GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY (Center for Urban Ministerial Education) Church of God of Prophecy Consortium October 2011 Church and Community: Introduction to the Public Ministry of the Church (MC/SE 602) I. Course Objectives: The Student: You are the salt of the earth You are the light of the world. Matthew 5: 13-16 Professor: Rev. Dr. Eliana Runyon Email: elianarunyon@hotmail.com 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 Required: Linthicum, Robert. Building a People of Power: Equipping Churches to Transform Their Communities. Waynesboro, GA: Authentic/World Vision, 2006. Stone, Bryan P. and Claire E. Wolfteich. Sabbath in the City: Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. Swanson, Eric and Rick Rusaw, The Externally Focused Quest: Becoming the Best Church for the Community. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Villafañe, Eldin. Seek the Peace of the City: Reflections on Urban Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995. Wallis, Jim. Faith Works: How Faith-based Organizations are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods, and America. Berkeley, CA: Page Mill Press, 2000. Recommended: Linthicum, Robert. Empowering the Poor: Community Organizing Among the City s rag, tag, and bobtail. Monrovia, CA: MARC/World Vision International, 1991. Sider, Ronald J. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity (20 th anniversary revision). Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, 1997.
Villafañe, Eldin. Beyond Cheap Grace: A Call to Radical Discipleship, Incarnation, and Justice. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006. III. Course Requirements: A. Common Reading: As a background for course and class lecture/discussion, the student should complete required readings (whole book) by the first day of class. B. Critical Analysis and Reflection on three Required Texts: As you read the books, select two key themes/ideas in each book that will be helpful to your ministry. Provide a brief three-page analysis of each of the following books: a) Sabbath in the City, by Stone and Wolfteich; b) The Externally Focused Quest, by Swanson and Rusaw; and, c) Faith Works, by Wallis. Due date: December 4 th, 2011. Please email to elianarunyon@hotmail.com. No printed copy is necessary. 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. The Biblical Basis for Public Ministry 2. Justice and the Public Ministry of the Church 3. Politics and the Public Witness of the Church 4. The Public Ministry of Jesus 5. The Christian Community as a Public Church Paper should be 8-10 pages long (not counting cover sheet and bibliography). Due date: December 4 th, 2011. Please email to elianarunyon@hotmail.com. No printed copy is necessary. IV. Grade Evaluation Your class grade will be evaluated as follows: Common Readings 20% Attendance 10% Critical Analysis and Reflection 30% Final Paper 40% Minus any penalty for unfulfilled requirements (e.g. regular attendance, late papers). 2
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 C. The Church and Its Public Ministry: Lessons from Jesus II. The Church and its Public Witness A. The Classical Missiological Categories of the Church s Mission B. Justice Towards the Poor III. Social Diakonia: The Public Ministry of the Church A. Typology of Social Diakonia B. Towards Faith-Based Community Organizing: Saturday Workshop 3
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, NY: Orbis Books, 1989. Boyte, Harry C. Commonwealth: A Return to Citizen Politics. New York, NY: The Free Press, 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, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982. Conn, Harvie M., and Ortiz, Manuel. Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City, & the People of God. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001. Cromartie, Michael (ed.). A Public Faith: Evangelicals and Civic Engagement. Lanham, MD: 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, MI: Baker Books, 2003. 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, 1945-1985. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996. Gushee, David P., ed. Toward a Just and Caring Society: Christian Responses to Poverty in America. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999. Heco, Hugh, and McClay M., Wilfred. Religion Returns to the Public Square: Faith and Policy in America. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University Press, 2003. Hessel, Dieter T. Social Ministry. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1982. Kozol, Jonathan. Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and Conscience of a Nation. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1995. Kretzmann, John P. and McKnight, John L. Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community s Assets. Evanston, IL: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research Neighborhood Innovations Network, 1993. Lappe, Frances Moore and DuBois, Paul Martin. The Quickening of America: Rebuilding our Nation, Remaking our Lives. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Inc. Publishers, 1994. 4
Linthicum, Robert C. City of God, City of Satan: A Biblical Theology of the Urban Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991.. Empowering the Poor: Community Organizing Among the City s Rag, Tag, and Bobtail. Monrovia, CA: MARC, 1991.. 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, NY: Crossroad, 1981. 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, CT: Yale University Press, 1983. Mott, Stephen. Biblical Ethics and Social Change. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1982. Neuhaus, Richard John. The Naked Public Square. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1984. Niebuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture. New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1951. Newbigin, Lesslie. Truth to Tell: The Gospel as Public Truth. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991. Palmer, Parker J. The Company of Strangers: Christians and the Renewal of America s Public Life. New York, NY: Crossroads, 1981. Pasquariello, Ronald D., Shriver Jr., Donald W., and Geyer, Alan. Redeeming the City: Theology, Politics, and Urban Policy. New York, NY: The Pilgrim Press, 1982. Peters, B. Guy. American Public Policy: Promise and Performance, 4 th ed. Chatham, NJ: Chatham House Publishers, Inc., 1996. 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, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992 (ed.). Sider, Ronald J. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, 1997 (20 th Ann. Revision). Sjogren, Steve and Lewin, Rob. Community of Kindness: A Refreshing New Approach to Planting and Growing a Church. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2003. Skillen, James W. The Scattered Voice: Christians at Odds in the Public Square. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Books, 1990. Stackhouse, Max L. Public Theology and Political Economy. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1987. Stone, Bryan P. Compassionate Ministry: Theological Foundations. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996. 5
Stone, Bryan P. and Wolfteich, Claire E. Sabbath in the City: Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. Swanson, Eric and Rusaw, Rick. The Externally Focused Quest: Becoming the Best Church for the Community. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2010. 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, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995.. The Liberating Spirit: Toward a Hispanic American Pentecostal Social Ethic. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1993.. A Prayer for the City: Further Reflections on Urban Ministry. Austin, TX.: AETH, 2001.. Beyond Cheap Grace: A Call to Radical Discipleship, Incarnation, and Justice. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006. Villafañe, Eldin, Jackson, Bruce, Evans, Roberts and Evans, Alice. Transforming the City: Reframing Education for Urban Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002. Walker, Theodore, Jr. Empower the People: Social Ethics for the African American Church. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991. 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, TN: Abingdon, 1979. Wilson, William Julius. When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1996. Winter, Bruce W. Seek the Welfare of the City: Christians As Benefactors and Citizens. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1994. Yoder, John. H. The Politics of Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1972. 6