Fall 2020/Fuller Online

IS503

Herppich

IS503: PRACTICES OF MISSION (4 Units: 160 hours). Birgit Herppich.

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 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 (witness, mercy, reconciliation, advocacy, creation care, friendship, inculturation, inter-religious dialogue, and healing, signs and wonders) 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). The emphasis 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: 950 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing.

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Orbis, 2011. ISBN: 978-1570759116, $37.00 Available as e-book in the Fuller Library
[110 pp. assigned].

Finke, Greg. Joining Jesus on His Mission: How to Be an Everyday Missionary. TenthPower Publishing, 2014. ISBN: 978-1938840029, Pub. Price $15.99 Available as e-book from Kindle [75 pp. assigned].

Harper, Lisa Sharon. The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right. WalterBrook, 2016. ISBN: 978-1601428585, Pub. Price $17.00 [151 pp. assigned].

McNeil, Brenda Salter. A Credible Witness: Reflections on Power, Evangelism and Race. IVP, 2008. ISBN: 978-0830834822, Pub. Price $17.00 [134 pp. assigned].

Sunquist, Scott W., Understanding Christian Mission: Participation in Suffering and Glory. Baker Academic, 2013. ISBN: 978-0801036156, Pub. Price, $34.99 Available as e-book in the Fuller Library [144 pp. assigned].

Bible Readings from Exodus, Deuteronomy, Luke, Acts, Philippians. [c. 50 pp. assigned].

Electronic Course Readings. See below for the most important additional readings assigned for each Core Practice [Total c. 250 pp. assigned].

CORE PRACTICES

Reconciliation

“Reconciliation as the Mission of God: Faithful Christian Witness in a World of Destructive Conflicts and Divisions.” Lausanne Occasional Paper #51 (2005). Presented at the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, Pattaya, Thailand, Sept 29 to Oct 5, 2004 [pp. 11-21]. Free download from: https://www.lausanne.org/content/lop/lop-51

Tutu, Desmond. 2008. Apartheid, Perpetrators, Forgiveness. Watch online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRDBWoV_hA0 [10:01]

Witness

Bosch, David J. “Evangelism: Theological Currents and Cross-currents Today.” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 11, no. 3 (July 1987): 98-103. Available as e-resource in the Fuller Library.

Russell, Chris. “Why evangelism is always non-negotiable” Church Times, 06 Jun 2014. https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2014/6-june/comment/opinion/why-evangelism-is-always-non-negotiable.

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, 321-348. Available as Fuller Library e-resource.

Martinez, Juan F., “Acculturation”, and Maggay, Melba Padilla, and William A. Dyrness, “Culture and Society” from The Global Dictionary of Theology editors William A. Dyrness and Veli-Matti Karkkainen. IVP Press, 2008, pp. 1-2 and 217-223. Available as Fuller Library e-resource.

Cleveland, Christena. "Creating Positive Crosscultural Interactions" Chapter 9 in Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces That Keep Us Apart. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 2013, pp. 152-175. Available as Fuller Library e-resource.

Mercy

Grisez, Germain. The Way of the Lord Jesus, Volume 2: Living a Christian Life. Franciscan Press, 1993. Chapter 6: Love, Justice, Mercy, and Social Responsibility. Available at: http://www.twotlj.org/G-2-6-F.html

Mother Teresa of Calcutta on Mercy on Irish Television, 1974. Published on Aug 31, 2013. Watch online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th2QzJwy8tI[29:41]

Smith, Efrem. “Compassion, Mercy and Justice” chapter 3 in The Post Black and Post White Church: Becoming the Beloved Community in a Multiethnic World. Jossey-Bass, 2012, 41-64. Available as Fuller Library e-resource.

Advocacy

“Introduction to Advocacy,” Advocacy e-lab, last modified Feb 17, 2014. Watch online at: https://youtu.be/cBBkkVUlfhM[2:52]. Explore:https://www.youtube.com/user/AdvocacyeLab.

Evangelical Advocacy: A Response to Global Poverty, "Mission of Church and Role of Advocacy" (2002). Papers, PDF Files, and Presentations. Book 5. [11 pp. assigned]. Free download from: http://place.asburyseminary.edu/engaginggovernmentpapers/5.

Friendship

Robert, Dana L. “Global Friendship as Incarnational Missional Practice.” International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 39 no 4 (Oct 2015): 180-184. Available as Fuller Library e-resource.

Fairwood, Birthe-Munck “Making Friends Cross-Culturally” (April 01, 2002) From: www.intervarsity.org. Available as e-resource in the course pages.

Interreligious Dialogue

“Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct.” World Council of Churches, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, World Evangelical Alliance International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Oct 2011) 194-196. Available as Fuller Library e-resource.

McConnell, C. Douglas. "Missional Principles and Guidelines for Interfaith Dialogue." Evangelical Interfaith Dialogue 1, no. 1 (Winter 2010): 3-5. Available at: https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/main-article-missional-principles-and-guidelines-for-interfaith-dialogue/.

Creation Care

Wright, Christopher J.H. ”Mission and God’s Earth” Chapter 12 in The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. IVP Academic, 2006, 397-420. Available as Fuller Library e-resource.

Video: Our Father’s World. Watch online at: https://vimeo.com/61121345 [26:45]

Healing, Signs, and Wonders (recommended book)

Ma, Julie C. and Wonsuk Ma. Mission in the Spirit: Towards a Pentecostal/Charismatic Missiology. Regnum Studies in Mission. Wipf & Stock, 2011. ISBN: 9781610970181. List Price: $39.00. Chapters 3 and 4 assigned. Available as e-book from the Fuller Library.

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.

950 pp. reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing, including c. 50 pages of biblical text [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [60 hours].
Participation in Spiritual Disciplines and Vocation Formation Group (VFG): Students will engage in the disciplines of missiological Bible reading and intercession and participate in Vocation Formation Groups in prearranged synchronous video conferences, facilitated by a Vocation Formation Group Leader, in order to engage the core practices through spiritual disciplines, biblical and theological reflection, and sharing stories of their vocational formation (16%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3 and #4]. [22 hours].
Autobiography: Students will create an autobiography related to practices of mission (500 words) (6%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 hours].
Directed Exercises and Integrative Reflection: Students will undertake weekly exercises outside of the classroom related to the core practices of the course and will reflect on these experiences in a way that integrates experience with course content (in weekly discussion posts and responses). (32%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2 and #3]. [36 hours].
Community Context Analysis: Students will observe and describe the social and religious landscape of their neighborhood or the community around their church and reflect critically on how they and their church engage this context missionally in an Integration Paper (900-1000 words) (13%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2, #3 and #4]. [10 hours].
Engage another World Religion: Students will visit a formal religious expression of another World Religion, observe and describe what is happening, and analyze the experience in light of mission practices in an Integration Paper (900-1000 words) (13%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2, #3 and #4]. [10 hours].
Final Integrative Assignment: Students will write an Integration Paper that reflects theologically on the practices of this course and their implications for the student’s vocational formation and response to the CIQ and the exercises, habits, and disciplines in their current Rule of Life (2,500 words in total) (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #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