parker and McGavran. In Parker's handbook, The pastor's church growth handbook seven characteristics of the growing church are mentioned. Preaching does not figure among them. In McGavran's voluminous handbook, Understanding church growth, there is also little importance attached to preaching.

Nevertheless the research conducted by Comfort for the purpose of his article "Is the pulpit a factor in church growth?" demonstrated overwhelmingly that effective preaching does indeed constitute the heartbeat of church growth (1983:64ff.).

For the purpose of this study it is necessary to first distinguish briefly between church growth and congregational upbuilding. Church growth is a movement and has to do with the phenomenon of growing and declining churches under different circumstances and in different cultures. It concerns case studies of churches and congregations involving the social sciences and aims at studying the trends regarding the interaction of social forces that give rise to the congregations. The deepest purpose of this movement is to draw men and women who have no relationship with Jesus Christ into a relationship with him, as well as to transform them into responsible church members.

In church growth, sociology and anthropology play a very important role in a pragmatic and functional view of the church. Insights derived from sociology and other disciplines are employed in theology and made to serve the ideals of church growth (Erasmus 1994:38). The methods and aids used in this regard must be supplemented and actualized by comprehensive long-term planning. All theories must be tested in practice through the use of measurable instruments. It is easy to employ non-theological insights to achieve an ideal. The question is what works.

The general view of congregational upbuilding is that it is an act of the triune God who builds up his congregation through his Word, the special offices and the office of the believer to become a symbol of his kingdom in the world. This implies that the congregation must continual evaluate its structures of ministry and if necessary adapt them with a view to effective functioning. Congregational upbuilding is therefore a ministry in which the church constantly reflects on its nature and purpose on the basis of the Bible. Therefore the Word and consequently also the sermon occupy a central place in these events. The theological moment of congregational upbuilding lies in the fact that attention is devoted to the acts of the triune God. In addition it also has a practical side as the structures of ministry must be evaluated and adjusted continual with a view to the effective functioning of the congregation.

For theories on congregational upbuilding compare Burger, Hendriks, Kellerman, Nel and others.

In the light of the above-mentioned distinction this article discusses the concept "congregational upbuilding."

In the Bible preaching played an important role in the transmitting of information from the earliest times. It also played an important role in the early church. This is clear from Acts 6:2 where the apostle says: "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables." In verse 4 we also read: "But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

That preaching did indeed play an important role through the ages is clear when one reads that Broadus (1870:7) has the following to say about the matter: "It follows that preaching is always a necessity, for preaching is inextricably linked to the life of the church. It was the proclamation of the good news that brought the church into being. Only the same proclamation can keep life in the church."

The majority of international authors on congregational upbuilding (Bonstorm, Goedhart, Richards, Te Velde, and others) emphasise the importance of preaching to the upbuilding of the congregation.

Locally the importance of preaching in the process of congregational upbuilding is also strongly emphasised in the series Gemeente en Bediening (Congregation and Ministry Series). Proceeding from the traditional narratives of the community of faith (i.e. the Scriptures), preaching proclaims the vision (Burger 1991:56) of the congregation in the process of congregational upbuilding as that which gives meaning and direction to the lives of believers (as well as that of the church). Preaching is portrayed as the event during which a person can converse with others about Godthe God who is the author of congregational upbuilding.

Without going into detail one can therefore accept that a variety of factors are required for congregational upbuilding and that one of these factors is effective preaching.

In spite of the importance of preaching (also for congregational upbuilding), pressure is constantly brought to bear on it by the influence of the communication media. The immediate availability of magazines, books, newspapers, the radio, television and computer networks exerts considerable pressure on preaching to be fresh, stimulating, relevant and truthful.

The result is that, as far as its style and form are concerned, preaching directed at the mature and post-modern person will have to engage in self- examination because this is such an important matter.

In this article the following hypothesis is examined:

Various aspects are examined in pursuing the argument that a narrative approach to the covenant will stimulate the process of congregational upbuilding. First a few of the important aspects of the covenant and implications of its narrative nature for preaching are examined. After this attention is devoted to man's story (man as a story being). In addition emphasis is laid on the story (narrative elements) of the Bible. A short look is taken at the sermon as a narrative, leading to a reflection on how the stories of the Bible and those of human beings can be linked with a view to stimulating congregational upbuilding. In conclusion attention is devoted to the cardinal role of the Holy Spirit.

