Winter 2017/Fuller Live!

Menlo Park and Pasadena

IS502

Ramirez-Johnson

IS502: PRACTICA COMUNIDAD CRISTIANA/PRACTICES OF COMMUNITY (4 Units: 160 hours). Johnny Ramirez-Johnson.

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 vocation coherence of a Christian leader through reflection, relationships, and practices. IS502 is an integrative course that explores the identity and practices of Christian community as a people called, gathered, and sent by God. Together, professor and students study and enact historic Christian disciplines necessitated by this distinctive identity (hospitality, forgiveness, promise-keeping, truth-telling, gratitude, and testimony) 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 community. (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 community. (3) Students will have demonstrated capacities to engage scripture, tradition, and contemporary resources to reflect theologically on historic and personal practices of community. (4) Students will have articulated how community 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: 800 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing.

Lohfink, Gerhard. La Iglesia que Jesus Quería. Desclée De Brouwer, 2004. ISBN: 978-8433006905, Precio $15.67 [100 pp.].

Padilla, C. René; Yamamori, Tetsunao. La iglesia local como agente de transformación: una eclesiología para la misión integral. Ediciones Kairos, 2003. ISBN: 978-9879403532, Precio $22.00 [100 pp.].

Rolán, Alberto, F.; Thomas, Nancy; Van Engen, Carlos; Editores. La Iglesia latinoamericana: Su vida y su mission. Zondervan, 2011. ISBN: 978-9506831660, Precio $14.80 [100 pp.].

PRACTICAS CENTRALES:

Truth-telling

Pazmiño, Robert W. Principios y Prácticas de la Educación Cristiana. Wipf and Stock, 2002. ISBN: 978-899224367, Precio $21.00. [180 pp.].

Hospitality

Perea, Stan, Editor. A Legacy of Fifty Years: The Life and Work of Justo González: Un legado de cincuenta años: la vida y obra de Justo González. Association for Hispanic Theological Education & Abingdon Press, 2014. ISBN: 978-1426788673, Precio $9.99 [40 pp.].

Promise-keeping

Padilla, C. René; Yamamori, Tetsunao. La iglesia local como agente de transformación: una eclesiología para la misión integral. Ediciones Kairos, 2003. ISBN: 987-9879403533, Precio $22.00 [100 pp.]

Forgiveness

Rolán, Alberto, F.; Thomas, Nancy; Van Engen, Carlos; Editores. La Iglesia latinoamericana: Su vida y su mission. Zondervan, 2011. ISBN: 978-9506831660, Precio $14.80 [44 pp.].

Testimony

Rolán, Alberto, F.; Thomas, Nancy; Van Engen, Carlos; Editores. La Iglesia latinoamericana: Su vida y su mission. Zondervan, 2011. ISBN: 978-9506831660, Precio $14.80 [70 pp.].

Gratitude

Biblical Texts: Deuteronomy [10 pp.], Matthew [10 pp.] Acts [20 pp.], 1 Corinthians [10 pp.], 2 Corinthians [10 pp.], or Ephesians [6 pp.].

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 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. (20%). [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 community. The essay will be 1500 words long and will include reflections on your life and the life of your family and how the two interact or not in ministry (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [15 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. Participate weekly (8 out of 10 weeks) in the life of a congregation as a participant-observer; conduct two interviews with two different individuals/families to hear their stories; reflect on practices from an integrative perspective, participate in your small group discussions about your churches and their practices; write a summary paper on your research and reflections (2,200-2,500 words) (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2 & #3] [35 hours].

5. Final Integrative Assignment: Create/Revise your response to the Central Integration Question ("At this point in your Christian journey, how do you envision your calling to God's mission in the world?") Write an 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. By week 3 provide a 90-120 word statement. For a final paper, (a) revise the brief statement; (b) write a reflective essay that integrates your experiences, readings, lectures, and reflections on Christian community and how they changed your statement. Discuss and revise, if necessary based on feedback from your small group (1,000 words) (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2 & #3] [20 hours].

6. Eight short (250 words), regular written reflections on course readings, videos, and scripture in light of LOs in Moodle forums and limited substantive engagement with the posts of other students (125 words). (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3]. [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES None. 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.