Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Hamilton PR/MC 626: The Preacher in Modern Literature and Film: The Preacher as Person Syllabus: June 2009

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1 Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Hamilton PR/MC 626: The Preacher in Modern Literature and Film: The Preacher as Person Syllabus: June 2009 Dr. Scott M. Gibson, Professor 344 Academic Center Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Hamilton Campus Office Hours by Appointment (978) M-T-W-Th 9-12; 1:00-3:00; 7-9; F 9-12 I. Course Description This course deals with the preacher as person and is designed to provide students with a perspective of how preachers are viewed in literature and film. With such a perspective, students will be better able to analyze literature and media and understand how they can best engage their culture with the gospel as ministers of that gospel. In addition, students will gain a better sense of who they are as preachers. PR 601 Preaching Principles and Practice is the prerequisite for the course. Master of Theology students may enroll in this course for Th.M. credit. Th.M. students are to see the professor on the first day of class. II. Course Relation to the Curriculum The Preacher in Modern Literature and Film helps the person preparing for a preaching ministry to understand how he or she is viewed by the surrounding culture and who he or she is as a preacher. This understanding allows the student to reflect theologically, biblically, historically, and practically on the role and function of the preacher. III. Course Objective As a result of this course students should be able to: (1) Have a basic understanding of the way(s) preachers are portrayed in modern literature, media, and film by completing the assigned reading, by reading novels, by viewing films and television media, and by writing assigned papers. (2) Critically assess literature, media, and film by asking questions, by engaging in discussion, and by reflecting on their thinking as they integrate their analysis in course papers, particularly the two final papers. (3) Understand themselves as a preacher and as a person through the viewing of media, in-class discussions and in reflection report papers assigned for the course.

2 IV. Course Textbooks Required: Douglas Beaumont, The Message Behind the Movie: How to Engage With a Film Without Disengaging Your Faith. Chicago: Moody, Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford. New York: Penguin, Warren W. Wiersbe, On Being a Servant of God. Grand Rapids: Baker, Other reading assignments are listed below. Recommended: Kenneth A. Myers, All God s Children and Blue Suede Shoes. Wheaton: Crossway, Leland Ryken, The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing. Colorado Springs: A Shaw Book, Bryan P. Stone, Faith and Film: Theological Themes at the Cinema. St. Louis: Chalice, V. Course Requirements and Grading: Pre-Class (Week-Long Session) Preparation 1. Students will read Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford [New York: Penguin, Any edition.] before coming to the weeklong class. Write a three page (maximum) single-spaced paper using the following questions: a. What is the author saying about preachers? b. Discuss at least three things you learned from reading the book and how you ll apply it to your life and thinking. Please put name and box # on the back of the last page, not on the front page/s. Report is due on Monday 15 June The book will be discussed in class. 2. Students will watch the movie Signs [2002] before coming to the weeklong class. Write a three page (maximum) single-spaced paper using the following questions: a. What is the movie saying about preachers? b. Discuss at least three things you learned from watching the film and how you ll apply it to your life and thinking. Please put name and box # on the back of the last page, not on the front page/s. Report is due on Monday 15 June The movie will be discussed in class. VI. Course Requirements and Grading: In-Class and Post-Class (After Week- Long Session) Assignments 1. In-Class: Attendance at all class periods. Students are expected to be on time for class. Late work will not be accepted. 2. In-Class: Students will participate in class discussions. 3. Post-Class: Students will read Warren Weirsbe, On Being a Servant of God. Write a two-page (maximum) single-spaced paper. Discuss at least three things