THE COVENANT

The history of God's revelation is primarily the history of the covenant (Strydom 1991:38). The covenant has its origin in God himself (monopleuric) with the words of institution: "I will be God to you and your descendants after you" (Gen. 17:7). By means of these words God entered into communion with the whole of the cosmos.

It is important to draw attention to the fact that the covenant is portrayed in a narrative manner in the Bible, and that it is understood from the perspective of this narrative form: God who elected a people to be a God to them and then accompanied them into the future.

However, the covenant between God and man also presupposes a covenantal relationship between God and man. As the author of the covenant, God wants to structure this relationship in a covenantal manner. He wishes to bestow certainty and orderliness on it from two sides: from his side as well as from that of his creation (cf. Heyns 1988:216)

Because the history of this covenantal relationship between God and man is recorded in the Bible in narrative form, one can therefore refer to the Bible as the Book of the Covenant (Strydom 1991:38) that reveals the God of the Covenant.

The covenantal relationship between God and man, in which man's responsibility in all spheres of existence is constantly emphasized, requires that the covenant, as hermeneutic key, should be taken seriously. It is in this regard that De Klerk (1985:16) writes: "It is wonderful how the covenantal communion between the King and his people provides a hermeneutic aid for the interpretation of the text. Therefore the covenant provides the most fitting (and perhaps the only correct) hermeneutic key to the understanding of the unity of the message of the Scriptures."

Because of the dupleuric character of the covenant it is always important (also in the case of congregational upbuilding) to emphasize the responsibility of human beings in this regard. This is why the covenant of which the Bible speaks always calls for covenantal preaching that makes an appeal to people (Strydom 1991:43).

Because of the dupleuric character of the covenant, and according to Isaiah 29, it is unacceptable to God if people pay lip service to him, while their hearts have strayed far from him to the worship of idols and an impious life. This is time and again apparent in the narrative portions of the Bible. The narratives tell of the surprising love of God for people who hurt and disappoint him; they show that God commits himself to such people and wishes to remain committed to them, but also that God can become angry with them! It is for this reason that the prophets of the Old Testament time and again had to warn the people by way of narrative to return to the God of the Covenant. One of the most striking examples is found in Malachi. Here the covenant is the integrating factor that places the message of Malachi in perspective with a breath-taking appeal.

According to Hebrews 8:1-13, the new covenant surpasses the old covenant in that it is characterised by obedience. However, this obedience is made possible by Jesus Christ's atonement. "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Heb. 9:14-15).

As already indicated, it is unacceptable to God that the covenanted person should turn his back on him. God does not tolerate this. This is the reason for the numerous calls (also within the covenanted community) to repent and the announcement of the impending judgement. The Old Testament is one long testimony to these. However, these prophetic calls to repentance are always sounded within the cadre of God's covenant and covenantal faithfulness. This appeal to repent is no more nor less than a covenantal appeal (Strydom 1989:56), and the obedience to which a person is called is no more nor less than covenantal obedience. Therefore preaching aimed at repentance is no more nor less than a call for restoration of the covenant. Heyns (1988:220) summarises this when he says that "a covenant without entreating covenantal preaching is therefore not the Biblical covenant."

The covenant as all-embracing concept includes all aspects of God's intervention in the lives of human beings. Strydom (1989:51) puts it as follows: "...the great deeds of God do not exclude man, but indeed affect him in the concreteness and totality of his earthly existence." Precisely because of the wide reach of the covenant and the restoration of the covenant effected by Christ, preaching can and must call man in the totality of his humanity to repentance. This includes all the facets of humanity. Covenantal repentance, which is a vital part of the process of congregational upbuilding, therefore implies an integral turning of the whole of a person's life to God and a walk with God like the holy men of the old covenant practised it, only enriched and clarified by the light of the fulfilment accomplished by Christ and realized by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. According to Romans 12:2 God, therefore, does indeed wish to change our lives and circumstances by renewing our thoughts.

