Fall 2019/Fuller Online

IS500

Thacker

IS500: PRACTICES OF VOCATIONAL FORMATION (4 Units: 160 hours). Kimberly Thacker.

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. IS500 teaches students a method for integrating resources of theological method into faithful responses to the human condition. As an integrative course, it explores the identity and practices of Christian vocational formation as a people called, gathered, and sent by God. Together, professor and students study and enact historic Christian disciplines necessitated by this distinctive identity (listening, discernment, guidance, lament, rhythms of rest, and stewardship) fashioning them into a Rule of Life that shapes and supports the student’s vocation 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 vocational formation. (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 vocational formation. (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of vocational formation. (4) Students will have articulated how vocational 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 introduce students to one or more strategies for integrating theological and missiological content with life experience and context through engaging a variety of spiritual practices around vocational formation, 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 and vocational formation this course provide introduction to the MAICS learning outcome related to critical thinking and integration and the learning outcome related to vocation (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: 800 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing.

Biblical Texts: 50 pp selected from: Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, 1 Samuel, Psalms, Jeremiah, Matthew, Luke, John, Acts

A. Required Textbooks

Placher, William C. Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation. Eerdmans, 2005. ISBN: 978-0802829276, Pub. Price $32.00. [150-180 pp. assigned].

Barton, Ruth Haley. Sacred Rhythms. Intervarsity Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0830833337, Pub Price $22.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [113 pp. assigned]

Labberton, Mark. Called: The Crisis and Promise of Following Jesus Today. InterVarsity Press, 2014. ISBN: 978-0830836833, Pub. Price $16.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [97 pp. assigned]

Reese, Randy and Robert Loane, Deep Mentoring: Guiding Others on Their Leadership Journey. InterVarsity, 2012. ISBN: 978-0830837892, Pub Price $22.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [170 pp. assigned]

B. Core Practices (all of the reading below not from the required textbooks is available on eReserves in the online course page; the required textbooks listed above are the only books you need to purchase. Approximately 2 hours of video lectures and other video will also be included for various practices)

Listening

Textbook: Labberton, Called

Textbook: Reese and Loane, Deep Mentoring

Palmer, Parker J. “Listening to Life” in Let Your Life Speak. Jossey-Bass, 2000. [pp. 1-8]

Discernment

Textbook: Barton, Sacred Rhythms

Giallanza, Joel. "Living with discernment in Times of Transition." In Human Development 27, no. 2: 2006 [pp.15-21]

Guidance

Textbook: Reese and Loane, Deep Mentoring

Palmer, Parker J. “When Way Closes” in Let Your Life Speak. Jossey-Bass, 2000. [pp. 50-55]

Scott Cormode, “Making Spiritual Sense” http://leadership.fuller.edu/Leadership/Classes/CF565/Wk01-03/Making_Spiritual_Sense.aspx (2 pp.)

Lament

Textbook: Labberton, Called

Billman, Kathleen D. and Daniel L. Migliore “The Loss and Recovery of the Prayer of Lament” and “Toward a Pastoral Theology of the Prayer of Lament” in Rachel’s Cry: Prayer of Lament and Rebirth of Hope. Wipf and Stock, 1999. [pp. 5-21, 103-127]

Smith, C. Christopher and John Pattison. "Patience: Entering Into the Suffering of Others" in Slow Church. InterVarsity, 2014. [pp. 79-98]

Rhythms of Rest

Textbook: Barton, Sacred Rhythms

Stewardship

Brueggemann, Walter “The Liturgy of Abundance, the Myth of Scarcity” in Christian Century, March 24–31, 1999. [pp. 342-347]

Chandler, Diane J. 2014. “Stewardship: Our Resources” in Christian Spiritual Formation: An Integrated Approach for Personal and Relational Wholeness, InterVarsity, 2014. [pp. 219-247]

Sider, Ron “Thinking Biblically about Property and Possessions” and “Toward a Simpler Lifestyle” in Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. W Publishing, 2015. [pp. 97-114, 181-204]

Wuthnow, Robert. “Pious Materialism: How Americans View Faith and Money” in Christian Century, March 3, 1993. [pp. 239-242]

Simplicity

Foster, Richard J. “Simplicity” in Celebration of Discipline. Harper San Francisco, 1988. [pp. 79-95]

Thomas, Gary. “Cultivating the Quiet” in Seeking the Face of God. Harvest House, 1999. [pp. 96-114]

Honoring the Body

Textbook: Barton, Sacred Rhythms

Chandler, Diane J. 2014. “Physical Health: Our Bodies” in Christian Spiritual Formation: An Integrated Approach for Personal and Relational Wholeness, InterVarsity, 2014. [pp. 180-218]

C. Integration Resources: connecting course practices with biblical, theological, and contemporary resources and resources for lectio divina (all of the reading below not from the required textbooks is available on eReserves in the online course page; the required textbooks listed above are the only books you need to purchase)

Textbook: Barton, Sacred Rhythms

Textbook: Placher, Callings

Textbook: Labberton, Called

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, "The Day Alone," In Life Together. HarperCollins Gift Edition, 1993. [pp. 90-94]

Brueggemann, Walter. “The Good News of Regime Change” in Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church. Westminster John Knox Press, 2007. [pp. 1-8].

Peace, Richard. “An Introduction to Contemplative Bible Reading” in Contemplative Bible Reading. NavPress, 1998. [pp. 11-20]

D. StrengthsFinders

*Students in IS500 are required to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, receive a CoreClarity coaching packet based off of their top 5 strengths, and participate in a 45-minute coaching call with a CoreClarity coach. There will be a $40 charge for StrengthFinder® assessment, Coaching Packet, and Coaching Session which will automatically be charged to your student account.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. 800 pages reading and videos, including 50 pages of biblical text. A reading log will be due at the end of the course and available for you to check off your reading throughout as part of the grade (10%) and understanding of content is also expected in discussions and papers [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [40 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. Students will engage in spiritual disciplines and discussion around hospitality, truth-telling, promise-keeping, and forgiveness, and implications of these practices for vocational formation. (25%). [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 vocational formation (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [4 hours].
  4. Directed Exercises and Disciplines: Student will participate over the quarter in disciplines and exercises outside of the classroom related to the core practices of the course. (12%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2] [18 hours].
  5. Integrative Reflection: Student will engage in critical theological reflection on contextualized experiences using a practical theology or similar method. (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3.] [16 hours].Fieldwork Activity - StrengthsFinders and CoreClarity Coaching: Students will take the Strengthsfinders/CoreClarity Assessment and debrief the results via a phone call with a professional executive coach to learn more about their strengths and how to better grow them in use for God’s mission in the world. (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1 and #2] [4 hours].
  6. Finances and Vocation: Students will write a financial autobiography, use a practical theology method to reflect on finances, and create a resulting financial plan that supports vocational goals. (8%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2 and #3]. [8 hours].
  7. 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. (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [25 hours].
  8. Online brainstorming and initial thoughts and/or posting websites interacting about topics before reading and other assignments in wikis or forums. (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [5 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None. 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. Copyright 2019 Fuller Theological Seminary.