Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Ministry The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 45260 Discipleship and Family Ministry Winter 2014 PROFESSOR Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D. Professor of Leadership and Church Ministries Associate Vice President of Online Learning Editor of The Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry Email: tjones@sbts.edu Twitter: @timothywashere Telephone: 502.897.4347 GARRETT FELLOW Dustin Bruce, Th.M. (Ph.D. cand., Biblical Spirituality) dbruce@sbts.edu The professor has full confidence in and communicates consistently with the Garrett Fellow. Please email any questions regarding coursework and grades to the Garrett Fellow. COURSE DESCRIPTION An exploration of ways the church can minister to the contemporary family in all its forms: the single person, the couple with no children, and parents of children in various stages of development. Attention is given to the needs of each form of family and how the church can help meet those needs through education, program design, and other ministries. WHY TAKE THIS COURSE This course, scheduled in coordination with Dr. Jone s Alumni Academy course on January 9-10, 2014, provides a unique opportunity to receive both academic credit and practical equipping for effective family ministry. Course discussions and assignments will provide foundations for understanding different generations and for guiding families toward healthy, gospel-centered habits of discipline and discipleship GETTING STARTED If you are not a current student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, PAGE 1
register here: http://events.sbts.edu/alumniacademywinter/registrationdecember/ If you are a current student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, register through http://moodle.sbts.edu for the course 45260 MD Discipleship and Family Ministry. Purchase the required textbooks from the bookseller of your choice. Obtain a login name and password for the Moodle courseware from campustechnology@sbts.edu. Login to the courseware at http://moodle.sbts.edu. Watch the videos and complete the assigned work as scheduled throughout the remainder of the semester and upload completed work using the links for the course found in the Moodle courseware. FINDING HELP If you have questions related to course expectations, assignments, or due dates, contact the teaching assistant for the course, Dustin Bruce: dbruce@sbts.edu. If you have difficulties or questions related to the Moodle courseware, contact Campus Technology: campustechnology@sbts.edu. If you have difficulties or questions related to online learning or videos, contact Kathy Savage in the Office of Online Learning: ksavage@sbts.edu. If you have questions related to the content of the course, email Dr. Jones. REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS Tim Chester and Ed Moll. Gospel-Centred Family. Surrey: Good Book, 2009. Haynes, Brian. The Legacy Path: Discover Intentional Spiritual Parenting. Nashville: Randall House, 2011. Jones, Timothy Paul. Family Ministry Field Guide. Indianapolis: WPH, 2011. SBTS Style Manual. Download: www.sbts.edu/documents/style_manual.pdf Wright, Steve, with Chris Graves. Apparent Privilege. InQuest Ministries, 2008. Smith, Christian, with Patricia Snell. Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults. New York: Oxford, 2009. ATTENDANCE This course is a compressed experience scheduled in coordination with the Alumni Academy at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on January 9-10, 2014. No other face-to-face class time is required. As a result, attendance is not optional. Students must attend the full Alumni Academy session. Failure to attend will result in a failing grade for the course. PAGE 2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND MEASURES DEGREE OBJECTIVES be able to display a biblical vision for ministry and lead with humble authority. COURSE OBJECTIVES know and articulate a clear biblical vision for family discipleship. MEASURES Conference Reflection and Discussion (25 points, five points per response)after the conference in the designated forum in the Moodle courseware, discuss with other conference participants what you learned through the Alumni Academy session. Think about posting your notes so that others might gain the benefit of your perspective. be able to demonstrate a growing Christ-like character and a sense of God's calling to ministry. plan future habits of family discipleship with the goal of responding more fully to the gospel in their present and future family situations Family Discipleship Plan (25 points): Carefully read the following texts: Chester & Moll 2009; Haynes 2011; Jones 2011; Wright with Graves 2008. Drawing clearly and explicitly from these readings, develop a clear plan for family discipleship. If married, present a family discipleship plan for the upcoming three years. Specifically address how you will grow in disciplining your present or future children, in practicing family devotions, in evangelizing your current or future children, and in seeking gospel-centered peace in your relationships with one another. If you are single, develop a discipleship plan for the first three years of marriage, showing how the texts that you read have shaped your vision for marriage, for the discipline of children, for family devotions, and for evangelism of children that God may give you in the future. Even if you never marry, this exercise will assist you in counseling persons who are preparing for marriage. This paper should conform to The Southern Seminary Style Manual. The completed assignment should be no fewer than six but no more than twelve pages in length. If any assigned text is not explicitly quoted or cited in the completed assignment, it will be assumed by the grader that you did not consult the work and your grade will be lowered accordingly. DUE JANUARY 25 AT 11:50 EST. PAGE 3
