Course Syllabus (Sem PM)

GC501/502: Introduction to Global and Contextual Studies

Bethel Seminary

Date: Fall 2009, September 28-December 11

Mod V: Section 2

Time: Monday, 8:00-10:00 p.m.

Faculty Name: Dr. Wilbur P. Stone

Email:

Phone number(s): Office, 651-635-8787; Cell, 763-486-3825

Office hours: My office is A203. Please call or e-mail for appointment.

Personal Biodata:

Following 15 years in the pastoral ministry, my wife (Sheila) and I became involved in overseas cross-cultural ministry in 1990. Our primary ministry locations were Hong Kong (1990-1994) and in Malaysia (1997-2002), but our ministries also involved working with existing churches and church leaders in other locations to include Macau, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Singapore. My ministry involvements included the following: Strategy Coordinator and Team Leader for an urban team in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Adjunct Lecturer--teaching a variety of courses (primarily missions-related) at seminaries in Malaysia and Singapore, and serving as the Director of a seminary extension program; conducting seminars in numerous other locations; church planting through a variety of means; ministry to migrants, both in-country and foreign; ministry to drug addicts; ministry to the urban poor; and serving as the mission administrator and treasurer in Hong Kong. These ministries provided us opportunities to work with people from a variety of ethnic, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds as well as the opportunity to participate in and learn about many different kinds of ministries in major urban settings.

Course Description:

Introduction to Global and Contextual Studies serves as a general introduction to missiology or the study of missions. It includes a survey of the progress of the world wide mission of the church and the status of Christianity in the world. It examines resources from the Bible and biblical theology, the history of Christian missions, practical theology, and cultural anthropology, fostering an integration of insights from these and other disciplines. There will be provision for the student to develop one’s own philosophy and theology of missions, and understanding of the mission of the local church and the involvement in missions which is most appropriate for one’s particular life as well as one’s church.

General Course Objectives:

Studies in global and contextual studies will enable students to:

1.  to introduce the students to the missionary character of the Bible and to insights in historic Christian theology with application to Christian missions;

2.  to enhance the students’ awareness of the dimensions of our world and its needs, and the implications of these factors to Christian missions;

3.  to challenge the students to discover God’s planned role for them in the church’s mission to the world;

4.  to acquaint the students with the broad outline and selected highlights of modern missions history;

5.  to introduce the development of missions strategy and point the students toward the development of a personal philosophy and theology of missions;

6.  to provide students with an overview of the work of some mission agencies;

7.  to make students aware of the problems and means involved in communicating the gospel to people of other ethnic and religious groups;

8.  to acquaint the students with contemporary trends and issues in 20th century missions;

9.  to expose the students to the challenges and opportunities for missionary service;

10.  to lead the students to a deeper commitment to missionary support.

Specific Course Objectives:

  1. the students will have an adequate grasp of the biblical passages related to missions and be able to explain their importance to the missionary task;
  2. the students will be familiar with significant people in missions’ history, noting their particular accomplishments or contributions to the missionary cause;
  3. the students will be able to articulate the key points in the missions philosophies of selected missionary strategists;
  4. the students will be able to explain the process leading to appointment as a missionary;
  5. the students will be able to define selected terms that pertain to missions;
  6. the students will be able to identify the largest blocks of unevangelized people in the world.

Required Texts:

·  A. Scott Moreau, Gary R. Corwin, and Gary B. McGee, Introducing World Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey. Baker Academic, 2004. ISBN 0801026482.

·  Tom Telford, Today’s All-Star Missions Churches. Baker Books, 2001. ISBN 0801063817.

Recommended Reading:

·  John Mark Terry, Ebbie Smith, and Justice Anderson, Missiology: An Introduction to the Foundations, History, and Strategy of World Missions (1998)

·  Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, Third Edition (1999)

·  David J. Hesselgrave, Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally (1991)

·  Paul G. Hiebert, Anthropological Insights for Missionaries (1985)

·  Paul G. Hiebert, Anthropological Reflections on Missiological Issues (1994)

·  Charles H. Kraft, Christianity in Culture (1979)

·  Donald A. McGavran, Bridges of God (1955)

·  Eugene Nida, Customs and Cultures: Anthropology for Christian Missions (1975)

·  Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts (1981)

Course Requirements:

Assignment #1: During the first week, submit a brief Personal Profile; mention any missions experiences or goals you have, and how this course might be relevant to your current or future ministry.

