Spring 2017/Pasadena

IS502

Cho

IS502: PRACTICES OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY (4 Units: 165 hours). Euiwan Cho.

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 3.5 hour sessions for a total of 35 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion (which includes required synchronous and/or asynchronous participation in vocation and formation groups) plus 5 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.

REQUIRED READING: 950 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Korean translation of Life Together (신도의 공동생활) The Christian Literature Society, 1989. ISBN: 9788951113062. Pub. Price $28.00 [200 pp. assigned]

Lohfink, Gerhard. Korean translation of Jesus and Community (예수는어떤공동체를원했나?). Bundo, 1984. ISBN: 9788941985242, Pub. Price $19.00 [200 pp. assigned]

Pohl, Christine. Korean translation of Living into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us (공동체로산다는것). JoyMission, 2014. ISBN: 978-8942103553. Pub. Price $30.00 [250 pp. assigned]

Sittzer, Gerald. Korean translation of The Will of God as a Way of Life: Finding and Following the Will of God (하나님의뜻). BibleUnion, 2004. ISBN: 9788932550152. Pub. Price $ 34.00 [100pp]

Smith, C. Christopher & John Pattison. Korean translation of Slow Church (슬로처치). InterVarsity, 2014. ISBN: 978-0830841141, Pub. Price $16.00 [100 pp. assigned].

PRACTICES

1. Christian Formation

Smith, James K.A. “The Power of Habit and the Gift of Practices.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLSFN3630Rs (English caption is available)

Ted Talk: The Power of Habit (Charles Duhigg) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMbsGBlpP30 (Eng. caption is available)

2. Hospitality/Inclusion

Smith, Slow Church (슬로처치), chapter 4, 10 (required text).

3. Truth-Telling

Ted Talk: The Danger of Silence. http://www.ted.com/talks/clint_smith_the_danger_of_silence (Korean caption is available)

Pohl, Christine, Living into Community, chapter 3 (required text).

4. Testimony/Story-telling

Peace, Richard. “dialog” Ministry and Theology (목회와 신학), May 2000.

http://www.duranno.com/moksin/detail.asp?CTS_YER=2000&CTS_MON=5&CTS_ID=22032&CTS_CTG_COD=8

Sunil Kim. “The Evangelism in a Religiously Pluralistic Society”(종교다원주의 사회에서의 전도-레슬리 뉴비긴을 중심으로), Gospel and Mission (복음과 선교),vol. 24 (2013), pp. 9-43.

5. Forgiveness

Film: Dead Man Walking

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, "Confession and Communion" in Life Together (신도의 공동생활) (required text).

6. Gratitude

Pohl, Christine. Living into Community. (공동체로산다는것) (required text).

Smith, Slow Church (슬로처치), chapter 9 (required text).

7. Promise

Pohl, Christine. Living into Community. (공동체로산다는것) (required text).

Smith, Slow Church (슬로처치), chapter 3 (required text).

Website related to keeping promises: http://becauseisaidiwould.com

8. Group Spiritual Direction

Sittzer, The Will of God (하나님의뜻) (required text).

BIBLICAL TEXTS: Deuteronomy (50pp equivalent), Matthew (50pp equivalent)

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. 950 pp. of required reading [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2 & #4]. [54 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]. [27 hours+8 hours].

  3. Eight short (90-120 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 (50 words) (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2 & #4]. [10 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 and #3]. [15 hours].

  5. Daily Practice of Prayer of Examen (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [5days x 20mins x 10week = 16 hours].

  6. Autobiography related to practices of community (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 hours].

  7. A Short Critical Essay (1,000-words) reflecting the student’s critical review Korean/Korean-American local church as a community and articulating the theological importance of one specific practice (out of eight practices from the class) (10%) [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. (2,500 words total) (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #3, and #4]. [25 hours].

PREREQUISITES: Korean. Recommended in first year of study.

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

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.


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.

For your convenience, order these texts online through the Archives Bookshop.