Missional Living The Henderson Training Institute Fall 2015 1
Course Instructors Instructor: Joshua Wall Assistant: Rick Johnson Missional Living: Course Syllabus Fall 2015 Contact information: Instructor: jwall@hhbc.com Assistant: rjohnson@hhbc.com Communication: I prefer communicating in person, but email is fine too. Class meeting: Wednesdays from 6:15-7:30pm. We will begin in the Worship Center for prayer and worship and then break for our classes at 6:30pm. We will meet in classroom W- 104. Course description God is up to something in this world. And it is our task to learn what that is and join up. In light of God s desire to use the church to reach every nation with the good news of the gospel of Christ, every Christian should, in some way, participate in this mission. In this class, we will search the Scriptures to learn what God is up to in the world and how He has called us to participate daily in His mission through His local church. Course objectives Knowing: Who is God and what is His goal in this world? How is God accomplishing that goal? How are we called to be a part of what He s doing? Being: Deepened knowledge of God and His attributes. Refined convictions concerning the significance of God s call on every area of life. Renewed understanding and resolve to what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Doing: Commitment to a loving, humble and worshipful daily walk with God. Complete submission of every area of life to God s call and commands. Reoriented lifestyle priorities in light of the Great Commission. Formulation of simple, effective and lasting habits for living a missional life. 2
Course requirements Class Attendance 70% Attendance is required for credit Reading Due each week as assigned in schedule (100% completed Reading Log to be turned in at final class meeting) Written Assignments: Short Essay 1: God and His Goal Due September 23 Short Essay 2: The Church on Mission Due October 28 Short Essay 3: Your Mission Field(s) Due November 4 Course Summary Paper: The Missional Life Due November 18 A final pass grade will be issued for each student seeking credit for this course based upon the above requirements. Each student needs to complete all assignments in a satisfactory and timely manner for the work to be accepted. Course Texts Required: Alcorn, Randy. The Treasure Principle: Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving. Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 2001. 93pp. Dever, Mark. The Gospel and Personal Evangelism. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2007. 119pp. Strauch, Alexander. The Hospitality Commands. Littleton, CO: Lewis & Roth, 1993. 63 pp. *The remaining required readings for this class will come in the form of selected chapters, articles, blog posts, and journals. For this reason, the reading material cannot be purchased ahead of time. Rather, each class participant will receive a printout and email of the required reading the week before it is due. The class instructor will hand out required readings each class meeting to be completed by the following class. Recommended for Further Study: Anyabwile, Thabiti. What is a Healthy Church Member? Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008. 127. DeYoung, Kevin. What is the Mission of the Church? Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. 283pp. Piper, John. Don t Waste Your Life. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003. 191pp. Piper, John. Let the Nations be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1993. 255pp. 3
Platt, David. Follow Me: A Call to Die. A Call to Live. Tyndale, 2013. 245pp. Stiles, J. Mack. Marks of the Messenger. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 2010. 128pp. Submission of Papers Papers should be submitted, in hard copy at the beginning of class on the scheduled due date. Papers should be clearly labeled with your name, class name and date submitted. All papers should be typed, double- spaced and using 12 pt. Times New Roman font. All papers should be thoroughly edited and assessed for clarity and accuracy. This means using good grammar, complete sentences, correcting spelling errors, using consistent formatting for references, etc. Short Essay 1 (September 23) God and His Goal Imagine if a stranger stopped you on the street. This stranger had never heard of God. They had never read the Bible and they certainly had never heard of Jesus. Yet, this stranger stops you and says, You look like a Christian. Tell me, who is this God and what is He up to in this world? What would you say? In 2-3 pages, explain who God is and what He is up to in this world. Be sure to reference Scripture for any truth claims you make. Don t make something up. This stranger needs truth! Short Essay 2 (October 28) The Church on Mission In 2-3 pages, explain the importance of the local church in carrying out the mission of God. In other words, why is it important to participate in the mission of God as a part of a local church? Is it important? Why or why not? What biblical reasons are there to partner with the local church rather than going it alone? What implications does this have on your own life? Short Essay 3 (November 4) Your Mission Field(s) In 2-3 pages, list out the various mission fields of your life. In other words, brainstorm the various areas of life where you have the opportunity to live out the mission of God. Under each 4
area, think well about how this realm of life should be influenced by what we re learning in this class. What is God s goal for this area of your life? What would it look like to live an intentionally missional life in this area of your life? What habits/actions/behaviors would need to change? The goal of this paper is for us to see how the events of our normal, everyday life situations can be used to carry out God s goal in this world. Final Paper (November 18) The Missional Life Your final assignment is a comprehensive one. In 4-5 pages, explain your understanding about what it means to live a missional life. Start with God and his mission in this world. What is He up to in this world? In light of all that God is and all that he has done, how should we then live? Draw out specific applications to your individual life. How will what you have learned in this class change the way you live your life? Think in specific life categories. Really bring the truths of this class to bear on your life. How will the truths of God and His mission change your priorities, finances, family, parenting, singleness, goals, life- trajectory, church membership, etc. This should be an extremely biblical and personal paper. 5
Course Schedule The following is our intended course schedule. This schedule is open to change throughout the semester if the instructors see fit. *** Class will not meet March 11 th or March 18 th due to the annual budget meeting and Spring Break.*** Date Topic Reading Assignments Due September 9 September 16 Introduction to Course: God The Good and Sovereign Creator God s Goal Missional Living Defined - The Knowledge of the Holy AW Tozer (Preface, 1-5, 65-68, 78-85) - The Gospel and Personal Evangelism Mark Dever (pp. 13-54) September 23 September 30 October 7th What is Missions? Missional Living Abroad Missional Living at Home Glad John Piper (pp. 17-43) - The Gospel and Personal Evangelism Mark Dever (pp. 95-106) - Don t Waste Your Life John Piper (pp. 107-129, 131-154) - Article: What is the Missional Life Eric Simmons - Life Together Dietrich Bonheoffer (pp. 90-103) Short Essay 1 God s Means for the Mission: The Church - Mission, Vision and Values Statements of Henderson Hills Baptist Church - Bible: 1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 Cor. 12-13; Rom. 12:3-8 6
October 14 October 21 ***No Class Fall Break*** - The Gospel and Personal Evangelism Mark Dever (pp. 55-68; 83-93) Implications of the Mission: Evangelism and Discipleship - Discipleship According to the Scriptures Garrett Kell (article) Short Essay 2 October 28 - Member Handout: Plugging into Discipling Relationships Capitol Hill Baptist Church - The Treasure Principle Randy Alcorn (pp. 1-33) Implications of the Mission: Family, Marriage and Parenting - A Discipler s Daily Itinerary - Jonathan Leeman (Article) November 4 November 11 November 18 Implications of the Mission: Money and Possessions Implications of the Mission: Prayer Class Conclusion - For Young Mothers: Ministry, Guilt, and Seasons of Life Jani Ortlund (Article) - The Treasure Principle Randy Alcorn (pp. 34-92) - The Hospitality Commands Alexander Strauch (pp. 1-53) Short Essay 3 Final Paper 7
HTI Missional Living Reading Log DATE COMPLETED (INITIAL) September 9 September 16 September 23 September 30 October 7 October 21 October 28 November 4 November 11 November 18 8