Syllabi

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IS 501 Christian Formation: Kingdom, Church, and World

Mark R. Mills

Course Description/Content What is the mission of the church? Behind this question is a cluster of related questions, the most important focused on the nature of God’s creative and redemptive purpose, its ongoing expression in the world, and its consummation in the eschaton. Participants in this course will explore how the church might discern, embrace, and participate in God’s own mission.
PR 632 Preaching from the Gospels: Introduction to the Theology and Practice of Preaching

Stacy R. Minger

COURSE DESCRIPTION ________________________________ The purpose of Preaching from the Gospels is to approach the study and practice of Christian proclamation through hermeneutical and theological engagement with the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Attention will be given to preaching from the teachings of Jesus, Jesus’ parables and miracles, as well as Jesus’ life (birth & infancy, baptism, temptation, transfiguration, passion, death and resurrection). This course encourages students to wed their skills in biblical interpretation with pastorally responsive and theologically reflective proclamation. The purpose of PR courses is to promote a partnership of teaching and learning that nurtures a vision of Christian preaching as a theological and pastoral activity of the Church in service to the Gospel. The core objectives of this course have been established to facilitate critical understanding of and competence in view of: 1) preaching as witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ revealed in Christian Scriptures and 2) preaching as both a gift of the Holy Spirit and a human vocation which serves the creation of a community called to worship the Triune God as revealed through the narrative of the whole biblical canon. This course approaches preaching as a theological practice and from a perspective shaped by the Wesleyan tradition; it is informed by a conscious integration of doctrinal and biblical exegesis and the practice of theological hermeneutics. Emphasis is placed on the life-long task of acquiring practical habits appropriate for cultivating judgment required for faithful communication of the biblical witness in service of the Word of God, as an act of Christian worship and within the context of personal, social and cultural challenge and change. This course will assume that proclamation of the Gospel by means of Scripture is the central (although not exclusive) activity by which the Church is continually created, sustained, corrected, and strengthened by God’s Word to worship and participate in the life of the Triune God. This course is therefore designed as an extended conversation that will exemplify and encourage pastoral competence in speaking the Word of God to form Christian conviction and character with a community what bears witness to the Kingdom that has arrived in Christ. Preaching will be regarded as an act of worship offered to the God of Israel and Jesus Christ who continues to speak and enact his gracious promises and saving purposes through the witness of the Prophets and Apostles in the power of the Holy Spirit. An important objective of this course will be to gain a vital and necessary understanding of preaching as a theological and ecclesial practice that requires: 1) the practices of daily prayer and obedience – pastoral discipline; 2) consistent reading, study, and appropriation of Scripture as the Word of God addressed to God’s people and for the world; 3) the testing of biblical interpretation by means of the central theological convictions of the Church Catholic, and in particular, the Wesleyan tradition, to insure faithful homiletic performance that glorifies God and produces Christian disciples who aspire to a shared life of holiness in Christ. To be consistent with the nature and purpose of preaching as a theological discipline, a strong emphasis will be placed upon the life-long task of acquiring practical wisdom appropriate to the pastoral vocation: the spiritual and moral attentiveness and insight necessary to call the Church to know, love, and serve the Triune God whose speech authors its life and secures its future.
SP 501 Communication as Christian Rhetoric

Stacy R. Minger

Holy Bible. (Please choose a translation to work from rather than a paraphrase). Schultze, Q. J. An Essential Guide to Public Speaking: Serving Your Audience with Faith, Skill, and Virtue. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006. ISBN 08-010-31-516 Schmit, Clayton. The Public Reading of Scripture. Nashville: Abingdon, 2002. ISBN:06-870-45-371 Volf, Miroslav. Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005. ISBN 0-310-26574-6
SP 501 Communication as Christian Rhetoric

Stacy R. Minger

Holy Bible. (Please choose a translation to work from rather than a paraphrase). Schmit, Clayton. The Public Reading of Scripture. Nashville: Abingdon, 2002. ISBN:06-870-45-371 SP 501 Communication as Christian Rhetoric Syllabus Page 2 Schultze, Q. J. An Essential Guide to Public Speaking: Serving Your Audience with Faith, Skill, and Virtue. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006. ISBN 08-010-31-516 Volf, Miroslav. Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005. ISBN 0-310-26574-6 1 VHS Tape or a DVD-R for recording your speeches. If you record to a DVD you will need to stay after class to finalize it. Finalizing the DVD allows you to view it on other DVD players. This process takes 5 – 10 minutes per speech.
IS 501 Kingdom, Church, and World

W. Jay Moon

Bartholomew, Craig and Michael Goheen 2004 The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story. Baker Academic. Snyder, Howard 2001 Kingdom, Church, and World: Biblical Themes for Today. Wipf & Stock. (Originally published as A Kingdom Manifesto, 1985, InterVarsity Press.) Jenkins, Philip 2002 The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Oxford University Press. Frost, Michael and Alan Hirsch 2003 The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st-Century Church. Hendrickson Publishers. Claiborne, Shane 2006 The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. Zondervan. NOTE: This can also be purchased as an MP3 download if you prefer hearing the author read his book with his own emphases. Myers, Bryant 1999 Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development. Orbis.
MB 780 Cross-Cultural Christian Discipling