However, covenantal judgment also forms part of preaching that calls for restoration of the covenant on the basis of the covenant. The demand for sanctification in the New Testament is also accompanied by the announcement of the imminent judgment of the Lord. The element of judgment in the character of the covenant already came to the fore clearly in the covenant with Abraham. Disobedience to God's Word and specifically to his command of circumcision was regarded as a breach of the covenant and the soul who was guilty of it had to be cut off from his people (Gen. 17:14; cf. Heyns 1988:216). However, one still has to realise that the judgement of the God of the Covenant is underpinned by grace.

With a view to congregational upbuilding, the following statement by Janse van Rensburg (1991:119) must be taken to heart: "Nowhere can the call to repentance be sounded more strongly and the awfulness of the covenantal vengeance be pointed out more clearly than within the covenanted sphere of the congregation."

However, the eschatological direction of the covenant also offers comfort to the believer and the congregation of Christ in her earthly existence. A ministry aimed at congregational upbuilding also needs to emphasise that this comfort has nothing in common with a theology of prosperity. Problems will not disappear; there is no guarantee against tribulations and temptation, not even against the judgement and wrath of God! The comfort of the covenanted life lies in God's invariable faithfulness to the Word of his promise, which simultaneously also mitigates the uncertainty of an unknown future (cf. Heyns 1988:222). It is to this proclamation of the Lord's unchangeable faithfulness to his congregation that one can hold fast with great confidence also in times of crises and change.

A wonderful comfort to the ecclesia on its way to the future!

Nevertheless we read in the Bible and the Heidelberg Catechism (Question and Answer 63) that there are also promises of reward not by merit, but qualified by grace, for the believer who obeys the demands of the covenant. In the light of the dupleuric character of the covenant we understand that God not only demands obedience (a life of gratitude) on the basis of the covenant, but that He also wishes to reward it with degrees of glorification in heaven. Thus rewarding of our good works (even if it is a reward not by merit but qualified by grace) serves as an incentive to persevere in good works (cf. Janse van Rensburg 1991:132). The proclamation of this reward qualified by grace by the ministry aimed at congregational upbuilding provides an incentive to become more and more like Jesus.

Nevertheless one finds sufficient proof (and believers also experience it in various ways) that in this life here and now God also encourages the faithful to persevere in good works (remain obedient) by offering the reward qualified by grace. In addition there are also promises of support and help for the faithful, for the church under way. One thing is clear, namely that the God of the Covenant is lovingly, intensely involved in the vicissitudes of the faithful, the church on its way to the eternal glory! The proclamation of this truth in the process of congregational upbuilding also offers hope to the hopeless and gives rise to joy in the knowledge that the Lord is intensely involved in his congregation on its way to the second coming.

Proceeding from these remarks on the covenant, one can now make the following summarising statements that are of importance for preaching in the context of congregational upbuilding:

The covenantal call for restoration of the covenant (new obedience) is a convincing motive for preaching aimed at repentance. This covenantal call for restoration of the covenant (repentance/conversion) results in a new obedience that involves the whole of a person's human existence. Man as a relational being and the relationships within the congregation are now colored in a new and totally different way (God's way).

Covenantal judgement, however, also forms part of preaching that, proceeding from the covenant, voices an appeal for its restoration. The inner circle of the congregation is indeed the place where the call to repent and the proclamation of the terribleness of convenantal judgement can be voiced most strongly.

Through its eschatological direction the covenant nevertheless also offers comfort to the faithful and the congregation in her earthly existence. However, this comfort is not cheap comfort (everything will be all right and all problems will disappear), but comfort that will enable the believer to hold fast to and rely on God's promises. Nevertheless the faithful can (in various ways) already experience something of this comfort in the here and now.

The covenant very clearly has to do with congregational upbuilding. Man's responsibility in his relationship with God, the calls for repentance so that the covenant can be restored, all of these are concerned with congregational upbuilding.

What must be taken into account is the narrative manner in which the covenant (the stories of God's communion with his people) is presented in the Bible. The narrative is therefore a handy instrument for transmitting the fact of the covenant in a ministry aimed at congregational upbuilding. More about this later.

Because the story in the Bible is a story of the covenant (Trimp 1986:6), attention will next be devoted to man as a narrative being.