3 you learned from reading the book and how you ll apply it to your life and thinking. Please put name and box # on the back of the last page, not on the front page/s. 4. Post-Class: Students will read Beaumont, The Message Behind the Movie. Write a two-page (maximum) single-spaced paper. Discuss at least three things you learned from reading the book and how you ll apply it to your life and thinking. Please put name and box # on the back of the last page, not on the front page/s. 5. Post-Class: Students will read three novels of their choice from the bibliography provided in the syllabus and will write a paper that will analyze, critique, and provide lessons learned concerning the preacher as person. Be aware of the presuppositions and attitude of the author toward preachers. You may want to reflect on various scenes from each of the novels where you see yourself and what people inside and outside the church can learn from such insights, as well as what you as a preacher can learn. The paper is to be pages, double-spaced, 12 point type. Please put name and box # on the back of the last page, not on the front page/s. 6. Post-Class: Students will watch three films of their choice from the bibliography provided in the syllabus and will write a paper that will analyze, critique, and provide lessons learned concerning the preacher as person. Once again, be aware of the presuppositions and attitude of the director/screenwriter, etc. toward preachers. You may want to reflect on various scenes from each of the films where you see yourself and what people inside and outside the church can learn from such insights, as well as what you as a preacher can learn. The paper is to be pages, double-spaced, 12 point type. Please put name and box # on the back of the last page, not on the front page/s. VII. Course Administration A. Attendance Policy Attendance is required for all classes. Please make every effort to be at class on time. B. Due Dates and Late Penalties All work is due at Dr. Gibson s office on 14 August Late work will not be accepted. C. Assistance Please come to see me with your questions. I have a sign up sheet located outside my office. Office hours during the summer will not be consistent. I can also be contacted via .

4 VIII. Course Calendar Monday 15 June 9:00-12:00 Introduction 1:00-3:00 Class meets 7:00-9:00 Elmer Gantry Tuesday 16 June 9:00-12:00 Class meets 1:00-3:00 Class meets 7:00-9:00 Pollyanna Wednesday 17 June 9:00-12:00 Class meets 1:00-3:00 Class meets 7:00-9:00 The Apostle Thursday 18 June 9:00-12:00 Class meets 1:00-3:00 Class meets 7:00-9:00 Leap of Faith Friday 19 June 9:00-12:00 Class meets Wrap up IX. Bibliography Novels Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, etc. Any edition. Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Any edition.

5 . The Idiot. New York: The Modern Library, n.d. Any edition. Bo Giertz, The Hammer of God. Revised edition. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, Any edition. Graham Greene, Monsignor Quixote. First published by the Bodley Head in Any edition.. The Power and the Glory. New York: Viking Adutt, Any edition. Susan Howatch, Volume 1 (Glittering Images), 2 (Glamorous Powers), 3 (Ultimate Prizes), or 6 (Absolute Truths) of her Church of England Novel Series. Any edition. Jan Karon, Book 1 (At Home in Mitford), Book 2 (A Light in the Window), Book 3 (These High, Greek Hills), Book 4 (Out of Canaan), etc. of her Mitford novels with Father Tim Cavanaugh. Any edition.. Book 1 (Home to Holly Springs), etc. of the Father Tim series. Any edition. Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible. New York: HarperTorch, Sinclair Lewis, Elmer Gantry. Oxford: Oxford University, Any edition. George MacDonald, The Curate s Awakening. Originally published as Thomas Wingfold, Curate in 1876 by Hurst and Blackett Publishers, London. Any edition.. The Curate of Glaston. Any edition.. The Minister s Restoration. Any edition.. Thomas Wingfold, Curate. Various volumes. Any edition. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick. First published in the United States by Harper & Brothers in Any edition. Flannery O Connor, The Violent Bear It Away. First published in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in Any edition. Alan Paton, Cry, The Beloved Country. First published by Jonathan Cape in Any edition. Marilynne Robinson, Gilead. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers. First published in the United Kingdom in This novel is part of the Chronicles of Barsetshire series. Any novel from

6 the series is a good read: The Warden, Barchester Towers, Doctor Thorne, Framley Parsonage, The Small House at Allington, and The Last Chronicle of Barset. Paul Scott Wilson, Holy Week. Winfield, BC: Wood Lake Books, X. Bibliography Films The Apostle (1997) Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) Buck and the Preacher (1972) Contact (1997) Doubt (2008) Elmer Gantry (1960) Gran Torino (2008) Hotel Rwanda (2004) Keeping the Faith (2000) Leap of Faith (1992) License to Wed (2007) Night of the Hunter (1955) Papa Was a Preacher (1985) Pollyanna (1960) Preacherman (1971) The Preacher s Wife (1996) There Will Be Blood (2008) Signs (2002) XI. Bibliography Television Shows The Andy Griffith Show Everybody Loves Raymond

