Winter 2017/Fuller Online

IS501

Strang

IS501: PRACTICES OF WORSHIP AND PRAYER (4 Units: 160 hours). Fred Foy Strang

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 and prayer. (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 and prayer. (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of worship and prayer. (4) Students will have articulated how practices of worship and prayer 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 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/VIEWING: 800 pp. of required reading and 10 hours video viewing.

A. CORE RESOURCES:

Caccamo, James F., and Todd Johnson, and Lester Ruth. Living Worship: A Multimedia Resource for Students and Leaders. Brazos Press, 2006. ASIN: 1587432951, Pub. Price $27.99 [10 hours of viewing assigned]. (Available to purchase online at the Archives bookstore).

Bible Reading and passages as detailed in the syllabus [50 pages]

Revelation 1-5

John 1-4

2 Samuel 6 (David dancing before the Ark)

Luke 7:36-50 (The woman washing the feet of Jesus with her hair)

1 Chronicles 6, 16, 24, and 25 (The ministers of music and worship at the ark)

2 Chronicles 2-7 (The construction and dedication of the temple)

Isaiah 58-59 (Corrective regarding heart attitudes toward worship)

Psalms 93, 96.97.98 (Influential in the early church worship)

B. CORE PRACTICES:

Sabbath-Keeping

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

Confession

Augustine, St. Confessions of St. Augustine. Oxford University Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0199537822, Pub. Price $7.95 [75 pp. assigned].

Praise

Webber, Robert. Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative. Baker, 2008. ISBN: 978-0801066245, Pub. Price $20.00 [75 pp. assigned].

Gathering & Sending

Schmit, Clayton J. Sent and Gathered. A Worship Manual for the Missional Church. Baker Academic, 2009. ISBN: 978-0801031656, Pub. Price $22.00 [75 pp. assigned].

Reading & Proclaiming the Word

Peterson, Eugene H. Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity. Eerdmans Publishing, 1989. ISBN: 978-0802802651, Pub. Price $20.00 [18 pp. assigned].

Howard, Evan B. Praying the Scriptures: A Field Guide for Your Spiritual Journey. IVP, 1999. ISBN: 978-0830822010, Pub. Price $16.00 [50 pp. assigned].

Prayer

Foster, Richard. Prayer:Finding the Heart’s True Home. HarperOne, 2002. ISBN: 978-0060628468, Pub. Price $24.99 [75 pp. assigned].

Communion

Wright, N.T. The Meal Jesus Gave Us. 2^nd edition. Westminster/John Knox, 2015. ISBN: 978-0664261290, Pub. Price $14.00 [96 pp.].

Enacting the Prophetic

Brueggeman, Walter. The Prophetic Imagination. 2^nd ed. Fortress, 2001. ISBN: 978-0800632878, Pub. Price $19.00 [75 pp. assigned].

Note: Some of the above readings may be available through Fuller’s E-Reader Program; additional Biblical passages, journal articles, websites, and videos that are found within each module.

C. Integration Resources

Spiritual Disciplines

Thompson, Marjorie. Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life. Westminster John Knox Press, 2014. ISBN: 978-0664239244, Pub Prices: $17.00. [50 pages assigned]

Christian Worship (optional resource; not required, but recommended)

What is Worship? A DVD Training Experience. Equip Resources for Worship, Vineyard, 2006. sku: VM9-128059, ASIN: B0031QUSQG, Available at vineyardmusic.com, Pub Price: $19.95. (also available digitally at http://www.danwilt.com/worship-resources/ )

Israel and the Church

Bechtel, Carol M. Touching the Altar: the Old Testament for Christian Worship. Eerdmans, 2008. ISBN: 978-0802828484, Pub. Price $22.00 [50 pages assigned].

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. 800 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [40 hours].

2. Online Assignments & Activities 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. For each practice, students will engage, reflect, and create (utilizing instruction, participation, presentation, discussion, engaging practice-based theology, case studies) (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3]. [54 hours + 8 hours].

3. Autobiography related to practices of worship and prayer (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 hours].

4. Students will participate in directed practices and disciplines over the course of the quarter with opportunities to both individually reflect through creative activities and corporately engage in forums. (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [15 hours].

5. Four fieldwork activities and reflections (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [8 hours + 8 hours = 16 hours].

6. 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 (2,500 words total) (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [25 hours].

PREREQUISITES:  None. Recommended in first year of study.

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

FINAL EXAMINATION: NONE.