GS798 Syllabus Dr. Jeannine Brown

Bethel Seminary St. Paul 651-638-6553 Winter Quarter 2012 [email protected] Tuesdays, 8:00am-noon

Senior Integrative Seminar

Course Description This senior-level seminar focuses on summative work in integrating a student’s learning in Bible, theology, and history; ministry leadership; spiritual and personal formation; and intercultural sensitivity and competence. Integration methodologies are explored theoretically and practically. Methods conducive to integrative learning (e.g., case studies, team teaching) will be utilized to explore both interdisciplinary and faith/praxis integration. Prerequisite: This course must be taken in student’s final year.

Course Objectives: Students should be able to... 1. Articulate coherent understandings of theology, faith, formation, and ministry practice from a variety of disciplinary vantage points. 2. Demonstrate a professional approach to discussion and dialogue, characterized by critical thinking, respectful assertiveness, and the capacity for integration. 3. Demonstrate a capacity for integrative applications to case studies. 4. Demonstrate an awareness of the importance of developmental considerations in ministry and in the self of the minister. 5. Demonstrate capacity to hear and apply insights from voices from “the margins” to practical ministry scenarios.

Required Reading Texts: Brown, Jeannine K., Carla M. Dahl, and Wyndy Corbin Reuschling, Becoming Whole and Holy: An Integrative Conversation about Christian Formation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), ISBN: 978-0-8010-3925-6. Green, Joel B. Seized by Truth: Reading the Bible as Scripture. Nashville: Abingdon, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-687-02355-4

Articles/Essays: Bauckham, Richard. “Reading Scripture as a Coherent Story.” In The Art of Reading Scripture. Edited by Ellen F. Davis and Richard B. Hays, 38-53. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. Blount, Brian K. “Reading Revelation Today: Witness as Active Resistance.” Interpretation 54 (2000) 398-412. Brown, Jeannine K. and Steven J. Sandage. “Converging Horizons for Relational Integration: Differentiation-Based Collaboration.” Journal of Psychology and Theology, forthcoming. Hart, Trevor. “Tradition, Authority, and a Christian Approach to the Bible as Scripture.” In Between Two Horizons: Spanning New Testament Studies and Systematic Theology.

1 Edited by Joel B. Green and Max Turner. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000. Hays, Richard B. “Can Narrative Criticism Recover the Theological Unity of Scripture?” Journal of Theological Interpretation 2 (Fall, 2008) 193-211. Irving, Justin A. and Gail J. Longbotham. “Team Effectiveness and Six Essential Servant Leadership Themes: A Regression Model Based on items in the Organizational Leadership Assessment.” International Journal of Leadership Studies 2 (2007) 98-113. Kaiser, Robert B., Robert Hogan, and S. Bartholomew Craig. “Leadership and the Fate of Organizations.” American Psychologist 63 (2008) 96-110. Levine, Amy-Jill. “Putting Jesus Where He Belongs: The Man from Nazareth in His Jewish World.” Perspectives in Religious Studies 27 (2000) 167-178. Majerus, Brian D. and Steven J. Sandage. “Differentiation of Self and Christian Spiritual Maturity: Social Science and Theological Integration.” Journal of Psychology and Theology 38 (2010) 41-51.

Course Requirements This is a four-credit course, with the assumption that the student will spend approximately 70-90 hours outside of class on readings and assignments.

1. Readings: Complete all readings as assigned. Come prepared each week in which reading is assigned (1/17, 1/24, 1/31, 2/21) with written questions, connections made, application examples, theoretical and theological critique, and/or integrative thinking (using the form attached). Please be prepared to (1) use this form as the basis for your contributions to the discussion, (2) turn in one copy of the form at the beginning of class; keep another copy for you to use in class.

2. Participation: Each student must take responsibility for respectfully engaging the rest of the class in discussion with regard to the readings and case studies. Quality participation is at the heart of a seminar course.

3. Summative Integrative Theme Paper: With the goal of reviewing seminary integrative work (including integrative assignments from designated courses and credo papers), the student will identify key themes that have emerged from their integrative work across the curriculum as well as areas where questions remain and in which the student continues to wrestle with dis-integration (‘loose ends’). The paper or project should be 3-5 pages in length. No external sources (other than the student’s own work) are required. Due Date: January 24.

4. Integrative Project: Students are encouraged to work in pairs on this assignment at least through the presentation phrase, with the final paper being completed either as a composite [with separate sections for a(5)] or as two individual papers. The project involves two main parts:

a. [IP] Final Integration Paper: This paper involves a revision of your presentation (see below) and utilizes hermeneutical understandings from biblical and theological studies with social science applied to a case study. It can help to identify an integrative theme or motif that is relevant to the case study. The paper should address the following sections: 2 (1) Description of a ministry case study in narrative form (approximately 500 words) that presents some type of ministry challenge that requires integrative pastoral applications (e.g., pastoral counseling case; organizational challenge; leadership or ethical dilemma, etc.); (2) Integrative application of biblical and theological reflection to the case study (approx. 1250 words); (3) Integrative application of social science reflection to the case study (approx. 1250 words); (4) Ethical applications, highlighting moral dimensions and ethical concerns, with special attention to how cultural differences and/or social justice issues are relevant to the case (approx. 1250 words); (5) Reflection on the student’s experience of the process of integration for this paper (approx. 500 words). Student should attend to remaining questions and considerations for the minister (i.e., author), including points of dis-integration. This final paper will be turned in at the end of the course on March 13 (maximum of 20 pages) and should incorporate feedback from the presentation described below. The student may format their paper and notes using either APA or Turabian.

