Winter 2016/Fuller Online

IS503

Dougherty

IS503: PRACTICES OF MISSION (4 Units: 163 hours). Traver K. Dougherty.

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, Inter-Religious Dialogue, Inculturation, Friendship, Creation Care, Advocacy).

LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Students will reflect on their current and past experiences of Christian practices of mission. (2) Students will participate in local contexts and demonstrate the capacity to engage in activities and exercises related to Christian spiritual disciplines and practices of mission. (3) Students will demonstrate the capacity to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic practices of mission. (4) Students will articulate how mission 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.

COURSE FORMAT: This course meets ten weeks online (which includes 8 hours of 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: 800 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, Pub. Price $35.00 [208 pp. assigned].

Roxburgh, Alan. “Practices of a Missional People,” in Journal of Missional Practice. Fall 2013 (onlinehttp://themissionalnetwork.com/index.php/alan-j-roxburgh. [10 pp. assigned].

Wright, Christopher J.H. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. IVP Academic, 2006. ISBN: 978-0830825714, Pub. Price $45.00 [290 pp. assigned].

Bible Reading: Ex 19-34; Dt 4:44-11:32; Acts 1-28 [50 pp. assigned]

CORE PRACTICES:

Reconciliation

“Reconciliation as the Mission of God: Faithful Christian Witness in a World of Destructive Conflicts and Divisions.” Presented at the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, Pattaya, Thailand, Sept 29 to Oct 5, 2004 [pp. 11-21]. Available on eReserves.

Witness

Muck, Terry and Frances S. Adeney. Christianity Encountering World Religions, The Practice of Mission in the Twenty-first Century. Baker Academic, 2009. ISBN: 978-0801026607, Pub. Price $30.00 [pp. 79-215].

Mercy

Grisez, Germain. The Way of the Lord Jesus, Volume 2: Living a Christian Life. Franciscan Pr, 1993. ISBN: 978-0819909619, http://www.twotlj.org/G-2-6-F.html. [15 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves.

Advocacy

“Introduction to Advocacy,” Advocacy e-lab, last modified Feb 17, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/user/AdvocacyeLab. Available on eReserves.

Inculturation

Hillman, Eugene. “Inculturation & the Leaven of the Gospel.” Commonweal 118, no. 1 (Jan 11, 1991): 21-24 [3 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves.

Cox, Harvey G. “Inculturation Reconsidered.” Christianity and Crisis 51, no. 7 (May 13, 1991): 140-142 [3 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves.

Friendship

Fitzgerald, John. "Christian Friendship: John, Paul, and the Philippians." Interpretation 61, no. 3 (07, 2007): 284-296 [13 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves.

Heuertz, Christopher L., and Christine D. Pohl. Friendship at the Margins: Discovering Mutuality in Service and Mission. IVP Books, 2010. ISBN: 978-0830834549, Pub. Price $16.00 [pp. 119-139]. Available on eReserves.

Interreligious Dialogue

“Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct.” Presented at the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Bangkok, Thailand, Jan 25 to 28, 2011 [8 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves.

Creation Care

Wright, Christopher J.H. The Mission of God’s People. Zondervan, 2010. ISBN: 978-0310291121, Pub Price: $24.99 [pp. 48-62].

OPTIONAL PRACTICE

Healing, Signs, and Wonders

See syllabus

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. 800 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [40 hours].
2. Online: for each practice, students will engage, reflect, and create (utilizing instruction, participation, presentation, discussion, engaging practice-based theology, case studies). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3]. [40 hours].
3. Students will participate in directed practices and disciplines over the course of the quarter. (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [15 hours].
4. Four fieldwork activities and reflections (100 words each). (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [8 hours + 8 hours].
5. Autobiography related to core course concept (250 words). (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1]. [2 hours].
6. In-person or via social media, students will engage a non-Christian person or group in spiritual conversation. (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [3 hours].
7. Three 500-word reflections on the reading, experience, and lecture topics and how your understanding of mission is changing in both thinking and practice. Choose one mission practice or concept to write a reflection (5% each, 15% total). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, and 3] [9 hours].
8. Observe and describe in 750 words the social and religious landscape of a target community and ask how a church plant might effectively engage this context (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2] [13 hours].
9. Signature Assignment: 100 word CIQ response, Integration paper related to course practices, and Rule of Life (2,500 words total). (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 3, 4]. [25 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None. Recommended in first year of study.

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

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.