Spring 2020/Fuller Online

IS502

Clarke

IS502: PRACTICES OF COMMUNITY (4 Units: 160 hours). Marcia Clarke.

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. IS502 is an integrative course that explores the identity and practices of Christian community as a people called, gathered, and sent by God. Together, professor and students study and enact historic Christian disciplines necessitated by this distinctive identity (hospitality, forgiveness, promise-keeping, truth-telling, gratitude, and testimony) 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 community. (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 community. (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of community. (4) Students will have articulated how community 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 community, 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: 1000 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing.

Required Textbooks

Pohl, Christine. Living into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us. Eerdmans, 2011. ISBN: 978-0802849854, Pub. Price $20.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [178 pp. assigned].

Acts, Ephesians,

Core Practices

Acts of the Apostles; 1 Corinthians; Ephesians

Au, Wilkie and Noreen Cannon Au. The Grateful Heart: Living the Christian Message. Paulist Press, 2011 ISBN: 978-0809147359, Pub. Price 19.95. [100 pp. assigned].

Battle, Michael. Ubuntu: I in You and You in Me. Seabury Books, 2009. ISBN 978-1596271111(pbk.) $18.95, 978-1596272149 (ebook) $15.99 [176 pp. assigned]

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together and Prayer Book of the Bible: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works Vol. 5 Fortress Press, 2004. ISBN: 978-0800683252, Pub. Price $21.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library. [100 pp. assigned]

Calhoun, Adele. Spiritual Disciplines Handbook revised and expanded edition. InterVarsity Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-0830846054, Pub. Price $22.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library.

Conde-Frazier, Elizabeth, S. Steve Kang and Gary A. Parrett. A Many Colored Kingdom. Baker, 2004. ISBN: 978-0801027437, Pub. Price $26.00. [70 pp. assigned]

Drury, Amanda Hontz. Saying is Believing. InterVarsity, 2015. ISBN: 978-0830840656, Pub. Price 1980. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [100 pp assigned].

Frederick, Marla. Between Sundays: Black Women and Everyday Struggles of Faith. University of California Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-0520233942, Pub. Price $34.95. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [40 pp. assigned].

Jones, Gregory L. “Forgiveness” in Practicing Our Faith. Jossey-Bass, 2010. ISBN: 978-0470484111, Pub. Price: $19.95. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [15 pp. assigned].

Pohl, Christine. “A Community's Practice of Hospitality: The Interdependence of Practices and of Communities” in Volf, Miroslav; Bass, Dorothy. Practicing Theology: Beliefs and Practices in Christian Life. Eerdmans 2002. ISBN: 0-802849318, Pub. Price $24.00 [121-136].

Volf, Miroslav, and Dorothy C Bass. 2002. Practicing Theology : Beliefs and Practices in Christian Life. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.

Pauw, Amy. “Attending to the Gaps between Beliefs and Practices” in Volf, Miroslav; Bass, Dorothy. Practicing Theology: Beliefs and Practices in Christian Life. Eerdmans 2002. ISBN: 0-802849318 [33-49]

Peace, Richard. Holy Conversation: Talking About God in Everyday Life. IVP Connect, 2006. ISBN: 978-0830811199, Pub. Price: $16.00. (Great workbook with helpful reflections and assignments that will change established mental models about testimony being a 3-minute talk). [25 pp. assigned] [Available via e-Reserves]

Volf, Miroslav. “How Can We Forgive,” in Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a World Stripped of Grace. Zondervan, 2005. ISBN: 978-0310265740, Pub. Price $12.99. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [25 pp. assigned].

Volf, Miroslav; Bass, Dorothy. Practicing Theology: Beliefs and Practices in Christian Life. Eerdmans, 2002. ISBN: 978-0802849311, Pub. Price $24.00. [40 pp. assigned].

Wimberly, Anne-Streaty. “Called to Listen: The Imperative Vocation of Listening in Twenty-First Century Faith Communities.” International Review of Mission LXXXVII, No. 346:331-341. Available in e-reserves.

INTEGRATION RESOURCES

Conlon, Clara. "40 Ways to Practice Gratitude" Lifehack.org. 40 ways to practice gratitude: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/40-simple-ways-practice-gratitude.html.

Forgiveness by God, Forgiveness of Others, and Psychological Well-Being in Late Life: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046863/

Forgiveness: A Christian Reflection: https://www.baylor.edu/ifl/christianreflection/forgiveness.pdf

Perkins, John. Dream with Me: Race, Love, and the struggle we must win. Baker Publishing, 2017. ISBN: 978-0801075865, Pub. Price $15.99. [224 pp. assigned].

Tiersma Watson, Jude. "Learning the Unforced Rhythms of Grace." Fuller Youth Institute. February 26, 2014. http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/articles/learning-the-unforced-rhythms-of-grace.

Plus other videos and articles on Canvas

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1000 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [60 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 online classroom and through participation in Vocation Formation Groups. (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3 and #4]. [32 hours+8 hours].
Autobiography: Students will create an autobiography related to practices of community (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 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. (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2 and #3] [15 hours].
Attend at least 3 worship gatherings at the same church plus two fieldwork activities and two responses, and a teaching project (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [6+6+3+8 = 23 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: 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.