Fall 2016/Pasadena

IS500

An

IS500:  PRACTICES OF VOCATIONAL FORMATION (4 Units: 160 hours). Keon-Sang An.

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. IS500 teaches students a method for integrating resources of theological method into faithful responses to the human condition. As an integrative course, it explores the identity and practices of Christian vocational formation as a people called, gathered, and sent by God. Together, professor and students study and enact historic Christian disciplines necessitated by this distinctive identity (listening, discernment, guidance, lament, rhythms of rest, and stewardship) fashioning them into a Rule of Life that shapes and supports the student’s vocation 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 vocational formation. (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 vocational formation. (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of vocational formation. (4) Students will have articulated how vocational 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 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: 1190 pp. of required reading

A. Required Textbooks

마크래버튼 (Mark Labberton). 제일소명: 세상을위한하나님백성의제자도 (Called). IVP, 2014. ISBN: 978-8932813721. Pub. Price $20.00 [204 pages assigned].

폴스티븐슨 (Paul Stevens). 내이름은야곱입니다 (Down-To-Earth Spirituality). 죠이선교회. 2014. ISBN: 978-8942103546 . Pub. Price $32.00 [352 pages assigned].

팀켈러 (Timothy Keller). 팀켈러의일과영성: 인간과일과하나님의역사사이의줄잇기 (Every Good Endeavor). 두란노. ISBN: 978-8953119901. Pub. Price $26.00 [344 pages assigned].

폴마샬 (Paul Marshall). 천국은내집이아닙니다 (Heaven Is Not My Home: Living in the Now of God’s Creation). IVP. 2014. ISBN: 978-8932820422. Price $ 20.00 [290 pages assigned].

B. Core Practices

Lectio Divina

Listening and Call; Guidance and Call; Lament and Call; Vocational Discernment and the Call of God

C. Integration Resources

50 pages of Bible reading that connect with practices of vocation formation.

D. StrengthsFinders

*Students in IS500 are required to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, receive a CoreClarity coaching packet based off of their top 5 strengths, and participate in a 45-minute coaching call with a CoreClarity coach. There will be a $40 charge for StrengthFinder® assessment, Coaching Packet, and Coaching Session which will automatically be charged to your student account.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. 1190 pages reading and reading log (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [50 hours].

2. Classroom and Vocation Formation Group (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. (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3 and #4]. [22 hours+8 hours].  

3. Autobiography: Students will create an autobiography related to practices of vocational formation (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 hours].

4. Directed Exercises and Disciplines: Student will participate over the quarter in disciplines and exercises outside of the classroom related to the core practices of the course. Practice of lectio divina of 50 chapters of biblical text and journaling. (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2, 3] [38 hours].

5. Integrative Reflections: Students will engage in critical theological reflection on contextualized experiences using a practical theology or similar method. (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3.] [10 hours].

6. Fieldwork Activity - StrengthsFinders and CoreClarity Coaching: Students will take the Strengthsfinders/CoreClarity Assessment and debrief the results via a phone call with a professional executive coach to learn more about their strengths and how to better grow them in use for God’s mission in the world. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1 and #2] [2 hours].

7. Finances and Vocation: Students will write a financial autobiography, use a practical theology method to reflect on finances, and create a resulting financial plan that supports vocational goals. (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1 , #2 and #3]. [8 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. (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES: Korean. Recommended in first year of study.

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

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.