EM 850 Biblical, Theological Ministry in the Multicultural Context (3 credit hours) January 2015

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1 Soong-Chan Rah, ThM, DMin Milton B. Engebretson Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism The mission of Houston Graduate School of Theology is empowering spiritual leadership through the intellectual, spiritual, and vocational development of men and women in order to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. EM 850 Biblical, Theological Ministry in the Multicultural Context (3 credit hours) January 2015 Required EM 850 Texts: Cannon, Mae Elise, Lisa Sharon Harper, Troy Jackson, and Soong-Chan Rah. Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, Rah, Soong-Chan. The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church. Chicago: Moody Press, Various articles and chapters (available as handouts on the first day of class): Holland, Joe, and Peter Henriot. Social Analysis. Orbis, (Introduction and Appendix) Rah, Soong-Chan. Commentary on Lamentations. IVP Books, exp (Excerpts) Wells, Sam. Improvisation. Brazos, (Introduction) Course Description: This course attempts to develop the practice of biblical theological reflection that addresses our contemporary context. Given the dramatic changes in North American society and the church in the United States, there is an increased need for an understanding of the historical context, sociological reality, and philosophical influences that shape the contemporary world and the place of evangelical Christianity in that world. This course will also seek to develop a biblical, theological ecclesiology with a relevant application to practical ministry. Students will explore the process of socio-cultural exegesis, engage in biblical, theological reflection, and initiate the practice of developing culturally intelligent communities for effective multicultural ministry Student Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this course, students will 1. Analyze the current demographics and social-cultural realities of Global Christianity and the Western Christian Church. 2. Develop biblical and theological frameworks and foundations that shape their understanding of ministry practices. 3. Explore ways of developing cultural intelligence as an aspect of pastoral identity and spiritual formation necessary for cross-cultural ministry. 4. Develop a plan of action and pastoral practices for ministering cross-culturally in a specific geographic and cultural setting.

2 Pre-seminar Assignment: Due Wednesday, January 14, Read The Next Evangelicalism and prepare a 2-page (500 words) book reflection (See Appendix I for the format) (10 points max). 2. Read Many Colors and prepare a 2-page (500 words) book reflection (See Appendix I for the format) (10 points max). 3. Listen to the four pre-course lectures (plus a course introduction lecture) offered online to replace classes on Tuesday. - Class Introduction - Sinful Social Structures - Church and Culture - Historical Context of Evangelicalism On-site Course Schedule: Full attendance and participation are expected (10 points max). WEDNESDAY The Next Evangelicalism (Acts 15) Biblical Reflections on Multi-Cultural Ministry Biblical Reflections on Justice Ministry (Acts 2) THURSDAY The Practice of the Theological Interpretation of Scripture The Necessity of Lament The Genre of Lament Lamentations in Context Post-seminar Assignments: Due March 15, Write TWO 3- to 4-page ( word) blog entries on two different issues or topics raised in the online or on-site lectures. (See Appendix II for the format) (10 points each max 20 max points total). 2. Read additional texts as needed for your final paper. You may draw from your bibliography or submit a list of texts to your professor. 3. Write an 18- to 20-page (5000 words) final research paper (See Appendix III for the format) (50 points max): Course Grading Scale: A represents excellent work in all categories (fulfillment of assignment, writing and formatting, and doctoral level content); B represents good work in all categories; anything below a B- is considered below doctoral level. A C A C B C B D 0 B F 0 2

3 Policies: Following are official HGST academic policies A. Turnitin.com 1. All written assignments are subject to required submission to to check for originality and style. The assignments that are required for submission will be described in the syllabus. 2. Students will create an account at After doing so, the student will join the course page with the code and password supplied by the instructor. A list of assignments and due dates will be available on the course page. 3. Students will submit assignments by the due date and time and may be required to submit the assignments in a hard copy format. B. Electronic Equipment Usage in Classrooms It is expected that students will use technology (cell phones, laptop computers, ipads, etc.) during classes only for the purposes of class work. Therefore, students should turn off cell phones and refrain from texting and using laptop computers during classes except for the purposes of taking notes or doing research specifically authorized by the course instructor. Students who have emergency needs not covered by this policy must ask for an exception from the course instructor. C. Plagiarism Plagiarism is presenting the work of another person as one s own without giving proper credit for the use of the information. Students must not quote or paraphrase books, articles, essays, or Internet sites without giving proper credit to the author(s). Students should guard against plagiarism by crediting the original author through use of proper citations. Internet plagiarism is a particularly easy and tempting form of intellectual theft. Cutting and pasting sentences and paragraphs from the Internet without citations is plagiarism. Failure to cite Internet sources is plagiarism. Any student who is found guilty of plagiarism is subject to a range of consequences as outlined below. 1. If a faculty member suspects plagiarism, the instructor will investigate. If suspicions are confirmed, the faculty member will present the evidence to the Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program as a record of the offense. If the Director concurs with the allegations, the following procedures should be implemented as applicable: a. The faculty member may discuss the offense with the student following consultation with the Direction, but the student will meet with the Director. b. For a first offense, the faculty member, in consultation with the Director, may give opportunity for a rewrite of the assignment or may assign a grade of zero for the plagiarized assignment. c. For a particularly egregious case of plagiarism on a major assignment, the consequences could result in automatic failure of the course. 2. The student may appeal the above-mentioned decisions of the faculty member in writing to the Chief Academic Officer. 3. The second confirmed offense will result in expulsion from school. The student will be notified by a letter from the Chief Academic Officer. His or her only opportunity for appeal will be to the President in writing. The President s decision will be final. 3

