Summer 2018/Online

IS503

Tan

IS503: PRACTICES OF MISSION (4 Units: 160 hours). Sooi-Ling Tan

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, advocacy, creation care, friendship, inculturation, and inter-religious dialogue) 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.

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: 845 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing.

A. Required Textbooks

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Orbis, 2011. ISBN: 978-1570759116, $35.00 [208 pp. assigned].

Reisacher, Evelyne A. Joyful Witness in the Muslim World. Baker Academic, 2016. ISBN: 978-0801030840, Pub. Price: $22.99 [182 pp.].

Sunquist, Scott W. Understanding Christian Mission: Participation in Suffering and Glory. Baker Academic, 2013. ISBN: 978-0801036156, Pub. Price, $34.99 [193 pp. assigned].

B. Core Practices

1. Witness

Sunquist, Scott W. Ch. 9 “Church: The Community of Worship and Witness” in Understanding Christian Mission: Participation in Suffering and Glory. Baker Academic, 2013. [Required Text]

Sunquist, Scott W. Ch. 10 “Witnessing Community: Evangelism and Christian Mission” in Understanding Christian Mission: Participation in Suffering and Glory. Baker Academic, 2013. [Required Text].

Wafik Wahba, “A living example from the persecuted Christians in Egypt” in Witnessing the Gospel through forgiveness. Lausanne movement. https://www.lausanne.org/content/lga/2018-01/witnessing-gospel-forgiveness [9 pages]

Reisacher. Chapters 1 “Toward joyful witness”, chapter 2 “Muslim-Christian attachment” and Chapter 3, Connecting with Muslims, in Joyful Witness in the Muslim World. Baker Academic, 2016.

2. Advocacy

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. Chapter 7 “Letting God and Speaking Out” in Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Orbis, 2011. [Required Text].

Sunquist, Scott W. Ch. 11 “Urban Community: Mission and the City” in Understanding Christian Mission: Participation in Suffering and Glory. Baker Academic, 2013. [Required Text].

Sunquist, Scott W. Ch. 12 “Global Community: Partnership in Mission” in Understanding Christian Mission: Participation in Suffering and Glory. Baker Academic, 2013. [Required Text].

Wati Longchar: “Solidarity for Justice and Peace. An Asian Indigenous perspective” in the Ecumenical Review Vol 64 Number 4, 2012. (10 pages) [E-reserves]

Strohm: Poverty and Public Theology. Advocacy of the Church in Pluralistic Society in International Journal of Public Theology, 2(2008) 144-162 [18 pages]

3. Mercy

Day, Dorothy. “Doing the works of mercy” in Dorothy Day: Selected Writings, ed. Robert Ellsberg Orbis Books, 2005. (e-reserves) [3 pages] https://www.plough.com/en/topics/community/service/mercy-in-christian-community

Langmead, Ross. “Refugees as guests and hosts. Towards a Theology of Mission among Refugees and Asylum Seekers” in Exchange 43 (2014), 29-47 (e-reserves) [18 pages]

Reisacher. Chapter 6. Caring for the Needy, Joyful Witness in the Muslim World. Baker Academic, 2016.

Smith, Efrem. “Compassion, Mercy and Justice” in The Post Black and Post White Church: Becoming the Beloved Community in a Multiethnic World, 41-64. Jossey-Bass, 2012. [23 pages]

4. Friendship

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 $17.00. Chapter 1 [pp 23-44]; Chapter 5: [pp. 119-139]. Available on eReserves

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. Chapter 8: “Table Fellowship: Mission in Aeropagus of Today,” in Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Orbis, 2011 [Required Text].

Robert, Dana L. “Global Friendship as Incarnational Missional Practice.” International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 39 no 4 (Oct 2015): 180-184. (4 pages) [E-reserves]

5. Reconciliation

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. Chapter 5 Unraveling a “Complex Reality” in Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Orbis, 2011 [Required text]

Reynolds Chapman, “Worship in black and white” in Christianity Today, March 2011 (in e-reserves) [4 pages]

Christiani, Tabita Kartika. “Mission as healing and reconciliation” in International Review of Mission, Vol 101, number 2, 2012. (13 pages) [E-reserves]

6. Interreligious Dialogue

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. Chapter 2: “’We Were Gentle Among You:’ Christian Mission as Dialogue,” in Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Orbis, 2011 [Required Text].

McConnell, C. Douglas. "Missional Principles and Guidelines for Interfaith Dialogue." Evangelical Interfaith Dialogue 1, no. 1 (Winter 2010): 3-5. Available on e-Reserves.

Evelyne Reisacher: https://www.lausanne.org/content/dialogue-shaping-mission-shaping-dialogue (6 pages)

Chawkat Moucarry’s “A Plea for dialogue” https://www.lausanne.org/content/a-plea-for-dialogue-between-christians-and-muslims (5 pages)

Reisacher, chapter 8. Theological Conversations; Chapter 7: Meeting Muslim Urbanites

Muck, Terry: “Interreligious dialogue conversation that enable Christian witness” (e-reserves)

7. Creation Care

Wright, Christopher J.H. The Mission of God’s People. Zondervan, 2010. ISBN: 978-0310291121, Pub Price: $24.99 [pp. 48-62, 14 pages].

Reisacher, Chapter 5, Thinking green in sharing the gospel. Joyful Witness in the Muslim World. Baker Academic, 2016.

8. Inculturation

Pocock, Michael, Gailyn Van Rheenen, and Douglas McConnell. "Contextualization." Chap. 12 in The Changing Face of World Missions: Engaging Contemporary Issues and Trends. Baker Academic, 2005. [pp. 321-48, 27 pages]. [E-reserves]

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. Chapter 4: “Mission in the Twenty-first Century: Prophetic Dialogue and Contextual Theology,” in Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Orbis, 2011 [Required Text].

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. Chapter 6: “Entering someone else’s garden: Intercultural Mission/Ministry,” in Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Orbis, 2011 [Required Text].

9. Intercessory Prayer

Calhoun, Adele. "Intercessory Prayer" in Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, 258-261.InterVarsity Press, 2015. ISBN:978-0830846054 (4 Pages)

C. Integration Resources

Sunquist, Scott. Introduction, Chapter 13. Understanding Christian Mission: Participation in Suffering and Glory. Baker Academic, 2013

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

Wright, Christopher J.H. “The Journey so far and the journey ahead” in The Mission of God’s People. Zondervan, 2010. ISBN: 978-0310291121, Pub Price: $24.99 [pp. 265-286, 21 pages].

View: Myers, Bryant. Walking with the Poor, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9-W_jz0QRw.

Bible Reading: Gen. 1-3, 12:1-3, 15; Exod 5-12, 33, Deut 10, Ps. 25, 42, 67; Neh 1-5, Esther 3-4, Micah 6, Matt. 22:34-40, 28:16-21; Luke 4:14-30, 10:1-12; John 15; Acts 1-28; Rom 15:1-13; Rev. 7:9-17 [50 pp. assigned].

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. 868 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [50 hours].
  2. 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].
  3. Autobiography: Students will create an autobiography related to practices of mission (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 hours]
  1. Directed Exercises and Integration paper. 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. Directed exercises include the practice of advocacy, friendship, responding to a case study on reconciliation, and writing one theological reflection paper. (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2 and #3] [25 hours].
  2. Fieldwork Exercises: Students will also engage in three fieldwork exercises: Intercessory prayer and witness through community exegesis, visiting a world religion event, visiting a community center that engages in acts of mercy. (15%) [18 hours]
  1. 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. (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [25 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

NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change.