CMS 378 A Christian Calling: Proclaiming Jubilee as a Christian Leader
“Lord, Might This Call Be for Me?”
Spring 2013
Calvin College
Course Purpose
To Know
●To gain a biblical and theological understanding of vocation and one’s calling to
serve the church
●To recognize what gifts and skills are necessary and desirable for serving as a
pastor of a church or as a leader in ministry
●To consider how one develops the appropriate gifts and needed skills for
successful church and ministerial leadership
To Do
●To engage in meaningful and challenging church ministry through summer-long
internships
●To experience a wide-range of tasks and activities that comprise church ministry
●To reflect critically upon one’s internship
●To develop an understanding of the local church and to grow in one’s love
for the local church as the body of Christ
To Be
●To nurture one’s pastoral identity and character
●To embrace the discipline of spiritual practices and the role such practices play
in forming Christian and pastoral character
●To see oneself as a pastor and church leader
Catalog Description
The aim of this course is to describe the strategic role that leaders within the church have
played and continue to play in the economy of gifts God gives to his people; and to assist
twelve upper-level students, Jubilee Fellows, to discern whether God might be calling
them to become a minister.
Instructors
Elsa and Ren Prince Broekhuizen, Kary Bosma, Marcia and Dale Cooper, Todd Cioffi
Meeting Time and Place
3230 Burton St. SE
Tuesday evening, 5:15 – 9:15 pm
Books/Resources
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society
Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles
Christine D. Pohl, Living into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us
John Stott, Life in Christ: A Guide for Daily Living
John Stott, The Living Church
William Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry
*Various articles, book chapters, etc., in PDF on Moodle or as handouts
Assignments and Grades
Reading/Class Participation/Seminar Discussion
Each student is expected to come to class having read the assigned reading material and
prepared to comment on that reading by engaging in class discussion through thoughtful
questions, critical comments, or interesting connections to other readings, themes, or
discussions from the course. Also, each student is asked to lead (at different times) both
a devotion and seminar discussion.
THREE Written Analyses of Weekly Readings
Provide a 4-5 page analysis of the readings for a given week of your choice. The papers
are due on the evening when the readings will be discussed. There are three dates (please
see the schedule noted in this syllabus) by which your reflection papers must be turned in.
Of course, you may turn in a paper on any of the dates listed, but your first, second, and
third papers must be turned in no later than the dates noted on the syllabus.
“Among the Cloud of Witnesses”: Biography of a Faithful Christian Leader
Report on the life and ministry of an influential Christian leader in the church’s long and
storied history. The report itself can take a variety of forms: a formal paper, a
PowerPoint or video presentation, a dramatic monologue, etc. Fellows are encouraged to
be creative.
Develop a Rule of Life
Someone once commented: “The roads to nowhere are hard to make. For a person to live
and work well, there must be an end in view.” Your task is threefold. Throughout the
course of the semester:
1. Read and reflect regularly upon:
a. Two Biblical passages: Colossians 3 (one’s new, resurrected identity
in Christ and its implications for living) and Hebrews 11:6 (the
appropriate role of discipline and goal-setting in Christian
discipleship)
b. John Stott, excerpt from “Tasks Which Await Us,” in Essays in
Evangelical Social Ethics
c. Greg Jones, “Job Description: A Purpose for the Ordained Pastor”
d. David Wood interview, “Eugene Peterson on Pastoral Ministry”
2. Think carefully and often about who you are, i.e., what are your gifts (and
limitations), your passions, your life circumstances, your needs, etc.
3. Proceed gradually to sketch out a Rule of Life, i.e., your plan for trying to live
out who you are in Christ and what you, depending upon Him, aim to become.
Due Date: Final Exam Date
Exams
There will be one in-class exam and one final oral exam. Prior to each exam,
instructions will be given as to the nature of the exam and how best to prepare for the
exam.
Grading
(1) Reading/Class Participation
(2) Seminar Discussion
(3) Written Analyses
(4) Among the Cloud of Witnesses
(5) Rule of Life
(6) Mid-term Exam
(7) Final Exam
15%
10%
15%
10%
15%
20%
15%
*Please note that this syllabus may change during the course of the semester at the
discretion of the instructor. Due notice will be given should changes be made.
Schedule of Topics and Readings
Week One (1/29)
Devotions:
Discussion:
Theme:
Introduction to the Jubilee Seminar
Getting to Know Each Other
Course description, texts, expectations, etc.
