McCormick Theological Seminary Doctor of Ministry Program
The Post-Christendom Church and its Community M-607
Professor Carter Lester
May 24-28, 2010
COURSE PROJECT ASSIGNMENT DUE: OCTOBER 1, 2010
Rev. Dr. W. Carter Lester, Jr. First Presbyterian Church 750 N. Evans Street Pottstown, PA 19464
O: 610-326-0620 H: 610-326-3453 Cell: 610-812-0290 Fax: 610-326-4805 E-mail: [email protected]
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS
As many have noted, North Americans live in a post-modern context in which the church is no longer at the center of community life, having lost numbers, power, and influence. This elective course explores the mission of the church in relationship to its community in light of these changes. The class will provide an opportunity for participants to map their congregation’s local community and explore Biblical images and theological foundations for the church’s mission in its current ministry context. The class will then identify and discuss specific practices and strategies for community ministry and evangelism that flow out of these Biblical and theological paradigms.
The goals for this elective course are:
1. To consider developments in contemporary North American culture and the impact they have on the congregations we serve.
2. To investigate and describe the local communities in which our congregations do ministry. 3. To grow in understanding of the perspectives and needs of those in our community who are “unchurched.”
4. To explore Biblical images and theological ideas that can give insight and direction to our church’s mission and ministry.
5. To apply these insights concerning social context and theology to our congregations’ mission and evangelism.
6. To articulate a working understanding of the relationship between worship and evangelism.
REQUIRED READING
Bass, Diana Butler. The Practicing Congregation: Imagining a New Old Church. Herndon, VA: The Alban Institute, 2004.
Brueggemann, Walter. Cadences of Home: Preaching Among Exiles. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.
Dudley, Carl S. Community Ministry. Bethesda, MD: The Alban Institute, 2002.
Guder, Darrell L., ed. Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998.
Roxburgh, Alan J. and Fred Romanuk, The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006.
In addition, class participants will be asked to read one of three short articles that will be distributed on the first day of class.
ADVANCE ASSIGNMENTS (DUE BY BEGINNING OF CLASS):
1. Together with an appropriate group from your congregation (see below) begin a study of your congregation’s community by undertaking the following steps as outlined in “Part I” of Carl Dudley’s Community Ministry: a. Chart the physical boundaries. b. Identify the anchor institutions. c. Identify gathering places. d. Do a “windshield survey” (p. 32) and summarize your best wisdom on the people and groups in your community. e. Describe current trends and changes affecting community life. f. Either augment your description of the people with relevant statistical information (pp. 38-40) or interview at least three well- placed members of the community concerning their assessment of the community and its most pressing needs (pp. 51-56). g. Summarize what you learned from this exercise and any further investigation that you or your church members would like to do.
The group you put together to do this assignment may be an existing committee of the church, a group you have previously used for a previous D. Min. course, or an informal group you recruit just for this assignment. The important aspect is that your work is a collective assessment rather than just your own.
Please summarize your findings in a paper that is 5-8 pages long to be handed into the instructor. You will also be sharing your findings with the rest of the class in a 15 minute oral presentation in which you can use any supporting maps or documents that you think will be helpful for the rest of the class.
2. Learn enough about one community ministry of your present congregation or of a previous congregation so that you know something about its origin, practice, and successes and struggles. It may be an ongoing ministry or one that is no longer being undertaken. Be prepared to discuss this ministry in connection with the four general criteria outlined by Dudley in his book, Community Ministry on p. 12 (social context, congregational identity, organization, and partnerships). In addition, be prepared to discuss whether any of Dudley’s “gleanings” (Appendix D) are helpful for analyzing and understanding this community ministry. No written report is required. This will be a topic for class discussion.
FINAL PROJECT (DUE BY OCTOBER 1, 2010):
Write an exploration of ministry which demonstrates your effort to apply what you learned in this course to some aspect of your church’s ministry with its community.
A typical exploration in ministry should be a 20-page paper that contains the following components:
1. A description of the challenge in ministry which you and others will be addressing which includes a description of the social and cultural context and a summary of any results gleaned from a community study.
2. A summary of the relevant theoretical material from the course (as well as any outside readings that you choose to draw from) that will inform this act of ministry, including a working theology underlying your design and implementation of this act of ministry. 3. A description of the design and implementation of the ministry activity, and any evaluation made by those who helped to design, implement, or participate in the ministry.
4. A reflective piece on what you learned about ministry, the concepts of this course, and about your congregation and yourself in this practice of ministry. This is the most important part of the assignment and this section is given the greatest weight in grading.
EVALUATION
Evaluation for a grade in the course will be based upon:
Advance assignment: 25%
Class participation: 25%
Final Project: 50%