Syllabi

Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing.

Switch View to Grid View Slideshow

MM 601 Mentored Ministry Section

Peggy L. Riley

1. Reaching People under 40 while Keeping People over 60 by Edward H. Hammett with James R. Pierce (Chalice Press, 2007). ISBN 978-0-827232-54-9 2. Mentored Ministry Handbook: MM601/602: purchased from the professor for $11.00, the first day of class. 3. Preparing for Ministry: A Practical Guide to Theological Field Education edited by George M. Hillman Jr. (Kregel Press, available October 2008) ISBN-10: 0825427576.
PH 501 Philosophy of Christian Religion

William Rodriguez

Course Description: The Philosophical exploration of the classical issues of religious thought, such as the existence and reality of God, the problem of evil, religious experience, and religious pluralism, and ethics.
CO 610 Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling

George R. Ross

Herlihy, B. & Corey, G., (1996). ACA ethical standards casebook. American Counseling Association, Alexandria, VA. (326 pages) Sanders, Randolph K., (1997). Christian counseling ethics: A handbook for therapists, pastors and counselors, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. (404 pages) Moline, M.E., Williams, G.T., & Austin, K.M., (1998). Documenting psychotherapy: Essentials for mental health practitioners. Sage, London. (189 pages) _____, (1998). AACC Christian counseling code of ethics. American Association of Christian Counseling, Forest, VA. (20 pages) available to down load at [ http://www.AACC.net ]www.AACC.net Bennett, B.E., et. al., (1990). Professional liability and risk management. American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.. (128 pages) Nagy, T.E., (2000). Ethics in plain English: An illustrative textbook for psychologists. American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.. (260 pages)
CO 610 Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling

George R. Ross

Course Description This three (3) credit hour course is designed to help students in the M.A. Counseling Program and the M.Div. program to identify and examine ethical and legal issues encountered in the counseling process and to explore ways to effectively deal with them. Students completing the course will develop sensitivity to the ethical and legal aspects of counseling process, better appreciate the ethical constraints under which a counselor works, and develop skills to critically examine how they conduct themselves as counselors.
NT 510 The Gospel of Matthew

Brian D. Russell

General Description A basic course in inductive Bible studies. The primary purpose is to enable the student to begin developing an inductive approach to Bible study, especially in the areas of observation and interpretation. Parts of the Gospel of Matthew are used to demonstrate and to practice a methodical approach which can be used in other biblical books. Some of the main themes of the Gospel are highlighted in the process. This course is also the prerequisite or co-requisite of the biblical language classes as well as the prerequisite for exegetical electives. This course seeks to introduce the student to the "inductive method" of biblical study, and to direct this interpretive approach to the Gospel of Matthew. This orientation implies several things, including (1) an emphasis upon methodology and methodological concerns, and (2) a strong commitment to direct, independent study of the biblical text, with secondary sources (e.g., commentaries, grammars, dictionaries of the Bible) to be consulted by the student only after extensive, firsthand study has been completed. The English Bible (RSV/NRSV) will serve as the basis for study, but students are encouraged to make use of the original whenever you are able (of course, I am aware that very few of you have taken Greek).
OT 520 Old Testament Introduction

Brian D. Russell

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION An introduction to (1) the literature of the Old Testament in its socio-historical, literary, and canonical contexts; and (2) critical study of the OT. Note: This course is not a survey of the literature of the OT. If you desire a survey course to prepare for the Bible Competency exam, you should consider taking BS400.
OT 520 Old Testament Introduction

Brian D. Russell

An introduction to (1) the literature of the Old Testament in its socio-historical, literary, and canonical contexts; and (2) critical study of the OT. Note: This course is not a survey of the literature of the OT. If you desire a survey course to prepare for the Bible Competency exam, you should consider taking BS400.
OT 610 Pentateuch

Brian D. Russell

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is a study of Genesis through Deuteronomy. It builds on the methodology of the first Inductive Biblical Studies course by further use of what has been previously learned and by emphasizing the study of books as wholes. Accordingly, there is special focus on the initial survey of books as wholes, the interpretation of parts of books in the context of the books as a whole and the synthesis of books. In addition, attention is given to thinking, valuing and living biblically by learning how to apply Scripture to life and ministry.
OT 611 Exegesis of Exodus

Brian D. Russell

Course description This course explores selected exegetical issues in the Book of Exodus and provides students with opportunities to apply original-language tools to the book’s strategic passages. The focus will be on developing appropriate interpretive skills for the pastoral ministry.
OT 611 Exegesis of Exodus

Brian D. Russell

John I. Durham. Exodus. WBC. Waco: Word, 1987. Terrence E. Fretheim. Exodus. Interpretation. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1991. Michael Walzer. Exodus and Revolution T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity, 2002. Arnold, Bill and John Choi. Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Cambridge University Press, 2003. If you don’t have this text, you definitely need to purchase it. Seow, C. L. A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew. Rev. ed. Nashville: Abingdon, 1995.
PR 700 Creative Preaching on the Sacraments