 

THE STORY AND HUMAN BEINGS

Behind every human being there is a story! This story embraces the whole of his life. It starts at his birth, covers the whole of his life and ultimately ends with his death. And the author of this story is the person himself. "In addition to stories heard, human beings seem to construct their own life-story lines" (Buttrick 1987:10). And because each person writes (determines) his own story, his story is unique.

In addition modern man lives in a world of stories and his life is affected (sometimes drastically) by stories: "We live in a world of stories. Our lives are shaped by stories and molded by stories" (Williams 1986:33).

From infancy onwards stories form an important part of a person's life. Initially it starts with bedtime stories. And thus stories are told to the child until he is able to read stories himself. From his birth to the day of his death each human being hears and tells stories. Man is indeed a story being.

Therefore man can be understood within a narrative context. The story of his life reveals who and what he is. That which can be observed about him from outside, is a reflection of that which lies deeper within him, his story (cf. Kellerman 1995:57). A person's story therefore gives him his own identity.

In a certain sense a distinction can be made between story and narrative. It will suffice to say that a "story" is an account of a series of events that are arranged chronologically and with due attention to causality. A "narrative," on the other hand, is a deliberate artistic version of a specific story, recounted in such a way that it also has meaning. "When human beings tell themselves as stories, they do so by arranging recalled events into some sort of plot. Designing a plot is an act of interpretation and, therefore, involves a particular reading of meanings, values, causalities, and so forth" (Buttrick 1987:10). Every human being therefore chooses events from his own story which he then uses to write the narrative of his own life as he seems good and acceptable to him.

When Williams (1986:24) writes about narrative theology, he emphasizes the importance of human beings' stories that are composed of certain events: "To understand narrative theology, we begin with an understanding of human beings. A person is 'a story telling animal'. It is from stories that persons develop their identity and give order to their existence."

Within this story of a human being with its beginning, middle and end, movement now occurs. Influences exerted by human beings, things, circumstances and various contingencies work together on the plot of his life- story. And it is this story that is read by others as the person's story. Some people's stories are easier to read than those of others (we do not always understand the emotional aspect that underlies each person's story) but ultimately there is the story in each person's life that is read and understood by others.

Basically each story consists of two elements, namely events and characters. For the purpose of preaching it is extremely important that the preacher should understand this. For both preacher and listener are characters in their own stories and are involved in various events in the course of their lives. Preachers go to the pulpit as people who were also formed by their own story. The story that influences the preacher's life-story will therefore also determine the effect it will have on his sermon on the specific Sunday. Similarly the things that influenced the listener's story will determine the way in which he will receive the message.

The challenge for meaningful preaching in a ministry aimed at congregational upbuilding is therefore to determine how the preacher, with his own story, can establish a link between the listeners, with their own stories, and the story of the Bible - in such a way that it will have an effect (corrective) on the listeners' stories. First, however, attention is devoted to the story and the Bible.

THE STORY AND THE BIBLE

In dealing with the Bible, one discovers that one is confronted with a book full of stories. It is a Book that tells stories that were told and transmitted, and which recounts the acts of God and his intervention in the lives of human beings. Von Rad (1962:49) speaks of the narrative qualities of the texts of the Old Testament. "In the Old Testament, the writers are essentially storytellers able to shape history into great complexes, which is a new technique in narrative." He then goes further: "The writers of the Old Testament create stories, embellishing them with speeches and taking liberties with earlier forms of tradition" (1962:54).

One of the classical pericopes in the Old Testament that underlines these narrative qualities is encountered in Deuteronomy 26:5-9: "And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: "My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there." Therefore attention must be devoted to narrative as a handy instrument in the unlocking of the covenant for the purpose of congregational upbuilding.

Thus one also finds examples where the narrative is employed to call for repentance in order that restoration of the covenant can take place. The narrative is also used to announce the covenantal vengeance of the God of the Covenant to the covenanted people who stray away from the Lord.

In the New Testament we also find stories. In Matthew 13:24 we read: "All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable he did not speak to them." A parable can be reckoned as a type of story. Throughout Jesus' earthly ministry we find that He taught people by means of stories, comparisons and images. It was his custom to communicate the gospel by means of stories. Jesus was indeed a master story-teller. After him the disciples and other followers continued this tradition.

