Introduction to Christian Missions — MISS 2113. Howard Culbertson — Cell: 405-740-4149, E-mail: hculbert@snu. Course web page:
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Introduction to Christian Missions — MISS 2113Howard Culbertson Š 05-7-, E-mail: [email protected] web page: http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/intro.htmCourse DescriptionMissiology is the science of mission. It combines studies, anthropology, history, cross-culturalcommunications and theology. This introductory overview of the church’s global mission will include a look atbiblical motivations, historical background and current strategies. This course does not seek to transform everyone into a global missionary. It will, however, seek to motivateeveryone to be a mobilizer for the cause of world evang elism.In terms of specific course goals, this course aims to equip students to:Outline a biblical rationale and the theological imperative for world evangelization Identify and describe some key movements and individuals in the history of the global expansion of theChristian movement including those within one’s own denomination Explain the task yet to be accomplished and describe important trends and selected strategies being used incontemporary world mission outreachList basic components necessary for local congregations to be involved in the missionary task of the Church. In terms of ordination requirements in the Church of the Nazarene, this course should help produce in studentsthe following outcomes:1.Ability to understand and articulate the biblical, hist orical and theological bases for Christian mission2.Ability to describe how the church implemented its mission in the various periods of Church History3.Ability to describe the general story line of the expansion of the Church 4.Ability to identify and describe the significance of major figures, themes and events of various periods of Church History as they relate to missionary outreach 5.Ability to sensitively explain the nature of cultures 6.Ability to describe and inte rpret the relationship between culture and individual behavior7.Ability to identify and apply the prin ciples of cross-cultural communications8.Ability to describe basic missiological principles 9.Ability to think globally and engage cr oss-culturally for the purpose of mission10.Ability to envision contextualized worship 11.Ability to discern and make theologi cally based ethical decisions in the midst of a complex and/or paradoxicalcontext12.Ability to synthesize, analyze, reason logically for di scernment, assessment and problem solving and live withambiguity13.Ability to develop team building skills, identify and cultivate spiritual gifts, recruit volunteers14.Ability to write clearly and in a grammatically correct mannerTextbookDiscovering Missions by Gailey and Culbertson Assignments Jan. 10Course introduction 15Bible #1: Genesis 12:1-3; Ge nesis 28:10-15; Galatians 3:7-9 17Reading report for chapters 1-2
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Introduction to Missions, page 2 22Bible #2: Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16: 15; Philippians 2:9-11; Acts 1:8. Note: Memorize Matthew28:18-20 for first test24Reading report for Chapter 3 29Bible #3: Joshua 4:19-24; 2 Chronicles 6:32-33 (Solomon™s prayer of dedication for the Temple),Acts 13:47 (a quote from Isaiah 49:6)31Reading report for chapter 4 plus Appendix A on Nazarene missions Feb. 5Bible #4: Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 45:20-22; Acts 10:34-357Reading report for chapter 5 12First exam: Biblical/theological perspectives and early history; Bible #5: Matthew 6:9-10; Ezekiel 36:22-23; Micah 4:1-314Reading report for chapter 6 19Bible #6: Matthew 24:4-14; Luke 24:45-47; John 20:2121Reading report for chapter 7 26Bible #7: Psalm 47; Psalm 67:1-5; Psalm 96:10-13 Report on journal article from either International Bulletin of Missionary Research or EvangelicalMissions Quarterly. 28Reading report for chapter 8 March 5Exam #2: History and cultural contexts Bible #8: Psalm 22:1, 27-28; Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 7:97Reading report for chapter 9 14Reading report for chapter 10 16-24Spring break 26Full-length feature film report (film mu st be 60 minutes or longer to count)28Reading report for chapter 11 April 2Report on Interview of a missionary 4Exam #3 9Reading report for chapter 12 11Hands-on missions promotion report 16Reading report for chapter 13 18Local church report 23Reading report for chapter 14 25Report on Nazarene Missions International reading book 30
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Introduction to Missions, page 3 May 2Rewrite of local c hurch report (if desired)7Final exam (Tuesday at 8 a.m.) RequirementsUnless otherwise specified, all written assignments will be submitted on Moodle.1.Bible readings Report the reading of selected Bible passages. Do one or more of the following:a.Write 150 words or more about the relevance of the passages to the task of world evange-lism by doing the following i.Reflect on one of the passages (fiThese verses appear in the middle of a section on fl)ii.What similar themes run through the pa ssages selected for a particular day?iii.Report any new insights that came to you as you read iv.Reflect on why you were asked to read this particular passage (fiI think youasked us to read this because . . .fl)v.Describe how the passage or passages might be used in a sermon or Sunday school classpresentation As you do these readings, don™t be content with off-the-cuff remarks (afterall, this is God™s Word). vi.Your reflection can take the form of a written prayer. b.Come up with a graphic of some kind that illu strates the passage(s). This can be a piece ofartwork or even a doodle you create.c.Find a song which has words ec hoing the biblical passage(s).We are sometimes conditioned to think of the Bible as fiGod™s Word to me individually.fl Itwill be helpful in this assignment to ask yourself: fiWhat do these passages mean for the Peopleof God?fl The grading criteria on this assignment will center on how well you articulate therelevance of these particular passsages to the cause of global evangelism.2.Read the assigned textbook readings. On the first line of your reading report, specifywhether you read all (worth up to 25 points), 75% (worth up to 20 points), 50% (worth up to17 points) or 25% (worth up to 12 points). Reporting Optionsa.A paragraph of reflecti on and summary of key thoughts. Minimum of 250 wordsb.The book chapters have discussi on questions at the end. Write a substantive answer to oneor more of those questions. Minimum of 250 words totalc.Fill out the crossword puzzle which ha s key words/people from that chapter3.Full-length feature film: View and report on a full-length feature missions film such as fiEndof the Spearfl or one of the film biographies in our library. Those include: a.fiBeyond the Next Mountainfl (biogr aphy of Rochunga Pudaite of India)b.fiCandle in the Darkfl (b iography of William Carey)c.fiFirst Fruitsfl (story of first Moravian missionaries)