4 D. Library Usage A student s ability to get the most out of library resources will enhance the possibility of earning a high grade in this class. Therefore, students should consider using, in addition to the HGST library, one or more of the following libraries. Houston Public Library Texas residents can obtain a free Houston Public Library card. Library cardholders have access to all of the books in the library system as well as the use of free interlibrary loans, meaning that HPL cardholders can borrow almost any book available. Cardholders can use the library s website, to search the catalog and manage interlibrary loans. The website also contains links to WorldCat and other online databases that will enhance your research. The HPL location that is closest to HGST, the Collier Regional Branch ( ), is located at 6200 Pinemont, which is less than three miles from campus. A better option would be the newly expanded and renovated Central Library ( ), which is located downtown at 500 McKinney. In addition, HPL has many other locations. The HGST library can give you an application for an HPL library card, or you can print the application form from their website. Fondren Library at Rice University The Fondren Library ( ) is located at 6100 Main. Please visit for more information. The procedure for borrowing books at the Fondren Library is, first, go to the online catalog [ to search for available books; second, go to the HGST library and fill out a form, signed by HGST library personnel, to take with you to the Fondren Library for each book; third, retrieve the book(s) yourself; fourth, take the book(s) and the signed form to the circulation desk to complete checkout (return the yellow copy to the HGST library; when the book(s) are returned to the Fondren Library, they will indicate so on the pink and gold copies; return the pink copy to the HGST Library and keep the gold copy for your records). Cardinal Beran Library at St. Mary s Seminary the home of an extensive theological library, St. Mary s Seminary ( ) is located at 9845 Memorial Drive, only 4.6 miles from HGST. For more information, please visit The Doherty Library on the main campus of University of St. Thomas is also an option. Library of the Presbytery of the New Covenant as an HGST student you have borrowing privileges at this library located at 1110 Lovett Blvd, Houston. To search their online catalogue, go to Other options include Harris County Public Library ( Lanier Theological Library ( and the libraries at the University of Houston and Houston Baptist University. 4 Doctor of Ministry Policies: (find the full listing of DMin Policies in the HGST Academic Catalog, p. 28ff) A. Assignments Students in the DMin program will read, research, study, experience, and evaluate applied theology and personal spiritual concepts. This degree promotes research on vital issues affecting the quality of life in faith communities as well as the development of new approaches, strategies,

5 and styles of ministry in a wide variety of institutional and cultural settings. The resulting learning process equips the student for critical evaluation in the context and practice of ministry and fosters an integration of theory and effective pastoral practice with a view toward transforming communities. Pre-seminar assignments are due no later than the course start date. Students are encouraged, however, to bring all written assignments the first day of the seminar week. Students, with missing pre-seminar assignments, may be dropped from those sections of the seminar, may not be permitted to attend those sections, and may receive a failing grade for those sections. Students should expect approximately 2,000 pages of reading each semester. It is expected that the books will be acquired and that the reading assignments will be completed in order that candidates may be exposed to the material prior to the seminar. Post-seminar written assignments are to be submitted within ninety days after the session ends, at prescribed deadlines. Assignments should be ed directly to professors on or before the due date. Competence will be demonstrated through creative projects and papers, which apply professional experience in connection with course content. These assignments will demonstrate an understanding of the writing skills required for the doctoral level and of the subject matter, bibliography, theory, and methodology covered in the seminar. Written work will follow the prescribed HGST/Turabian style and should meet the deadlines required in each course syllabus. Grades will reflect the meeting of these criteria as well as the content. Students are encouraged to copies of completed assignments to the Director and to keep hard copies and external digital copies on file to protect work from being lost due to a computer malfunction. Graded papers are usually available for pick up at the following seminar unless they are returned via . Written assignments for Project and Practicum completion are described and delineated in the Project and Practicum Manual, which is available via the website. The Manual also includes deadlines for Project and Practicum Report completion and all pre-graduation deadlines. B. Extensions and Incomplete Grade Policy Seminar assignments are to be completed and mailed or ed on or before the established due date. However, upon receiving a completed Extension Request Form and payment of $50 per professor, a thirty-day extension (one for each professor) may be granted by the DMin Office. The extension request should be received before the original due date. The professor shall reduce the grade by at least one-half letter grade. Work postmarked after the due date or the one-time thirty-day extension due date is subject to a minimum one letter grade reduction. No class work will be accepted after the close of the semester (except for previously granted 30-day extensions), a grade of F will be given, and the semester will have to be repeated for credit. The student will be placed on Academic Probation at that time until a cumulative GPA of no less than a B average is earned during the next semester. The student will be given one opportunity to make up a failed seminar section, either the next time it is offered or through make-up work, to receive an acceptable grade and raise the overall GPA to an acceptable score. In order for the GPA to move to an acceptable score, the Academic Office may replace the F with an NCF so that the make-up work will count appropriately. If the student does not make up the section during the timeframe noted above, the grade will be 5

