Spring 2020/Fuller Online

IS501

Bangs

IS501: PRACTICES OF WORSHIP (4 Units: 161 hours). John Clay Bangs.

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. (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. (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of worship. (4) Students will have articulated how worship 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 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 worship, 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 in this course provides introduction to the MAICS learning outcome related to critical thinking and integration (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 meets ten weeks online (which includes required synchronous and/or asynchronous participation in vocation and formation groups) 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: 1,000 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent in viewing.

General Resources:

The Holy Bible. CEB, NRSV, and NIV translations are acceptable [50 pp.].

Smith, James K. A. You are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. Brazos Press, 2016. ISBN: 978-1587433801, Pub. Price $21.99. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [200 pages as assigned].

Sabbath-Keeping

Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2005. ISBN: 978-0374529758, Pub. Price $14.00 [75 pp. assigned]

Barton, Ruth Haley. Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. IVP Books, 2006. ISBN: 978-0830833337, Pub. Price $22.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [125 pp. as assigned].

Confession:

Bonhoeffer, “Confession and Community” in Life Together. HarperOne, 2009. ISBN: 978-0060608521. [pp. 110-122]. Available electronically via Fuller’s E-Reserves.

Praise:

Costen, Melva Wilson. African American Christian Worship. 2nd Edition. Abingdon Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0687646227, Pub. Price $19.99 [130 pages as assigned]. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library.

Yong, Amos. “The Power of Language: The Implications of Pentecost for Global Worship,” Reformed Worship 119 (March 2016): 28-33. Available electronically via Fuller’s E-Reserves.

Communion:

Lathrop, Gordon W. Holy Things: A Liturgical Theology. Fortress Press, 1998. ISBN: 978-0800631314, Pub. Price $29.00 [150 pp. assigned].

Gathering and Sending:

Cherry, Constance M. The Worship Architect. Baker Academic, 2010. ISBN: 978-0801038747, Pub. Price $24.99 [135 pp. assigned]. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library.

Reading and Proclaiming the Word:

Bradshaw, Paul. Two Ways of Praying. OSL Publications, 2008. ISBN: 978-1878009593, Pub. Price $19.95 [100 pp.].

Prayer:

See Bradshaw above.

Enacting the Prophetic:

Witvliet, J. “The Cumulative Power of Transformation in Public Worship: Cultivating Gratitude and Expectancy for the Holy Spirit’s Work.” Pages 41-58 in Worship That Changes Lives: Multidisciplinary and Congregational Perspectives on Spiritual Transformation. Edited by Alexis D. Abernethy. Baker, 2008. In E-Reserves.

Bass, Dorothy and Craig Dykstra, “Practicing a Way of Life” and “A Way of Thinking about a Way of Life” in Practicing our Faith. 2nd Ed. Jossey-Bass, 2010. Pages 195-218. In E-Reserves.

Liturgical Year:

See Lathrop and Cherry above.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT: This course includes fieldwork and embodied assignments of various kinds. If you have a disability, chronic illness, or other condition that makes these activities inaccessible for you, please let the instructor know. Together you can figure out some alternative ways of completing the assignments that will preserve the learning objectives while making the coursework accessible.

1,000 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [54 hours].

Online 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]. [32 hours+8 hours].
Autobiography related to practices of worship and prayer. Presentation in forum-based small groups of description and assessment of one’s own ecclesial tradition’s practices of personal and corporate worship (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [3 hours].
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. (35%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2 and #3] [32 hours].
Two fieldwork activities and reflections. Visit services in two worshiping congregations outside of one’s own church tradition, then prepare and submit a 500-word participant-observation report based upon each of those worship services. (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, and #3] [12 hours].
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]. [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None. IS500 strongly recommended.

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.