ASSEMBLIES OF GOD THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Continuing Education Credit Option Obtainable in Conjunction with SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT HOME MISSIONS ADVANCE Sturbridge, MA February 7-8, 2003 PTHE 640 MINISTRY IN EMERGING CULTURE 2 Credit Hours Made Possible by a Partnership between Assemblies of God Theological Seminary www.agts.edu and Southern New England District Council of the Assemblies of God www.sned.org Earl G. Creps, Ph.D. Spring 2003 1-800-467-AGTS [email protected] COURSE SYLLABUS COURSE DESCRIPTION The Southern New England District Home Missions Advance will be part of the venue for theological reflection on our emerging culture and the church that must emerge to engage it. The syllabus will prescribe additional materials for reflection and integration into the local church setting. COURSE REGISTRATION Register for AGTS credit by contacting the Continuing Education Team: Phone: 1-800-467-2487, ext. 1044. Email: [email protected] Online: http://agts.edu/continuing_education/index.html COURSE OBJECTIVES The course/conference is an arena for learning and growth of several kinds:PTHE 640 Ministry in Emerging Culture Earl Creps Page 2 • Cultural exegesis: to experience and interpret major forms of cultural influence that are creating the context in which the emerging church must operate. • Theological reflection: to hear culture posing critical theological questions, and to exercise reflective skills needed to begin the process of developing meaningful answers. • Personal reframing: to see personal and corporate ministry as an evolving, holistic, missional calling rather than a set of static roles played by executing a list of functions. • Professional networking: to develop relationships with other leaders devoted to the life of the emerging church in an environment that maximizes long-term peer learning. • Leadership enhancement: to grow in the character, skills, and gifts associated with the leadership arts as they relate to the emerging culture and church. COURSE READINGS Required Texts (Note: you can save on shipping costs by ordering all the texts from the AGTS bookstore. Call Arlene at 1-800-467-AGTS x1055, or email her at [email protected]) Smith, Chuck, Jr. The End of the World As We Know It: Clear Direction for Bold and Innovative Ministry in a Postmodern World. Waterbrook, 2001. (272 pages) McLaren, Brian. A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey. John Wiley & Sons, 2001. (192 pages) Sweet, Leonard. Postmodern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 21st Century Church. Broadman & Holman, 2000. (224 pages) Substitute Texts (To be substituted in order for any required texts already read.) Careaga, Andrew. eMinistry: Connecting With the Net Generation, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2001. (176 pages) Grenz, Stanley J. and John R. Franke. Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context. Westminster John Knox, 2000. (296 pages)PTHE 640 Ministry in Emerging Culture Earl Creps Page 3 Morgenthaler, Sally J. Worship Evangelism. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999. (320 pages) Nash, Robert N. An 8-Track Church in a CD World: The Modern Church in the Postmodern World. Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2001. (144 pages) Towns, Elmer and Warren Bird. Into the Future: Turning Today’s Church Trends into Tomorrow’s Opportunities. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000. (244 pages) Beaudoin, Tom. Virtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998. (240 pages) Brasher, Brenda. Give Me that Online Religion. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001 (208 pages) COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1. Read: complete the reading of all the required texts. Use books from the Substitute Text list for any you have read previously. 2. Write: a. A 2-3 page paper for each text summarizing what you believe to be the 3-5 most important ideas or challenges you picked up from the required texts and how they relate to your ministry context. b. A 5-8 page reflection paper on the Home Missions Advance noting the elements of the seminar that were most significant for you in your local church setting. 3. Attend: all sessions of the SNED Home Missions Advance and take adequate notes from the event in order to provide appropriate feedback and reflection on the materials. 4. CHOOSE 2 OF THE FOLLOWING 7 OPTIONS 1. Reading Reflection: read one of the Substitute Texts and write a 7-10 page paper that outlines the author's central thesis and responds to it in terms of your ministry context. This is to be a high-quality reflective essay, not a library research assignment. 2. Personal Growth Plan: write a 7-10 page paper detailing your plan for learning more about the emerging culture/emerging church and developing the ministryPTHE 640 Ministry in Emerging Culture Earl Creps Page 4 skills relevant to it over the next year. Describe the area in which you feel the most need for development. The plan should include reading, personal research, peer consultations, spiritual disciplines, changes in your ministry context, and other personal growth assets. 3. Sermons: using insights gained from the class/conference, write two sermons of significant length designed to reach a postmodern, pre-Christian audience. Do not recycle old messages! You may do either a manuscript, or a very, very detailed outline. While all sermons must be turned in hard copy, they may be accompanied by audiocassette and/or media support (e.g., PowerPoint, video clips, etc.) If you speak without notes, an audiocassette is required. 4. Research Paper: choose a major theme related to the course/conference and write a 7-10 page research paper. The paper should identify and reflect upon key ideas related to the topic, report on some of the major literature in the area, and apply conclusions to your ministry context. Supporting footnotes and a 15-item bibliography are required. 5. Internet Project: research postmodern churches on the Internet and prepare a 7-10 page paper on your findings. The presentation should include descriptions of the various churches, web links, their worship styles, and other key features. Draw conclusions about their use of the Internet itself, the application (if any) of their ministry model to your own (i.e., what you learned from them that could be applied in your context), and conclude by developing your own typology of emerging churches. 6. Multimedia