DEGREE OBJECTIVES be able to demonstrate competent leadership in local church leadership COURSE OBJECTIVES develop a curriculum resource for families in a local church. MEASURES Family Devotional Project (5 points per devotional, 5 points for analysis; 25 points total): Study Jones 2011 and Wright with Graves 2008. Consider carefully and prayerfully what family devotions or faith-talks might look like for the families in your church. Develop four weeks of family devotional guides for families in your church according to the following guidelines. (1) Devotional guides should be intended to help parents to lead family devotions and (2) should include activities that will engage all ages of children in the household. (3) The devotional guides should be attractive and professional in appearance so that the devotionals could be easily photocopied and distributed to any congregation. (4) Each devotional guide should provide a gospel-centered focus on a particular biblical text and (5) should be no more than 1,000 words but no fewer than 500 words in length.following the devotionals, include a two-tothree-page reflection that draws from the assigned texts and explains how the assigned readings from Jones 2011 and Wright with Graves 2008 influenced the family devotional guides.this assignment is intended to be used directly in the homes of your church members and therefore should not conform to the SBTS Style Manual. If the assigned texts are not explicitly quoted or cited, it will be assumed by the grader that you did not consult these resources and your grade will be lowered accordingly. DUE FEBRUARY 1 AT 11:50 EST PAGE 4
DEGREE OBJECTIVES be able to demonstrate significant knowledge of the Bible, interpret Scripture s original meaning, and apply Scripture to contemporary situations. be able to understand the Christian worldview and have a global vision for fulfilling the Great Commission. COURSE OBJECTIVES biblically and theologically analyze the religious and moral values held by young adults. MEASURES Intergenerational Interview and Analysis (25 points): Study Smith with Snell 2009. From these readings, develop five interview questions intended to deepen your understanding of the religious and moral values of young adults. Footnote each question to demonstrate which portions of the assigned texts shaped this question. Using these questions, interview two persons: (1) a single person between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five and (2) an individual, single or married, over the age of sixty-five. Choose persons as similar as possible; for example, the same gender, both Christians or both non-christians, perhaps both members of the same church, and so on. In the interview with the older person, ask the questions based on how she or he would have answered as a young adult; for example, preface each question with a statement such as, "When you were in your early twenties, how would you have answered this question?" Write an eight-to-twelve page paper that (1) lists and footnotes the interview questions, (2) compares and contrasts the responses from these two individuals from different generations, and, (3) provides a biblical-theological analysis of the moral and religious values of each generation, as observed through these two interviews. The interview paper should explicitly interact with the assigned readings. This assignment should conform to the Southern Seminary Style Manual. If an assigned text is not explicitly quoted or cited, it will be assumed by the grader that you did not consult the work and your grade will be lowered accordingly. DUE DECEMBER 06 AT 11:50 EST. PAGE 5
COURSE SCHEDULE DATE AND TOPIC DUE CONTENT January 2-8 Gospel- Centeredness in Parenting Read: Chester & Moll 2009. Watch Video: Timothy Paul Jones, Foundations for Family Discipleship: Lecture 1: http://youtu.be/ tzltalrh1bo The Moodle courseware tracks each student's video viewing. If a student fails to watch any video or watches only a portion of the videos, his or her discussion and class participation grade will be lowered accordingly. PAGE 6
DATE AND TOPIC DUE CONTENT January 9-10 Alumni Academy on campus Class Meeting: Alumni Academy and Dialogue. January 12-18 Gospel- Centeredness in Parenting Discuss in online forum: What, specifically, would be different if a home became gospel-centered? Specifically reference Chester & Moll 2009 OR Jones 2011. Read: Jones 2011. Review: Chester and Moll, 2009 January 13-19 Developing a Plan for Family Discipleship Family Discipleship Plan (January 26th at 11:50 EST) Read: Haynes 2011. Review: Jones 2011. January 20-26 Reflections on the Alumni Academy Discuss in online forum: What was most helpful to you at Dr. Jones Alumni Academy session? How will your experiences during this conference change the way that you guide your family toward the gospel? Read: Wright with Graves 2008. PAGE 7
DATE AND TOPIC DUE CONTENT January 27- February 2 Developing Tools for Family Discipleship Family Devotional Project (February 2nd at 11:50 EST) February 3-9 Sociological Perspectives on Teenagers and Young Adults Discuss in online forum: Summarize what are the most significant implications for your ministry in the readings from Christian Smith. How might Christian Smith's research be helpful in a church's family ministry? Read: Smith with Snell 2009. February 10-16 Theological Analysis of Sociological Perspectives Discuss in online forum: Consider Christian Smith's research in light of the fourfold theological metanarrative of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. If this theological metanarrative truly frames all of life, where does Christian Smith's research fit? Which aspects of the religious values of teenagers and young adults exemplify God's good design in creation? Which aspects result from the fall? What about redemption and consummation? Watch Video: Foundations for Family Ministry: Lecture 2: http://youtu.be/ K0A1Flemloc PAGE 8
DATE AND TOPIC DUE CONTENT February 17-23 Milestones and the Christian Formation of Teenagers Discuss in online forum: Look over the Appendix: Survey Methodology and Results found on pages 215 218 in the Family Ministry Field Guide. Are the results surprising? Consistent with your experience? What about the disparity between 'perceptions' and 'practices?' Is this primarily a failure to disciple adults or children? Review: Jones 2011. March 10-16 Intergenerational Interview and Analysis (March 16 at 11:50 EST) COURSE VALUES As believers in Jesus, the goal of our learning is to have this mind, the very one that was in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). It is, after all, when we are most like Jesus that God is most glorified. Therefore, throughout this course, we will view one another with humility, valuing one another as persons created in the image of God in whom God is working to conform us to the image of Christ. Our model for this sort of humility and submission is the Trinity, wherein the Spirit PAGE 9
