GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY (Center for Urban Ministerial Education)

Transcription

1 GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY (Center for Urban Ministerial Education) Church and Community: Introduction to the Public Ministry of the Church (SE/MC 602) Fall, 2014 Rev. Eldin Villafañe, Ph.D. T.A.: Rev. Jonatan Toledo (617) , ext But seek the welfare [shalom] of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare [shalom] you will find your welfare [shalom]. - Jeremiah 29: 7 I. Course Objectives: The Student: A. Develops his or her understanding of the biblical and theological basis of the public ministry of the Church B. Develops his or her biblical, theological and social ethical reflection on the mission of the Church and public ministry C. Develops an understanding of types of action which the Christian and the Church can take for faithful public ministry II. Textbooks A. Required: Sider, Ronald J., Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity (Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, 1997, 20 th anniversary revision). ISBN: CBD price = $11.99 ISBN-13: Stone, Bryan P. and Claire E. Wolfteich, Sabbath in the City: Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008). ISBN: X CBD price = $18.00 ISBN-13:

2 2 Villafañe, Eldin, Seek the Peace of the City: Reflections on Urban Ministry (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995). ISBN: CBD price = $15.75 ISBN-13: , Beyond Cheap Grace: A Call to Radical Discipleship, Incarnation, and Justice (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006). ISBN: X CBD price = $10.99 ISBN-13: Wallis, Jim, Faith Works: How Faith-based Organizations are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods, and America (Berkeley, CA: Page Mill Press, 2000). ISBN: Amazon, through various sellers: ASIN: B008CML8F4 price range: $ $14.04 III. Course Requirements: A. Common Reading: As a background for course and class lecture/discussion, the student should complete assigned readings by the following day: September 18: Sider, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, pp. 1-37; ; Villafañe, Seek the Peace of the City, pp September 25: Villafañe, Seek the Peace of the City, pp October 2: Sider, pp ; Complete balance of readings in Sider and Villafañe, Seek the Peace of the City. B. Critical Analysis and Reflection on three Required Texts: Provide a brief two-page analysis of each of the following books: Beyond Cheap Grace by Villafañe, Faith Works by Wallis, and Sabbath in the City by Stone and Wolfteich. Include a brief synopsis of each book s content. Select one key theme/idea in each book that will be helpful to your ministry, explaining why and how you would utilize it. Beyond Cheap Grace due September 18 Faith Works due September 25 Sabbath in the City due October 2 C. Attend Community Organizing Workshop (Required) Saturday, October 4 (From 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

3 3 D. Final Paper: Based on class lectures, course required readings, bibliographical resources, and your knowledge, prepare a sermon, Bible study or academic paper on one of the following themes/issues: 1. Religion and Public Life 2. The Biblical Basis for Public Ministry 3. Justice and the Public Ministry of the Church 4. Politics and the Public Witness of the Church 5. Community Organizing as Public Ministry 6. Public Education and Public Ministry 7. The Public Ministry of Jesus 8. Faith-Based Groups and Public Ministry 9. Immigration and the Public Ministry of the Church 10. The Christian Community as a Public Church Paper should be 10 pages long: due October 24 at CUME IV. Grade Evaluation Your class grade will be evaluated as follows: Common Readings -10% Attendance at Workshops -20% Critical Analysis and Reflection -30% Final Paper -40% Minus any penalty for unfulfilled requirements (e.g. regular attendance, late papers) V. Office hours Faculty Advisement September 11, 18, 25, and October 2, 2014: from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Appointment should be made through Dr. Villafane s Administrative Assistant, Mrs. Naomi Wilshire s nwilshire@gcts.edu.

4 4 Church and Community: Introduction to the Public Ministry of the Church (Course Outline) Introduction A. Knowing Each Other B. Scope, Objectives, Method and Requirements of Course C. Defining our Theme I. Biblical and Theological Basis of the Public Ministry of the Church A. The Jeremiah Paradigm for the City (The theological concept of Shalom) B. A Theology of Prayer: The City and Spirituality II. The Church and its Public Witness A. The Church and Its Public Ministry: Lessons from Jesus B. The Classical Missiological Categories of the Church s Mission III. Social Diakonia: The Public Ministry of the Church A. Typology of Social Diakonia B. DVD Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street (DSNI) C. Towards Faith-Based Community Organizing: Saturday Workshop

