GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY EV 701 HA: EVANGELISM AND DISCIPLESHIP IN THE LOCAL CHURCH Spring Term, 2017 Tuesday- Thursday, 9:35-11 a.m. Professors: Jim Singleton and Tom Pfizenmaier Office: Library, #119 and #120 Tel.: Office, 978/646-4093 (JS); 314-368-5869 (TP) E-mail, jsingleton@gcts.edu; jsingleton56@gmail.com; tpfizenmeer@gcts.edu Office Hours: Sign Up Sheets Outside Our Office Doors Byington Scholar: Rachel Toone (rtoone@gordonconwell.edu) Catalog Description: Practical biblical and theological foundation for the practice of leading a congregation in its evangelistic and discipleship ministries. This course will examine both the content and communication of the gospel within various cultural contexts. Introduction This course is at the very heart of preparation for ministry, because evangelism is near to the heart of God. Jesus declared that he came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Our evangelistic witness is one reflection of our vital relationship with God. The Apostle Peter reminds us (I Peter 2:9), you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Prior to his ascension, Jesus clarified his heart s desire as he described the priority to win the lost, to make disciples through Spiritempowered witness (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). Christian witness in the early church was more spontaneous and contagious than strategic, a natural outflow of the love and passionate devotion to Jesus Christ that the believers shared in common. Their love for one another was shared, in turn, with their own surrounding communities, thus fulfilling the Lord s new commandment (John 13:34-35). Gospel witness was both taught and caught, and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:47). Unfortunately, today the topic of evangelism in our own country often evokes dread rather than delight and guilt rather than gratefulness. Many seminarians and pastors confess that they feel woefully inadequate to lead God s church in evangelistic witness and disciple-making. Many have engaged in personal witness, but are at a loss in knowing how to lead a church to become an intentional witness to their own community and to the world. This course is designed to guide students to gain insight in the evangelistic mission and the practice of discipleship in the context of the local congregation. Knowing personal evangelism and discipleship is vital, but also knowing how to lead these visions within a local congregation is the challenge. EV 701 in Relation to the Seminary s Mission Statement This course addresses the Seminary s Mission Statement as follows: Mission Statement #1: Examining God s Word regarding the meaning and practice of evangelismdiscipleship. 1
Mission Statement #2: Constructively critiquing current theologies of evangelism-discipleship in the best tradition of Christian scholarship. Mission Statements #3 & #5: Learning to become skilled in the practice of evangelism-discipleship personally and to provide resources for the local church to be an effective evangelistic and disciple making presence in the larger community. Mission Statements #4 & #6: Working toward growing maturity in evangelism-discipleship and leading the church toward maturity in evangelism-discipleship for redemptive influence in the world. EV 701 Objectives In this introductory course you will: 1. Read some of the best current representative works in the field of evangelism-discipleship, to be followed by class discussion and constructive critique in order to become familiar with the lively debate among Evangelical scholars on how best to understand and to communicate the biblical gospel. 2. Articulate a theology of evangelism-discipleship that is faithful to Scripture in content and consistent with our larger historic evangelical heritage across the millennia. 3. Verbally communicate the gospel in language that is unambiguously clear to your own identified audience(s) without religious jargon, and express the gospel personally with appropriate vulnerability. 4. Gain skill in understanding the context for implementing plans of evangelism and discipleship in the local church. CLASS OVERVIEW & REQUIREMENTS Due Dates for Individual Assignments as Indicated Below Deadline for Submitting Final Work is Monday, May 8 (Registrar s Deadline), 4:00pm Graduating Seniors, Friday, April 28 (4 p.m.) As you work this semester do not allow yourself to get behind each step of the way, you will discover the satisfaction of your learning in process and of the culmination of your learning at the end of the term. I. READING (30% of the Final Course Grade) The texts provide a practical foundation for the ministry of evangelism and discipleship in a local church. My desire is to entice you to a life-long love of reading in these fields. You will verify your reading of required texts on the Reading Report Sheet (Appendix A), and there is also opportunity for you to indicate optional extra credit reading of your own choice. Further, each student will write an annotated bibliography for each work read, first describing the central thesis of the book, followed by a critical analysis of what in this book was helpful in crafting your ministry. There are more than 1850 pages are on the required list. There is an option of doing the reading in pairs within the class. This option would require each student to be responsible for only 1000 pages of reading, but it would add a weekly discussion of the books in pairs. Then you would jointly write the annotated bibliography together, usually writing on separate books, but occasionally noting differences in how you found each particular book to be helpful. That would necessitate also deciding which books you both read, and which books one or the other would read. May graduates should be paired with other May graduates if 2