7 Father Ted Lost Keeping Up Appearances M*A*S*H Monty Python Mr. Bean Seventh Heaven The Simpsons The Vicar of Dibley XII. Bibliography About Films/Television Catherine M. Barsotti and Robert K. Johnston, Finding God in the Movies: 33 Films of Reel Faith. Douglas Beaumont, The Message Behind the Movie: How to Engage With a Film Without Disengaging Your Faith. Chicago: Moody, Nadia Boltz-Weber, Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television. New York: Seabury, Anne Bower, Reel Food: Essays on Food and Film. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, Timothy B. Cargal, Hearing a Film, Seeing a Sermon: Preaching and Popular Movies. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, John C. Cooper and Carl Skrade, Celluloid and Symbols. Philadelphia: Fortress, Christopher Deacy, Faith In Film: Religious Themes in Contemporary Cinema. Aldershot: Ashgate, Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz, Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide. Malden, MA: Blackwell, Christine Dunn-Ganforth and Walter Brueggemann, Transforming Culture: A Model for Faith and Film in Hollywood. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, R. Douglas Geivett and James S. Spiegel, eds., Faith, Film and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen. Downers Grove: IVP, 2007.

8 Brian Godawa, Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment. Downers Grove: IVP, Robert K. Johnston, Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue (Engaging Culture). Grand Rapids: Baker: 2000, , ed. Reframing Theology and Film: New Focus for an Emerging Discipline. Grand Rapids: Baker, Todd E. Johnson and Dale Savidge, Performing the Sacred: Theology and Theatre in Dialogue. Grand Rapids: Baker, Steve Keslowitz, The World According to the Simpsons. Naperville: Sourcebooks, Richard Leonard, Movies That Matter: Reading Film Through the Eyes of Faith. Chicago: Layola, Spencer Lewerenz and Barbara Nicolosi, eds., Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film, and Culture. Grand Rapids: Baker, Ian Maher, Faith and Film: Close Encounters of an Evangelistic Kind. Cambridge: Grove, Edward N. McNulty, Faith and Film: A Guidebook for Leaders. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, Films and Faith. St. Louis: Viaticum, Barbara Mraz, Finding Faith at the Movies. Harrisburg: Morehouse, Mark I. Pinsky, The Gospel According to the Simpsons. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, William D. Romanowski, Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture. Grand Rapids: Brazos, Chris Seay and Greg Garrett, The Gospel Reloaded: Exploring Spirituality and Faith in Matrix. Colorado Springs: Pinon, Dick Staub, The Culturally Savvy Christian: A Manifesto for Deepening Faith and Enriching Popular Culture in and Age of Christianity-Lite. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Melanie J. Wright, Religion and Film: An Introduction. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2007.

9 XIII. Bibliography About Novels/Literature Raymond Chapman, compiler, Godly and Righteous, Peevish and Perverse: Clergy and Religious in Literature and Letters: An Anthology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, David S. Cunningham, Reading is Believing: The Christian Faith Through Literature and Film. Grand Rapids: Brazos, David L. Larsen, Oracles and Odysseys of the Clergy: Images of the Ministry in Western Literature. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, John R. May, Nourishing Faith Through Fiction: Reflections of the Apostles Creed in Literature and Film. Lanham, MD: Sheed and Ward, G. Lee Ramsey, Jr., Preachers and Misfits, Prophets and Thieves: The Minister in Southern Fiction. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, Leland Ryken, The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing. Colorado Springs: A Shaw Book, 2002.

10 Name Box Address Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary PR/MC 626: The Preacher in Modern Literature and Film: The Preacher as Person Summer School: June 2009 How many class sessions did you attend? (check if all) Report on At Home in Mitford (grade). 5% Report on Signs (grade). 5% Report on Weirsbe, On Being a Servant of God (grade). 15% Report on three movies (grade). 25% Report on three novels (grade). 25% Report on Beaumont, The Message Behind (grade). 15% Class participation (grade). 10% (Late work will not be accepted.) Course Grade