DESCRIPTION: This is a CATS doctoral seminar open to a limited number of master's level students. This course will consider the biblical call to seek justice and some of the historical and contemporary theological reflections and implications that shape how this biblical message is understood and preached.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: The apostolic Christian confession "Jesus is Lord" implies all other power must and will be framed by this supreme reality. God the Son reigns at the right hand of God the Father and by the power of God the Holy Spirit establishes the Kingdom of shalom, the establishment of righteousness and justice. This Kingdom of rightly ordered relationships of power is a vision to be proclaimed and pursued now by the authority and power of God's Word. In a world rife with expressions of injustice, this message of justice and its implications for persons and societies should have a prominent place in the ministry of preaching, and in the life and mission of the Church as part of the Good News that is urgent, demanding, and hopeful.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Each student will have the chance to (1) read about and reflect upon the biblical call to seek justice; (2) read and reflect on major theological texts on justice, on preaching and justice, and on sermons on justice; (3) develop their own coherent theology of justice and to articulate a developmental vision for the preaching of justice in a congregational setting; and (4) develop a preaching plan for incorporating sermons on themes of justice into the plan and write two sermons on justice-related texts and themes.

COURSE FORMAT: Class will meet once each week for a three-hour session.

REQUIRED READING:

Augustine, The City of God. Hendrickson, 2009 (800pp). ISBN: 1598563378. $18.95.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, The Cost of Discipleship. Touchstone, 1995 (400pp). ISBN: 0684815001. $10.88.

Bruggeman, Walter, Journey to the Common Good. Westminster John Knox Press, 2010 (120pp). ISBN: 0664235166. $16.00.

Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion. Hendrickson, 2008 (1059pp). ISBN: 1598561685. $24.95.

Campbell, Charles L., The Word Before the Powers: An Ethic of Preaching. Westminster John Knox Press, 2002 (200pp). ISBN: 0664222331. $26.00.

Heschel, Abraham, The Prophets. Hendrickson, 2008 (522pp). ISBN: 1598561812. $29.00.

Keller, Timothy, Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just. Dutton, 2010 (256pp). ISBN: 0525951903. $20.00

Labberton, Mark, The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God's Call to Justice. InterVarsity Press, 2007 (200pp). ISBN: 0830833161. $18.00.

MacIntyre, Alisdair, Whose Justice? Which Rationality? University of Notre Dame Press, 1989 (325pp). ISBN: 0268019444. $25.00.

Marsh, Charles, The Beloved Community: How Faith Shapes Social Justice from the Civil Rights Movement to Today. Basic Books, 2006 (320pp). ISBN: 0465044166. $17.00.

Marsh, Charles and John Perkins, Welcoming Justice: God's Movement Toward Beloved Community. InterVarsity Press, 2009 (140 pp). ISBN: 0830834532. $15.00.

Wolterstorff, Nicholas, Justice: Rights and Wrongs. Princeton University Press, 2010 (400pp). ISBN: 0691146306. $24.95.

1. Attendance and participation in the weekly seminar meetings

2. One 10-page paper on "A Biblical Theology of Justice"

3. One 15-page paper on "A Theology of Worship, Preaching, and Justice"

4. A 6-month preaching plan incorporating issues of justice into the preaching and three original worship service liturgies that incorporate justice themes and actions

5. Two original sermons (5pp/each) on justice themes that reflect the theological and pastoral vision

For master's level students: readings will be adjusted by 50%; two justice-themed sermons are to be delivered in an on-campus practica setting