Winter 2019/Seattle

IS501

Bangs

IS501: PRACTICES OF WORSHIP (4 Units: 161 hours). John C. Bangs.

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. IS501 is an integrative course that explores the identity and practices of Christian worship and prayer as a people called, gathered, and sent by God. Together, professor and students study and enact historic Christian disciplines necessitated by this distinctive identity (Sabbath-keeping, confession, praise, communion, enacting the prophetic, gathering & sending, prayer, and reading & proclaiming the Word) 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 worship and prayer. (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 worship and prayer. (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of worship and prayer. (4) Students will have articulated how practices of worship and prayer 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 class meets once per week for 3.5 hour sessions for a total of 35 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion (which includes 8 hours of required synchronous and/or asynchronous participation in vocation and formation groups) plus 5 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.

REQUIRED READING: 1,000 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent in viewing.

General Resources:

The Holy Bible. CEB, NRSV, and TNIV translations are acceptable [50 pp.].

Smith, James K. A. You are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. Brazos Press, 2016. ISBN: 978-1587433801, Pub. Price $19.99. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [200 pages as assigned].

Sabbath-Keeping

Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2005. ISBN: 978-0374529758, Pub. Price $14.00 [75 pp. assigned]

Barton, Ruth Haley. Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. IVP Books, 2006. ISBN: 978-0830833337, Pub. Price $19.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [125 pp. as assigned].

Confession:

Bonhoeffer, “Confession and Community” in Life Together. HarperOne, 2009. ISBN: 978-0060608521. [pp. 110-122]. In E-Reserves.

Praise:

Costen, Melva Wilson. African American Christian Worship. 2nd Edition. Abingdon Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0687646227, Pub. Price $19.99 [130 pages as assigned].

Communion:

Lathrop, Gordon W. Holy Things: A Liturgical Theology. Fortress Press, 1998. ISBN: 978-0800631314, Pub. Price $29.00 [150 pp. assigned].

Gathering and Sending:

Cherry, Constance M. The Worship Architect. Baker Academic, 2010. ISBN: 978-0801038747, Pub. Price $24.99 [135 pp. assigned].

Reading and Proclaiming the Word:

Bradshaw, Paul. Two Ways of Praying. OSL Publications, 2008. ISBN: 978-1878009593, Pub. Price $19.95 [100 pp.].

Prayer:

See Bradshaw above.

Enacting the Prophetic:

Witvliet, J. “The Cumulative Power of Transformation in Public Worship: Cultivating Gratitude and Expectancy for the Holy Spirit’s Work.” Pages 41-58 in Worship That Changes Lives: Multidisciplinary and Congregational Perspectives on Spiritual Transformation. Edited by Alexis D. Abernethy. Baker, 2008. In E-Reserves.

Bass, Dorothy and Craig Dykstra, “Practicing a Way of Life” and “A Way of Thinking about a Way of Life” in Practicing our Faith. 2nd Ed. Jossey-Bass, 2010. Pages 195-218. In E-Reserves.

Liturgical Year:

See Lathrop and Cherry above.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Allen, Diogenes. Spiritual Theology. Cowley Publications, 1997. ISBN: 978-1561011308, Pub. Price $16.95 [169 pp.].

Caccamo, James F., Todd Johnson, and Lester Ruth. Living Worship: A Multimedia Resource for Students and Leaders. Brazos Press, 2010. ASIN: 1587432951, Pub. Price: $27.99.

Dawn, Marva J. Reaching Out without Dumbing Down; A Theology of Worship for the Turn-of-the-Century Culture. Eerdmans, 1995. ISBN: 978-0802841025, Pub. Price $24.00 [325 pp.].

Dearborn, Tim, et al. Worship at the Next Level: Insight from Contemporary Voices. Cascade Books, 2015. ISBN: 978-1498222976, Pub. Price $26.00 [192 pp.].

Duck, Ruth. Worship for the Whole People of God. WJK, 2013. Pages 1-18. In E-Reserves.

Ellis, Christopher J. Gathering: A Spirituality and Theology of Worship In Free Church Tradition. SCM Press, 2004. ISBN: 978-0334029670, Pub. Price $56.00 [300 pp.].

Farhadian, Charles E. Christian Worship Worldwide: Expanding Horizons, Deepening Practices. Eerdmans, 2007. ISBN: 978-0802828538, Pub. Price $24.00 [170 pp. assigned].

Jones, Cheslyn, Geoffrey Wainwright, and Edward Yarnold. The Study of Liturgy. Rev. ed. Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN: 978-0195209228, Pub. Price $82.95 [646 pp.].

Maas, Robin and Gabriel O’Donnell. Spiritual Traditions for the Contemporary Church. Abingdon, 1990. ISBN: 978-0687392339, Pub. Price $33.99 [464 pp.].

Mulholland, M. Robert, Jr. Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation. IVP Books, 1993. ISBN: 978-0830813865, Pub. Price $16.00 [173 pp.].

Nouwen, Henri J.M. The Way of the Heart: Connecting with God through Prayer, Wisdom and Silence. Ballantine Books, 2003. ISBN: 978-0345463357, Pub. Price $15.00 [112 pp.].

Peterson, David. Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship. IVP Academic, 2002. ISBN: 978-0830826971, Pub. Price $28.00 [147 pp.].

Plantinga, Cornelius, et al. Discerning the Spirits: A Guide to Thinking about Christian Worship Today. Eerdmans, 2003. ISBN: 978-0802839992, Pub. Price $21.00 [165 pp.].

Ross, Melanie C. Evangelical Versus Liturgical? Defying the Dichotomy. Eerdmans, 2014. ISBN: 978-0802869913, Pub. Price $17.00 [125 pp.].

Van Dyk, Leanne (ed). A More Profound Alleluia: Theology and Worship in Harmony. Eerdmans, 2004. ISBN: 978-0802828545, Pub. Price $20.00 [152 pp.].

Von Balthasar, Hans Urs. Prayer. Ignatius Press, 1986. ISBN: 978-0898700749, Pub. Price $18.95 [311 pp.].

Ware, Kallistos. The Orthodox Way. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1995. ISBN: 978-0913836583, Pub. Price $18.00 [164 pp.].

White, James. A Brief History of Christian Worship. Abingdon, 1993. ISBN: 978-0687034147, Pub. Price $21.99 [224 pp.].

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. 1,000 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [57 hours].
  1. Classroom 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 classroom and through participation in Vocation Formation Groups. (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3 and #4]. [27 hours+8 hours].
  2. Autobiography: Students will create a 750-word vocational formation autobiography related to practices of worship and will present it in a small group setting in class (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [4 hours].
  3. Directed Exercises and Integrative Reflection: 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. (35%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2 and #3] [32 hours].
  4. Two fieldwork activities and reflections. Visit services in two worshiping congregations outside of one’s own church tradition, then prepare and submit a 500-word participant-observation report based upon each of those worship services. (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, and #3] [12 hours].
  5. 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. (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES: IS500 encouraged. Recommended in first year of study.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets a core integrative 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.