MC506: LEADING A MISSIONAL CHURCH (4 Units)

Karen Parchman, Adjunct Instructor, Intercultural Studies and Christian Formation

Expanded Course Description (ECD)

DESCRIPTION: This course begins with the premise that the church exists on behalf of the mission of God in and for of the world God loves. What, then, should the people of faith be equipped and prepared to be and do in the contexts where they planted? Further, how are leaders equipped and prepared to foster the type of habits and practices that carry out God’s mission globally? This course explores the nature, identity and purpose of the people of God, as well as the leadership required to lead congregations and the people of faith into interpretive engagement with their contexts; both local and global. The course assists leaders in the development of a missional ecclesiology, and a framework to lead their church/organization to explore and enhance capacities forredemptive formation andengagement. As such the intersection of the fields of theology, ecclesiology, missiology and leadership will be the focus of the course.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon the successful completion of the course, students will have:

COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted via the Internet on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through journaling, online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.

REQUIRED READING: If you have previously read any of the required texts, please select an alternative text from the Recommended Reading list or a book approved by the instructor.

Fuder, John, and Noel Castellanos. A Heart for the Community. Chicago: Moody. 2013(2009). ISBN 0802491316 Pub. price: $22.79. Kindle Edition: $12.49.

Greenman, Jeffrey P., and Gene L. Green. Global Theology in Evangelical Perspective. Downers Grove: IVP Academic. 2012. ISBN 978-0-83083956-8. Pub. Price: $22.00. Kindle Edition: 9:00. ASIN B00851ZPF4.

*Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. An Introduction to Ecclesiology. InterVarsity, 2002. ISBN: 9780830826889. Pub. price: $12.65. *(NOTE: This book is available to you as an eBook through the Fuller Library System free of charge, and can be read as a .pdf on Kindle. Information on how to access will be available in the course shell. You may choose to purchase a hard copy, but it is not necessary to do so for this class)

Roxburgh, A.J. Missional Map-Making: Skills for Leading in Times of Transition. Jossey-Bass, 2010. ISBN: 978-0470486726. Pub. price: $16.95. Kindle Edition, $13.99.

Van Engen, C. E. God's Missionary People.Baker, 1991. ISBN: 9780801093111. Pub. price: $24.00. Kindle Edition, $13.49.

Supplemental reading packet in the Moodle course shell; eReserves include required and recommended readings.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Barrett, Lois ed. Treasure in Clay Jars. Eerdmans, 2004. ISBN: 9780802826923. Pub. price: $20.00.

Bergquist, Linda, and Allan Karr. Church Turned Inside Out. Jossey-Bass, 2009. ISBN: 9780470383179. Pub. price: $24.95.

Fikkert, Brian. When Helping Hurts. Moody, 2009 ISBN: 9780802457059. Pub. price $10.19.

Minatrea, Milfred. Shaped by God’s Heart. Jossey-Bass, 2004. ISBN: 9780787971113. Pub. price: $16.95.

Robinson, Martin. Invading Secular Space. Kregel, 2004. ISBN: 9780825460500. Pub. price $4.91.

Schreiter, R. J. Constructing Local Theologies. Orbis, 2007. ISBN: 978-0883441084. Pub. Price: $17.16

Stetzer, Ed. Planting Missional Churches: B&H, 2006. ISBN: 9780805443707. Pub. price $14.95.

Swanson, Eric. The Externally Focused Quest. Jossey-Bass, 2010. ISBN: 9780470500781. Pub. price $15.64.

Van Gelder, C., and D. Zscheile. The Missional Church in Perspective. Baker, 2011. ISBN: 978-0801039133. Pub. Price: 14.99.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. Weekly Threaded Discussions (15%), Journaling (10%), Web research (5%)

  2. Five Reading Reports (25%)

  3. Completed Readings Report (5%)

  4. 25-30 page Five-section Final Paper (40%)

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: No.

Rhythm of the Course

This course is a seminar. That means that we expect you to have completed the assigned readings (books/book sections, articles) and to have listened to the lectures for each lesson by the middle of the week, so that you can participate fully in the threaded discussion during the latter part of the week. (Keep in mind that you may participate in the discussion whenever you are prepared to within a given week. However, our experience has shown that the majority of interaction takes place in the latter half of the week, since most students are engaging the reading/listening materials during the first half.) For purposes of logging on, a “lesson week” begins at 8:00a.m. (PST) on Monday and ends at 7:59a.m. (PST) the following Monday.

Weekly Assignments – Unless otherwise stated, all times are Pacific Standard Time (PST), which is Pasadena Time.

Forum Discussions

You are required to participate in threaded discussions on a weekly basis. Six of the ten weeks of this course, these discussions will be framed around your responses to a set of questions posted under Connecting. During four of the ten weeks of the course, you will perform a Peer Review of specific sections of your group members’ final papers and offering substantive feedback on how they can strengthen these papers before submitting their Plans for Missional Engagement at the end of the quarter. This is a crucial part of your in-class work. You will be graded on the quality of your interaction with other students and the depth of your engagement with the material. Each week a question will be posed in the less and you will be required to go to the Connecting or Peer Review area for that week, and join in the conversation with the threaded discussion group. The posting of your 200-300 word essay in response to the Connection question(s) must be done BY MIDNIGHT ON THURSDAY of each week, so that other students can read your work and interact with your post BEFORE 8:00a.m. MONDAY. Peer Reviews follow the same deadlines as Connecting assignments. This is one of the most vital learning experiences in the course.

