Author teaches on Kingdom Theology

The message of the Kingdom and the ministry of Jesus were the central themes of scripture, said author, scholar and pastor Dr Derek Morphew during a recent teaching visit to Port Elizabeth.

He was presenting a “Kingdom Theology Intensive” course focussed on equipping preachers and Bible teachers on how to expound scripture.

Morphew said that the rediscovery of Jesus and his Kingdom message enabled us to see the whole biblical story of covenant and grace in a new way, through Kingdom eyes.

The course, which was attended by delegates from a number of different churches, was hosted at Fountain Vineyard Christian Fellowship.

Morphew has been a pastor since 1973 and is the founding pastor of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Kenilworth, Cape Town. He has served in the Vineyard movement for many years, and currently serves on the national leadership team of the Association of Vineyard Churches in South Africa. He is the international director of the Vineyard Biblical Institute, for which he has written various in-house publications (see http://www.vineyardbibleinstitute.org/ and http://vbivc.org/) and is also the head of Vineyard International Publishing.

Having obtained a BA in Theology from Rhodes University and a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from the University of Cape Town, Derek has a great passion and enthusiasm for teaching God’s Word, with an especially keen interest in Kingdom Theology. He has a real gifting, and through this he is able to teach on this topic with immense insight and truth.

Morphew has written numerous books, which include: Breakthrough: Discovering the Kingdom; Biblical Interpretation 101: Historic Rules for Reading the Bible; Different but Equal: Going Beyond the Complementarian/Egalitarian Debate; Five Frontiers to Freedom (with Jeffery Morphew); South Africa: The Powers Behind; Principalities and Ideologies in South Africa Today and The Kingdom of God.

He has also written  a “Kingdom Theology Series” of books, which includes: The Implications of the Kingdom (with Kim Hough); The Phenomena of the Kingdom; The Mission of the Kingdom; The Prophet’s Voice: Hebrews – Prophecy, Rhetoric, Interpretation; The Spiritual Spider Web: A Study in Ancient and Contemporary Gnosticism; and Law and Grace: Conscience and License.

In his recent PE course  he taught four different modules based on his “Kingdom Theology Series”, namely: Biblical Interpretation 101 (Part 1 and Part 2); The Book of Hebrews (Part 1 and Part 2); The Mission of the Kingdom/The Theology of Luke and Acts (Part 1 and Part 2) and Law and Grace: Conscience and License (Part 1 and Part 2).

With the course emphasis on preaching and teaching, the subject matter examined the basic and necessary skill of sound biblical interpretation as well as the ability to read, understand and expand on biblical books (Biblical Interpretation 101); the book of Hebrews as a woven, prophetic masterpiece that exalts Jesus in a unique manner (Hebrews: The Voice of a New Testament Prophet); our world mission, based on our understanding of the Kingdom message and ministry of Jesus (The Mission of the Kingdom); and the teaching of Romans 6 verses 15-18 which says that We are no longer under law, but under grace (Law and Grace).

The above-mentioned books are available online in either paperback or Kindle e-publication editions. For more information, and to receive updates on Derek Morphew visit the “Derek Morphew fan club” group on Facebook.

The next “Kingdom Theology Intensive” will be held on 6-9 September 2011. Contact Margie Gush of Fountain Vineyard Christian Fellowship on 041 367 1100 or fountain.vcf@isat.co.za if you have any enquiries.