submits his glory to the Son, the Son lives and dies to glorify the Father, and the Father plans and initiates redemption such that the Son is glorified without ever diminishing the Father's headship within the Trinity (John 15:9-16, 26; 16:14; 17:1-5, 24). When we view one another with this sort of humility, there is no need to impress one another, no need to live under the tyranny of false and fallen selves. We can be honest with one another about our jobs, about our churches, about our capacities, about the work that we have contributed to our assignments, about the tasks that we have completed, and about the ones that we have not. When our goal is not merely to receive a grade but to contribute to a shared learning experience that develops in us the mind of Christ, an intrinsic motivation should exist to demonstrate love to one another by participating fully, consistently, and wholeheartedly in each learning opportunity that this class presents. Your professor holds without reservation and without apology to the doctrinal commitments of the Abstract of Principles (1859) and the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) as accurately representing biblical truth. The professor's understanding of the nature of Scripture is summarized in these confessional documents and in the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978). This course will be taught within the context of this set of confessional convictions as COURSE PROTOCOLS Late assignments: Points received for late assignments will be radically reduced by 50%, and it is unlikely that the student will receive a final grade above the required B-. Unless every assignment is completed, you will receive a failing grade for the course. Respect for divergent viewpoints: Students and faculty are to show appropriate respect for each other even when divergent viewpoints are expressed in the classroom. Such respect does not require agreement with or acceptance of divergent viewpoints. Student email and courseware: Students are responsible to check their students.sbts.edu email account daily; students are responsible to login to courseware site (moodle.sbts.edu) at least once per week. Failure to do so will result in a failure to obtain needed information. All assignments must be uploaded either in PDF (preferred) or Microsoft Word 2007 or earlier. Assignments uploaded in any other formats will not be accepted or graded. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the theft or unattributed use of the intellectual property of another. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary provides the PAGE 10
following definition of the word plagiarize : "To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own to use (a created production) without crediting the source to commit literary theft to present as new and original an idea or product from an existing source." Educators have a traditional concern that material be credited properly as a part of the learning process. To this concern, the Christian adds a commitment to the worth of persons, to the importance of the search for truth, and to the integrity of belief and behavior. The prohibition of theft, at least as old as the Ten Commandments, extends to the misrepresentation of an individual's most personal property: words and ideas. The Southern Seminary community considers plagiarism to be conduct inappropriate to a minister. It also identifies plagiarism as an offense against the community and, as such, cause for disciplinary action. At its core, plagiarism is at once an act of pride, covetousness, theft, and sloth pridefully setting oneself up as having formulated an idea that belonged to someone else, desiring to possess that idea for oneself, ultimately stealing that idea for one's own purposes, and thereby avoiding a God-given opportunity for meaningful labor. This professor will deal firmly with any form of plagiarism. If there is any doubt or even potential doubt as to whether an idea comes from you or from someone else, note and reference the someone else In less formal situations, it may be sufficient to say or write, As said.... In formal writing there are standard formats for documenting sources. The guide to this type of documentation at Southern Seminary is The Southern Seminary Manual of Style. If you are uncertain of the original source, please note that there are provisions for the citation even of unknown sources. Specific citations and references are necessary not only when a source is quoted or paraphrased but also when an idea was influenced by a particular source or group of sources. Whenever the professor requests that sources be utilized in an assignment, it is expected that the student will reference the source through explicit citations. Special needs: Because each individual has been created in the image of God, each individual is inherently valuable. It is, therefore, the desire of this institution and of this professor to work with students to the full degree that is possible, regardless of physical or mental challenges. If this includes special accommodations for example, the use of a recording device, adaptive equipment, or special note taking please contact the professor prior to the first day of class. Grievances and grade disputes: Some assignments may be graded by the professor's Garrett Fellow. The professor has full confidence in this individual's ability to evaluate the student's work. If a student has a concern about a grade that he or she received, the student is expected to discuss the matter with the Garrett Fellow via email. If the student still has significant concern, he or she may discuss the matter with the professor, but please note that only in the most unusual and extreme circumstances would the professor ever change the original grade assigned by the Garrett Fellow. If consultation with the Garrett Fellow and with the professor still does not resolve the grievance, the student should contact the Associate Dean for Doctoral Studies for the School of Church Ministries. PAGE 11
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