Winter 2014/Colorado Springs

MT500A&B [Cohort 32]

1-week Intensive

Hopkins

MT500 A&B: BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF MISSION (A is 2 units, B is 2 units).

DESCRIPTION:

During the past fifty years, Christian thinkers have examined and evaluated the theological presuppositions that underlie the thought and practice of Christian mission. The discipline that reflects biblically, theologically, philosophically, contextually, and missionally on these presuppositions is known as Biblical Theology of Mission. The fundamental components of Missiology parallel the basic aspects of Biblical Theology of Mission: Word (Bible basis as motivation for mission); church (the means of mission); personal and spiritual pilgrimage (the agents of mission); and world/cultural context (the goals of mission). In this course students will have an opportunity to learn from past mission thinkers and practitioners; hear from one another; and reflect personally on what God’s mission means for the mission of Christians and Christian churches in the rapidly changing, complex global city/village of the twenty-first century. Students will be introduced to a multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approach to missiological reflection whereby the various components of Missiology (Word, church, personal spiritual pilgrimage, and world/context) are brought together in an integrated understanding of mission, focused on a specific issue of Christian ministry in a particular context.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to:

• develop a personal missiological hermeneutic applied to the Bible;

• demonstrate familiarity with the broad contours of God’s mission as described in the Bible;

• understand the fundamental components of a biblical theology of mission;

• comprehend how biblical theology of mission provides the tools for constructing a contextually appropriate missiology;

• envision how missiologists analyze, critique, and reshape their missiology in light of biblical theology of mission;

COURSE FORMAT:

MT500A will meet for the second week of a required two-week intensive residency for the MA in Global Leadership from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Students will do pre-seminar readings and assignments. MT500B will involve post-seminar readings and completion of Bible reading and summarization, outside reading and reports, and assignments in the students' ministry contexts after they return home.

REQUIRED READING (total of ~1250 pages – to be read in this order they appear below):

1. Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas K. Stuart. 2003. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN: 0310246040; Pub. price $11.00, used $2.36.
2. (WORD) Glasser, Arthur F., and Charles Edward van Engen. 2003. Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God's Mission in the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. ISBN 0801026261; Pub. price $19.12, used $8.00.
3. Moreau, A. Scott, Gary Corwin, and Gary B. McGee. 2004. Introducing World Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey of Encountering Mission. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. ISBN: 9780801026485; Pub. price $23.49, used $8.64 (read only pp. 11-136 and 265-314).
4. Montgomery, Helen Barrett. 1920. The Bible and Missions (published in 1920, no ISBN, available from Amazon.com new $20.86, used $28.42. (Read only Chapters 1 & 2, edited and reprinted -- provided in class); OR
   Wright, Christopher J. H. 2006. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative. Downers Grove: InterVarsity. ISBN: 9780830825714; Pub. price $27.47, used $14.07 (read only pp. 29-70 and 189-392).
5. (WORLD/CONTEXT) Hiebert, Paul G. 2008. Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. ISBN: 9780801027055; Pub. price $15.62, used $9.34; OR
   Kraft, Charles H., Charles Edward Van Engen, Darrell L. Whiteman, and John Dudley Woodberry. 2008. Paradigm Shifts in Christian Witness: Insights from Anthropology, Communication, and Spiritual Power: Essays in Honor of Charles H. Kraft. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis. ISBN: 9781570757716, Pub. price $22.15, used $21.51.
6. (CHURCH) Robert, Dana Lee. 2002. Gospel Bearers, Gender Barriers: Missionary Women in the Twentieth Century of American Society of Missiology Series. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis. ISBN: 978157075425, Pub. price $19.69, used $10.38.
7. (PERSONAL PILGRIMAGE) Van Engen, Charles Edward, Nancy J. Thomas, and Robert L. Gallagher. 2013. Footprints of God: A Narrative Theology of Mission. Pasadena, CA: William Carey. ISBN 9781887983143; Pub. price $19.76, used $4.99.
8. Five student-selected articles of at least 1000 words each and related to the student’s chosen emphasis or theme for the major paper -- to be read in the Evangelical Dictionary of World Mission (EDWM) -- provided on a CD-ROM that accompanies the Moreau, Corwin and McGee volume mentioned in “3” above.
9. The Bible (Read 5 consecutive chapters in 10 different books of the Bible. Students will read 5 chapters each from the Pentateuch, Historical Writings, Poetic Literature, Major Prophets, Minor Prophets, Gospels, Acts, Pauline Literature, General Epistles and Revelation for a total of 50 chapters.

ASSIGNMENTS:

MT500A (Winter 2014)

1. Two Reading Reports (Glasser, Fee & Stuart) due prior to seminar, following instructions in syllabus.

2. Three Reading Reports (Moreau, Montgomery OR Wright, and Hiebert OR Kraft) due after seminar, following instructions in syllabus.

MT500B (Spring 2014)

1. Two Reading Reports (Robert, Van Engen) following the instructions in the syllabus.

2. One 5-page reaction/reflection statements (one per article) as personal responses to each of the five EDWM articles read in number 8 above.

3. A summary paragraph for each OT and each NT book of the Bible read (as per number 9, above), describing the mission of God to the nations as depicted in that book.

4. One 12-page (minimum) to 20-page (maximum) typed, double-spaced paper in which the student analyzes and reflects on an issue, a missiologist, a context, or a concept of mission praxis, based on the fundamental components of Biblical Theology of Mission, tracing that theme/issue of missiological significance through the Old and New Testaments, examining 2 passages from each Testament from the perspective of Word, world, church, and personal pilgrimage. The paper must show extensive interaction with the books read and explore the missiological implications for ministry in the student's particular context.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Grades are given only for completed work; due to the integrational nature of the course, partial work is not accepted.

PREREQUISITES:This course is only available to those who are accepted into the MA in Global Leadership.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:A required course for the Cohort portion of the MA in Global Leadership. NO AUDITORS.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.