W. Jay Moon

A study of the role of ritual process in the shaping of believers. Rites and ceremonies, especially initiatory rites, from a variety of religious traditions provide both models of the role of ritual in the formation and nurture of persons and models for discipling Christian converts, especially those from traditional religious backgrounds. Students will construct their own structures for the discipling task based upon the insights and models provided by the course.
MS 671 Anthropology for Mission Practice

W. Jay Moon

a. Anthropological Insights for Missionaries, by Paul Hiebert (315 pp) b. Anthropology for Christian Witness, by Charles Kraft (493) c. Living in Color: Embracing God’s Plan for Diversity, by R Woodley (217 pp) d. Figu ring Foreigners Out: A Practical Guide, by Craig Storti (167 pp).
MS 671 Anthropology for Mission Practice

W. Jay Moon

b. Anthropology for Christian Witness, by Charles Kraft (493) c. Living in Color: Embracing God’s Plan for Diversity, by R Woodley (217 pp) d. Figu ring Foreigners Out: A Practical Guide, by Craig Storti (167 pp). e. The Anthropology of Globalization: Cultural Anthropology Enters the 21st Century, by Ted Lewellen (267 pp).
CH 500 ExL Turning Points in Church History

Robert Moore-Jumonville

This course is designed to introduce students to selected themes as turning points in the history of the Christian Church from its origins to the present time. Within the broad sweep of the four main periods of the Church (Early, Medieval, Reformation, and Modern), students will consider key persons, events, developments, movements, and theological concepts. Special attention is devoted to intellectual history (the history of ideas) and to religious biography (the role key individuals have played in the story of Christianity). Open to MA students (other than MATS) only.
CO 603 Orientation to Christian Approaches to Diagnosis and Treatment Planning

Tapiwa N. Mucherera

Course Description (This description applies to all the Treatment Planning Courses) In order to function as a competent clinician, one must develop competence in diagnosing and effectively treating a variety of problems with which they are confronted. In order to do this one must be thoroughly familiar with a variety of treatment modalities. This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to assessment, clinical diagnosis and treatment planning. Students will have an opportunity to become acquainted with material relevant to treatment issues both from a Christian historical perspective and current knowledge
CO 730 Advanced Issues in Cross-Cultural Counseling

Tapiwa N. Mucherera

Course Description The purpose of this course is to help students to develop a counseling ministry, which will be sensitive and helpful to various cultural groups. Counseling, whether it be in the USA or overseas, requires a basic understanding not only of how various ethnic groups live life but also one=s own possible stereotypes, which may hinder effectiveness in the counseling process. This course is an attempt to integrate material scripturally, experientially, psychologically and theologically. In addition, the course will examine issues of racism, differences in religiocultural values and world-views, verbal and non-verbal communication and other factors that effect the processes of counseling. Lectures, guest speakers, videos, role-plays, group discussions and a cross-cultural inventory (books and articles) will be used to present techniques and approaches in working in a cross-cultural context.
PC 655 Clinical Pastoral Education

Tapiwa N. Mucherera

Purpose: The purpose of this course is to provide students the opportunity to experience ministry and to reflect upon that experience. Clinical Pastoral Education is interfaith professional education for ministry. It brings theological students and ministers into supervised encounter with persons in crises. Out of an intensive involvement with persons in need, and the feedback from peers and teachers, students develop new awareness of themselves as persons and of the needs of those to whom they minister. From theological reflection on specific human needs of those to whom they minister. From theological reflection on specific human situations, they gain a new understanding of ministry. Within the interdisciplinary team process of helping persons, they develop skills in interpersonal and inter-professional relationships.
PC 655 Clinical Pastoral Education

Tapiwa N. Mucherera

Purpose: The purpose of this course is to provide students the opportunity to experience ministry and to reflect upon that experience. Clinical Pastoral Education is interfaith professional education for ministry. It brings theological students and ministers into supervised encounter with persons in crises. Out of an intensive involvement with persons in need, and the feedback from peers and teachers, students develop new awareness of themselves as persons and of the needs of those to whom they minister. From theological reflection on specific human needs of those to whom they minister. From theological reflection on specific human situations, they gain a new understanding of ministry. Within the interdisciplinary team process of helping persons, they develop skills in interpersonal and inter-professional relationships.
PC 660 Practicum in Pastoral Care