6 6 remain an F, the failing grade will appear on his or her transcript, Academic Stop will go into effect, and the student s file will be sent to the DMin Oversight Committee with recommended action. Notes for Writing Assignments: All writing assignments should conform to Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 8th Edition. This includes matters of style and format. The instructor requires the use of footnotes for documentation when more than one resource is cited. The student should number pages. According to Turabian, page numbers should be in the upper right hand corner, except on pages with major headings (titles). Margins should be one inch on all four sides, except where major headings (titles) require a two-inch top margin. All students should utilize 12-point Times New Roman font throughout. The instructor prefers that the student not use presentation or report binders or folders. She prefers submission of papers with staples or binder clips. Critical, or formal, writing differs from colloquial writing or spoken English at several points. The student should note the following guidelines for critical writing. The instructor expects students to follow these guidelines strictly for academic-style assignments. Failure to do so will be penalized. o Avoid 1st or 2nd person references ( I, we, or you ). Keep the written projects objective and professional. Remember that imperative forms are second person. o Never use contractions. o Avoid passive voice construction (i.e., The student should write God chose Joshua rather than Joshua was chosen by God. ). Some exceptions are necessary, but limiting the use of passive voice is a good policy. o Be sure that number and tense always agree (i.e., Do not write in one place that Brueggemann argues... and at another place Brueggemann argued... ). Subject-verb agreement is imperative. o Spellcheck! Spellcheck! Spellcheck! Grammar check works as well! o Pronouns should have clear antecedents. Avoiding it is and there is in the paper removes much of the ambiguity of pronoun usage. o Sentence fragments are unacceptable. Every sentence must have a subject and a predicate.

7 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY Achebe, Chinua. No Longer at Ease. Heinemann Educational Books, Allen, Leslie. A Liturgy of Grief. Baker Academic, Ammerman, Nancy, Jackson Carroll, Carl Dudley, William McKinney, editors. Studying Congregations. Abingdon, Berger, Peter, and Thomas Luckmann. The Social Construction of Reality. Anchor, Berlin, Adele. Lamentations: A Commentary. Westminster/John Knox, Bevans, Stephen. Models of Contextual Theology. Orbis, Billman, Kathleen, and Daniel Migliore. Rachel s Cry. United Church Press, Boggs, Grace Lee. Living for Change. Univeristy of Minnesota Press, Brock, Rita Nakashima, and Rebecca Ann Parker. Saving Paradise. Beacon, Brown, Sally, and Patrick Miller. Lament. Westminster John Knox, Brueggemann, Walter. Peace. Chalice Press, The Prophetic Imagination. Fortress Press, Carter, Craig. Rethinking Christ and Culture. Brazos, Carter, J. Kameron. Race: A Theological Account. Oxford, Cha, Peter, S. Steve Kang, and Helen Lee. Growing Healthy Asian-American Churches. IVP Books, DeYoung Curtiss, Michael Emerson, George Yancey, and Karen Chai Kim. United by Faith. Oxford, DuBois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. Fawcett Premier Book, Emerson, Michael, and Christian Smith. Divided by Faith. Oxford, Endo, Shusaku. A Life of Jesus. Paulist Press, Escobar, Samuel. The New Global Mission. IVP Books, 2003.