*In-class DVD: Christian Smith, “Soul Searching” (dependent on time)
Week Two (2/5)
Devotions:
Discussion:
Theme:
The Setting of Christian Ministry Today
Read:
Robert Wuthnow, “American Religion: An Uncertain Future,” After the Baby
Boomers
Wuthnow, “Going to Church – or Not: Who Participates in Congregations”
After the Baby Boomers
Kenda Creasy Dean, “Becoming Christian-ish,” Almost Christian: What the
Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church
Interview with Christian Smith, Christianity Today
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Week Three (2/12)
Devotions:
Discussion:
Theme:
A Holy Community (I): What is the church?
Read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 7-30
Brad Harper and Paul Metzger, “The Church as a Trinitarian Community” and
“The Trinitarian Church Confronts American Individualism,” from
Exploring Ecclesiology: An Evangelical and Ecumenical Introduction, pp.
19-46
Christine Pohl, “Grateful Hearts,” Living into Community, pp. 17-30
John Stott, Life in Christ: A Guide for Daily Living, 25-38
John Stott, The Living Church, pp. 19-33
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Week Four (2/19)
Devotions:
Discussion:
Theme:
A Holy Community (II): The Concept of Ministry within the Church
Read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 31-39
Darrell Guder, ed., “Missional Vocation: Called and Sent to Represent the Reign
of God,” from Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church
in North America, pp. 77-109
John Stott, Life in Christ, 39-52
John Stott, “Ministry,” from The Living Church, pp. 70-85
Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society, 3-22
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Week Five (2/26)
Devotions:
Discussion:
Theme:
A Holy Community (III): The Role of Leaders
Read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 40-50
Harper and Metzger, “The Church as an Ordered Community,” from Exploring
Ecclesiology, pp. 183-200
William Willimon, “Ordination: Why Pastors?” from Pastor: The Theology and
Practice of Ordained Ministry, pp. 27-53
Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer, 25-47
*Your FIRST reflection paper must be turned in by this date.
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Week Six (3/5)
Devotions:
Theme:
A Holy Community (IV): The Ministry of Prayer
Read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 50-57
John Stott, Life in Christ, 67-79
Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles, 1-41
Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer, 51-77
Discussion:
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Week Seven (3/12)
Devotions:
Theme:
A Holy Community (V): The Ministry of Care
Read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 57-66
John Stott, Life in Christ, 81-95
Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles, 43-83
Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer, 81-100
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Week Eight (3/19)
Spring Break
Discussion:
Week Nine (3/26)
Devotions:
Discussion:
Theme:
A Holy Community (VI): The Perils and Pitfalls of Ministry
Read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 66-75
Christine Pohl, “Promises, Promises,” Living into Community, pp. 61-74
John Stott, Life in Christ, 97-112
William Willimon, “The Pastor as Prophet” and “The Pastor as Leader,” from
Pastor, pp. 249-297
Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles, 87-117
*Your SECOND reflection paper must be turned in by this date.
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Week Ten (4/2)
Devotions:
Discussion:
Theme:
A Holy Community (VII): Maintaining Integrity
Read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 76-89
Christine Pohl, “Truth-Filled Live,” Living into Community, pp. 111-123
William Willimon, “The Pastor as Character,” from Pastor, pp. 299-314
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
*Exam I (second half of the evening)
Week Eleven (4/9)
Devotions:
Discussion:
Theme:
“Who am I, Lord, and What Do You Want Me to Do?”
Read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 90-100
Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles, 117-145
Elizabeth Newman, “Called Through Relationship,” The Center for Christian
Ethics, Baylor University, 20-28
John Stott, Life in Christ, 113-125
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Week Twelve (4/16)
Devotions:
Discussion:
Theme:
Proclaiming Jesus Christ
Read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 100-109
Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles, 149-163
John Stott, Life in Christ, 127-128
William Willimon, “The Pastor as Interpreter of Scripture” and “The Pastor as
Preacher,” from Pastor, pp. 111-161
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Week Thirteen (4/23)
Academic Advising/Reading Recess
Week Fourteen (4/30)
Devotions:
Discussion:
Theme:
“Who Will Go For Us?”
Read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 110-122
Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles, 165-192
Christine Pohl, “Hospitality: Drawing the Practices Together,” Living into
Community, pp. 159-176
N.T. Wright, “Virtue in Action: The Royal Priesthood,” from After You Believe:
Why Christian Character Matters, pp. 219-255
*Your THIRD reflection paper must be turned in by this date.
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Week Fifteen (5/7)
Theme:
TBA
Read:
TBA
Devotions:
*Cloud of Witnesses Project Presentation
Discussion: