MC535/635: The Emerging Church in the 21^st Century (4 units)

Eddie Gibbs, Donald A. McGavran Professor of Church Growth
Ryan Bolger, Assistant Professor of Church in Contemporary Culture
Winter 2006 Pasadena

DESCRIPTION:

This seminar seeks to identify the key characteristics of modern and postmodern contexts and to address the challenges each presents to the local church. The "modern" context refers to the self-confident, highly secular, rationalistic and humanistic worldview, whereas the "postmodern" reflects the collapse of the Enlightenment paradigm and abandonment of the search for objective truth and meaning, and its replacement by a therapeutic and survival mentality, in a decentralized world of competing interests.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Appreciate the nature of the changing cultural context and spiritual climate in which the church seeks to bear witness in the Western world and beyond.
• Understand the need for the church to be restructured as missional congregations in postmodern culture.
• Provide practical guidelines to help the student to address issues relating to worship, spirituality and witness as the church addresses the post-Christendom and neo-pagan cultural context.
• Provide practical guidelines to lead the church to a more authentic and robust discipleship in order to become develop missional communities.

COURSE FORMAT: This course meets daily for two weeks. Pre-reading is required. The course utilizes lectures, discussions, interaction, small group work, blogs, wikis, and podcasts.

REQUIRED READING: (Choose from any of the following to make up at least 1,000 pages for 500 level course)

Gibbs and Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2005.
Frost and Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003.

Jamieson, Alan. A Churchless Faith, Pilgrim Press, 2002.
Pagitt, Doug. Church Reimagined, The Spiritual Formation of People in Communities of Faith. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005.
Taylor, Steve. The Out of Bounds Church? Learning to Create a Community of Faith in a Culture of Change. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Baker, Jonny. Alternative Worship.
Barna, George. Revolutions.
Burke, Spencer. Making Sense of Church.
Carson, D.A. Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church.
McLaren, Brian. New Kind of Christian. 2001. Jossey Bass.
Moynagh, Michael. Emerging Church, Intro.
Russinger, Greg, ed. Practitioners: Voices within the Emerging Church.
Smith, R. Scott. Truth and the New Kind of Christian: The Emerging Effect of Postmodernism in the Church. Crossway Books, 2005.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Write a 2500 word paper in which the first part identifies the key features of the cultural context and the challenges it poses for the church, and the second identifies the key transition points for the church, describing where the church is currently in relation to each and what, why, and how transitions will need to be made.
2. Observe, describe and analyze your experience at two ‘postmodern’ churches. Each of these reports will be 2500 words in length.
Th.M. Students will be required to add 1250 words to assignment #1 demonstrating an ability to critique and conceptualize. In addition, they will need to observe, describe and analyze one additional church (2500 words).
3. Students will create a blog reporting on their experiences with emerging churches as well as their spiritual activities for the quarter. They will also participate in a class ‘wiki’ and a podcast.

PREREQUISITES: None

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective. Meets SOT requirement for GLBL in MAT program.

FINAL EXAM: None

Last Date Edited: Sept. 22, 2005