5 5 Selected Bibliography Berger, Peter, and Neuhaus, Richard John. To Empower People: The Role of Mediating Structures in Public Policy. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute, 1977 Boff, Leonardo. The Lord s Prayer: The Prayer of Integral Liberation. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Boos, 1989 Carle, Robert D., and DeCaro Jr., Louis A. Signs of Hope in the City: Ministries of Community Renewal. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1997 Claman, Victor N. and Butler, David E., with Jessica A. Boyatt. Acting on Your Faith: Congregations Making a Difference. Boston, MA: Insights, 1994 Conn, Harvie M. Evangelism: Doing Justice and Preaching Grace. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982 Conn, Harvie M., and Ortiz, Manuel. Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City, & The People of God. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2001 Cromartie, Michael (ed.). A Public Faith: Evangelicals and Civic Engagement. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefiedl Publishers Inc., 2003 Dionne Jr., E.J. and DiIulio Jr. What s God Got To Do With The American Experiment? Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2000 Donaldson, Dave and Carlson-Thies, Stanley. A Revolution of Compassion: Faith- Based Groups as Full Partners in Fighting America s Social Problems. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, Galileo, Secundo. The Way of Living Faith: A Spirituality of Liberation. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row, 1988 Green, Clifford J. (ed.) Churches, Cities, and Human Community: Urban Ministry in the United States, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996 Gushee, David P., ed. Toward a Just and Caring Society: Christian Responses to Poverty in America. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1999 Heco, Hugh, and McClay M., Wilfred. Religion Returns to the Public Square: Faith and Policy in America. Baltimore, Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press, Hessel, Dieter T. Social Ministry. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press 1982

6 6 Hunter, James Davison. To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. Oxford University Press, 2010 Krehbiel, Jeffrey K. Reflecting With Scripture on Community Organizing. Chicago, Illinois: ACTA Publications, Kretzmann, John P. and McKnight, John L. Building Communities From the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community s Assets. Evanston, Illinois: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research Neighborhood Innovations Network, 1993 Linthicum, Robert C. City of God, City of Satan: A Biblical Theology of the Urban Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, Empowering the Poor: Community Organizing Among the City s Rag, Tag, and Bobtail. Monrovia, CA: MARC, Building a People of Power: Equipping Churches to Transform their Communities. Waynesboro, GA: Authentic/World Vision, 2006 Marty, Martin E. The Public Church: Mainline Evangelical Catholic. New York: Crossroad, 1981 McLaren, Brian, Elisa Padilla, and Ashley Bunting Seeber, editors. The Justice Project. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2009 Medoff, Peter and Sklar, Holly. Streets of Hope: The Fall and Rise of an Urban Neighborhood. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1994 Meeks, Wayne. The First Urban Christians. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983 Mott, Stephen. Biblical Ethics and Social Change, Second Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, [1982], 2011 Neuhaus, Richard John. The Naked Public Square. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984 Niebuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture. New York: Harper and Row, 1951 Newbigin, Lesslie. Truth to Tell: The Gospel as Public Truth. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991 Palmer, Parker J. The Company of Strangers: Christians and the Renewal of America s Public Life. New York: Crossroads, 1981

7 7 Pasquariello, Ronald D., Shriver Jr., Donald W., and Geyer, Alan. Redeeming the City: Theology, Politics, and Urban Policy. New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1982 Sandel, Michael J. Democracy s Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press at Harvard University Press, 1996 Sennett, Richard. The Fall of Public Man. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992 (ed.) Sider, Ronald J. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1997 (20 th Ann. Revision) Skillen, James W. The Scattered Voice: Christians at Odds in the Public Square. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Books, 1990 Stackhouse, Max L. Public Theology and Political Economy. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1987 Stone, Bryan P. Compassionate Ministry: Theological Foundations. Maryknoll. New York: Orbis Books, 1996 Stone, Bryan P. and Claire E. Wolfteich. Sabbath in the City: Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008 Thiemann, Ronald F. Religion in Public Life: A Dilemma for Democracy. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1996 Villafañe, Eldin. Seek the Peace of the City: Reflections on Urban Ministry. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing House, A Prayer for the City: Further Reflections on Urban Ministry. Austin, TX.: AETH, Beyond Cheap Grace: A Call to Radical Discipleship, Incarnation, and Justice. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006 Villafañe, Eldin, Jackson, Bruce, Evans, Roberts and Evans, Alice. Transforming the City: Reframing Education for Urban Ministry. Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing House, 2002 Volf, Miroslav. A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2011 Walker, Theodore, Jr. Empower the People: Social Ethics for the African American Church. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991

8 8 Wallis, Jim. Faith Works: How Faith-based Organizations are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods, and America. Berkeley, CA: Page Mill Press, 2000 Webber, George W. Today s Church: A Community of Exiles and Pilgrims. Nashville: Abingdon, 1979 Winter, Bruce W. Seek the Welfare of the City: Christians As Benefactors and Citizens. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994 Yoder, John. H. The Politics of Jesus. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing House, 1972