THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS IN MATTHEW 25:14–30

BY ESAYAS EMENE ENICHA (REV.)

exegetically, how it is applied and practiced in the SWS congregations, to find some limitations in use of talents among the congregations, and recommend how to use talents maximal.

This book has three parts: In the first part, chapter one deals with the nature of holistic theology and the struggle of EECMY to preserve the holistic nature of the church, the attempts to reduce dependency, and the integration of Use Your Talents into the SWS.

The second part of the book, comprising chapters two and three, presents the exegesis of Matthew 25:14-30. This part analyzes the text in Matthew in order to find the historical message and the meaning of the text with special emphasis on how use of the talents is understood exegetically in the pericope.

The third part of the book contains chapters four to six. Chapter four analyzes how the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 is understood and applied practically in the congregations of the SWS (field research). As the next step, chapter five seeks to compare the exegesis with the empirical analysis, and to compare the text’s historical, theological and ethical aspects against the background of the understanding and practice of the congregations of the SWS. Finally, chapter six expresses some recommendations for how congregations might maximally use the talents within themselves. I already presented the Mafo congregation as a sample congregation of Use Your Talents in the forward section, which might help the reader as a benchmark to understand the concept and practice of Use Your Talents.

Part One

The Background of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus in the Use of Talents