Biblical Foundations for Missions and Evangelism

Biblical Foundations for Missions and Evangelism

Dr. Andrew Wood

Assistant Professor

(513) 244-8176

Office: WM Center 145

PUI 355 01

Biblical Foundations for Missions and Evangelism

Spring 2010 (3 hours); Thurs. 12:30-3:10 p.m.

Description & Rationale

A seminar designed to help students construct a biblical theology of missions and evangelism and learn practical techniques of theological formation in new Christian communities. A particular focus of the course is on the theory, practice, and products of contextual theology.

Learning Objectives

This course addresses the following learning objectives of the Urban and Intercultural Ministries field area:

PUI 3: Develop a vision for holistic ministry rooted in a biblically sound theology of mission.

PUI 5: Demonstrate foundational skills to equip and empower indigenous Christian communities to interpret and apply the Bible in their cultural contexts.

Course Goals

  1. Students will assimilate the value of contextualized theology and consider thepossibilities and challenges it represents in cross-cultural ministry.
  2. Students will interact with Majority World Christians and theologies, thoughtfully considering their contributions to mission theology and practice.
  3. Students will form biblically grounded, practical theologies of missions and evangelism to help guide their future ministry plans.

Required Reading

Fleming, Dean. Contextualization in the New Testament: Patterns for Theology and Mission.

Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP, 2005.

Tennent, Timothy C. Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church is Influencing the Way We Think About and Discuss Theology. Grand Rapids, Mi.: Zondervan, 2007.

Grades

This class follows the standard CCU grade scale:

A95-100C+80-82

A-92-94C77-79

B+89-91C- 74-76

B86-88D+71-73

B-83-85D65-70

F0-64

Class Policies

  • Students absent more than 2 times will be dropped from the roll.
  • Late work is not accepted and extensions are not granted for any reason. Students are strongly encouraged to turn in assignments early to avoid failing an assignment because of an unavoidable emergency, ministry opportunity, or technology issue.
  • Assignments must be submitted in hard copy; electronic submissions are not accepted (with the exception of Moodle quizzes). Students are encouraged to slide assignments under my office door, WM 145.
  • Laptops are provisionally allowed but students may be asked to close them if they begin interfering with classroom participation.

Assignments (due by 3:10 p.m. on due date)

Tests: 40% (Feb. 2, Feb. 23, Mar. 23, Apr. 13)

  • All students will complete 4Moodle tests on the content of required readings (schedule to be posted on Moodle). Each test is worth 10% of the course grade.
  • Students may freely consult their books while taking the tests, but not work together.
  • Technical problems with the Moodle software will not be considered an acceptable excuse for incomplete work. Students are expected to complete work ahead of the deadline to allow time to work out any technical issues themselves with Suzanne Faber () and/or the IT department.

Field Trip: 20% (Mar. 2)

  • Students are required to visit a Christian worship service of a different culture or theological tradition than their own at least once during the semester. The purpose of this visit is to help students consider the variety of expressions of Christianity in the world today and stimulate our class discussion of issues of culture and doctrine.
  • Two field trips will be organized by the professor; students who cannot attend one of these must arrange their own experience. Acceptable alternatives might include a church made up primarily of an immigrant group or ethnic minority group, a Roman Catholic mass, or an Eastern Orthodox liturgy.
  • Students will prepare a three page report on the experience addressing each of the following questions:

-What were your impressions of the church you visited and the people you met there?

-What would you say are the main theological concerns of the people of this congregation, judging from your observations?

-What would you say that Christians of their tradition and Christians of your tradition could learn from each other that might strengthen both churches in doctrine and practice?

Hermeneutical Community: 20% (due dates assigned in class)

  • “Hermeneutical community” is one of the basic methods of theological formation we will discuss in class. Basically, you can think of this as a group discussion of what the Bible has to say about a topic and how to apply its teachings in our culture. The idea is for the group to reach a consensus based on the Bible, not the authority of a human teacher. A facilitator shepherds the group and supplies additional information as necessary without controlling the discussion.
  • We will simulate this method by giving each student the opportunity to facilitate class discussion.Students will choose a topic relevant to the course based on their individual backgrounds, interests, and questions. The question should be related to a real life situation, decision, ministry concern, etc. Examples might include:

-Knowing the will of God about a specific life decision (marriage, career, etc.)

-How to relate to a Christian friend who disagrees on a specific doctrinal question.

-Whether a church of elderly people should be allowed to keep its traditions, or urged to change.

-How Christians should participate in the political process.

  • For the chosen topic, students will submit 5 pages of typed, double-spaced notes, including:

-A description of the question being addressed and its wider relevance to missions and evangelism.

-An illustration, story, personal experience, etc. to raise interest and provoke thought about the topic.

-A list of 5 open-ended discussion questions the student will pose while facilitating class discussion.

-A brief biblical/theological reflection on the topic, including at least 5 relevant Scripture passages (type out the entire verse along with its Scripture reference; see

-The students’ thoughts about how the Scripture on this topic should be applied in our culture.

  • Based on these notes, each student will facilitate a 30 minute class discussion on the topic, by introducing and illustrating the topic, then guiding the class through some (not all) of the discussion questions and relevant Scriptural passages.Finally, the student will suggest his or her own biblical answer to the question and allow the class time to discuss and evaluate that answer.
  • Half the grade will be based on the written notes and half on student’s effort to facilitate class discussion. Even if a student does not have strong oral communication skills, he or she will receive full points for making a strong effort and including each of the required elements in the discussion.

Theological Reflection Paper: 20% (Apr. 27)

  • All students will prepare a theological reflection paper (10 pages for undergrads, 15 pages for grads) including the following elements:

-A summary of the student’s personal theology of missions and evangelism, including well-chosen biblical references, citations of course readings, and other sources where appropriate. (Students are not required to do research beyond the course readings, but are welcome to do so).