With Connecting and Peer Review, people will interact at different times, so you will need to log on a few times during the week just to see how the conversation has progressed and to contribute to the unfolding discussion. You will need to set aside time to think through your response to the issue under discussion as well as to respond to others in your group. We expect SUBSTANTIVE responses to the questions and issues. Saying, “yes I agree” or “good insights” without explaining why you agree and where you might disagree is not considered to be substantive. While we encourage you to go back to older discussions and to continue them throughout the quarter, you will be graded on your participation in the discussion for the week concerned. You will be considered to have NOT participated if you have not contributed to the discussion by 8:00a.m. Monday before the next week begins. For most weeks, you will be expected to have initially responded to the question by midnight on THURSDAY EVENING, AND have interacted with other members of the class by 8:00a.m. the following MONDAY. DO NOT GET BEHIND ON CONNECTING: this is one assignment you cannot make up once the week is over.

Journal

An additional weekly requirement in this course is to reflect weekly in your Journal about some of the issues and questions that the class is raising for you. Journal entries will be both personal and related to your ministry setting; some will be constructed to give you insight into the final project. As with Connecting and Peer Review, Journal entries are due BY MIDNIGHT on THURSDAY EVENING.

Webliography

Periodically, you will be required to conduct research on the web. You may be asked to report your findings to the class by submitting what you have found to the Webliography with your synopsis of the sites you discover. Webliography posts are due by 8:00a.m.

Term Assignments

In addition to the weekly assignments, each week you will submit either a reading report or a section of your final paper. Specific dates and timelines for completing these assignments can be found in the weekly plans.

Reading Reports

You will be asked to write five reading reports covering required course texts. You will write survey reading reports on the articles on Karkkainen’s “Introduction to Ecclesiology’ (Week 1) and “Global Theology” (Week 3); analytical reports will be written on Fuder and Castellanos, Roxburgh, and Van Engen. These reading reports are due by 8:00a.m. the following Monday. Detailed instructions for writing both categories of reading reports are located in the document: “MC506 Reading Report Guidelines” found in the initial Welcome Section of the course shell. Please Read Carefully: There are no “Proactive Reading Reports” for this course.

Completed Readings Report

At the end of the quarter, you will report your reading in the form of a ‘quiz’ (just a simple yes/no whether you read the item or not).

Final Paper

Your major project for this course is a 25-30 page Plan for Missional Engagement, which will be comprised of five sections.

1. Developing a Profile of your Congregation or Organizational Community

2. Developing a Profile of the Context of your Congregation or Organizational Community/Communities

3. Developing a Profile of its Engagements in the local context

4. Developing a Profile of its Global Engagements

5. Developing a Way Forward

You will work on the sections of the paper throughout the course, and will give and receive peer review and feedback in Peer Review, as mentioned above. After submitting all five sections of the paper and receiving peer feedback on the first four sections, you will compile the five papers into one cohesive “Plan for Missional Engagement,” which you will submit before 5:00p.m. FRIDAY OF FINALS WEEK. A complete description of this paper and instructions for each section can be found in the document: “MC506 Final Paper Requirements” located in the initial Welcome Section of the course shell. We have also provided you with four exemplary papers from previous cohorts, which can help you as you work through the course. Three sample papers focus on congregations; a fourth focuses on the Plan for Missional Engagement in a Para-Church Organization.

Grading

Point distribution for MC506:

Weekly Threaded Discussions (Connecting and Peer Review): 10 weeks x 3 points per week = 30 points

Weekly Journals: 10 weeks x 2 points per week = 20 points

Webliography: 5 assignments x 2 points per assignment = 10 points

Reading Reports: 5 reports x 10 points per report = 50 points

Completed Readings Report = 10 points

Plan for Missional Engagement Sections: 5 sections x 2 points per submission = 10 points

FINAL Plan for Missional Engagement = 70 points

Total: 200 Points

Grades will be allocated as percentages, then as letter grades as follows:

Points Percentage Letter Grade

190-200 95-100 A

180-189 90-94 A-

174-179 87-89 B+

168-173 84-86 B

160-167 80-83 B-

154-159 77-79 C+

148-153 74-76 C

140-147 70-73 C-

0-139 0-69 F

Attendance and Participation

1. “Attendance” is required in all online classes. You are expected to log on a minimum of THREE times during the week. This will be monitored and taken into account when a final grade is given.

2. When you log on, you are expected to make a substantive contribution to weekly discussions and learning activities. Saying “I Agree” or “That sounds great” is NOT considered a substantive contribution. Failure to participate seriously may impact your grade.

3. In your posts to discussion groups, you are expected to interact with both the material presented and contributions from others in your class.

4. In your interactions, you are required to abide by all of Fuller’s standards of academic integrity, respect for people and nondiscrimination.

5. Cite all quotes, references and sources that you use.

Late Submissions

Timely submission of assignments is essential to the functioning of an online course. Accordingly, course work must be submitted by the published due dates. For late work a penalty of 10% reduction of the marked grade will be assessed for every day the submission is late. Work submitted ten or more days late will receive a 0% grade. Exceptions to the above can be requested IN ADVANCE in the case of extenuating circumstances. Such a request will be granted after the fact ONLY if the circumstances leading to the delay were unavoidable and unpredictable. A grade of “0” will be entered when no submission is received for an assignment. Once late assignments are submitted (according to the criteria above) email your grader or we'll not know to go back and find your submission for grading.



Please know that this policy is not intended to be punitive. Rather, the intention is to reinforce the rhythm of the course; with a view toward keeping you moving steadily toward a high-quality learning experience as well as successful completion of the course.

(Updated 1/22/2014)


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.

For your convenience, order these texts online through the Archives Bookshop.