you take this option. This option is to promote the practice of being in reading groups as local pastors. You will never be able to read everything in life but with partners you can cover more ground. The risk of this approach is that you will receive the same grade because the project is jointly done. The first half of the bibliography will be turned in on March 9, 2017. The rest is due by the last day to turn in written work, May 8, 2016 (4 p.m.) May graduates due on April 28, 2017 (4 p.m.) Required Reading Books Harrington, Bobby and Alex Absalom. Discipleship That Fits: The Five Kinds of Relationships God Uses to Help Us Grow. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016) 238 pages (ISBN: 978-0- 310-5226-4) Keller, Timothy. Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical (New York: Viking, 2016) 326 pages (ISBN: 978-0-525-95415-6). Kreider, Alan. The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2016) 321 pages (ISBN: 978-0-8010-4949-4) Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. (New York: Macmillan Touchstone, 1996, 1943) 175 pages (ISBN: 0-684-82378-0). McCallum, Dennis and Jessica Lowery. Organic Discipleship: Mentoring Others into Spiritual Maturity and Leadership. (Columbus, OH: New Paradigm Publishing, 2012) 330 pages (ISBN: 978-0-09836681-0-7) Peace, Richard. Holy Conversation: Talking About God in Everyday Life. (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Connect, 2006) 127pp. (ISBN-10: 0-8308-1119-2). Rawson, Katie J. Crossing Cultures with Jesus: Sharing Good News with Sensitivity and Grace. (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP, 2015) 205 pages (ISBN: 978-0-8308-4438-8) Stiles, J. Mack. Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus. (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2014) 126 pages (ISBN: 978-1-4335-4465-1). Alternate Reading List Breen, Mike. Building a Discipling Culture: How to Release a Missional Movement by Discipling People Like Jesus Did. (Pawley s Island, SC: 3 Dimension Ministries, 2011) Chilcote, Paul W. and Laceye C. Warner, eds. The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church. (Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans, 2008) (ISBN: 978-0-8028-0391-7). Choung, James. True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In. (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP, 2008) 231 pp. (ISBN-978-0-8308-3609-3) 3
Cole, Neil. Church 3.0: Upgrades for the Future of the Church. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass, 2010) 263 pages (ISBN: 978-0-470-52945-4) Dodson, Jonathan K. The Unbelievable Gospel: Say Something Worth Believing. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014) 226 pp. (ISBN: 978-0-310-51669-9) Everts, Don, and Doug Schaupp. I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us. (IVP, 2008) 134 pp. (ISBN: 10-083083608X) Geiger, Eric, Michael Kelley, and Philip Nation. Transformational Discipleship: How People Really Grow. (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2012) 230 pages (ISBN: 978-1-4336-7854-7) Hirsch, Alan and Dave Ferguson. On the Verge: A Journey into the Apostolic Future of the Church. (Zondervan, 2011) 348 pp (ISBN: 978-0-310-3100-1) Hirsch, Alan and Debra Hirsch. Untamed: Reactivating a Missional Form of Discipleship. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2010) (ISBN: 978-0-8010-1343-0). Hudson, Neil. Imagine Church: Releasing Whole-Life Disciples. (Nottingham, England: IVP, 2012) 184 pp. (ISBN: 978-1-84474-566-1) Hunter, George G. II. The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Win the West Again. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon; 10th revised edition, 2010). 144pp. (ISBN-10-1426711379). Keller, Timothy. Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012) 382 pages (ISBN: 978-0-310-49418-8). Kreider, Alan. The Change of Conversion and the Origin of Christendom. (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press, 1999, reprint Portland: Wipf and Stock, 2012) 126 pages (ISBN: 1-56338-298-9) Kreider, Alan and Eleanor. Worship and Mission After Christendom. (Harrisonburg, VA: Herald, 2009) 322 pp. (ISBN: 978-0-8361-9554-5) McNeil, Brenda Salter. A Credible Witness: Reflections on Power, Evangelism, and Race. (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP, 2008) 158 pages (ISBN: 978-0-8308-3482-2) Ogden, Greg. Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ. (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Connect; Expanded Edition, 2007) 237pp. (ISBN-10: 0830810870) Peace, Richard V. Conversion in the New Testament: Paul and the Twelve. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999) 397 pages (ISBN: 0-8028-4235-6) Pope, Randy. Insourcing: Bringing Discipleship Back to the Local Church. (Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 2013) 199 pages (ISBN: 978-0-310-49067-8) 4