8 8 Frost, Michael, and Alan Hirsch. The Shaping of Things to Come. Hendrickson Publishers, Hall, Doug and Judy. The Cat and the Toaster. Wipf and Stock, Harasta, Eva, and Brian Brock. Evoking Lament. T&T Clark, Heltzel, Peter. Jesus and Justice. Yale, Holland, Joe, and Peter Henriot. Social Analysis. Orbis, Jenkins, Phillip. The Next Christendom. Oxford, Jennings, Willie. The Christian Imagination. Yale University Press, Kabri, Nazli. Becoming Asian American. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Katongole, Emmanuel. A Mirror to the Church. Zondervan, The Sacrifice of Africa. Eerdmans, Ladd, George Eldon. The Gospel of the Kingdom. Eerdmans Publishing, Linthicum, Robert. City of God, City of Satan: A Biblical Theology of the Urban Church. Zondervan, Metzger, Paul. Consuming Jesus. Eerdmans, Meyers, Eleanor Scott, ed. Envisioning the New City. Westminster/John Knox Press, Newbigin, Leslie. The Gospel in Pluralist Society. Eerdmans, Niebuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture. Harper & Row Publishers, O Connor, Kathleen. Lamentations and the Tears of the World. Orbis, Owens, Marcia, and Samuel Wells. Living Without Enemies. InterVarsity Press, Park, Andrew. The Wounded Heart of God. Abingdon Press, Parry, Robin A., and Heath Thomas, editors. Great is Thy Faithfulness? Pickwick, Rothenberg, Paula. White Privilege. Worth Publishers, Scazzero, Peter. The Emotionally Healthy Church. Zondervan, 2003.

9 9 Simson, Wolfgang. Houses That Changed the World. OM Publishing, Smock, Kristina. Democracy in Action. Columbia University Press, Stassen, Glen, and David Gushee. Kingdom Ethics. IVP Books, Tatum, Beverly Daniel. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Basic Books, Tuan, Mia. Forever Foreigner or Honorary Whites? Rutgers University Press, Tokunaga, Paul. Invitation to Lead. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, Twiss, Richard. One Church Many Tribes. Regal Books, Villafañe, Eldin. The Liberating Spirit. Eerdmans, Warner, Stephen, and Judith Wittner, editors. Gatherings in Diaspora. Temple University Press, Walls, Andrew. The Missionary Movement in Christian History. Orbis Books, The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History. Orbis Books, Wells, Sam. Improvisation. Brazos, Westermann, Claus. Praise and Lament in the Psalms. John Knox Press, Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Lament for a Son. Eerdmans, Woodley, Randy. Shalom and the Community of Creation. Eerdmans, 2012.

10 10 GRADING RUBRICS for EM850 (DMin course for Prof. Soong-Chan Rah) Houston Graduate School of Theology APPENDIX I FORMAT FOR BOOK REFLECTIONS Use this format for the book reflections on The Next Evangelicalism and Many Colors. Place your name and in the upper right-hand corner of the first page. Do not make a separate cover page. Paper should be about 500 words, double-spaced and use standard margins. (10 points max) o Note the Author; Title; Publisher; and Date of the book (1 point) o List the percentage of the book completed by the due date (1 point) o o o State the thesis of the book (2 points) Select an idea or concept from the reading that seemed especially significant and respond in your own words. Identify concept/idea (2 points) Give a critique/reflection/analysis on the concept (2 points) Practically apply this concept in a local church setting (2 points) What is a Thesis? A thesis statement is a ONE sentence claim usually included somewhere in the introduction or the opening section of a book or a paper. This claim is the underlying theme that the author (either yourself if you are writing or another if you are reviewing someone else s work) wishes to support throughout the writing. It is what is demonstrated throughout the work. You should be able to state the thesis statement bluntly and clearly. For example The thesis of this book is that Western worldview assumptions have reduced Scripture to a book of propositional truths rather than relational redemption and wholeness through the mission of God. A thesis statement is not the same as the purpose of the writing. Terms such as understand, explore, investigate, examine, look into indicate statements of purpose, and are therefore not thesis statements. For example, This book investigates the influence of contemporary music upon styles of evangelical worship would be a purpose rather than a thesis statement. The thesis is a statement that stands on its own and is waiting to be proven by the remainder of the writing such as, The thesis of this article is that the recent inclusion of ethnic minority churches has caused the Evangelical Covenant denomination to be among the fastest growing in North America. It is an important skill to be able to find the purpose statement in someone else s writing as well as to be able to clearly state a thesis statement in your own work.

11 11 APPENDIX II BLOG POST ASSIGNMENTS Write TWO 750- to 1000-word blog entries on two different issues or topics raised in the online or on-site lectures (10 points each max 20 max points total). Grading Rubric: - Provides an adequate summary introduction and background analysis on the topic under discussion (3 points) - Provides accessible, yet thoughtful theological insight on the subject matter (3 points) - Provides insight into practical application for your ministry context (3 points) - The blog post is well-written and interesting (1 points) APPENDIX III FINAL PAPER Write a 5000-word final research paper on your theology of culturally intelligent ministry for your contemporary ministry context (50 points max). The final paper should summarize key insights from the course material (lectures, readings, media, supplemental reading). The paper should demonstrate the following competencies: the ability to describe your ministry context using socio-cultural analytical tools offered in the course the ability to develop and articulate a contextualized theology applicable to your specific ministry context employing key biblical passages and theological categories. the ability to apply categories of ethical, ministry and leadership theology towards contextualized ministry practices.