Winter 2018/Houston

IS501

Taylor

 

IS501:  PRACTICES OF WORSHIP (4 Units: 160 hours).  W. David O. Taylor.

 

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 three-hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion (which includes 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.

 

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

The Holy Bible. CEB, NRSV, and TNIV translations are acceptable. [75 pp. assigned].

Course Reader. Found on eReserves through our course Canvas site. [198 pp. assigned].

Block, Daniel I. For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship. Baker Academic, 2014. ISBN: 978-0801026980, Pub. Price $36.99 [100 pp.]

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Harper One, 2009. ISBN: 978-0060608521, Pub. Price $14.99 [100 pp. assigned].

Smith, James K. A. You are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. Brazos Press, 2016. ISBN: 978-1587433801. Price $19.99 [224 pp.]

Cherry, Constance M. The Worship Architect: A Blueprint for Designing Culturally Relevant and Biblically Faithful Services. Baker Academic, 2010. ISBN: Pub. Price $24.99 [150 pp.]

Peterson, Eugene. Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer. HarperOne, 1991. ISBN: 978-0060665128, Pub. Price $13.99 [140 pp.]

 

CORE PRACTICES (secondary readings to be found on eReserves):

 

Sabbath-Keeping

Olson, Dennis, “Sacred Time: The Sabbath and Christian Worship,” in Carol Bechtel, ed. Touching the Altar. Eerdmans, 2008, pp. 2-32. In eReserves.

Block, Daniel I. For the Glory of God, ch. 11.

Cherry, Constance M. The Worship Architect, 12

 

Confession

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Harper One, 2009, pp.110-122.

Peterson, Eugene. Answering God, 1-3.

 

Praise

Ford, David and Daniel Hardy. Living in Praise: Worshipping and Knowing God. Baker, 2005, pp. 1-59. In eReserves.

Block, Daniel I. For the Glory of God, ch. 2.

 

Gathering and Sending

Cherry, Constance M. The Worship Architect, 3-4, 8.

Peterson, Eugene. Answering God, chs. 4-5.

 

Reading and Proclaiming the Word

Block, Daniel I. For the Glory of God, ch. 7.

Cherry, Constance M. The Worship Architect, chs. 1-2, 5.

“Ten Tips for Reading Scripture in Public Worship.” Online article found at:

 

Prayer

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Harper One, 2009, pp.76-89.

Block, Daniel I. For the Glory of God, ch. 8.

Cherry, Constance M. The Worship Architect, ch. 9.

Peterson, Eugene. Answering God, ch. 6.

 

Communion

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Harper One, 2009, pp.17-75.

Block, Daniel I. For the Glory of God, pp. 155-167.

Cherry, Constance M. The Worship Architect, chs. 6-7.

 

Enacting the Prophetic

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Harper One, 2009, pp. 90-100.

Peterson, Eugene. Answering God, chs. 7-10.

 

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. Reading: 1,000 pages reading and videos, including at least 50 pages of biblical text [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [67 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) (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3]. [22 hours].
  3. 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 (5%). (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].
  4. 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. (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [15 hours].
  5. Four “fieldwork” activities and reflections (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [8 hours + 8 hours = 16 hours].
  6. Autobiography: Students will create an autobiography related to practices of worship and prayer (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 hours].
  7. DLA’s (Directed Learning Activities) (10%). Write a 500-1,000-word outline for use in a small group study based on a specific psalm, including exegetical, theological, and formational elements. This assignment is pass/fail but still worth 10 points. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1 and #4]. [10 hours].
  8. 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. (2,500 words total) (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [20 hours].

 

PREREQUISITES: . Recommended in first year of study.

 

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets a core integrative requirement in the 120 MDiv Program and the 80 MAT, 80 MATM, 80 MAICS Programs (Fall 2015).

 

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (11/17)

 


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.