Putnam, Jim and Bobby Harrington. Discipleshift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Discipleship Who Make Disciples. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013) 238 pages) (ISBN: 978-0-310-49262-7) Reese, Martha Grace. Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism. (St. Louis: Chalice, 2007) 150 pp. (ISBN: 978-0-8272-3804-6) Stark, Rodney. The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries. (San Francisco: Harpers, 1997) 246 pages (ISBN: 0-06-067701-5). Stetzer, Ed, Richie Stanley, and Jason Hayes. Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches That Reach Them. (Nashville: B&H, 2009) 232 pp. (ISBN: 97800-8054-4878-8) Stone, Bryan. Evangelism After Christendom: The Theology and Practice of Christian Witness. (San Francisco, CA: Brazos, 2007) 335 pages (ISBN: 978-1-58743-194-4) Tice, Rico. Honest Evangelism: How to Talk About Jesus Even When It s Tough. (UK: The Good Book Company, 2015) 105 pages (ISBN: 978-1-9099-1936-1) Wells, David. Turning to God: Reclaiming Christian Conversion as Unique, Necessary, and Supernatural. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2012). 189pp. (ISBN: 978-0-8010-9700-3). Zuckerman, Phil. Living the Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questions. (New York: Penguin, 2014) 276 pp. (ISBN: 978-1-59420-508-8) II. REFLECTION-DISCUSSION PAPERS (30% of the Final Course Grade) Significant time is spent in class in the development of these papers to prepare you for your work outside of class. Each of the reflection-discussion papers requires your submitting your work to an Editor (family member, friend, someone in the community) who to the best of your knowledge is not a Christian, for their candid comments about your work. These respective papers may be submitted to the same Editor or to different individuals, or even multiple editors, as you wish. Write each paper with an audience of one in mind, i.e. the individual with whom you will be sharing the paper. Keep foremost in your thinking his/her interests and needs. For the reflection-discussion papers provide (for us) a paragraph about the person to whom you will send the paper. Each of these papers must be done in only 2 pages (double-spaced). Anything more than 2 pages will be tossed and graded minus the extra. The aim here is to be clear and succinct and offer something an editor will be likely to read hence, just two pages. In the appendix there is a guide for how to prepare this paper (Appendix B). 1) Personal God Story. This is a true autobiographical story of how God evidently intervened in your life, and includes your own conversion story. It is okay if you do not have a specific date for your conversion per se. As we work on this assignment in class we will discover that each story is 5
unique in the way God has drawn us to saving faith. Be personal, i.e. open and vulnerable. This is your God Story by virtue of God s work in your life. 2) What Has Gone Wrong? This question addresses arguably the greatest challenge in sharing the gospel with this generation, for it involves the doctrine of the Fall and Sin and Evil. What are sin and evil? Who cares? (1) Introduce the topic so your Editor cares enough to listen and to engage in conversation with you. (2) First talk about yourself and be appropriately vulnerable to take pressure off your Editor while at the same time guiding him/her to reflect seriously on the topic. (3) Finally, gently ask whether your Editor believes sin and evil are relevant to his/her own life and invite them to talk about it if they would be interested in doing so. 3) What Does Good Friday Mean? The culture tries to tell us what Christmas and Easter mean. But explain to your reader why the crucifixion happened. Focus on the fullness of this event and in language that connects to your reader. What did the Cross accomplish? Help the reader think through your own growth in understanding this central Christian festival. 4) The Resurrection of Christ Who Cares? Does the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago have any relevance for our own day and age? Any relevance for me personally? Introduce the topic so your Editor cares enough to listen and to engage in conversation with you. Then talk about yourself and be appropriately vulnerable to take pressure off your Editor while at the same time guiding him/her to reflect seriously on the topic. Finally, gently ask whether your Editor believes the resurrection of Christ is relevant to his/her own life and invite them to talk about it if they would be interested in doing so. GRADING SUMMARY All Work Due No Later than May 8, 2017, 4:00pm; Seniors Due April 28, 2017 at 4 p.m. All grading, including final course grade, is based upon the grading scale given in the seminary Catalog: A+=4.0; A=4.0; A-=3.7; B+=3.3; B=3.0; B-=2.7; C+=2.3; C=2.0; C-=1.7; D+=1.3; D=1.0; D-=0.7; F=0.0. Point Scale: 98-100 A+; 94-97 A; 91-93 A-; 88-90 B+; 84-87 B; 81-83 B-; 78-80 C+; 74-77 C; 71-73 C-; 68-70 D+; 64-67 D; 61-63 D-; below 60 F. READING 25% Annotated Bibliography 20% Reading Report Completion (Appendix A) 5% FOUR REFLECTION PAPERS 30% ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION 5% FINAL EXAM 40% Make copies of all of your work or Save on your computer since materials occasionally become lost. 6