-A reflection on the practical implications of this theology for the student’s life and ministry. For example: How will this theology shape the student’s choices? What changes does it demand in his or her life? How does it point toward one area of ministry or one approach to ministry over others?

-A description of how the student envisions helping others develop theologically. Specifically, students should evaluate the hermeneutical community methodology, indicating whether they see it as a practical model that could be used in their ministry settings, and if not, a description of the alternative they would use.

-A description of how the course readings, discussions, and field trip influenced the student’s thinking during the semester. How has the student’s thinking changed (or not) as a result of this course?

  • Papers should be typed, double-spaced, include in-text citations and a bibliography of works cited, and be formatted according to MLA 2009 standards (see and scroll to the bottom of the page, click on orange topics in the box for samples of correct format)

Disclaimer

This syllabus should not be taken as a comprehensive statement of all policies related to this course. The professor reserves the right to amend or alter the course plan during the semester, with adequate warning to the students of any changes.

Name: ______

Box no:______

PUI 355 Biblical Foundations for Missions and Evangelism

Rubric for Field Trip report

(attach as cover sheet to your assignment)

Excellent
25 points / Satisfactory
20 points / Unsatisfactory
15 points
Technical issues / Paper meets page requirement, properly formatted, minimal spelling and grammar issues. / Paper falls below page requirement, and/or has some issues with formatting, spelling, or grammar. / Paper falls well below page requirement and/or has significant issues with formatting, spelling or grammar.
Impressions / Student thoughtfully reflects on his or her personal impressions of the church service and the people met there. / Student briefly reflects on his or her personal impressions of the church service and the people met there. / Student neglects to reflect on his or her personal impressions of the church service and the people met there.
Theological concerns / Student identifies two or more theological concerns of the people in the church service visited, showing some perception of cultural nuances. / Student identifies at least one theological concern of the people in the church visited, based on quick and superficial observation. / Student neglects to identify the theological concerns of the people in the church visited.
Mutual discipleship / Student identifies one or more significant ways he/she and the Christians of the church visited might learn from one another in a way that would clearly strengthen both in biblical doctrine and practice. / Student identifies an possible area of learning but needs to explain more fully how both sides would benefit and grow stronger in biblical doctrine and practice. / Student neglects to identify areas for mutual discipleship in biblical doctrine and practice.

Name: ______

Box no:______

PUI 355 Biblical Foundations for Missions and Evangelism

Rubric for Hermeneutical Community Project

(attach as cover sheet to your assignment)

Excellent
25 points / Satisfactory
20 points / Unsatisfactory
15 points
Notes / Notes include all topics required by the syllabus and meet the page requirement. / Notes include all topics required by the syllabus but fall somewhat below the page requirement. / Notes are missing one or more topics required by the syllabus or fall significantly below the page requirement.
Quality of preparation / Notes indicate a relevant and interesting choice of topic, intriguing questions, selection of appropriate passages of Scripture and careful reflection on the biblical implications of the topic. / Notes indicate a choice of topic and questions that do not seem interesting or relevant, and a superficial treatment of Scripture on the topic. / Notes indicate a choice of topic that is not relevant to the course material or an excessively careless treatment of Scripture, (perhaps omitting a significant passage that speaks directly to the topic).
Group facilitation / Facilitator keeps group members interested and involved and keeps the discussion moving toward resolution without dominating the group. / Facilitator is mostly able to keep students engaged but the discussion stagnates at times or becomes too facilitator-driven. / Facilitator is not able to engage student interest. The presentation turns into more of a monologue than a group exercise.
Biblical focus / Facilitator keeps the discussion biblically focused, helping students reflect theologically and reach at least a partial consensus on how to apply Scripture in the area discussed. / Facilitator keeps the discussion mainly biblically focused, but at times allows it to drift too long into an exchange of cultural opinions without reference to Scripture. / Facilitator allows the discussion to remain at the level of cultural opinions without drawing it back to Scripture.

Name: ______

Box no:______

PUI 355 Biblical Foundations for Missions and Evangelism

Rubric for Theological Reflection paper

(attach as cover sheet to your assignment)

Excellent
20 points / Satisfactory
15 points / Unsatisfactory
10 points
Technical issues / Paper meets page requirement, properly formatted, minimal spelling and grammar issues. / Paper falls below page requirement, and/or has some issues with formatting, spelling, or grammar. / Paper falls well below page requirement and/or has significant issues with formatting, spelling or grammar.
Personal theology / Theology is well explained, biblically supported, and directly related to issues of missions and evangelism. / Theology is adequately explained with some biblical support. The connection to missions and evangelism is relatively clear. / Explanation of the theology and/or its biblical support is unclear. The connection to missions and evangelism is not well articulated.
Practical implications / Student thoughtfully reflects on the personal implications of his or her theology for life and ministry choices, giving several specific examples. / Student briefly reflects on the personal implications of his or her theology for life and ministry choices. At least one specific example is described. / Student neglects to reflect on the personal implications of his or her theology for life and ministry choices. No examples are given.
Theological ministry / Student thoughtfully assesses the usefulness of the hermeneutical community method and suggests an alternative if it is found inadequate. / Student superficially assesses the usefulness of the hermeneutical community method. Student may not have suggested an adequate alternative. / Student does not assess the usefulness of the hermeneutical community method or suggest any alternatives to it.
Description of growth / The paper thoughtfully explains how the course experiences helped the student grow and develop theologically. / The paper explains in a brief and cursory way how the course experiences helped the student grow and develop theologically. / The paper does not explain how the course experiences helped the student grow and develop theologically.
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