Summer 2003/Pasadena
Two-week Intensive
EV531
Thacker
EV531: EVANGELIZING THE POSTMODERN GENERATIONS. Kimberly Thacker.
DESCRIPTION:
- This course is intended to help Christian leaders think about ways
to form bridges to postmodern people using values gleaned from popular culture
and to use this information to empower believers in church and parachurch
ministries to more effectively witness to those around them. We will examine
strategies and issues regarding interpreting popular culture and using items
from popular culture in evangelism, explore the worldview and values of
contemporary popular culture in order to discover points of contact and
barriers for the presentation of the gospel, and discuss ways to encourage and
teach people in our ministries to evangelize.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:
- Postmodernism is not only a philosophy but a group of ideas which
permeates the worldview of our popular culture. This course will concentrate on
understanding the postmodern generations and sharing the gospel using points of
contact with their worldview and values. Relational evangelism and life witness
are of essential importance for reaching people in our culture today and so an
important focus will be how to encourage and train people in our ministries to
evangelize with both actions and words.
COURSE FORMAT:
- Class sessions will include lecture, interactive class discussion,
guided small group discussions. The class will meet daily for four-hour
sessions for two weeks.
REQUIRED READING:
- Coupland, Douglas. Life After God. New York: Pocket Books,
1994.
- Drane, John. What Is the New Age Still Saying to the Church? London:
Marshall Pickering, 1999.
- Kallenberg, Brad. Live to Tell: Evangelism for a Postmodern Age.
Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2002.
- Morgenthaler, Sally. Worship Evangelism: Inviting Unbelievers into the
Presence of God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995; 1999.
- Webber, Robert E. The Younger Evangelicals: Facing the Challenges of the
New World. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002.
- ONE of the following:
- Long, Jimmy. Generating Hope: A Strategy for
Reaching the Postmodern Generation. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press,
1997.
- Richardson, Rick. Evangelism Outside the Box: New Ways to Help People
Experience the Good News. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press,
2000.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- A bibliography of recommended books will be available in
class.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Class attendance and participation in class small group
discussions, reading of required texts and articles distributed in class
(approximately 1200 pp.), three short papers (3-4 pp.) due during the course of
the class, one major paper (10-15 pp.) due after the end of the course
meetings.
PREREQUISITES:
- None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:
- Meets the M.Div. core requirement in Evangelism (MIN3).
FINAL EXAMINATION:
- No.