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Introduction to Missions, page 4 d.fiHudson Taylorfl (biography of founder of China Inland Mission)By full length is meant at least 60 minutes. If a film is shorter, two can be viewed.4.Read and reflect on one major article from one of two periodicals: International Bulletinof Missionary Research or Evangelical Missions Quarterly. What you report on needs to be a major journal article rather than a short book review or newsstory. Submit at least 150 words of summary/reflection on major ideas from the article. Be sure togive bibliographical information (author, article title, name of periodical, date article waspublished, page numbers on which article appeared) in your note. 5.Hands-On Missions Promotion. During the semester you must spend at least 5 hourspromoting, recruiting, helping publicize or organize: a.Spring break trips b.Commission Unto Mexico, Dec. 27 to Jan. 3 c.Youth in Mission summer opportunities (you coul d help someone, for instance with theirfund-raising)d.The one-year opportunities (such as MissionCor ps) for graduating seniors in places likeBulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Sicily, and Spain.e.September Work and Witness conference This assignment can be done individually or with others. A written report of what was doneincluding a detailed log of time spent must be turned in.This assignment can also be fulfilled by participating in all of the activities of a day-longdistrict NMI convention (Southwest Oklahoma™s is at Western Oaks on April 6).Individuals have different learning styles that reflect preferences for acquiring and processinginformation. David Kolb’s experiential learning theory proposes that “knowledge is createdthrough the transformation of experience.” This missions mobilization assignment is anexperiential learning one. While many discussions on experiential learning focus on theexperience portion of the theory, Kolb suggests that learning takes place through a four-stepprocess. The steps in the experiential learning cycle include having a concrete experience,reflecting on that experience, conceptualizing abstractly about the experience, and activelyexperimenting with a new behavior. 6.Interview someone with extended cross-cultural missions experience. Ideally this will be aformer, furloughed or retired missionary. It can also be someone who has spent at least threemonths in volunteer missionary service. Your written report of this interview (which needs tobe more than a two-minute conversation in the hallway at church) can be done in several ways:
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Introduction to Missions, page 5 a.An edited transcript with an introductory paragraph and two or three concluding para-graphs of summationb.An article written for the ECHO or fiEnga gefl magazine ( http://engagemagazine.com/ )c.Personal reflections on ideas wh ich sparked your own thinking. Part of the grade will be based on how your report reflects themes dealt with throughout thesemester. For some suggested questions, go to: http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/intervie.htmFor a web page listing former, furloughed and retired missionaries living in the area, go to:http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/misslist.htm7.An accurate picture of what one local church is doing in world evangelism. Pick a localchurch, find out everything they™re doing to promote world evangelism (events, publicitychannels, prayer, hands-on opportunities) and write a detailed descriptive report. Don™t justwrite what you see. The report must be based on interviews with NMI leaders and pastoralstaff. Your interview sources must be listed on a bibliography page.8.NMI reading book. Read one of the NMI missionary reading books produced each year byNazarene Publishing House. Submit a short summary report. Be sure to include the title andauthor of the book as well as the date of publication.9.Attendance. An attendance grade based on the number of times you were in class will begiven. Students who arrive late for class or leave early will not receive full credit for that day.Late work: Late work will be accepted for greatly reduced credit.Writing Standards: I expect students to produce written work that is focused, well developed, andorganized. Written papers should be relatively free of grammatical, punctuation and spellingerrors. Written work that falls short of this standard will not be accepted; the work will bereturned to the students for revision within a reasonable time. For further writing help, see myweb page and related links: http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/writing.htm
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Introduction to Missions, page 6 Academic dishonesty is never acceptable (especially in a religion class) and will be penalized severely. Check out SNU™s policy on plagiarism and other forms of cheating at: http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/integrity.htmIf you need assistance with a learning, physical or psychological disability that may affect your academicprogress, you are encouraged to contact the Academic Center for Excellence, Disability Services at#491-6694. Specialized services are also available for first generation (neither parent earned a bachelor™sdegree), low-income, and international students. All students are encouraged to seek assistance from ACE,the Academic Center for Excellence (Learning Resource Center, Room #309).Grading13 Textbook readings @ 25 pts Journal article reading Interview Full-length feature film Video/guest speaker reviews @ 10 pts 8 Bible readings @ 10 pts NMI reading book Missions Promotion Report Local church report Attendance Exams @ 100 pts32550 1001008075100 100 100 400SNU™s standard lettergrade equivalents will be used.
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