Spring 2016/Sacramento

IS503

Dougherty

IS503: PRACTICES OF MISSION (4 Units: 160 hours). Traver K. Dougherty.

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, Inter-Religious Dialogue, Inculturation, Friendship, Creation Care, Advocacy).

LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Students will reflect on their current and past experiences of Christian practices of mission. (2) Students will participate in local contexts and demonstrate the capacity to engage in activities and exercises related to Christian spiritual disciplines and practices of mission. (3) Students will demonstrate the capacity to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic practices of mission. (4) Students will articulate how mission practices 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 three hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion (which includes 8 hours of participation in vocation and formation groups) plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.

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, Pub. Price $35.00 [208 pp. assigned].

Roxburgh, Alan. “Practices of a Missional People,” in Journal of Missional Practice. Fall 2013 (onlinehttp://themissionalnetwork.com/index.php/alan-j-roxburgh. [10 pp. assigned].

Wright, Christopher J.H. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. IVP Academic, 2006. ISBN: 978-0830825714, Pub. Price $45.00 [290 pp. assigned].

Bible Reading: Ex 19-34; Dt 4:44-11:32; Acts 1-28 [50 pp. assigned]

CORE PRACTICES:

Reconciliation

“Reconciliation as the Mission of God: Faithful Christian Witness in a World of Destructive Conflicts and Divisions.” Presented at the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, Pattaya, Thailand, Sept 29 to Oct 5, 2004 [pp. 11-21]. Available on eReserves.

Witness

Muck, Terry and Frances S. Adeney. Christianity Encountering World Religions, The Practice of Mission in the Twenty-first Century. Baker Academic, 2009. ISBN: 978-0801026607, Pub. Price $30.00 [pp. 79-215].

Mercy

Grisez, Germain. The Way of the Lord Jesus, Volume 2: Living a Christian Life. Franciscan Pr, 1993. ISBN: 978-0819909619, http://www.twotlj.org/G-2-6-F.html. [15 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves.

Advocacy

“Introduction to Advocacy,” Advocacy e-lab, last modified Feb 17, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/user/AdvocacyeLab. Available on eReserves.

Inculturation

Hillman, Eugene. “Inculturation & the Leaven of the Gospel.” Commonweal 118, no. 1 (Jan 11, 1991): 21-24 [3 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves.

Cox, Harvey G. “Inculturation Reconsidered.” Christianity and Crisis 51, no. 7 (May 13, 1991): 140-142 [3 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves.

Friendship

Fitzgerald, John. "Christian Friendship: John, Paul, and the Philippians." Interpretation 61, no. 3 (07, 2007): 284-296 [13 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves.

Heuertz, Christopher L., and Christine D. Pohl. Friendship at the Margins: Discovering Mutuality in Service and Mission. IVP Books, 2010. ISBN: 978-0830834549, Pub. Price $16.00 [pp. 119-139]. Available on eReserves.

Interreligious Dialogue

“Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct.” Presented at the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Bangkok, Thailand, Jan 25 to 28, 2011 [8 pp. assigned]. Available on eReserves.

Creation Care

Wright, Christopher J.H. The Mission of God’s People. Zondervan, 2010. ISBN: 978-0310291121, Pub Price: $24.99 [pp. 48-62].

OPTIONAL PRACTICE

Healing, Signs, and Wonders

See syllabus

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. 800 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [40 hours].

  2. Classroom: for each practice, students will engage, reflect, create (utilizing instruction, participation, presentation, discussion, engaging practice-based theology cycle for theological reflection, case studies) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3]. [22 hours].

  3. View online lectures in preparation for class time [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [5 hours, DLAs].

  4. Vocation Formation Group (VFG)-In a Vocation Formation Group, students will engage spiritual disciplines, practices, and discussion. Students will study the Bible, and share and listen to stories related to the practices (10%). (Vocation Formation Group Leader (VFGL) will let professor know if students have been present and engaged) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, and #4]. [8 hours].

  5. Students will participate in directed practices and disciplines over the course of the quarter (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [15 hours].

  6. Four fieldwork activities and reflections (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [8 hours + 8 hours = 16 hours].  

  7. Autobiography related to core course concept (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 hours].

  8. Respond to Bevans/Schroeder and Wright in two online forum discussions (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [5 hours, DLAs].

  9. Students will engage a non-Christian person or group in spiritual conversation and report on the experience. (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [5 hours].

  10. Students will facilitate shalom/reconciliation via the practice of friendship and report on the experience (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [5 hours].

  11. Observe and describe in 750 words the social and religious landscape of a target community and ask how an existing local church or church plant might effectively engage this context (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [12 hours].

  12. Signature Assignment: 100 word CIQ response, Integration paper related to course practices, and Rule of Life (2,500 words total) (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [25 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None. 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.

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