Diploma: Foundations in Missional Training and Church Leadership

Transcription

1 Diploma: Foundations in Missional Training and Church Leadership BIBLE INTERPRETATION COURSE This is the first of eight courses being offered as part of the Diploma in Foundations of Missional Ministry & Church Leadership." This Diploma program is being offered in partnership with FORGE Canada. The training is prepared to serve the Diaspora leader who is seeking to be credentialed within a partner denomination. FACILITATOR: Dr. Michael Krause I. COURSE DESCRIPTION We all discover meaning in the words of the Bible. Even though most of it was written more than 2000 years ago to people who had different languages and cultures than we do, it still speaks to us today. This process of discovering what the text is really saying in its original context is called exegesis. Interpreting what that text means to us is called hermeneutics. This course is designed to help students read and study the Bible with greater understanding by teaching them the basics of good interpretation for the various types of literature (genres) that make up the Bible. Once we have understood the text and discerned its meaning we also need to communicate it to others. This course will also incorporate exercises that outline the text to help find the main idea of passage so that it can be taught and preached more effectively. The course is based on the book How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (written by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart). It will incorporate online audio lectures by one of the authors (Stuart) from the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary Foundations of the Faith Website. II. LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon completion of this course, you should be able to acquire a good knowledge of, and/or skills in the following: 1. The hermeneutical framework: how to progress from exegesis (what the text meant) to exposition (what it means to the Christian Church at large) and on to appropriation (what it means to individual members of the faith community). 2. The principles of good exegesis (or in the words of Randolph Tate: The World behind the Text ). 3. The major literary genres of the Old and New Testaments and how an understanding of each genre impacts interpretation (sometimes called the first horizon or The World of the Text ). 4. The role of our culture and current context in biblical interpretation (sometimes called the second horizon or The World in front of the Text ). 5. Models for biblical interpretation 6. The principles of proper appropriation and application

2 III. COURSE REQUIREMENTS A. REQUIRED TEXTS Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, In addition, each student must have access to at least two modern translations of the Bible, preferably employing different translation techniques. For example, students may choose one of the following dynamic translations: NIVI, NIV, NEB, GNB; and one of the following formal translations: NRSV, RSV, NASB, NKJV. B. REQUIRED ONLINE LEARNING Dimensions of the Faith course at the Ockenga Institute at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary called Studying the Bible for All Its Worth. Students must listen to at least ten of twelve online lectures and fill out the accompanying study guides. C. SUPPLEMENTARY / RECOMMENDED READING: Tate, W. Randolph. Biblical Interpretation: An Integrated Approach. 3rd ed. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson, Walter C. Kaiser, J. Toward an Exegetical Theology. Biblical Exegesis for Preaching and Teaching. Grand Rapids: Baker, Sproul, R. C. Knowing Scripture. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Books, 2009 D. ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING 1. Online lectures and study guides 30% Due: Beginning of each class. Each student needs to listen to one online lecture each week for nine weeks (plus listen to the introductory lecture before the course starts for a total of ten lectures) and fill out the answers to the PDF study guides provided for each lecture. This lecture series is based on our required text (How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth) and presented by the author Dr. Douglas Stuart. The course is provided by the Ockenga Institute at the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary website. Instructions for accessing the lectures are at the bottom of the page. 2. Class Participation 20% Because the Foundations of Missional Ministry course incorporates a cohort learning style, and because the class only meets 5 times, it is crucial that students attend and participate in all classes. Any class missed reduces the participation mark by 50% (i.e. 10% of total mark). Two missed classes results in a fail. 3. Preparing and presenting a Sermon or Bible Study a. Exegetical/Homiletic Outline 15% Due: Nov. 13 Prepare an exegetical outline (block diagram) of a pericope of scripture and include a possible homiletical outline.

