Fall 2017/Pasadena

IS500

Cormode

IS500: PRACTICES OF VOCATIONAL FORMATION (4 Units: 160 hours). Scott Cormode.

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 twice weekly for two hour sessions for a total of 40 instructional hours in the classroom for lecture and discussion (which includes 8 hours of required synchronous and/or asynchronous participation in vocation and formation groups).

REQUIRED READING: 930 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing, including

A. Placher, William C. Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation. Eerdmans, 2005. ISBN: 978-0802829276, Pub. Price $32.00 [approx. 150 pages assigned].

B. Labberton, Mark. Called: The Crisis and Promise of Following Jesus Today. IVP, 2014. ISBN: 978-0830836833, Pub. Price $16.00 [176 pages assigned].

C. Hardy, Lee. The Fabric of this World: Inquiries into Calling, Career Choice, and the Design of Human Work. Eerdmans, 1990. ISBN: 978-0802802989, Pub. Price $20.00 [213 pages assigned].

D. Barton, Ruth Haley. Sacred Rhythms. IVP, 2006. ISBN: 978-0830833337, Pub. Price $19.00 [191 pages assigned].

E. 30 online articles and viewing of 40 videos [200 pages equivalent].

CORE PRACTICES: Listening, Guidance, Lament, Discernment, Stewardship, Rhythms of Rest.

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. 930 pp. of required reading and/or the equivalent time in viewing videos (see list above). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [50 hours].
2. Classroom: for each practice, students will engage, reflect, create (utilizing instruction, participation, presentation, discussion, engaging practical theology cycle for theological reflection, case studies). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3, 4]. [32 hours].
3. Vocation Formation Group (VFG) - In a vocation formation group, engage spiritual disciplines, practices, and discussion. Students will also be engaging in some of the practical theology steps by describing current praxis, studying the Bible, and sharing and listening to stories. (Vocation Formation Group Leader (VFGL) will let professor know if students have been present and engaged). (10%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 4 and 5]. [8 hours].
4. Students will engage in 15 minutes of daily Lectio Divina using Scripture and call narratives and create a journal of responses. This journal will be used to write a 2-3 page reflection paper (10%).

[This assignment is related to learning outcome #4]. [15 hours].

5. Fieldwork Activities: Interviews with Reflection. Students conduct and write up an interview with a person about their experience of work. Then, the following week, students turn that interview into a case study with a theological response (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [8 hours + 8 hours].
6. Fieldwork Activities: 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 #2, 4]. [4 hours].
7. Spiritual Autobiography related to vocational formation. (5%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [2 hours].
8. Family and Financial autobiography related to vocational formation using the practical theology method that leads to the completion of a written financial plan for seminary that will support the student’s vocational goals (1,250 words). (10%) This assignment is related to learning outcome #1 and #3]. [8 hours].
9. 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. (2500 words). (60%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3, 4 and 5]. [25 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None. 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.