If one considers the gospels as a whole, one sees that each gospel is a story about Jesus' life. In the case of the synoptic gospels and John each author acts as a story-teller who tells the story of Jesus from a specific angle and within a specific period. Therefore the following remark is also important to the preacher: "It is appropriate to remember that the gospel itself is a story. It is other things too, of course, but it is predominantly story, and the characteristics of story are closer to the characteristics of gospel than are philosophy, history, and other literary forms" (Reierson 1988:102).

What therefore emerges very clearly is that the covenant is not presented in the Old Testament and in the Gospels as a series of well-argued ideas, but as a story. The purpose of these stories (Licht 1987:9) is to recount the mighty deeds of God. Therefore, in preaching about these stories, Markquart's (1985:134) plea should be taken into account: "To convert the gospel into a syllogism or intellectual argument or collection of religious definitions is to alter the very nature of the gospel itself. That's what preaching often is: Ideas well argued rather than stories, analogies and images."

The form of the text as well as the form of the sermon are of cardinal importance. The two cannot (should not) be separated. To separate the theological content from the form gives rise to a tragic (Marquart 1985:132) division: "It needs to be emphasized that the separation of method of preaching from theology of preaching is a violation, leaving not one but two orphans" (Craddock 1971:52).

For the preaching of the covenant in a ministry aimed at congregational upbuilding it is of cardinal importance that the preacher should evaluate the form of his presentation anew. Because the covenant is largely described in narrative form, it means that this form (story) should be taken into account thoroughly in preaching. The fact that Jesus for the most part made use of narrative in his teachings stresses the importance of taking this form seriously.

Bearing the above-mentioned in mind, this article wishes to conclude that it is not only the content of the pericope that is important to the form of the sermon, but that the form in which the content of the text is molded in the Scriptures also has a determining influence on preaching about the pericope.

"The very nature of the gospel is that it is communicated in the form of stories, analogies and narratives; our preaching needs to do the same" (Markquart 1985:135). As 90% of the Old Testament and the Gospels are narrative, this should also be reflected in preaching.

PREACHING AS NARRATIVE

The story world in which we live demands stories. The church will have to tell God's story to the world in a narrative manner. One could say that in a ministry aimed at congregational upbuilding the function of preaching (as in the case of the evangelists) is the retelling of God's story in a new manner to the people of the day. Motivation for the telling of the story of the Bible is man's eagerness as a story being to listen to a story. This emerged clearly in the course of Reierson's (1988:102) research.

According to Firet (1973:53) the significance of preaching is that God must be made to speak in the lives of human beings. Narrative preaching concerns the story of the Bible (which tells of God's words and deeds in the course of the history of salvation), the story of the preacher and the story of the congregation. Therefore, when the story of the Bible meets that of the congregation it gives rise to a communicative and existential event, during which the story of the Lord illuminates the life-stories of human beings and guides them towards a new understanding and a new state of affairs (Pieterse 1985:206-207). Where this meeting between two stories occurs, the Word of God gets to speak in the lives of human beings.

Narrative preaching therefore consists of the telling of God's story with a view to moving the listener to participate in and become involved in the events of the story, thus enabling him to apply the story to his own story in order to come to faith and growth therein.

Nevertheless it must be emphasised that narrative preaching does not involve a mere retelling of the Biblical story. No, the story must be recounted to the new listener in a new way so that it can speak to him properly. The story of the Bible must speak to the listener concretely within the context of his own life- story and in such a way that, with the new insight at his disposal, he can and will be able (under the guidance of the Holy Spirit) to make the necessary corrections to his own story. A human being's story must be written and corrected under the influence of and according to the example of God's Story.

Achtemeier (1980:46) phrases it beautifully: "The Bible does not push dogma upon us. It lets us enter into the events by imagination until the story becomes our story and we are transformed .... if we are to proclaim that story, we should do so in words and forms that will produce the same effect. Why turn God's love into a proposition? Propositional and moralistic preaching both have one fault in common: they fail to mediate the actions of a saving Lord, because they fail to allow us to experience those actions for ourselves. They tell us about them; they never let us enter into the imaginations of our heart."

