Browsing by Author "Lappeman, James R"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Attitudes towards church retailing in Cape Town, South Africa
    (2016) Bundwini, Nqobile; Lappeman, James R
    Religion and commerce are two concepts which give rise to divergent views when associated with each other. Nevertheless, churches are increasingly making use of commercial methods such as marketing and retailing for a vast array of purposes including fundraising, connecting with their congregation and keeping abreast of social, technological and economical changes. As such, the Christian retail industry is a booming industry which cannot be ignored. It is common practice for businesses to investigate various aspects of their target consumers in order to align their efforts to meet the consumers' needs. Likewise, it is necessary that churches that engage in retailing conduct a thorough analysis of their target market. Furthermore, church retailers should consider the peculiar nature of their consumers, which may be influenced not only by their short-term, product-based needs but by their long-term, spiritual needs as well. This research is important as individuals who view the retailing of certain products by churches negatively are unlikely to purchase from church retailers, and may even be unlikely to consider attending the churches that retail those products. In addition, this research will provide church retailers with insight into their consumers, enabling them to structure their retailing efforts more effectively. This study investigates the attitudes of church members toward church retailing, as well as attitudes towards various types of church retail products. A series of 26 in-depth interviews were conducted for this study, resulting in each individual expressing antithetical attitudes towards the broad concept of church retailing, with more distinct positive and negative attitudes emerging following further enquiry about particular product types. Generally, attitudes were more positive towards products perceived to be more authentic with regards to the religious mission of the church, and more negative toward products they perceive to stray from it. Furthermore, attitudes towards church retailing were influenced by what individuals perceive to be the churches' reasons for retailing, as well as the individuals or communities benefiting from the proceeds thereof. The principle inference emerging from this study is that the attitudes of church retail consumers are essential as they largely influence their likelihood to purchase and, in turn, the success of church retailers.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Factors influencing the International Church of Christ's decision not to require formal theological training for its Ministers from 1979-2002
    (2014) Lappeman, James R; Wanamaker, CA
    This thesis seeks to investigate why the International Church of Christ (ICoC) schism adopted a very different ministerial training approach to the one long supported by its parent church, the mainline Church of Christ (CoC). I explore how the ICoC (Formerly called the 'Boston Movement') became an independent Christian movement and identify specific reasons for the ICoC's departure from the CoC's expectation that church ministers receive an academic qualification in theology. The conclusions for this research were drawn from four sources. First, I analysed the socio-historical influences on the ICoC's philosophy of training ministers. Second, I drew from Max Weber's theory of ?charisma and routinization? to provide a theoretical understanding of how the ICoC's philosophy of education was partially an issue of authority. Third, I examined the literature directly relevant to the ICoC's training choices. Finally, I conducted a series of interviews with prominent members of the ICoC who gave their personal retelling of the early Boston Movement and why, from their perspective, the Movement adopted its methods of training. I argue that although a simple rationale was given at the time, at least eight sociohistorical factors influenced the ICoC's pendulum swing towards an almost exclusively practical approach to ministerial formation. These influences were interlinked with a high degree of corroboration between them. The influences were: - The Boston Movement's schismatic conflict with the CoC. - Kip McKean's personal experience of formal theological training. - The CoC colleges' perceived loss of training credibility. - Kip McKean's authority within the Boston Movement - The Boston Movement's narrow definition of a 'trained church minister'. - The Boston Movement's model of church replication and multiplication. - The Boston Movement's allocation of resources towards missions. - A foundation of ministers who already had a formal theological education. The thesis closes with a reflection on the findings and the ICoC's transition into its second generation of leadership.