THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Professor: Dr. Timothy Beougher Garrett Fellow: Rocky Coleman: (rcoleman@sbts.edu) PERSONAL EVANGELISM (32100B) Meets in conjunction with CrossOver St. Louis June 9-11 (travel course, with pre- and post-trip coursework) Course Syllabus (Summer 2016) COURSE DESCRIPTION: An in-depth study of the theology and practice of evangelism designed to equip students to understand the cultural context in which they minister, to share the gospel effectively in that context, to respond appropriately to the issues raised as they share the gospel, and to train others in a variety of skills related to the Great Commission mandate. Three credit hours. PROGRAM OUTCOMES: While worship is the church s primary purpose, evangelism should be its primary activity. Indeed, it is imperative for church leaders to know how to witness so that they can win others to Christ and model evangelism for their church members. In this course you will develop a global vision and learn how to more strategically think, act, and pray. You will understand the nature and mission of the church as well as be equipped to implement a biblically-based theology of ministry. You will be able to communicate God s truth clearly, accurately, and effectively. COURSE GOALS: 1. Upon completion of this course you will be able to consistently share your faith in Christ in evangelistic encounters. This objective will be accomplished through: a. Readings in the course texts b. Course lectures and discussion c. Writing out of personal conversion testimony d. Participating in at least seven witnessing encounters, followed by personal evaluation and reflection 2. Upon completion of this course you will be able to train others to share their faith effectively. This objective will be accomplished through: a. Readings in the course texts b. Course lectures and discussion c. Examinations d. Writing of a summary reflection paper 3. Upon completion of this course you will understand the church s nature and mission, as well as the contemporary cultural situation, and therefore be able to lead the church in faithful outreach. This objective will be accomplished through: a. Readings in the course texts b. Course lectures and discussion c. Writing of sovereignty/responsibility critique d. Examinations
2 4. Upon completion of this course you will be able to communicate your thoughts in writing that is grammatically correct and clearly organized. This objective will be accomplished through: a. Writing of personal testimony b. Writing of critical book reviews c. Writing of a position paper on sovereignty/responsibility d. Writing of a summary reflection paper e. Written feedback on assignments 5. Upon completion of this course you will be able to communicate the gospel clearly and accurately. This objective will be accomplished through: a. Readings in the course texts b. Course lectures and discussion c. Memorizing forty specific verses of Scripture that relate to the gospel d. Examinations e. Participating in at least seven witnessing encounters, followed by personal evaluation and reflection TEXTBOOKS: Beougher, Timothy K. Overcoming Walls to Witnessing. Charlotte: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1993. 62 pp. Dickerson, John S. The Great Evangelical Recession. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2013. 256 pp. ISBN-13 978-0801014833 Gilbert, Greg. What is the Gospel? Wheaton: Crossway, 2010. 128 pp. ISBN-13 978-1433515002 Koukl, Greg. Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009. 208 pp. ISBN-13 978-0310282921 Metzger, Will. Tell the Truth: The Whole Gospel Wholly by Grace Communicated Truthfully and Lovingly. 4th ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2013. 301 pp. ISBN-13 978-0830837830 Packer, J. I. Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012. 122 pp. ISBN-13 978-0830837991
3 COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Check Moodle for each assignment. There may be additional guidelines provided to help you successfully complete the course requirements. Moodle should be consulted prior to querying the grader. This course is offered in conjunction with CrossOver St. Louis prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. The actual dates for the on-campus part of the course are June 9-11, 2016 in St. Louis, Missouri. The course will combine pre-trip work (reading; listening to on-line lectures), evangelistic outreach with CrossOver St. Louis (June 9-11 in St. Louis), and post-trip work (mid-term exam; final exam; other assignments). Each year prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, Southern Baptists plan and implement an outreach strategy known as CrossOver. Partnering with local churches in the host city, students and other participants go out in neighborhoods to share the Gospel. This outreach opportunity fits wonderfully with the Personal Evangelism course, as each student is required to share the Gospel a minimum of 7 times during the course. These 3 days of outreach in St. Louis should more than cover that requirement. In addition, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) will scholarship students in terms of their lodging and meals in St. Louis (dormitory housing). Students will be responsible for their own travel to/from St. Louis (must arrive in St. Louis no later than noon on Thursday, June 9th and leave no earlier than Sunday evening, June 11 th ), but NAMB will provide local transportation and lodging/meals for Thursday night through Saturday evening (but no lodging on Saturday evening). After the outreach activities on Saturday, students are welcome to return to Louisville or stay for the Southern Baptist Convention meeting (at their own expense), but attending the SBC annual meeting is not a requirement for the course. So to summarize: the course will NOT meet at all in Louisville. Students will complete pre-trip assignments, spend June 9-11 in outreach activities in St. Louis, MO, and complete post-trip assignments. 1. Required Reading and Forum Participation Students will be required to read all six texts in their entirety. A discussion question or questions will be posted each week, in the forum section, related to that week s reading assignment. Students will have five days to respond to the question, thus engaging other student responses. The idea is to foster discussion among the group. Students must post their own response to the question as well as responding to at least one other student s post. The professor will monitor participation, and those who do not respond or engage will be penalized. The professor may interject responses as well. Responses will be evaluated to see if the student is engaging the author s argument. 2. Four Critical Book Reviews Each student will submit four 5 page critical book reviews (Gilbert, Koukl, Dickerson, and Metzger). Each review should follow the guidelines set forth for book reviews in The Southern Seminary Manual of Style.
