MT528: Jesus the Missionary (4 units)

Wilbert R. Shenk, Professor of Mission History and Contemporary Culture
Ryan Bolger, Assistant Professor of Church in Contemporary Culture
Winter 2005 Pasadena

DESCRIPTION:

Mission models derive from many sources; but few, if any, are based directly on the life of Jesus. The mission of Jesus gives us access to God’s mission to humanity, the missio Dei, because Jesus is the primary exemplar of that mission. This course focuses on the multiple facets of Jesus’ witness to the reign of God in first-century Palestine. The mission of Jesus does not fall prey to the dualisms inherent in modern mission, e.g., either-or emphasis on the individual versus structure or mind versus body. This course explores Jesus’ engagement of his context and his relation to the powers and offers the student a faithful pattern of missional engagement that can serve as a model for mission today.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Ability to exegete Jesus’ missional response to his context.
• Appreciation of the centrality of the reign of God for mission.
• Understanding of how the mission of Jesus might serve as a model for cultural engagement today.

COURSE FORMAT: Students will meet two times a week. Lectures and special presentations will examine key themes and characteristics of Jesus as missionary.

REQUIRED READING:

Costas, Orlando. 1989. Liberating News: A Theology of Contextual Evangelization. Eerdmans.
Darrell L. Guder. 1999. The Incarnation and the Church’s Witness. Trinity Press Internatiional.
Wilbert R. Shenk, ed. 1993. The Transfiguration of Mission. Herald Press.
John Howard Yoder. 1994. The Politics of Jesus. Eerdmans.
And one of the following:
Richard A. Horsley and Neil Asher Silberman. 1997. The Message and the Kingdom: How Jesus and Paul Ignited a
Revolution and Transformed the Ancient World. Fortress Press.
Marianne Sawicki. 2000. Crossing Galilee: Architectures of Contact in the Occupied Land of Jesus. Trinity Press Int.
And one of the following (Th. M students read two):
Ched Myers. 1988. Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus. Orbis Books.
Glen H. Stassen and David P. Gushee. 2003. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. IVP.
N.T. Wright. 1996. Jesus and the Victory of God. Fortress Press.

RECOMMENDED READING (available on Reserve Shelf):

Michael L. Budde and Robert W. Brimlow. 2000. The Church as Counterculture. SUNY Press.
Gerard Lohfink. 1984. Jesus and Community: The Social Dimension of the Christian Faith. Fortress Press.
James C. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. Yale University Press.
Wolfgang Stegemann, Bruce J. Malina, & Gerd Theissen. The Social Setting of the Gospels. Fortress Press.
David Toole. 1998. Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo, Theological Reflections on Nihilism, Tragedy, and Apocalypse.
Westview
John Howard Yoder. 1992. Body Politics. Discipleship Resources.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Six book reviews (see syllabus for instructions).
2. A 3,000-word research paper on a theme or issue relevant to your own experience or intended future ministry.
Th.M. students: Read an additional book (see above) and write a 4,000-word paper. This should demonstrate greater critical engagement with the literature covered and awareness of concepts and theories in the fields covered in the course.

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective.

FINAL EXAM: None.

Last Date Edited: September 13, 2004