Lester Ruth

--O’Keefe, John J. and R. R. Reno, Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible --Satterlee, Craig and Lester Ruth, Creative Preaching on the Sacraments, Discipleship Resources. --Yarnold, Edward, The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation, The Liturgical Press.
PR 700 WO 700 Creative Preaching on the Sacraments

Lester Ruth

--O’Keefe, John J. and R. R. Reno, Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible --Satterlee, Craig and Lester Ruth, Creative Preaching on the Sacraments, Discipleship Resources. --Yarnold, Edward, The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation, The Liturgical Press.
WO 520 The History of Christian Worship

Lester Ruth

Describing WO520 Do the nature and activity of the Trinity have anything to say about how we worship today? In light of the Trinity, does the history of Christian worship have anything to say about how we worship today? These are the questions that will organize WO520, The History of Christian Worship. The class is designed to be an environment in which a student can explore answers to these questions. We’ll explore these questions by imagining ourselves as leadership in a church named First Methodist Church (we will call it the Touchstone Church in this course), responsible for the church’s “contemporary” service called the New Covenant Service. The premise is that we have felt like we have “hit the wall” in terms of this service. We wonder if there is anything more. What else could we do to renew our worship? What must we leave in place? (For more information on this church, please see the links on the course website.) In this course each student will imagine that she or he is either the associate pastor, who has primary ordained responsibility for this course, or the church musician. The worship design committee has commissioned you to do a study of worship and write a series of five newsletter articles on what we ought to do and think about the worship of this church. Enriching this service in our Touchstone Church will be the goal of this course. With this premise, what specifically will this course be about? WO520 will be about…. � …forming students for leading worship in Christian communities (the focus is on corporate worship, not individual experience of worship) in certain key facets; � …having a key theological conviction of the Christian faith guide our exploration (the class will be spent in extended reflection on the implications of that compelling theological conviction for Christian worship); and � …pursuing a recurring, imaginative placement of the student as a leader within a hypothetical Christian community, giving her/him a chance to see the theological implications in a realistic pastoral situation. The course will have this flow: becoming familiar with the Touchstone Church and its desire for renewed worship, then cultivating Trinitarian perspective and expectations about Christian worship, and finally, the use of this perspective and expectations to explore the worship of 5 historic Christian communities (Rome, Jerusalem, Salisbury, Geneva, and Baltimore) for possible answers to the Touchstone Church’s desire for renewed worship. In this manner we will accomplish the catalog description for the course that speaks of it as a survey of Christian worship over the last 2,000 years. We will grapple with basic issues in worship as well as recurring themes and understandings about worship as represented by different historical traditions. We will explore whether past ways of worshiping, explored under the spotlight of Trinitarian doctrine, might offer options for approaching worship renewal today. Are there “basics,” “essentials,” or “nonnegotiables” for Christian worship today and in the past?
WO 525 Time and Remembrance in Christian Worship

Lester Ruth

--Webber, Robert. Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative. Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8010-6624-5. --Rienstra, Ron. Ten Service Plans for Contemporary Worship. Grand Rapids: Faith Alive Resources, 2002. ISBN 156212868X. --Hickman, Hoyt, et al. The New Handbook of the Christian Year. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992. ISBN 0-687-22760-4 --Blain, Susan A. et al., editors. Imaging the Word: An Arts and Lectionary Resource, volume 2. Cleveland: United Church Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8298-1033-1 --Stancliffe, David. Celebrating Common Prayer. Mowbray or Continuum. ISBN 0-264-67351- 4 or 0826465293 --course packet
WO 700 PR 700 Creative Preaching on the Sacraments

Lester Ruth

Prerequisites: a course in the range of PR610-49 and a course in the range of WO510-549.
MS 655 CL 655 MB 730 The Change Agent in Mission

Michael A. Rynkiewich

This is a course in applied anthropology and cultural dynamics with special attention to how culture change occurs, the dynamics and variables that effect change, and appropriate strategies for the church. The course also deals with contemporary areas of social responsibility for those in mission. In this postmodern, postcolonial age, everyone has a mission. Wherever one positions oneself, one has a perspective and a strategy for change. Anthropologists, missionaries, indigenous church leaders, development agencies, drug dealers: all have spiritual, political and economic interests to pursue. All are different from each other, all act out of a different view of society, and all hope to be able to direct change.
MS 671 Anthropology

