Internship Practicum
Thursday morning curriculum
Thursdays 8-9am at Growth Center
The hope is to read the given text prior to Thursday morning and to spend the first
hour on Thursday’s listening. We may have a small time for more intentional
reflection and discussion on what we read and heard immediately after listening,
but the longer and more lasting conversations can be had bent over in the field, or
seated together around the table that evening.
For each week I’ve included a “Further exploration” bit simply to share other
resources I’ve found to be powerful for my own formation. No pressure to read
these, just ideas.
Week 1: What is Christian?
Listen: Prodigal sons, Tim Keller
Text: Luke 15; Romans 1:16-17; 1 Corinthians 1:18; Chapter 1 He
is the living one, Living Jesus: Learning the heart of the gospel, by
Luke Timothy Johnson
Further Exploration: The power of the gospel, Keller sermon
Theology is for Proclamation, Forde
Week 2: What is Christian Community?
Listen: Community 2005, Tim Keller
Text: Introduction and chapter 1, When the Church was a family,
by Hellerman
Further Exploration: Good Infection, from Mere Christianity by CS
Lewis; Forgiveness chapter, from Traveling Mercies, by Lamott;
From Brokenness to Community, Vanier
Week 3: What is Spiritual formation?
Listen: Blessed Self-Forgetfulness, Tim Keller
Text: Chapter 1 in Christian Spirituality: 5 views of sanctification,
by Forde and Chapter 1 What is a lifetime and why do I live it?
From The Logic of the Spirit, by Loder
Further Exploration: Cruciformity: Paul’s narrative spirituality of
the cross, by Gorman; Chapter6 The road less traveled, Chapter 7
Counterfeit faith, from Waiting: Finding hope when God seems
silent, by Patterson; Valley of Vision puritan prayer book; Hearts
On Fire ed by Michael Harter
Week 4: God and our agendas.
Listen: Who is the Real Jesus? (Matthew 11:2-6), Tim Keller
Text: Psalm 46:10
Further Exploration: What do people mean to God? See pages 70100, from Agape and Eros, by Nygren
Week 5: Being the Church in place. An Overview.
Listen: The Gospel and Idolatry (Acts 19:23-41), Tim Keller
Text: Post-enlightenment culture as a missionary problem, from
Foolishness to the Greeks, by Newbigin
Further Exploration: The Prophets, Abraham Heshel; Chapter 1
Following Jesus in a distracted age, Chapter 3 The power of global
culture industries, from The (Magic) Kingdom of God, by Budde;
Resident Aliens, by Hauerwas and Willimon; “The Practitioner,
from For the Beauty of the Church, by Joshua Banner;
Manufacturing Consent, by Herman and Chomsky; Counterfeit
Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only
Hope that Matters, by Keller
Week 6: God of justice: creating a holy people
Listen: Justice, Tim Keller; (Rich Mullins 1996 interview, 11
minutes)
Text: Isaiah chapters 58-60, 65
Further Exploration: Chapter 14 God the Judge from Knowing God,
by Packer; The Weight of Glory, by Lewis
Week 7: God of and for the poor: Creating a
community of and for the poor in a world of greed
Listen: Good news to the Poor, Keller
Text: - Part IV Spiritual values and Economic Justice: When did
Jesus become pro-rich? God’s Politics, by Jim Wallis
Further exploration: Inequality for all, Reich (DVD); Rich
Christians in an age of hunger, by Sider
Week 8: God of peace: Creating a peace making
community in violent world
Listen: Why I am opposed to the war in Vietnam, MLK Jr. sermon
Text: What would you do if? By Yoder
Further exploration: Chapter 7 Violence and Peace from Exclusion
and Embrace, by Volf; Chris Hedges; Jesus for President, by
Claiborne; Some Further Words, from The Mad Farmer Poems, by
Berry
Week 9: God of fidelity: creating a faithful and
selfless community in world of selfishness
Listen: Marriage in Christ (Eph 5, 2012), Keller
Readings: Chapters from For Fidelity: How Intimacy and
Commitment Enrich Our Lives, by Catherine Wallace
Further exploration: Washed and Waiting, by Wes Hill; The
Meaning of Marriage: Facing the complexities of commitment with
the wisdom of God, by Keller; Jayber Crow, by Berry
Week 10: God of creation: Creating a community of
nurturers in an exploitative world
Listen: Made for stewardship, Keller
Watch, Lord of the Rings (DVD), The Shire scene
Text: Unsettling of America, Chapter 1 (2-4) by Berry, and
Chapter 2 On Seeing, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard
Further exploration: For the life of the world, Schmemann; The
Resilient Farm and Homestead, Ben Falk; Romans chapter 12
Week 11: God as homemaker for all people groups
Listen: The House I live in (DVD)
Text: Beyond Homelessness, Bouma-Prediger and Walsh; Whose
Religion is Christianity? The Gospel beyond the West, by Lamin
Sanneh
Further exploration: For a better picture of what sin has and
continues to do in human hearts, in history and cultural systems:
The New Jim Crow, by Alexander; A People’s History, by Zinn; Open
Veins of Latin America, by Galeano; Bury my Heart at Wounded
Knee, by Brown
Keller sermon: The gospel, the church and the world
Week 12: The Gospel is God bringing Justice via the
grace of the cross of Christ
Listen: Preaching the gospel & Doing Justice, Keller
Text: Luke 19: 1-10
Further exploration: Galatians, by Luther and Chapter 5,
Oppression and Justice, from Exclusion and Embrace, by Volf