3 b. Expositional Outline 20% Due: Nov. 25 Prepare an exposition of your passage (pericope). Cover all three levels of the hermeneutical framework: What it meant in the original context, what it means to the Christian church at large and what it means to you as a contemporary interpreter/reader. This will require consulting other resources and commentaries. c. Class Presentation 15% Due: Dec 9 Present you exposition as a 10-minute sermon or teaching to the rest of the class. The rest of the class will give feedback and analysis. Assignment Due Date Percentage Online Lectures/Study Guides Each class 10 x 3 = 30% Class Participation Each Class 20% Exegetical/Homiletic Outline Nov 13 15% Expositional Outline Nov 25 20% Class Presentation Dec 9 15% Total Grade 100% E. GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN WORK Students should consult the current Academic Calendar for academic polices on Academic Honesty, Gender Inclusive Language in Written Assignments, Late Papers and Extensions, Return of Assignments, and Grading System. The Academic Calendar is posted at IV. COURSE SCHEDULE (40 hours total course time) CLASS DATES: Thursdays (7:00-10:00pm): Oct. 14, 28, Nov. 25, Dec. 10 (12 hours) Saturdays (9:00am-3:00pm): Nov. 13 (6 hours) Flexible: Online Lectures (10 hours), individual study/reading time (12 hours) Oct 14 Principles of Biblical Interpretation: From What it Meant to What It Means; the Merging of the Two Horizons; Basic Tools and Methods of Biblical Interpretation External Shaping Forces of the Reader Perspective, Basic Block Diagrams. Assignments Due: Listen to The Need to Interpret (online lecture#1) and Hermeneutics (online lecture # 4) and submit lecture study notes Oct 28 Interpreting the OT: Narratives, Wisdom Literature, Poetic Literature Introduction to Narratology; Narrative Reading Strategies; Characterization of Biblical Characters; Demonstration of Worked-out Examples, Guidelines for Interpretation; Reading/Interpretive Strategies for Job and Ecclesiastes, the Use of Parallelism, Imagery and Metaphor and other literary forms; Assignments Due: Listen to online lectures # 5 & 10 and submit study notes

4 Nov 13 Interpretation of NT Texts: Epistles; Synoptics; Interpreting Prophetic Literature and Apocalyptic Literature, Block Diagrams, Homiletical Outlines Assignments Due: Exegetical/Homiletic Outline Assignment and Listen to online lectures # 3, 6 & 7 and submit study notes. Nov 25 Principles of Appropriation: From What It meant to What It Means to Us (the Christian Church at Large) and What it means to me as a member of the faith community, Appropriating the biblical message to the postmodern human and ecclesiastical life; A 2- step appropriation model: a) re-living; b) re-expression, Newer Models of Interpretation Assignments Due: Expositional Outline Assignment; listen to online lectures # 8 & 9; submit study notes. Dec 8: Class Presentations Assignments Due: Hard copy of class presentation; listen to one of the remaining online lectures (i.e. # 11, 12, or 13) and submit study notes. ACCESSING THE ONLINE LECTURES AND STUDY GUIDES Lectures for this course provided by the Ockenga Institutes at the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary website. The lectures are by one of the authors of the required text (Dr. Douglas Stuart). In the institute is an online school called "Dimensions of the Faith." You need to register to look at all the courses (but it is free). To register go to this website: ( When you get to that page, there is a box on the right hand side of the page that asks for your and password (don't enter anything there now). Below that, click on where it says "Create an Account," and then fill in your profile information and click "submit" at the bottom of the page. PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR USER NAME AND PASSWORD! Once you click, it will take you to new page where you can see another box on the right that says "Welcome to Dimensions, (your first name)." Under that are a few options. Click on "Start Course" and it will allow you to choose which course you want to take. There will be a course called "Studying the Bible for All It's Worth." Click on that and it will show you the list of lessons with study guides and audio lectures. Click on download to download a PDF file of the study notes. These are the notes that you fill in and hand in for your assignments. Click on listen to listen to one of the lectures. Note: you should download the notes before you listen to the lecture.

5 Core Values The four key deliverables of ethos are: Character Formation (facilitated by mentoring, peer learning, as well as an emphasis on spiritual formation) Community Life (facilitated by a community of leaders dynamic within the cohort) Competency Development (through assessing, coaching, and consulting leaders as they form missional communities) Course Instruction (well... through courses the real job here is to facilitate for a missional way of thinking about life in general and the community life of disciples in particular) A Community of Leaders As leaders follow God into His mission, they can often feel disconnected and even lonely. Developing missional communities that are focused on neighbourhood transformation and are designed for multiplication can be especially isolating, as many existing churches and church plants are following other ministry models. At its core, an ethos cohort is an answer to this challenge. We are convinced that leaders in missional communities need each other. We need to encourage, comfort, pray for, and challenge one another. There are lessons that God has to teach us in the company of other leaders. Leaders in mission need to engage in mission. Mission cannot be delegated; it must be modeled. It is not a task to be accomplished, as much as it is a way of life lived out of a heart that is over-flowing with God s love. But who ensures that the leader is modeling a life of Spirit-directed and empowered mission? Who will hold a leader accountable for the integrity of his character, for the vibrancy of his relationship with Jesus, or for the faithfulness of his action? Who will listen to a leader s heartache or gently restore her when she has failed? Who will rebuke a leader s pride or challenge a leader s faulty thinking? Leaders need community. Leaders need one another. Ethos is a community for missional leaders who know they need one another. Life in Ethos - A Rule of Life Over the winter months in 2011, the cohort will develop a Rule of Life that will guide them both individually and as a community. While the specifics of this Rule are best determined by the cohort with some facilitation, its content should spur the cohort on towards leadership that is focused on starting missional communities that will transform communities and multiply.