4 3. Sovereignty/Responsibility Position Paper Each student will submit a 5 page critique/position paper of Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God. The paper should address the following issue, What is the proper understanding of the relationship between the truth of divine sovereignty and the task of personal evangelism? Students should include 1) a very brief summary of Packer s answer to this question, 2) a critique of Packer s position, and 3) the student s Scripturally-derived personal answer to the question and how the student s view is applied in ministry. 4. Personal Testimony Each student will be required to write and submit his or her personal testimony in accordance with the guidelines in the lecture and other guidelines that will be given during the course. Students will submit a rough draft via Moodle on an assigned date (see schedule), which will be evaluated and returned by the professor. Students will then submit a final draft via Moodle. 5. Witnessing Reports: The only way one ultimately learns to do personal evangelism is by doing it! Therefore, each student is encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to witness during the course. Seven of these experiences will be summarized on a Personal Evangelism Report Form that is provided for the student on Moodle; one of the seven must also be written up in a witnessing verbatim (an 8 th assignment), which gives a complete account (running dialogue) of the conversation. Note this class is Personal Evangelism; while sharing the Gospel with a large or small group of people is wonderful, these assignments call for talking with individual persons so you can answer questions and give further input. The three days of CrossOver St. Louis outreach activities should provide you with more than enough opportunities to fulfill this requirement, though you may utilize other opportunities outside of CrossOver St. Louis as well. 6. Personal Evangelism Reflection Paper Following the completion of the seven witnessing reports, each student will complete a 3- page, double-spaced assessment. The paper will include: what you have learned about personal evangelism in this course; what you have changed in your approach to personal evangelism because of this course; what you still need to work on in your own ministry of personal evangelism; etc. 7. Mid-Term Exam: (emphasizing Scripture memorization word for word ) Each student will memorize each of the verses on the sheet "40 Key Verses for Evangelism." Writing out these verses (word for word) from memory will comprise the majority of the mid-term exam. (A study guide will be posted to help prepare for the remainder of the exam.) You will complete the test within prescribed time limits in the presence of a proctor who should sign (electronically) the exam. Failure to do so will result in major deductions.
5 You may memorize from the Bible translation of your choice, but you must specify on the exam which translation you have used. 8. Final Exam: The exam will come from the books and lecture material. The format will be essay. A Study Guide will be posted to prepare for the final exam. Assignment Submission Guidelines All assignments are to be submitted electronically by uploading to Moodle. The witnessing reports will be completed by using the online form available in the Handouts section of Moodle and uploaded to Moodle by the due date. You must distinguish your comments from the form s questions by either bold or colored text. Late Work: Late work is unacceptable at the master s level (especially so at a seminary). Witnessing reports will suffer a 5% (5 point) penalty if late, whether it is 1 day or 1 month. All other assignments will have 10% (10 points) deducted if late, whether it is 1 day or 1 month. Moreover, all late assignments will not be graded until the end of the semester. This fact means one will not receive helpful comments in completing future assignments. Finally, no feedback will be offered, just a grade. If your church would allow you not to preach for the reason the work is late, then one may approach the grader for considerations. DISCLAIMERS: 1. This syllabus is intended to reflect accurately the course description, content outline, course objectives, grading criteria, activities to be evaluated, major exam dates, policy on absences, course bibliography, and other information necessary for the students to appraise the course. However, during the period of the semester, the professor reserves the right to modify any portion of this syllabus as may appear necessary because of events and circumstances that change during the semester. 2. In order to ensure full class participation, any student with a disabling condition requiring special accommodations (e.g. tape recorders, special adaptive equipment, special note-taking or test-taking needs) is strongly encouraged to contact the professor at the beginning of the course. 3. All students are required to affirm their academic integrity when submitting all course work with the following statement, signed by the student (at the bottom of the title page): On my honor, I have neither given nor taken improper assistance in completing this assignment. Evaluation/Grading: Students are responsible to check Moodle for grade reporting. If an assignment is blank or zero, it is missing. Students must resend missing work to grader.