Assignment #2: Weekly Reading in the required text.

Assignment #3: Blackboard Interactions. Complete and submit a Reflection Paper to EACH of the Five Parts in the Moreau text entitled Introducing World Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey on the Blackboard, a minimum of 750 words. Then, post at least one response to another student’s posting, a minimum of 250 words—or a total of two postings for each major part from this text. Students should include at least one question for class discussion from EACH of the five parts in the required text. You may do additional interaction forms on each individual chapter or on additional articles from resources listed in the recommended reading section or from the Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions CD-ROM included with the primary text for extra credit if you wish. I will take this work into consideration if your grade point average is on the line between two different grades.

I USE THIS APPROACH VERSUS REQUIRING QUIZZES OR EXAMS, BUT PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS ASSIGNMENT LIGHTLY. NOT ONLY DOES IT COUNT FOR 25% OF YOUR FINAL GRADE, I PARTICULARLY FOCUS ON THIS ASSIGNMENT AS AN INDICATION OF WHETHER YOU ARE ACCURATELY UNDERSTANDING AND MAKING THE APPROPRIATE APPLICATION OF THE MATERIALS BEING READ! Questions submitted or issues for which further clarification is desired will be utilized to foster class discussion during each class period.

Assignment #4: Response Paper. Each student will be required to submit a response paper on the text by Tom Telford entitled Today’s All-Star Missions Churches. This paper should be no less than five pages in length (double-spaced). The primary aim of utilizing this text is to inform students on several issues related to the development of an effective missions program in a local church.

Intergrative Assignment (IP) #5: Research Paper. Each student will be required to submit a research paper that sets forth an effective program of missions for a local church. This program should include missions education, prayer support, financial support, volunteerism, and missions projects. This paper should be at least fifteen (15) pages in length (double spaced), and is due during the ninth week of the course. This research paper should integrate insights from the biblical and theological foundations for cross-cultural ministry and missions along with insights related to culture and specific aspects of ministry.

This research Project completed for this course will contribute to the student’s seminary integrative portfolio. In addition to submitting this assignment to the course instructor, you are also required to upload your assignment to your Integrative Portfolio. For important uploading instructions, visit your Integrative Portfolio Blackboard course (GS002 or GS003). This requirement began in the fall quarter of 2008 and applies to all degree seeking students from that point forward.

An alternate topic is available to those students interested in applying for service as overseas missionaries. Those students may choose to prepare a people-group profile of an unreached people group or a city profile of a major unreached urban center. Special instructions will be provided to those desiring to pursue this assignment. The length of the paper will be the same. This assignment will also be due one week following the end of the regular class schedule.

Assignment #6: Final Exam (Take Home): Write a five (5) page (minimum) critique of a film to be presented during the final class period, drawing on insights discerned from your reading as well as the class lectures, and particularly noting issues related to the four major aspects related to the missions task, namely the biblical and theological, historical, cultural, and strategic dimensions. Instructions for this assignment will be provided and discussed further during the final class period. This assignment is due one week following the end of the regular class schedule. The instructor may elect to provide students with a copy of this film in order for this assignment to be completed outside of the normal class period. The copies of the film would then be returned when the assignment is submitted.

Course Grading:

Reflection Papers: 25%

Response Paper: 20%

Research Paper: 30%

Final Exam: 25%

Academic Course Policies:

Please familiarize yourself with the catalog requirements as specified in Academic Course Policies document found on the Syllabus page in Blackboard. You are responsible for this information, and any academic violations, such as plagiarism, will not be tolerated.