Michael A. Rynkiewich

COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is “An introduction to cultural anthropology, with application to Christian evangelization and mission.” From before the beginning (Genesis 1), our Triune God has been in mission, reaching out in self-giving, other-embracing love (John 1 & I John 1). We now call this the missio Dei, “the mission of God” to remind us that it is not our mission, nor does mission belong to the church. How God does mission is best understood in the sending of Jesus the Christ (Ephesians 2:11-15). As the Father has sent Jesus, so Jesus sends us (John 20:21). It is in the life of Jesus here on earth that we most clearly see our example for mission: Jesus emptied himself, came down to the people, developed relationships and learned the local language and culture for 30 years; and then he began to preach about the Kingdom of God (Matthew 4:17; Luke 4:43) and perform acts of mercy and justice (Luke 4:18-21) that the people saw as signs and wonders of the presence of God among them (Luke 4:22,32,36). The acts of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit (the proper title of Acts) continued in the apostles, deacons and those who were called later, like Paul. The apostles began in mission with the Jews (Acts 2-7). The deacons reached out a little further to the half- Jews (Acts 8) and then to the proselytes (Acts 8). Finally, Peter reluctantly reached out to those who were not Jewish, half-Jewish or even wanna-be Jews but were full fledged Gentiles (Acts 10). Still, it was the multi-cultural church at Antioch (not the monocultural church at Jerusalem) that commissioned and sent out the first missionaries: Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13). What they did changed not just the composition of the church but the life of the church. Jesus the Messiah (Christos) became Jesus the Lord (Kyrios) (Acts 28), because that is what the Greeks and Romans were looking for. New understandings of Jesus brought fuller meaning to the cosmic event of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was interpreted anew as the Logos (John 1), the Pleroma (Colossians 1:19, 2:9-10), the Mystery and Wisdom of God (Ephesians). Every generation deserves a fresh reading of the gospel. Who will speak now to the migrant generation of this globalized world? A critical view of anthropology as it relates to theology will lead us to our main concern, and that is missiology. There will be a conscious effort in our course to maintain a trialogue between anthropology, theology and missiology. Our goal is to gain insights about missiological issues and concerns.
DO 501 Basic Christian Theology

Stephen A. Seamands

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the study of Christian Theology. Over the course of the semester students will be introduced to all the major areas in the system of Christian doctrine. The relevance of theology for the Christian life and the practice of ministry will be stressed.
DO 501 Basic Christian Theology

Stephen A. Seamands

Thomas Oden, The Living God The Word of Life Life in the Spirit Stephen Seamands, Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christiane Service Gregory Boyd and Paul Eddy, Across the Spectrum
DO 501 Basic Christian Theology

Stephen A. Seamands

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the study of Christian Theology. Over the course of the semester students will be introduced to all the major areas in the system of Christian doctrine. The relevance of theology for the Christian life and the practice of ministry will be stressed.
DO 630 Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

Stephen A. Seamands

The purpose of this course is to provide an intensive treatment of a major Christian doctrine, namely, the person and work of Holy Spirit (Pneumatology). In our study we will draw primarily from scripture, along with insights from the Christian tradition and Christian experience, in constructing a doctrine of the Holy Spirit for Christian life and ministry in the church and the world today.
DO 670 United Methodist Theology

Stephen A. Seamands

William Abraham, Waking from Doctrinal Amnesia Ted Campbell, Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials Thomas Langford, Practical Divinity, vol 1. Thomas Schmidt, Straight and Narrow: Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate Stephen Seamands, Holiness of Heart and Life William Willimon, United Methodist Beliefs: A Brief Introduction By Water and the Spirit (download at http://www.gbod.org/worship/articles/water_spirit/)
DO 670 United Methodist Theology

Stephen A. Seamands

Purpose: The course seeks to introduce students to the content and development of Methodist Theology from the time of Wesley to the present. Following an assessment of the current state of Methodist Theology as it is reflected in the 1972 and 1988 Doctrinal Statements and current theological issues such as God-language, baptism, and homosexuality which United Methodists are wrestling with, we will move back to Wesley to determine the character of Methodist theology, and then forward through Methodist history to show how its character is reflected in its major movements and principal figures. We will also consider the possibility of theological and spiritual renewal within Methodism.
ME 780 Spiritual Warfare in Mission and Ministry

Stephen A. Seamands

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the place of spiritual warfare in mission and ministry. During the course topics such as the warfare perspective in scripture; the role of spiritual warfare in Christian history; warfare, worldview, and world religions; spiritual warfare in contemporary world mission; and the practice of ground level and strategic level spiritual warfare will be discussed. A wide variety of teaching methods (lectures, group discussion, videos, guest speakers, etc) will be used during class sessions.
CO 601 Counseling Theories and Techniques

Javier Sierra

Course Objectives: In this course, we will be surveying classical and contemporary theories of counseling. We will review the major traditions within the psychodynamic, humanistic and behavioral fields because these three broad bases provide the fundamental frameworks from which most theories derive. We will also begin the process of appraising these traditions from a Christian perspective, with special emphasis on understanding how theology influences and determines our use of these secular theories of counseling. We will consider several topics -- the integration of theology and psychology, assumptions about human nature and theories of personality, the development of dysfunction and other problems, the nature of change, techniques and application of each theory, and ethical issues related to the practice of counseling.