Spring 2018/Pasadena

IS500

Bolsinger

IS500: PRACTICES OF VOCATIONAL FORMATION (4 Units: 160 hours). Tod Bolsinger.

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: Approximately 1050 pp. of required reading

A. Core Textbooks

Placher, William C. Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation. Eerdmans, 2005. ISBN: 978-0802829276, Pub. Price $32.00 [125 pp. assigned].

B. Integration Resources

Texts:

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

Palmer, Parker. Let Your Life Speak. Jossey-Bass, 1999. ISBN: 978-0787947354, Pub. Price $18.95. [100 pp.]

Theology of Work Project Online Bible Commentary. https://www.theologyofwork.org/ (20 pp.)

Articles & Chapters (on e-reserves):

Barton, Ruth Haley. “Rule of Life” in Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. IVP Books, 2006. 110-129. [19 pp.]

Bolsinger, Tod. “Formed, Not Found” Fuller Magazine, Issue 1[4 pp.]

Branson, Mark Lau and Juan Martinez. “Practical Theology and Multicultural Initiatives” in Churches, Cultures & Leadership: A Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities. IVP Academic, 2011, pp 33-58 [25 pp.]

Branson, Mark Lau and Juan Martinez. “Sociocultural Structures, Ethnicity and Churches” in Churches, Cultures & Leadership: A Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities. IVP Academic, 2011, pp 78-94 [16 pp.]

Hardy, Lee, The Fabric of this World. Eerdmans, 1990. [Chapters 1-2, 80 pp.]

Jennings, Willie James “The Fuller Difference,” FULLER magazine, Issue 3 [4 pp]

Macchia, Stephen A. Crafting a Rule of Life: An Invitation to the Well-Ordered Way. IVP Books, 2012. [Chapter 1, 10 pp.]

Pitt, Richard. 2012. “I Heard a Voice from Heaven Say” in Divine Callings: Understanding the Call to Ministry in Black Pentecostalism. New York University Press, 41-71 [30 pp.]

Reese, Randy and Robert Loane, 2012. “A Storied Way: What We Learn from Editing Our Lives” in Deep Mentoring, IVP, pp 49-74 [25 pp]

Smith, Gordon T. 2011. “Chapters in Our Lives: Vocation and the Stages of an Adult Life” in Courage and Calling: Embracing Your God-Given Potential. IVP Books, pp 78-108 [30 pp].

Tiersma Watson, Jude. “Learning the Unforced Rhythms of Grace: Creating a Rule of Life in a 24/7 World” FullerYouthInstitute.org [3 pp]

Williams, Reggie “Empathic and Incarnational: A Better Christian Ethic at Fuller,” FULLER magazine Issue 3 [4 pp]

Yamaguchi, Steve “From the Palace to the Streets,” FULLER Magazine, Issue 1, [4 pp]

Online Reader from The Next Faithful Step. http://leadership.fuller.edu/ [20 pp]

C. Core Practices (on e-reserves)

Listening:

Barton, Ruth Haley. “Scripture: Encountering God Through Lectio Divina” in Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. IVP Books, 2006. 45-61. [16 pp.]

Peterson, Eugene H. “Lectio divina” in Eat this Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading. Eerdmans, 2009. 79-118. [39 pp.].

Phillips, Susan. The Cultivated Life: From Ceaseless Striving to Receiving Joy. IVP, 2015. Ch. 3, 7 [45 pp.]

Guidance:

Foster, Richard. “Guidance” in Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. HarperSanFrancisco, 1988. pp. 175-189. [14 pp.]

Lament:

Rah, Soon Chan. Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times. IVP, 2015. ISBN: 978-0830836949 Pub. Price. $14.97 (Chapters 1,2,6,7,8, 100 pp)

Thompson, John L. “Psalms and Curses: Anger Management on Earth as it is in Heaven” Reading the Bible with the Dead: What You Can Learn from the History of Exegesis That You Can’t Learn from Exegesis Alone, Erdmanns, 2007 (12 pp.)

Discernment:

Barton, Ruth Haley. “Discernment: Recognizing and Responding to the Presence of God” in Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. IVP Books, 2006. 110-129. [19 pp.]

Bolsinger, Tod E. “Transforming Witness II” in It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian, Brazos Press, Ch. [8 pp].

Smith, Gordon T. “Listening to God” in Times of Choice: The Art of Discerning God's Will. InterVarsity Press, 1997. 9-24. [15 pp.].

Stewardship and Finances:

Brueggemann, Walter. "The liturgy of abundance, the myth of scarcity." Christian Century 116, no. 10 (1999): 342-47. [5 pp.]

Wuthnow, Robert. “The Crisis in the Churches.” Financing American Religion. Eds. Mark Chaves, and Sharon L. Miller. AltaMira Press, 1998. [10 pp.].

Rhythms of Rest:

Barton, Ruth Haley. “Sabbath: Establishing Rhythms of Work and Rest” in Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. IVP Books, 2006. 130-145. [15 pp.]

Calhoun, Adele A. 2015. “Rest” in Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, Revised edition. IVP Books, pp. 74-76 [3 pp].

Calhoun, Adele A. 2015. “Unplugging” in Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, Revised edition. IVP Books, pp. 95-98. [4 pp].

Biblical texts assigned [50 pages].

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. 1050 pages reading, including at least 50 pages of biblical text [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [55 hours].
  1. 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]. [32 hours+8 hours].
  2. Autobiography: Students will create an autobiography related to practices of vocational formation. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [1 hour].
  3. 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. (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2] [15 hours].
  4. Integrative Reflections: Students will engage in critical theological reflection on contextualized experiences using a practical theology or similar method. (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3.] [20 hours].
  5. 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] [1 hour].
  6. 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].
  7. 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: 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.

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.