Spring 2019/Seattle

Fuller Live!

IS503

Hankins

IS503: PRACTICES OF MISSION (4 Units: 160 hours). Frank D. Hankins.

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. IS503 is an integrative course that explores the identity and practices of Christian mission as a people called, gathered, and sent by God. Together, professor and students study and enact historic Christian disciplines necessitated by this distinctive identity (witness, mercy, reconciliation, advocacy, creation care, friendship, inculturation, and inter-religious dialogue) 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 mission. (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 mission (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of mission. (4) Students will have articulated how practices of mission 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 Fuller Live course once per week for three-hour sessions for a total of 30 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 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours. Most of the three-hour sessions will be through live videoconferencing, but on four evenings the professor will travel to Seattle and facilitate onsite. 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.

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder.Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today. Orbis, 2011. ISBN: 978-1570759116, $35.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [156 pp. assigned].

Biblical Texts [50 pp. assigned]: Exodus 1 - 34; Deut. 4-6; II Cor. 5-6; I Peter 1-3; Psalm 146; Matt. 28; John 1:1-17

Roxburgh, Alan, “Practices of Missional of People” Journal of Missiological Practice. 2013.

[10 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves

Vos, Beverly, “The Spiritual Disciplines and Christian Ministry” Evangelical Review of Theology 36: 2, 100 -114. 2012. [14 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves

Wright, Christopher J.H.The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative: IVP Academic. 2006, ISBN: 978-0830852130, Pub. Price $45.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [200 pp. assigned].

CORE PRACTICES READINGS

1. Witness

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. 2011. Chapter 3 “”I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel” in Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today.Orbis [in Required Text].

Bosch, David J. "Evangelism: Theological Currents and Cross-Currents Today."International Bulletin of Missionary Research11, no. 3 (1987): 98-103. Available on e-Reserves.

Medearis, Carl.2008. “Love your Neighbor: Practical Ways to Reach Out to Muslims.” Chapter 8 inChristians, and Jesus: Gaining Understanding and Building Relationship. Bethany House, [pp. 151-184].Available on e-Reserves.

Sunquist, Scott W.2013. “Witnessing Community: Evangelism and Christian Mission, chapter 10 in Understanding Christian Mission: Participation in Suffering and Glory.Baker Academic. [30 pp]. Available on e-Reserves.

2. Mercy

Boyle, Greg “Compassion and Kinship” at TEDxConejo, 2012 (equivalent to 20 pp.).

Kirk, J. Andrew.2000. “Justice for the Poor” chapter 6 in What Is Mission? Theological Explorations. Fortress Press [pp. 96-117, 22 pp.]Available on e-Reserves.

Ross, Cathy and Jonny Baker.2015. “Francis of Assisi: New Monastic Pioneer’ in Pioneering Spirituality.Canterbury Press, ISBN: 978-1848258174, Pub. Price $27.00[10 pp. assigned]. Available on e-Reserves.

Reconciliation

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. 2011. Chapter 5 Unraveling a “Complex Reality” inProphetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today.Orbis. [Required Text].

Volf, Miraslov. 1996. “Embrace” chapter 3 in Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. Nashville: Abingdon Press. (67 pp.). Available on e-Reserves.

Walls, Andrew. 2002. “The Ephesian Moment: At a Crossroads in Christian History” in The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History. Maryknoll: Orbis. (10 pp).Available on e-Reserves.

4. Interreligious Dialogue

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. 2011. Chapter 2: “’We Were Gentle Among You’ and chapter 6 “Entering Someone Else’s Garden” in Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today.Orbis [Required Text].

McConnell, C. Douglas. "Missional Principles and Guidelines for Interfaith Dialogue." Evangelical Interfaith Dialogue 1, no. 1 (Winter 2010): 3-5 (3 pp.).Available on e-Reserves.

Newbigin, Lesslie. 1995. “The Gospel among the Religions.” Chap. 10 in The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission (30 pp.). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Available on e-Reserves.

5. Inculturation

Lingenfelter, Sherwood. 1998. “Transferring or Transforming Culture” chapter 1 in Transforming Culture: A Challenge for Christian Mission. Baker. [12 pp.]. Available on e-Reserves.

Pocock, Michael, Gailyn Van Rheenen, and Douglas McConnell. 2005."Contextualization." Chap. 12 inThe Changing Face of World Missions: Engaging Contemporary Issues and Trends. Baker Academic, [28 pp]. Recommended readingAvailable on e-Reserves.

Sanneh, Lamin. 2008. “The Yogi and the Commissar”. Chap. 4 in Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity. Oxford University Press, [31 pp.]. Available on e-Reserves.

Walls, Andrew. 1996.” The Gospel as Prisoner and Liberator of Culture” in The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith, [16 pp.].Available on e-Reserves.

6. Friendship

Elmer, Duane. 2009. “Openness: Welcoming Others into Your Presence” chapter 4 in Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility. Downers Grove: IVP. [20 pp]. Available on e-Reserves.

Robert, Dana, ed. 2002. “Historical Themes and Current Issues” in Gospel Bearers, Gender Barriers: Missionary Women in the Twentieth Century. Maryknoll: Orbis. [28 pp.] Available on e-Reserves.

7. Creation Care

Bauckman, Richard. “Jesus and the Wild Animals in the Wilderness” chapter 5 in Living with Other Creatures: Green Exegesis and Theology. Paternoster. [21 pp.] Available on e-Reserves.

Our Father’s World:https://youtu.be/NkhRbfdO5lw(Equivalent of 20 pp.) Available on e-Reserves.

Wright, Christopher J.H. 2006. “Mission and God’s Earth” and “Mission in God’s Image” Chapters 12 and 13 in The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. [pp. 397-453, 57 pp.]. [in Required Text].

8. Advocacy

Bevans, Stephen B., and Roger P. Schroeder. 2011. Chapter 7 “Letting God and Speaking Out” inProphetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today.Orbis. [Required Text].

Optional: UNICEF “Advocacy Toolkit.” 2010. First edition. [144 pp.]. Available on e-Reserves.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. 828 pages reading, which includes 50 pages of biblical text [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [50 hours].
  2. In classroom and videoconferencing plus Vocation Formation Groups (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. (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [19 hours+8 hours = 27 hours].
  3. DLAs (Directed Learning Activities): Students will collaborate in pairs on course concepts and practices based on Scripture passages with a view to integrating course content (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2 and #3]. [16 hours].
  4. Directed Exercises and Integrative Reflection: Students will participate in personal reflective exercises, production of brief video, intercessory prayer, book reflection, and fieldwork outside of the classroom over the course of the quarter related to the core practices of the course and reflect on these experiences (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [40 hours].
  5. Autobiography: Students will create an autobiography related to practices of mission (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 hours].
  6. 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. (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #3, and #4]. [25 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. Copyright 2019 Fuller Theological Seminary.