MT522: Local Congregation as Mission (4 units)

Charles Van Engen, Arthur F. Glasser Professor of Biblical Theology of Mission
Summer 2005 Pasadena

DESCRIPTION:

This course looks at the church biblically, theologically, and missiologically and also examines the local church sociologically and organizationally in its witness and mission in the world. The purpose of the course is to stimulate reflection and creativity in seeking means by which the church we profess to believe may in fact be also the church we strive to build in the world. Participants will be asked to think creatively concerning the church from both sociological and theological points of view, considering both the minimal center of what may be called "Church," and the maximal limits of what may genuinely be included as legitimate arenas of "Church" life.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

· Ability to create and implement a missiologically-informed philosophy/theology of ministry for a local church.

· Ability to create and implement a missional strategic plan for the mission of a local church locally and globally.

COURSE FORMAT:

The class hours will build on the students' reading, combined with class lectures and group discussion seeking to stimulate the participants for reflection and creative application of their reading, ministry experience, and re-conceptualization of the mission of the local congregation, searching for ways to build missionary churches in the student's particular contexts.

REQUIRED READING: If you have previously read any of the required texts, please select an alternative text from the recommended reading list or a book approved by the faculty member.

1. Charles Van Engen. God's Missionary People. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1991.

2. Choose to read ANY ONE of the basic monographs in ecclesiology, a partial list of which is found below.

Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics. Either IV/2, or IV/3, 1 or IV/3,2. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1962.
Berkouwer, G.C. The Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Communion of Saints. New York: Harper & Row, 1960.
Kung, Hans. The Church. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1967.
Minear, Paul. Images of the Church in the New Testament. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960.
Moltmann, Jurgen. The Church in the Power of the Holy Spirit. New York: Harper & Row, 1977.
Newbigin, Lesslie. The Household of God. London: SCM, 1953.
Segundo, Juan Luis. The Community Called Church. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1973.
Snyder, Howard. Liberating the Church. Downers Grove: IVP, 1983.
Sobrino, Jon. The True Church and the Poor. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1984.
Watson, David. I Believe in the Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.

3. Choose to read ANY THREE of the following:

Allen, Roland. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes Which Hinder It. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962.
Callahan, Kennon. Effective Church Leadership: Building on the Twelve Keys. N.Y.: Harper & Row, 1990.
Clapp, Rodney. A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society. Downers Grove: IVP, 1996.
De Pree, Max. Leadership Jazz. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
Easum, William. Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers: Ministry Anytime, Anywhere, by Anyone. Nashville: Abingdon, 1995.
Gibbs, Eddie. Church Next: Quantum Changes in How We Do Ministry. Downers Grove: IVP, 2000.
Guder, Darrell L. ed. Missional Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.
Hadaway, C. Kirk, Stuart A. Wright, and Francis Dubose. Home Cell Groups and House Churches. Nashville: Broadman, 1987.
Hunter III, George G. Church for the Unchurched. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.
Malphurs, Aubrey. Planting Growing Churches for the 21^st Century. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.
Mannoia, Kevin. Church Planting: The Next Generation. Indianapolis: Light and Life Publ., 1994.
Mead, Loren. The Once and Future Church: Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier. N.Y.: The Alban Institute, 1991.
Nessan, Craig L. Beyond Maintenance to Mission: A Theology of the Congregation. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999.
Ogden, Greg. The New Reformation: Returning the Ministry to the People of God. G.R.: Zondervan, 1990.
Schaller, Lyle E. Discontinuity and Hope: Radical Change and the Path to the Future. Nashville: Abingdon, 1999.
Schaller, Lyle E. The New Reformation: Tomorrow Arrived Yesterday. Nashville: Abingdon, 1995.
Snyder, Howard. Models of the Kingdom. Nashville: Abingdon, 1991.

ASSIGNMENTS:

· Five book reviews, following the format given in the syllabus.
· A 15-20 page typed, double-spaced paper. The paper will develop one primary theme in accord with the student's interest and congregational mission context. This is due on the Friday of exam week, at the end of the quarter. (Students registered for MT622 are required to read two extra books, write the book reviews that go with them, and write a minimum of 5 more pages in terms of the length of their papers, with more in-depth analysis and an larger bibliography. Students registered for MT722 will read two additional books, one from section 2 and one from section 3, and write a 25-30 page paper from a more theoretical and less contextual standpoint, related to their overall doctoral program.) No grade is given unless work is complete.

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective in SIS. Meets Min 8 requirement in M.Div. program and globalization requirement in the MAT program. Meets GLBL requirement for Master of Arts in Worship, Theology, and the Arts.

FINAL EXAM: None.

Last Date Edited: March 24, 2005