Winter 2018/Pasadena

IS501

Jensen

IS501: PRACTICES OF WORSHIP (4 Units: 160 hours). L. Paul Jensen.

DESCRIPTION: Christian practices constitute the Christian life. The combined Christian practices of vocational formation, worship, community, and mission facilitate the integration of personal, spiritual, academic, and global formation into the vocational coherence of a Christian leader through reflection, relationships, and practices. IS501 is an integrative course that explores the identity and practices of Christian worship and prayer as a people called, gathered, and sent by God. Together, professor and students study and enact historic Christian disciplines necessitated by this distinctive identity (Sabbath-keeping, confession, praise, communion, enacting the prophetic, gathering & sending, prayer, and reading & proclaiming the Word) in order to form students who demonstrate capacities to cultivate a theologically reflective practice of Christian discipleship.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Students will have demonstrated capacities to critically reflect on their current and past experiences of Christian practices of worship and prayer. (2) Students will have demonstrated through participation in local contexts the capacity to engage in activities and exercises related to Christian spiritual disciplines and practices of worship and prayer. (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of worship and prayer. (4) Students will have articulated how practices of worship and prayer impact their response to the Central Integration Question (CIQ) and will identify exercises, habits, and disciplines to embody these practices within their sociocultural context.

COURSE FORMAT: This class meets once per week for three hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion (which includes required synchronous and/or asynchronous participation in vocation and formation groups) plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.

REQUIRED READING: 800 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent in viewing.

Course Reader. On eReserves [200 pages].

Bonhoffer, Detriech. Life Together. Harper One, 2009. ISBN: 978-0060608521, Pub. Price: $14.99 [100 pages assigned]

Caccamo, James F., Todd Johnson, and Lester Ruth. Living Worship: A Multimedia Resource for Students and Leaders. Brazos Press, 2010. ASIN: 1587432951, Published Price: $27.99 [10 hours of viewing assigned]. (available to purchase online at the Archives bookstore).

Farhadian, Charles E., ed. Christian Worship Worldwide. Eerdmans, 2008. ISBN: 978-0802828538, Pub. Price: $24.00 [170 pages assigned]

Meyers, Ruth. Missional Worship, Worshipful Mission. Eerdmans, 2014. ISBN: 978-0802868008, Pub. Price $26.00 [150 pages assigned]

Nouwen, Henri J. The Way of the Heart. Ballentine, 2003. ISBN: 978-0345463357, Pub. Price: $15.00 [78 pages].

Choose one:

Webber, Robert. Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative. Baker Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-0801066245, Pub. Price $20.00 [150 pages assigned]

OR

Ross, Melanie C. Evangelical Versus Liturgical? Defying a Dichotomy. Eerdmans, 2014. ISBN: 978-0802869913, Pub. Price $17.00. [137 pages]

CORE PRACTICES: Selected articles, chapters, videos, websites, etc that engage the following required practices:  Sabbath-Keeping, Confession, Praise, Gathering & Sending, Reading & Proclaiming the Word, Prayer, Communion, Enacting the Prophetic.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. 1000 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [50 hours].

2. Classroom and Vocation Formation Group (VFG) Participation: Students will participate in active learning to foster understanding of and capacity for engaging in theologically-informed reflection in the classroom and through participation in Vocation Formation Groups. Participation and attendance (16% divided equally between VFG and classroom participation). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3 and #4]. [22 hours+8 hours].

3. Directed Learning Activities (DLA): Critical Writing and Responses: one 250 word Forum Post and two 100 word Responses and two 400 word Section reviews on course readings with presentation/discussion of these in small groups (10%). [12 hours including 2.5 hours at class retreat under 4 A below].

4. Directed Exercises and Integrative Reflection: Student will participate in disciplines and exercises outside of the classroom over the course of the quarter related to the core practices of the course and reflect on these experiences in a way that integrates experience with course content. These include:

1. Two retreat days of six and seven hours each in weeks 2 & 7 (see a & b below) are devoted to practices of worship and prayer. A 350-400 word reflection will be written on each retreat. (15%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [15 hours including 2.5 hours of DLA]

   1. On Friday, January 12, a class retreat will be conducted by the professor 9am – 4 pm at Mater Dolorosa retreat center in Sierra Madre (a $30 retreat fee will be charged to the student’s account at the time of registration). Students unable to attend this retreat, will be given resources to do a seven hour self-guided retreat instead.

   2. The second retreat in week 7 will be self-guided and self-scheduled. Resources and instructions will be provided for doing this retreat alone or for facilitating this retreat with others.

2. Participant observation of two worship services conducted in two different spiritual traditions other than one’s own (see a & b below). This field work is a corporate spiritual discipline. Students will be provided tools and resources for doing this assignment (14%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [14 hours - 8 hours of writing the 1600 word participant observation paper].

   1. Attend a Catholic OR Orthodox worship service/mass. A Catholic mass will be conducted at 7 am, January 12 at Mater Dolorosa retreat center before the class retreat. Students may observe this mass for this assignment.

   2. Attend a worship or prayer service in the charismatic/Pentecostal tradition OR in an immigrant church, a recent church plant or an inner city church.

5. Autobiography related to practices of worship and prayer (3%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [3 hours].

6. Additional Activity: Students will keep a Worship and Prayer Journal (18%). [This assignment is related to outcomes #2 & #3]. [12 hours].

7. Final Integrative Assignment: Integration paper that reflects theologically on the practices of this course and their implications for the student’s response to the CIQ and the exercises, habits, and disciplines in their current Rule of Life (2,500 words total) (24%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [24 hours].

PREREQUISITES: IS500 encouraged. Recommended in first year of study.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets a core integrative requirement in the 120 MDiv Program and the 80 MAT, 80 MATM, 80 MAICS Programs.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.