Preaching must involve man in his totality. The cognitive is important, but not at the cost of the affective and conative. Because the listener also needs to be addressed affectively and conatively, the narration of the storythe story of the Bibleis very important. When the preacher in a ministry aimed at congregational upbuilding uses the narrative approach, an opportunity is created within the worship service for the listeners to experience God as he is. This type of preaching speaks to the heart and emotional life of the listener as well as to his intellect. The listener therefore experiences God in a different way because the story leads him to experience God in an emotional manneras opposed to the usual forms which may be static and predictable. It is not only the facts that evoke a reaction on the part of human beings, but the story itself. Markquart (1985:150) puts it very well when he says: "Reason assaults the fortress walls of the mind, but stories slip gently through the back door into the heartand begin to change us."

In order to be able to retell the Biblical story in such a way that it, as it were, draws the listener into the story, one has to make a very thorough study of the narrative qualities of the text. It is these narrative qualities of the text that will touch the narrative quality that is present in each human being.

As already mentioned, the story consists of a beginning, middle and end where is involved a sequence of events, characters and a story-teller. The order of the events, their sequence, is called the plot. In narrative preaching the plot of the listeners and of the congregation must be brought into contact with the plot of the cadre of the covenant. It is this plot that draws the listeners and the congregation into the story. Ultimately the plot of the Biblical covenant must determine the plot of the listeners and the congregation. This becomes possible when the listeners and the congregation with her own plot are able to identify with the characters of the Biblical story of the covenant. The listeners have their own stories of joy and sorrow and they also sin. It is the plot of the Biblical story of the covenant with its appeals, admonitions, confirmations, solutions and conclusions that changes and gives direction to the plot of the listener and the congregation (who have become involved in the story).

The plot of the Biblical story (of the story of the covenant in this case) is therefore of essential importance to any form of preaching. Its importance is underlined by Lowry (1980:89-95) in that he devotes the last chapter of his book, The Homiletical Plot, to the establishment of the plot of the story. He speaks of "pointers in telling a story" (1980:89). For the purpose of this article it is not necessary to enter into more detail.

In addition the covenant contains very important elements for congregational upbuilding. It offers an essential (De Klerk 1985:56) and comprehensive theological frame of reference for the ministry aimed at congregational upbuilding. It tells of the merciful God who, in his electing grace, chose people to be members of his church. Thus the congregation as covenanted children of the Lord is a covenanted congregation. Therefore, preaching must emphasize the Lord's covenantal promises to his covenanted congregation. The fact that God remains faithful to these promises of his is an important mainstay for the upbuilding of the congregation.

In the narrative recounting of the covenant emphasis must also be laid on its dupleuric character. This observance of the covenant (obedience) is of crucial importance to the upbuilding of the congregation (so that it can increasingly become the true church of Christ). Therefore, restoration of the covenant (repentance) must also be preached unambiguously in the inner circle of the covenanted congregation.

We already know that the covenant is recorded in a narrative manner in the Bible. At the time the covenanted children of the Lord understood their status and commission within the context of these stories of the covenant. Thus, if the covenant was narrated in story form in Biblical times, the retelling of the story of the covenantand specifically narrative preachingis an important instrument in the process of congregational upbuilding in which (as already indicated) the covenant plays an extremely important role.

Because man is a "story being," the narration of the story plays an important role in retelling of the covenant with a view to upbuilding of the congregation. The listener is addressed on his own level because the story allows for distance and involvement. The story meets the distanced churchgoer where he is in such a way that he is confronted with a choice and cannot defuse the tension before he has made his choice. Nehemiah 8 is such a story about an encounter with believers who had forgotten.

Nevertheless, the story also plays a role in the extension of the congregation (which forms a part of the process of congregational upbuilding). Joshua 24 is an example of this. What is of importance in this regard is that the decision asked for is preceded by the telling of the story of Israel. Joshua does not force the people to make a choice and he does not manipulate. He merely offers them a choice and tells them about the choice he and his house have already made. He points out the seriousness of the choice and tries to deter them from making it. Thus the vengeance of the God of the Covenant is also portrayed in the story.

