Browsing by Author "Reddy, Mike Megrove"

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    Communication for maintenance and propagation : the forms of communication used by the cell church as an emerging organisation
    (University of Zululand, 2002) Reddy, Mike Megrove; Klopper, R.M.; Smit, J.A.
    In this thesis I describe the development of the Cell Church from a movement to an organisation, based on empirical data analysis, in comparison with three similar religious movements that developed from movements to church organisations, namely the early Christian church, the Protestant Reformation and the Millerite Advent movement. My conclusion is that the Cell Church is at the early stage of changing from a movement to an organisation.
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    Communication in Christian groups from movements to organisations
    (University of Zululand, 2004) Reddy, Mike Megrove; Klopper, R.M.
    This dissertation reports the results of a study made of the forms of communication employed by Judaeo-Christian religious groups when they saw themselves as movements, compared to when they had become organisations. Beginning with ancient Israel, the study documents how forms of communication become elaborated during the organisational phase of groups' existence. The forms of communication used in Christian religious groups are documented from the rime of the eady Christian Church, through the Reformation period, through the 17* century to present-day Christian groups. The dissertation also reports as a case study an empirical analysis of the forms of communication used by the Cell Church and churches with cell groups, both of which are inter-denominational and host regular informal gatherings. It is found that these gatherings display the onset phase characteristics of Christian movements. From a theoretical point of view the research reported here provides evidence in support for the following Christian Religious Communications Hypothesis: Christian religious groups will use a limited number offorms of communication when they perceive themselves as movements and they will expand their forms of communication, as they become organisations, which forms special instance of Klopper (2003)'s general Theory of the Optimisation of Human Communication: Humans optimise a variety of forms of communication within a culture, to ensure immediate direct personal survival and to maintain their culture as a fongterm indirect survival strategy. By confirming the validity of the Christian Religious Communications Hypothesis, the research findings also provide indirect validation for Klopper's general Theory of the Optimisation of Human Communication.