Tapiwa N. Mucherera

Purpose: The purpose of this course is to provide students the opportunity to experience ministry and the application of pastoral care and counseling skills and to reflect upon that experience. The goals include: 1. To confirm present knowledge as well as learning new knowledge about pastoral care and counseling. 2. To develop understanding about persons and their needs from a pastoral perspective and purpose. 3. To experience the applications of pastoral care counseling knowledge and skills in the context of a “hands-on” ministry. 4. To reflect on one’s acts of ministry in order to gain insights about those actions, about the needs of people, and about one’s style of ministry. 5. To develop one’s pastoral identity and integrity in ethical conduct, and role of authority, in pastoral care and counseling.
PC 660 Practicum in Pastoral Care

Tapiwa N. Mucherera

Purpose: The purpose of this course is to provide students the opportunity to experience ministry and the application of pastoral care and counseling skills and to reflect upon that experience. The goals include: 1. To confirm present knowledge as well as learning new knowledge about pastoral care and counseling. 2. To develop understanding about persons and their needs from a pastoral perspective and purpose. 3. To experience the applications of pastoral care counseling knowledge and skills in the context of a “hands-on” ministry. 4. To reflect on one’s acts of ministry in order to gain insights about those actions, about the needs of people, and about one’s style of ministry. 5. To develop one’s pastoral identity and integrity in ethical conduct, and role of authority, in pastoral care and counseling.
MS 673 Contemporary Cults and New Religious Movements

Terry C. Muck

Larry Nichols, George Mather, Alvin Schmidt. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Cults, Sects, and World Religion. Revised Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2006. John A. Saliba. Understanding New Religious Movements. 2nd edition. New York: AltaMira Press, 2003. Terry C. Muck. How To Study Religion. Wilmore, Kentucky: Wood Hill Books, 2005.
MS 673 X1 Contemporary Cults and New Religious Movements (SP08)

Terry C. Muck

COURSE DESCRIPTION A study of cults and new religious movements in contemporary America and the Two-Thirds World, tracing their emergence from historical and religious perspectives, with interpretation of their theological significance
MS 674 MW 708 Introduction to World Religions

Terry C. Muck

COURSE DESCRIPTION In this course, students study the origin, history, and basic tenets of each of the major religious traditions of the world--Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism. Students learn basic religious study skills, and engage in research projects in one or more of these religions.
NT 666 The Book of Revelation

M. Robert Mulholland

"Who is worthy to open the book . . . or to look into it? . . . Worthy is the Lamb!" (5:2, 3, 12). Revelation is an Apokavluyij Ihsou' Cristou (1:1), and without the guiding and illuminating presence of His Holy Spirit our minds remain darkened and confused by this book; we tend to read our own meanings into it rather than being impacted by what God is saying to us through it. Nothing requires a deeper level of spiritual maturity than the exegetical study of God's Word. Nothing enhances our spiritual maturity more consistently than the exegetical study of God's Word. This symbiotic reality is the primary dynamic of biblical exegesis. All teaching and learning, in the Christian and biblical perspective, must be directly related to a personal and growing relationship with Jesus as Lord. It is my prayerful intention to be all the Lord purposes for me to be in guiding this class; it is my prayerful expectation that you will allow the Lord so to guide your study and participation that God's full purpose for you might be fulfilled in this course, that together we might "hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches."
CO 725 Research Seminar: Theory and Design

K. Paul Nesselroade

Course Objectives: The purpose of this course is to introduce students to basic research methods, research ethics, simple statistics and their interpretation, and the communication of research results.
CS 601 Christian Ethics

Joseph B. Onyango Okello

Prepares students to analyze and address the moral life from a Christian perspective. Introduces students to historical and contemporary sources for Christian ethics. Explores how responses to moral problems and integrity shape the Christian community. Provides a foundation for further studies in Christian ethics and for congregational and institutional responses to social and moral concerns.
PH 501 B Introduction to Philosophy of Religion

Joseph B. Onyango Okello

Course Description A survey of the philosophical method; a study of the mutual impact of the Christian faith and philosophical discourse upon each other; a reflection upon the overlap between Christian and philosophical ethics; and a critical assessment of the relationship between the Christian understanding of reality and other ways of perceiving it.
PH 501 Introduction to Philosophy of Religion

Joseph B. Onyango Okello

Course Description A survey of the philosophical method; a study of the mutual impact of the Christian faith and philosophical discourse upon each other; a reflection upon the overlap between Christian and philosophical ethics; and a critical assessment of the relationship between the Christian understanding of reality and other ways of perceiving it.
PH 501 Introduction to Philosophy of Religion

Joseph B. Onyango Okello

Course Description A survey of the philosophical method; a study of the mutual impact of the Christian faith and philosophical discourse upon each other; a reflection upon the overlap between Christian and philosophical ethics; and a critical assessment of the relationship between the Christian understanding of reality and other ways of perceiving it.
PH 501 Introduction to Philosophy of Religion

Joseph B. Onyango Okello

Course Description A survey of the philosophical method; a study of the mutual impact of the Christian faith and philosophical discourse upon each other; a reflection upon the overlap between Christian and philosophical ethics; and a critical assessment of the relationship between the Christian understanding of reality and other ways of perceiving it.