Class Schedule Tuesday-Thursday (9:35-11) Subject to Change if Necessary Date: Topic: Week 1: January 31-Feb. 2, 2016 - Introduction to the Course and to One Another. Biblical Reflection Matthew 9:35-38 What is Evangelism? What is the Gospel? Read: Kreider, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church Write: Personal God Story Paper (due February 7) Week 2: February 7-9, 2017 How Did Christianity Spread? Biblical Reflection Acts 9 and Acts 26:12-18 How Does Conversion Happen? Share in Class - Personal God Story with two partners for evaluation ReWrite paper for your Reader/Editor Read: Keller, Making Sense of God Weeks 3: February 14-16, 2017 What is the Grand Narrative of Salvation? Biblical Reflection John 3 Read: Peace, Holy Conversations Begin Reading: Lewis (Looking for metaphor and similes) Write: What Went Wrong? Paper (Due: Feb. 28, 2017) Week 4: February 21-23, 2017 1 st Reading Week Week 5: Feb 28-March 2, 2017 Review the Grand Narrative and Sharing the Story Biblical Reflection - John 4 Read: Stiles, Evangelism Share in Class - What Went Wrong? with two partners for evaluation ReWrite paper for your Reader/Editor Write: First half of Annotated Bibliography (Due: March 9, 2017) Week 6: March 7-9, 2017 - The Process of Evangelism 7
Biblical Reflection John 5 Inside and Outside Conversions Relationship of Christian Nurture and Borrowing/Owning the Faith Read: Lewis, Mere Christianity Write: Good Friday paper (Due March 14) Turn In: First Half of Annotated Bibliography Week 7: March 14-16, 2017 - The Process of Evangelism: Doubts and Struggles Biblical Reflection - John 20 Teaching Evangelism to a Congregation Share in Class Good Friday papers ReWrite paper for your Reader/Editor Read: Rawson, Crossing Cultures with Jesus Write: Why Resurrection? paper (Due: March 30) Week 8: March 21-23, 2017 2 nd Reading Week Week 9: March 28-30, 2017 - Creating a Congregational Culture of Evangelism Biblical Reflection Acts 17-19 Leadership Issues in Leading Change Christendom, Attractional, and Missional Understanding Cross-Cultural Contexts Nearby Share in Class Why Resurrection? papers Read: Harrington and Absalom (chapters, 1-7) Week 10: April 4-6, 2017 - Building the Model of Discipleship in the Local Church Biblical Reflection Matthew 28:16-20; II Timothy 2:2 Realms of Discipleship Turn In: Final copies of Why Resurrection? Read: Harrington and Absalom (chapters, 8-14) Week 11: April 11-13, 2017 - Discipleship and Disciple-Making in the Local Church Biblical Reflection- Colossians 1:28-29; Hebrews 5:7-11 Read: McCallum and Lowry (section 1) Week 12: April 18-20, 2017 Discipleship and Disciple-Making Creating a Culture Read: McCallum and Lowry (section 2 and 3) 8
Week 13: April 25-28, 2017 - Obstacles to Discipleship Summary Biblical Reflection Acts 20:25-32 9
Name Box # E-Mail Name Box # E-Mail APPENDIX A READING REPORT SHEET REQUIRED READING: READ: (cite # pp.) All (check) # OF PAGES Partial 1. Kreider, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church (321 pp.) 2. Keller, Making Sense of God (326 pp.) 3. Peace, Holy Conversation (127pp.) 4. Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity (175pp.) 5. Stiles, Evangelism (126 pp.) 6. Rawson, Crossing Cultures with Jesus (208 pp.) 7. Harrington and Absalom, Discipleship That Fits (238 pp.) 8. McCallum and Lowry, Organic Discipleship (330 pp.) TOTAL PAGES READ.. (out of 1851 pp. or 1000 pp). % OF REQUIRED READING % ADDITIONAL/ALTERNATIVE READING COMPLETED: Read: Author: Title: Copyright Date: # Pages 1. 2. 3. TOTAL ADDITIONAL PAGES READ: p 10
APPENDIX B GROUP REVIEW Sharing Papers PRELIMINARY APPROVAL 1. Is your work interesting / attention-getting for the listener? Develop your LEAD SENTENCE [LEAD QUESTION] to be OF MORE INTEREST TO THE LISTENER. Introduce your story in a way that can RELATE TO THEM. (e.g., Have you ever wondered? e.g., What would you say to someone who? ) INTRODUCE YOUR PRIMARY THEME(S) more evidently. (e.g., loneliness, or fear, or boredom, or doubt, or rejection, or IN YOUR OWN WORDS AND WITH YOUR OWN EXPRESSIONS.) CARRY THROUGH WITH YOUR PRIMARY THEME(S) FROM BEGINNING TO END. There should be a thread from the first paragraph to the last. Transition (segue) from one paragraph to the next. Reduce the length without taking from the substance. 2. Is your work inviting the listener to dialog? Write in a way so that the listener will want to have conversation with you. Your invitation may be direct, or you may be indirect but with an inviting style. 3. Is your God Story free of jargon meaningless to the listener? All religious or Christianese words or phrases are circled. Either eliminate them and replace with meaningful alternatives, or define/explain/illustrate them. BRIEF description of your Editor s Religious / Church Background and Any Other Pertinent Information: 11