Fuller Online
MT520: Winter 2008
Van Engen/Redford

 

THIS ECD IS FOR WINTER 2008 QUARTER ONLY!

If you are viewing this after January 2008 it serves as a SAMPLE ONLY

MT520: BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS OF MISSION (4 units)

Charles Van Engen, Arthur F. Glasser Professor of Biblical Theology of Mission:

Online Facilitation by Shawn B. Redford, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Theology of Mission

DESCRIPTION:

A central theme of the Scriptures is the mission of God as it relates to the present and coming Kingdom of God. By this is meant the sovereign, living God exercising absolute reign in and through history, and establishing a covenant relationship with the People of God redeemed and called to be God's instruments among and for the nations. This means continuity with the Old Testament expectation and New Testament fulfillment. This also means Jesus Christ is the "hinge of history," the Great Commission is the culmination of Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom of God and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is the climactic event which creates the Church and completes the Christ event. From Pentecost onward the mission of the Church has to be viewed eschatologically because the glorious appearing of the Kingdom at our Lord's coming marks the end of the Church's mission. There is no separate "theology of mission" distinct from a theology of the Spirit and the Church, as developed in Pauline theology of mission.

COURSE FORMAT:

The class will be conducted on the Internet using a 10-week lesson program aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar. Each week students and the instructor will interact with the material through Bible reading and summarization, outside reading and reports, coupled with class lectures and discussion following the sequence of the syllabus using threaded discussions and live Internet “chats”. Students will also undertake journal exercises and web-based research.

REQUIRED READING: (Total of 1200 pages)

1.    The Bible (Several books of the Bible may be read. Minimum: 50 chapters, equivalent of 100 pp.)

Students will choose 5 consecutive chapters from 10 assigned sections in the Bible as follows: Pentateuch, Historical Books, Poetic Books, Major Prophets, Minor Prophets, Gospels, Gospels Again, The Book of Acts, Pauline Literature, and General Epistles.

2.    Glasser, Arthur. 2003  Kingdom and Mission Grand Rapids, MI: Baker

3.    Five Required Texts to be Read in This Order:

Kaiser, Walter. 2000  Mission in the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Books.

Briscoe, Jill. 1983  Jonah and the Worm. New Berlin, WI: Jilcoe/Hemp.

Montgomery, Helen Barrett. 1920  The Bible and Mission (Chapters 1 & 2). Edited and Reprinted (provided via download in class).

Nissen, Johannes. 2002  New Testament and Mission (2nd ed.), Peter Lang

Newbigin, Lesslie. 1995  Open Secret. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans.

4.    Supplemental Readings in the Syllabus include required and recommended readings. The recommended readings are for the students’ own self-study, enrichment, and resourcing – particularly to help students prepare for writing the paper, and for greater understanding of the course material.

5.    Recommended Texts:

De Ridder, Richard. 1971  Discipling the Nations. Grand Rapids: Baker.
Kraybill, Donald B. 1990  The Upside Down Kingdom. Scottdale: Herald.
Ladd, George, E. 1959  The Gospel of the Kingdom. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Padilla, René. 1985  Mission Between the Times. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Scherer, James. 1987  Gospel, Church and Kingdom. Minneapolis: Augsburg.
Shenk, Wilbert, ed. 1993  The Transfiguration of Mission. Scottdale: Herald. 
Van Engen, Gilliland, and Pierson, eds. 1993  The Good News of the Kingdom. Maryknoll: Orbis.

Wright, Christopher J. H. 2006  The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. Downers Grove: IVP.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1.    Weekly Threaded Discussions, Journaling, Web research.

2.    A SUMMARY PARAGRAPH describing the mission of God as depicted in each book of the Bible, drawn from chapters selected in various books of the Bible.

3.    FIVE BOOK REVIEWS following the instructions given in the syllabus and in class: one report for each of the books read.

4.    One 12-page (minimum) to 16-page (maximum) research paper that traces a Biblical theme of missiological significance through the Old and New Testaments. The theme will be selected by the student and related to the student's pilgrimage in ministry and to the mission of the People of God touching the nations. The paper must show extensive interaction with the books read, should develop the missiological meaning of the theme chosen, and demonstrate the missiological implications for ministry in the student's particular context.

PREREQUISITES:  None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:  Meets a core competency in the M.A. Intercultural Studies degree:  Meets Min 8 requirement for the MDiv degree:  Ministry Focus Elective in MA in Global Leadership.

FINAL EXAM:  None.                                                                                                                        

Updated October 2007