Another striking example of the use of the story to recall people who had become outsiders is found in Luke 15. It concerns people who had been rejected by the people of the covenant and who had become outsiders (tax collectors and sinners). There were also people within the circle of the covenanted people who had "forgotten": they no longer thought about the covenant as the grace of God, but saw it as their own achievement (which comes very near to the "forget" of Deut. 8). When the story is told one finds that it even affected the Pharisees. This is clear from their reaction: "This man receives sinners and eats with them." This lends force to Jesus' story. Images typical of the covenant (flock and family) are used to sketch the outsiders. These image are used to recall the "outsiders." Even in the case of the third story, in which the son returns of his own accord, it is not his "change of heart" that calls him back. It is the memory of his father that enables him to return. In the final analysis it is his father's goodness to his hired servants that conquers the lost son's apostasy. And then there can be celebration (festivity) - the "outsider" is back. God's love gave rise to this new communion.

In the above-mentioned story the covenant not only plays a role in recalling the outsider but also has an instructional character. It teaches the listeners to see the "outsiders" as brothers and sisters. Therefore, the congregation should also reach out to them as part of the process of congregational upbuilding.

If these covenantal stories in the Bible are retold to the contemporary covenanted congregation in the sermon in a responsible and creative manner, the covenant is unlocked in a responsible manner that can have far-reaching conclusions for the covenanted congregation. For the stories of the covenant in the Bible tell of the faithfulness and love of the Lord. They call for restoration of the covenant (covenantal repentance), not only on the part of the individual, but also on the part of the congregation. These stories also warn against the vengeance of the God of the covenant should the listener(s) and even the covenanted congregation fail to heed them. In addition the stories also demand that the requirements of the covenant be met faithfully. When all is said and done, the God of the covenant must be glorified.

Therefore, this article comes to the conclusion that responsible narrative unlocking of the covenant within the covenanted congregation is an appropriate and handy instrument for the upbuilding of the congregation.

There are various ways in which the story of the covenant can be narrated in a ministry aimed at upbuilding of the congregation. A few can be mentioned briefly. It can take the form of 1) retelling of a passage from the Bible; 2) narration of a piece of Biblical history as a prototype for contemporary history; 3) retelling of a Biblical passage in a negative form; 4) a new story as a retelling of a Biblical story; 5) a transformation of the Biblical story into an event happening in the present; 6) a narrative during the initial stages of the sermon which is then developed further; 7) recounting of an experience; and 8) the fictional story (Pieterse 1985:212).

In American preaching (Pieterse 1985:212) additional forms can be distinguished. 1) The meaning of the text is taken, extended, supplemented and illustrated by means of authentic experiences; 2) identification of the listener(s) with specific character(s) in the Bible story through the context of the sermon; 3) a retelling of the text instead of an interpretation of the text

In this way the preacher endeavours to get the individual and the congregation to identify with the story. Thus it is possible to edit their stories and sometimes completely rewrite them in the light of the unravelling of the plot of the Biblical covenantal story.

 

THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE NARRATIVE

It may happen that the preacher comes to the pulpit with a well- structured narrative sermon and in the belief that his sermon will penetrate the world of the listeners and change the stories of their lives! Such an attitude on the part of the preacher is summarised aptly by Markquart (1985:151) when he says: "The foolish rooster thinks he causes the sun to rise, and the foolish preacher thinks he causes faith to grow."

With this some indication of the indispensable working of the Holy Spirit in the preaching has been given. In this regard Kellerman (1995:64) writes: "In the final analysis the preacher does not have a free hand in the use of the intermediary role of the sermon. Preachers can exert a tremendous (positive or negative) influence on listeners, but ultimately the Spirit of God has the final say. He is the real mediator of the sermon because it is his Word that he applies in his own way in the life-stories of human beings."

Therefore the preacher, having done everything in his power, from the exegesis up to the writing and delivering of the sermon, can only trust God to cause his story to have an impact on the lives (stories) of people.

"My modest conviction is that while narrative preaching is not Scripture, it is one way of interpreting Scripture; it is not, however, the only way one is called to preach. No method, regardless of how rich its possibilities, diminishes the awesome privilege or immense difficulty of speaking the truth in love" (David L. Barnett).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SITTLER, J. 1961. The ecology of faith. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press.

TROEGER, T.H.. 1990. Imagining a sermon. Nashville: Abingdon Press.