Fall 2019/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.
RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES: This course will introduce students to one or more strategies for integrating theological and missiological content with life experience and context through engaging a variety of spiritual practices around vocational formation, which is consistent with the SOT/SIS PLO “Students will have demonstrated capacities to cultivate a theologically reflective practice of Christian discipleship.” (MDiv, MAT, MATM, MAICS). The emphases on integration and vocational formation this course provide introduction to the MAICS learning outcome related to critical thinking and integration and the learning outcome related to vocation (MAICS). This course may also contribute to various learning outcomes in the MAGL related to integrating theology and praxis in ministry and mission, and related to spiritual formation (MAGL).
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] Available as an e-book through library.fuller.edu.
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] Available as in kindle-edition from Amazon.com for $9.99.
D. Barton, Ruth Haley. Sacred Rhythms. IVP, 2006. ISBN: 978-0830833337, Pub. Price $22.00 [191 pages assigned] Available as an e-book through library.fuller.edu.
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:
[This assignment is related to learning outcome #4]. [15 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.
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. Copyright 2019 Fuller Theological Seminary.