6 Participation (weekly forum responses & CrossOver St. Louis) 15% Mid-term Exam 10% Final Exam 10% Sovereignty/Responsibility Position Paper 5% Book Critiques (5% each) 20% Personal Testimony (rough & final drafts) 10% Witnessing Reports 25% Personal Evangelism Reflection Paper 5% GRADING SCALE: A 4.0 96-100 B 3.0 86-88 C 2.0 76-78 D 1.0 66-68 A- 3.7 93-95 B- 2.7 83-85 C- 1.7 73-75 D- 0.7 63-65 B+ 3.3 89-92 C+ 2.3 79-82 D+ 1.3 69-72 F 0.0 0-62 WP WF I Withdraw Pass Withdraw Fail Incomplete (no grades of incomplete will be issued for this course except in an extreme circumstance as determined by the professor) COURSE SCHEDULE: The schedule set forth below assumes the student will begin pre-trip coursework on or before May 23 rd. Students are asked to contact the professor directly ASAP to discuss their pre-trip schedule and the viability of the proposed lecture listening/forum posting schedule. The schedule is heavily weighted toward the weeks prior to CrossOver St. Louis to give the students a foundation in personal evangelism before the actual outreach experience. Course Outline: Read syllabus and post any questions you may have about assignments. Begin memorizing 40 Key Verses *You may begin work BEFORE May 23 rd.* Week of May 23 View lessons: #1: What is Evangelism? #2: Biblical Foundations for Personal Evangelism Read Gilbert, What is the Gospel? (entire book) Forum Questions: Go to forum for Question #1 #3 Motivations for Evangelism
7 #4 Overcoming Walls to Witnessing Read Beougher, Overcoming Walls to Witnessing (entire booklet) Forum Questions: Go to forum for Question #2 #5 Devotional Life and Evangelism #6 Personal Holiness and Evangelism Forum Questions: Go to forum for Question #3 Book Review on Gilbert due by 5/30 Week of May 30 Week of June 6 #7 What is the Gospel? #8 Concentric Circles of Concern Read Metzger, Tell the Truth, 1-111 (3 rd ed.) or 1-133 (4 th ed.) Forum Questions: Go to forum for Question #4 #9 Bridges to the Gospel #10 Methods of Sharing: Gospel Booklet Forum Questions: Go to forum for Question #5 #11 Methods of Sharing: Personal Testimony #12 Methods of Sharing: Home Bible Study Forum Questions: Go to forum for Question #6 Begin work on rough draft of Personal Testimony Book Review on Koukl due by 6/6 View Lesson: #13 Methods of Sharing: Servant Evangelism #14 Calling for a Response View Lessons #15 Dealing with Obstacles #16 Common Objections and Obstacles #17 Evangelism as a Way of Life Forum Questions: Go to forum for Question #7 Complete Metzger, Tell the Truth Submit Personal Testimony Rough Draft by 6/7
8 June 9-11 CrossOver St. Louis Week of June 13 (BREAK) Week of June 20 #18 Target Group: Cross-Cultural Evangelism #19 Target Group: Cross-Cultural Evangelism (cont.) Forum Questions: Go to forum for Question #8 Witnessing Reports #1-3 due 6/24 Week of June 27 Exam #1 (mid-term) Will Be Posted by June 27th; it must be taken in the presence of a proctor and uploaded to Moodle by midnight (EST) June 30 th. Week of July 4 #20 Target Group: Children #21 Target Group: Family Members Forum Questions: Go to forum for Question #9 Sovereignty/Responsibility Position Paper due by 7/11 Week of July 11 #22 Target Group: Cult Members #23 Local Church Evangelism Forum: no forum discussion this week Book review on Metzger due by 7/15 Witnessing Reports #4-6 due 7/15
9 Week of July 18 Week of July 25 #24 Follow-up: General Principles #25 Follow-up: Assurance of Salvation #26 Closing Challenge (Romans 1:14-16) Witnessing Report #7 and verbatim due by 7/22. Personal Testimony Final Draft Due by 7/22. Forum Questions: Go to forum for Question #10 Book review on Dickerson due by 7/29 Week of July 25 Final Exam will be posted on Moodle by 7/25. It is to be completed and uploaded to Moodle by midnight (EST) August 5 th. The Garrett Fellow (grader/teaching assistant) Rocky Coleman rcoleman@sbts.edu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!very Important!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Papers must follow the format of the Southern Seminary Style Guide (available on Moodle).
10 40 KEY VERSES FOR EVANGELISM GOD Psalms 19:1 Revelation 4:11 Matthew 22:37-38 Leviticus 19:2 REBELLION Isaiah 59:2 Isaiah 53:6 Romans 3:23 Romans 6:23 Hebrews 9:27 Matthew 10:28 ATONEMENT John 3:16 Luke 19:10 Romans 5:8 1 Peter 2:24 Isaiah 53:5 1 Peter 3:18 2 Corinthians 5:21 John 3:36 CONVERSION John 3:3 John 1:12 Acts 16:31 Romans 10:9 Romans 10:13 Matthew 11:28 John 14:6 Acts 4:12 Luke 13:3 Isaiah 55:7 1 John 1:9 Isaiah 1:18 2 Corinthians 6:2 Revelation 3:20 Ephesians 2:8-9 ETERNAL LIFE John 10:10 John 6:37 1 John 5:12-13 Romans 8:16 John 5:24 2 Corinthians 5:17 2 Timothy 1:12
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