Winter 2020/Fuller Online

IS503

Ireland

IS503: PRACTICES OF MISSION (4 Units: 160 hours). Marèque Steele Ireland

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. IS503 is an integrative course that explores the identity and practices of Christian mission as a people called, gathered, and sent by God. Together, professor and students study and enact historic Christian disciplines necessitated by this distinctive identity (witness, mercy, reconciliation, advocacy, creation care, friendship, inculturation, and inter-religious dialogue) 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 mission. (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 mission (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of mission. (4) Students will have articulated how practices of mission 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 provide students with further opportunity to develop and/or master skills in integrating theological and missiological content with life experience and context through engaging a variety of spiritual practices related to the practice of mission, 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). Content in this course contributes to all MAICS learning outcomes (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 course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.

REQUIRED READING: 1100 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing.

A. Required Textbooks

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Orbis, 2011. ISBN: 978-1570759116, $37.00 [208 pp. assigned]. Note that this book is available for Fuller students as an eBook through Fuller’s online database.

Brother Lawrence. The Practice of the Presence of God. Whitaker House, 1982. ISBN: 978-0883681053, $5.99 [75 pp. assigned]. Note that this book is available for Fuller students f as an eBook through Fuller’s online database.

Epperly, Bruce Gordon and Katherine Gould Epperly. Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009. ISBN: 978-1566993913, $24.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [100 pp. assigned]. Note that this book is available for Fuller students as an eBook through Fuller’s online database.

Heuertz, Christopher L., and Christine D. Pohl. Friendship at the Margins: Discovering Mutuality in Service and Mission. IVP Books, 2010. ISBN: 978-0830834549, $18.00 [40 pp. assigned]. Note that this book is available for Fuller students as an eBook through Fuller’s online database.

Volf, Miroslav. Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness and Reconciliation. Abingdon Press, 1996. ISBN: 978-0687002825, $29.99 [220 pp. assigned]. Note that this book is available for Fuller students as an eBook through Fuller’s online database.

Course e-Reader available through Canvas. See Core Practices below for details. [200 pp. assigned]

Bible (any translation) 50 pp.

B. Core Practices

Witness:

See Bevans and Schreoder

See Epperly

Kidd, Robert. ‘Foundational Listening and Responding,’ in Professional Spiritual & Pastoral Care, edited by Rabbi Stephen B. Roberts, 92-105.

Article: Steele Ireland,Conversion and the Mutually Transforming Power of Dialogue. (http://documents.fuller.edu/news/pubs/tnn/2010_Fall/7_power_of_dialogue.php) [4 pp.]

Mercy:

Borgman, Erik. “A Field Hospital after Battle: Mercy as a Fundamental Characteristic of God’s Presence.” Concilium, Issue 4 (October 20, 2017): 65-75.

Hogan, Linda. “Restorative Justice: The Bonds of Mercy.” Concilium, Issue 4 (October 20, 2017): 89-97.

Reconciliation:

See Volf

Brink, Laurie. “From Wrongdoer to New Creation: Reconciliation in 2 Corinthians.” Interpretation, v. 71, n. 2 (January 2017): 298-309.

Reddie, Anthony G. “A Black Theological Approach to Reconciliation: Responding to the 200^th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade in Britain.” Black Theology: An International Journal, Volume 5, number 2 (July, 2007): 184-202.

Hoang, Bethan. “Becoming Human Again: After surviving the Rwandan genocide, Denise Uwimana devoted her life to promoting healing and reconciliation. Christianity Today, v.63, no.3 (January, 2019): 66-67.

White, Kimberly. “How to Put Disagreements to Work for You.” Arbinger Institute (blog), August 31, 2018, https://arbingerinstitute.com/BlogDetail?id=123.

Advocacy:

See Torrance

See Bevans and Schroeder

See Heuertz, Christopher L., and Christine D. Pohl. “Reconnecting Righteousness and Justice Through Friendships.” In Friendship at the Margins: Discovering Mutuality in Service and Mission, pp. 47-68.

Creation Care:

Moo, Douglas J and Jonathan Moo. Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World. Zondervan, 2018. Chapters 2, “How Do We Think Biblically and Theologically about Creation?” pp. 31-44 and Chapter 8, “What Counts in the New Creation?” pp. 126-145 assigned.

Friendship:

See Volf

See Epperly.

Chilton, Thompson. A.L. “Where is the Love? The Disruptive Possibilities of Women’s Friendships as Participation in the Triune God. Perspective in Religious Studies, v. 45, no.1 (January 2018): note you are only assigned pp. 27-29.

See Heuertz, Christopher L., and Christine D. Pohl. “The Vocation of Relationship.” In Friendship at the Margins: Discovering Mutuality in Service and Mission, pp. 23-46.

Inculturation:

Pocock, Michael, Gailyn Van Rheenen, and Douglas McConnell. "Contextualization." In The Changing Face of World Missions: Engaging Contemporary Issues and Trends. Baker Academic, 2005: 321-48.

See article below under ‘Signs and Wonders’ by J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu.

Inter-Religious Dialogue:

Aihiokhai, SimonMary Asese. ‘Love One Another as I have Loved You”: The Place of Friendship in Interfaith Dialogue.” Journal Of Ecumenical Studies v. 48, no.4 (January 2013): 491-508.

Pinnock, Clark. “Toward an Evangelical Theology of Religions.” JETS 33/3 (September 1990): 359-68.

McConnell, C. Douglas. "Missional Principles and Guidelines for Interfaith Dialogue." Evangelical Interfaith Dialogue 1, no. 1 (Winter 2010): 3-5.

Signs and Wonders:

Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Signs, Wonders, and Ministry: the Gospel in the Power of the Spirit.” Evangelical Review of Theology, 33:1 (January 1, 2009): 32-46.

Robeck, C. M., Jr. “Signs, Wonders, Warfare, and Witness. Pneuma v. 13, no 1 (January 1991): 1-5.

Pratt, Thomas D. “The Need to Dialogue: A Review of the Debate on the Controversy of Signs, Wonders, Miracles and Spiritual Warfare Raised in the Literature of the Third Wave Movement.” Pneuma v. 13, no 1 (January, 1991): 7-32. Peruse, especially the first five pages.

Video: John Wimber, Power Evangelism. 15 minute viewing.

C. Integration Resources

See sources above

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. 1100 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [52 hours].
2. Online instruction (including lecture videos) 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]. [30 + 8 hours].
3. Weekly online forums interaction and assignments consisting of one 250-300 word opening post and one response post of 250 words. (20% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1-3] [20 hours].
4. DLAs (Directed Learning Activities): Attend an advocacy event (e.g. social justice, creation care, working with poor) OR a worship service of another world religion (Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism or Hinduism), conduct interviews, and submit a 900 word reflection paper. (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3]. [19 hours].
5. Autobiography: Students will create an autobiography related to practices of mission (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 hours].
6. Directed Exercises and Integrative Reflection. (15%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2 and #3]. [13 hours]

• Bi-weekly Ministry of Presence Exercise. Intentionally cultivate and consciously exercise the ministry of presence with those around you (outside the “class”) and provide at least one example every other week of this with a 300 word reflection on your interaction in an online journal.
• Intercessory prayer of at least 15 minutes per week with a short reflection in your journal

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. (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [16 hours].

PREREQUISITES: IS500 encouraged. 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.