Grading Philosophy and Point Criteria:

A total of 100 points is possible. Each assignment /grading category reflects both the percentage of the class grade, as well as the number of points possible for the assignment/category. A final grade of “A” (95-100) is reflective of an extremely high demonstrated quality level for graduate studies with reference to the areas of (a) class preparation-participation, and (b) accomplishment of the course assignments according to the stated criteria for each assignment. A final grade of “B” (85-87) is reflective of an average demonstrated quality level for graduate studies for these categories. A final grade of “C” (75-77) is reflective of a below average demonstrated quality level for graduated studies for these categories.


The student’s course grade will be the total of all assignments, based on the scale below:

B+..……..88-91 C+..………78-81 D+..………68-71

A……..95-100 B………..85-87 C…………75-77 D…………65-67

A-……92-94 B-……….82-84 C-………...72-74 D-………...62-64

F……...Below 62

Grading Criteria for Papers and Assignments:

Admittedly, the assignment of grades can be a highly subjective process for the instructor and consequently, a frustrating experience for the student. I offer these “objective” criteria to guide you in your work as well as to communicate my standards for assigning grades.

1. Quality of Writing: This is a graduate course. As such my assignment of a grade to your work will reflect appropriately high standards for (a) clarity of language, (b) the development of well-informed arguments, and (c) the documentation of evidence cited for your arguments or position. While this is not a class on writing, it is nonetheless important for you to effectively articulate, develop, and defend your ideas and conclusions.

While there are no specific format requirements, please observe the following:

(a)  Your papers should be word processed, double spaced, and reasonably free from errors in spelling and grammar;

(b)  Begin each paper with a title stating your name, address (P.O. Box if applicable) and the title of the assignment. Assignments sent as attachments to e-mails should include the student’s name and the title of the assignment in the subject line of the e-mail as well as on the attachment itself;

(c)  Utilize gender inclusive language unless it violates a theological conviction;

(d)  Keep paragraphs to a reasonable length. One sentence does not constitute a paragraph. Ten sentences is probably too many.

(e)  Document all sources including author, date, publisher and page number (or web-sites, conferences, and other sources of information beyond books or published articles).

2. Quality of Content: Your papers will be evaluated on the following content-oriented criteria:

(a)  The level of analysis of the concerns, problems, and questions addressed in your work. For instance, a simple and surface (even though accurate) articulation and application of information learned in your reading and in class sessions will not meet the standards for an “A” on the assignment. An “A” assignment will vigorously process the information learned through the framework of the Bible, expert content, and personal values and experience such that issues critical to the assignment are addressed. An “A” interaction form, research or reflection paper will demonstrate that you have deeply thought about the issues and questions identified in the assignment.

(b)  The level of synthesis of course material evidenced by your work. Did you make use of the full range of course material relevant to the assignment, appropriately differentiating, combining, integrating, and applying the materials to the issue at hand? Does your work reflect that you have carefully read and thoughtfully integrated all relevant course material, including class sessions?

(c)  The level of evaluation and critical reflection evidenced in your work. Did you employ appropriate criteria (eg., the Bible, personal values, personal experience, expert opinion) for making critical judgments and for arriving at considered conclusions with reference to the issues at hand? After being informed by the Bible, expert opinion, class reading and discussions, and personal experience, did you come to a set of biblical-based, well-reasoned, and well-defended conclusions?

3. FINAL CHECK: DID YOU SPECIFICALLY ENGAGE THE ASSIGNMENTS? DID YOU ADDRESS THE QUESTIONS AND/OR PARTICULARS OF THE ASSIGNMENT AS THEY ARE POSED? DID YOU DO WHAT THE ASSIGNMENT ASKED?

Weekly Assignments:

Week 1: Personal Profile (Submitted by e-mail following the first class session)

Week 2: Reflection Paper, Part 1, Moreau text

Week 3:

Week 4: Reflection Paper, Part 2, Moreau text

Week 5:

Week 6: Reflection Paper, Part 3, Moreau text; Response Paper to the Telford text due

Week 7:

Week 8: Reflection Paper, Part 4, Moreau text

Week 9:

Week 10: Reflection Paper, Part 5, Moreau text