Fall 2019/Pasadena

IS500

Tiersma Watson

IS500: PRACTICES OF VOCATIONAL FORMATION (4 Units: 160 hours). Jude Tiersma Watson.

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. IS500 teaches students a method for integrating resources of theological method into faithful responses to the human condition. As an integrative course, it explores the identity and practices of Christian vocational formation as a people called, gathered, and sent by God. Together, professor and students study and enact historic Christian disciplines necessitated by this distinctive identity (listening, discernment, guidance, lament, rhythms of rest, and stewardship) fashioning them into a Rule of Life that shapes and supports the student’s vocation in order to form students who demonstrate capacities to cultivate a theologically reflective practice of Christian discipleship. Biblical Justice will be an integrating theme for this section of IS500.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Students will have demonstrated capacities to critically reflect on their current and past experiences of Christian practices of vocational formation. (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 vocational formation. (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of vocational formation. (4) Students will have articulated how vocational practices impact their response to the Central Integration Question (CIQ) and will identify exercises, habits, and disciplines to embody these practices within their sociocultural context.

RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES: This course will introduce students to one or more strategies for integrating theological and missiological content with life experience and context through engaging a variety of spiritual practices around vocational formation, which is consistent with the SOT/SIS PLO “Students will have demonstrated capacities to cultivate a theologically reflective practice of Christian discipleship.” (MDiv, MAT, MATM, MAICS). The emphases on integration and vocational formation this course provide introduction to the MAICS learning outcome related to critical thinking and integration and the learning outcome related to vocation (MAICS). This course may also contribute to various learning outcomes in the MAGL related to integrating theology and praxis in ministry and mission, and related to spiritual formation (MAGL).

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 8 hours of 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: 900 pages of required reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing.

A. Required Textbooks

Placher, William C. Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation. Eerdmans, 2005. ISBN: 978-0802829276, Pub. Price $32.00 [208 pp. assigned].

Reyes, Patrick B.Nobody Cries When We Die: God, Community, and Surviving to Adulthood. Chalice Press, 2016. ISBN: 978-0827225312, Pub. Price $19.99 Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [192 pp.]

50 pages of Bible reading that connect with practices of vocational formation

B. Core Practices: Discernment, guidance, listening, lament, rhythms of rest, stewardship.

Videos and articles for each practice by a various authors will be posted in e-reserves (100 pp)

Choose one:

Bill, J. Brent. Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment. Paraclete Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-1612612508, Pub. Price $15.99 [100 pp. assigned]

Cahalan, Kathleen and Bonnie Miller-McLemore, eds. Calling All Years Good: Christian Vocation throughout Life’s Seasons. Eerdmans, 2017. ISBN:9780802874245, Pub Price $20.00. Available as e-book in Fuller library [100 pp assigned]

Labberton, Mark. Called: The Crisis and Promise of Following Jesus Today. IVP Books, 2014. ISBN: 978-0830836833, Pub. Price $16.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller library [approx. 100 pp. assigned].

Newell, J. Philip. Listening for the Heartbeat of God: A Celtic Spirituality. Paulist Press, 1997. ISBN: 978-0809137596, Pub. Price $11.95 [100 pp. assigned]

Parker, Palmer. Let Your Life Speak. Jossey-Bass, 2000. ISBN: 978-0787947354, Pub. Price $18.95 Available as an e-book from the Fuller library. [100 pp. assigned]

Kagawa, Toyohiko, A Few Words in the Dark. Bridges to Peace Publications, 2015. ISBN:9781517010492, $20.00. [100 pp assigned]

Thurman, Howard. Disciplines of the Spirit. Friends United Press, 1963. ISBN: 978-0913408353, Pub Price $13.00 [150 pp. assigned]

Tutu, Desmond. God Has a Dream. Image, 2005. ISBN: 978-0385483711, Pub. Price $14.00 [100 pp. assigned]

C. Integration Resources

Articles posted in e-reserves (100 pp)

Choose one (150 pp):

Brown, Austin Channing. I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. Convergent Books, 2018. ISBN:978-1524760854, Pub Price $25.00 [150 pp]

Khang, Kathy. Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up. InterVarsity Press, 2018. ISBN: 978-0830845408, Pub. Price $16.00 [150 pp.]

Irving, Debbie, Waking up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race. Elephant Room Press, 2014, ISBN: 978-0991331307, Pub Price $19.98. [150 pp]

Rah, Soong-Chan, Prophetic Lament. IVP Books, 2015 Available as e-book from Fuller Library. [150 pp assigned].

Romero, Oscar, Violence of Love. Free e-book. http://www.romerotrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/violenceoflove.pdf

Stevenson, Bryan, Just Mercy:A Story of Justice and Redemption. Spiegal and Grau, 2015.ISBN: 978-0812984965, Pub Price $16.00 [150 pp. assigned].

D. StrengthsFinders

*Students in IS500 are required to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, receive a CoreClarity coaching packet based off of their top 5 strengths, and participate in a 45-minute coaching call with a CoreClarity coach. There will be a $40 charge for StrengthFinder® assessment, Coaching Packet, and Coaching Session which will automatically be charged to your student account.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. 900 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [50 hours].
  1. 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. (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3 and #4]. [22 hours+8 hours].
  2. DLAs (Directed Learning Activities): Students will research and present in groups about one historical figure, reflecting on their vocation, formation and Biblical Justice practices. (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3]. [10 hours].
  3. Autobiography and social location: Students will engage in activities that focus on considering their social location and then create an autobiography (15%). 500-750 words. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [10 hours].
  4. Integrative Exercises and Reflections – students will engage in critical theological reflection on contextualized experiences. (20%) [20 hours].
  5. Fieldwork – Students will participate and reflect on several exercises outside the classroom related to core practices of the course. These exercises include (but are not limited to) Clifton Strengths Assessment & Core Clarity Coaching Call and a financial autobiography. Two reflections for a total of 700 words. 20% [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1 and #2] [20 hours].
  6. 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. 1000 words. (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None. Recommended in first year of study.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets a core integration requirement in the 120 MDiv and the 80 MAT, 80 MATM, 80 MAICS Programs (Fall 2015).

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change. Copyright 2019 Fuller Theological Seminary.