• The case should involve an actual ministry situation with which you or a class colleague have had some personal experience. However, please mask identifying features of the people involved. Do not use a case in which you are the primary subject who needs to receive ministry (e.g., client in pastoral counseling). Turn in a draft of your case description by January 31 via Moodle. Feedback will be provided so that you can hone your case prior to its presentation in class.

b. Integrative Presentation: As pairs, you will present a preliminary summary of your Integration Paper (considering it as a work in progress) to your peers (during one of the following class days: 2/28 and 3/6). Your presentation must not be more than 15 minutes long, in order to allow colleagues time for questions and discussion. Please upload to Moodle your revised case as well as a one-page handout summarizing your presentation (its key ideas). In addition, please bring handouts for your classmates on the day of your presentation.

In your presentation, you will not be able to cover your entire paper project, and you should not read from it. Rather, choose one or two integrative aspects of the project and focus on those in depth. Feel free to be creative in your presentation, but do not sacrifice content and professionalism for the sake of creativity. Plan your time carefully.

As the audience for these presentations, remember that respect for another’s work is demonstrated by engaging with it. Listen carefully and develop integrative questions to ask during the follow-up time. Don’t attempt to do your colleagues a “favor” by not requiring them to support or explain their perspectives.

Grading

Reading 20 points Participation 30 points

3 (Class attendance; respectful, active participation; discussion leadership/participation) Summative Integrative Theme Paper 40 points Integration Paper Presentation 40 points Final Integrative Paper 70 points Total = 200 points Because of the seminar nature of this course, attendance at all sessions is essential. Missed sessions cannot be made up. No late work will be accepted, and no Incompletes will be given. Final grades will be assigned accordingly, based on course requirements: A 95-100% B+ 87-90% C+ 77-79% D+ 67-69% A- 91-94% B 83-86% C 73-76% D 63-66% B- 80-82% C- 70-72% F < 62%

Academic Course Policies: Please familiarize yourself with the catalog requirements as specified in Academic Course Policies document found on the Registrar's website at: https://bethelnet.bethel.edu/ureg/bssp/acp/. You are responsible for this information, and any academic violations, such as plagiarism, will not be tolerated.

GENERAL COURSE EXPECTATIONS

1. It is expected that, in this course, we will all work to create a spirit of respect, curiosity, and dialogue. This will be done, in part, by following these guidelines: ♣ Presume welcome and extend welcome – in informal interaction, in small group discussion, and in large group interaction. ♣ Refrain from fixing, saving, or setting straight others in class. ♣ When the interaction gets tricky, turn to inquiry rather than advocacy (wonder about something instead of defending something). Pay attention to the distinction between dialogue (which begins with a question) and debate (which begins with an answer). ♣ Make sure your questions are real questions, not ones intended to make a point, demonstrate prior knowledge, or communicate a hidden agenda. ♣ Observe confidentiality, especially regarding material shared by other students.

2. Technology: We are a plugged-in seminary. Given the nature of this course, however, please consider how you might limit your use of technology in order to engage more fully with yourself and your colleagues. I reserve the right to ask you to “disconnect” if your technology has a distracting, distancing, or disruptive effect on the process.

3. Any course which requires us to examine our previous experiences and understandings of spiritual formation and ourselves has the potential to be unsettling. Our ability to learn in such a course depends on several things: our ability to tolerate ambiguity; our willingness to dialogue honestly and respectfully with fellow students; our willingness to consider alternative interpretations; our ability to take responsibility for both our beliefs and our anxiety about different beliefs; and our ongoing struggle to integrate new information with present beliefs. If you find you are having personal difficulties in this course, please feel free

4 to check with Jeff Sanders, Mary Sanders, or Steve Sandage regarding a referral for consultation or counseling.

5 COURSE SCHEDULE

DATE COURSE TOPICS ASSIGNMENTS [READINGS SIGNALED IN ITALICS] 1/10 Methodologies for Integration and Case Study Discerning Themes and Navigating Dis- Integration 1/17 Leadership and the Bible Whole/Holy, Prologue and ch. 1 Guest: Dr. Mark McCloskey Green, ch. 1 Kaiser and Irving essays Reading Response Due 1/24 Formation and the Bible Green, ch. 2 Guest: Dr. Mary Jensen Majerus and Sandage essay Paper Due: Summative Integrative Theme Paper Reading Response Due 1/31 The Bible and Theology: Method and Green, chs. 3-4 Practice Levine essay; Blount essay; Hart essay Case Description Draft due Reading Response Due 2/7- Work on Case Analysis 2/14 Study Weeks Brown and Sandage essay

2/21 The Resource of Narrative: Method and Green, ch. 5 Frame Hays essay; Bauckham essay Reading Response Due

2/28 Student Presentations For this week’s presenters: Revised Case Co-Facilitator: Julia Holtze + One-page Summary of Case Analysis Due

3/6 Student Presentations For this week’s presenters: Revised Case + Co-Facilitator: Julia Holtze One-page Summary of Case Analysis Due

3/13 The Person of the Integrator Whole/Holy, ch. 5, epilogue Final Integrative Paper Due Complete Course Evaluation

6 7 Reading Response: Moving toward Integration

Name ______

Each student must take responsibility for engaging the class in discussion with regard to the week’s readings. Bring two copies of this completed form (typed; single-spaced) to each class session; one for you; one to turn in at the beginning of class (you may continue on back). Due dates: 1/17, 1/24, 1/31, 2/21.

Reading Completed (Indicate % of reading completed for this class session.):

Connections between Readings Seen/Made and Applications Derived (not to be a summary of reading but a selective series of integrative observations)

Integrative Questions Raised/Pondered

What am I being invited to apply personally or professionally?

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