ADOPTION IN CHRISTIAN THOUGHT AND MISSION (27935 / 32150) The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Summer 2011

Dr. Russell D. Moore Dean, School of Theology Senior Vice President for Academic Administration Norton Hall 147 Office Telephone: 502.897.4112

Wednesday, May 11–Friday, May 13, 2011:

-Wednesday, 8–5:15 p.m. for Classroom Lectures (Classroom TBA) -Adopting for Life Pastors’ and Leaders’ Dinner (Heritage Hall) -Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit VII Conference (Southeast Christian Church)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is an interdisciplinary study of the theological, ethical, missiological, ecclesiological, psychological, and pastoral issues related to adoption and orphan care.

OBJECTIVES

The student who successfully completes this course will demonstrate the following competencies:

1.) The student will identify and critically analyze major issues in the biblical, historical, theological, cultural, and philosophical underpinnings of a Christian understanding of the doctrine of adoption.

2.) The student will articulate a thorough background in the Christian doctrine of adoption and be able to relate this doctrine to Christian Christology, pneumatology, soteriology, ecclesiology, and eschatology.

3.) The student will analyze competing viewpoints of adoption in contemporary psychology, sociology and public policy from the perspective of a confessional Christian ethic.

4.) The student will integrate orphan care and adoption with the overall Great Commission mandate of the church by considering ways to relate adoption ministry with Christian missiology.

5.) The student will formulate strategies for incorporating the creation of an adoption and orphan care culture into the mission of a local church through preaching, teaching, worship, stewardship, and program emphases.

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6.) The student will communicate approaches of counseling infertile families, families with children, single and divorced persons, and non-Christian families on issues related to adoption.

7.) The student will communicate approaches of counseling preadolescent, adolescent, and adult children of adoption as to how to relate their adoption to their identity and witness in Christ.

CONFESSIONAL CONTEXT

Your professor holds without reservation to the doctrinal commitments of the Abstract of Principles (1859) and the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) as accurately representing biblical truth. The professor’s understanding of the nature of Scripture is summarized in these confessional documents and in the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978). This course will be taught within the context of this set of confessional convictions as the professor gladly submits himself to the accountability of Holy Scripture and to the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention.

GARRETT FELLOW

Mr. Robert E. Sagers [email protected] (502) 897-4612

TEXTS

Required Texts

Russell D. Moore, Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2009).

Trevor Burke, Adopted into God’s Family: Exploring a Pauline Metaphor (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2006).

Sherrie Eldredge, Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wished Their Adoptive Parents Knew (Delta, 1999).

Sandra Patton, BirthMarks: Transracial Adoption in Contemporary America (New York: New York University Press, 2000).

Lisa Mundy, Everything Conceivable: How Assisted Reproduction Is Changing Men, Women, and the World (New York: Knopf, 2007).

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*Recommended Reading (Choose One of the Following)

*Robert Peterson, Adopted by God: From Wayward Sinners to Cherished Children (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2001).

*Jeanne Stevenson Moessner, The Spirit of Adoption: At Home in God’s Family (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 2003).

*Joel Beeke, Heirs with Christ: The Puritans on Adoption (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage, 2008).

*Caroline Johnson Hodge, If Sons, Then Heirs: A Study of Kinship and Ethnicity in the Letters of Paul (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).

*David Brodzinksy, Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self (New York: Anchor, 1993).

*Andrew Bridge, Hope’s Boy: A Memoir (New York: Hyperion, 2008).

COURSE REQUIRMENTS

1.) Attendance and Class Participation. Each student is expected to attend class lectures and to participate in classroom discussions, as well as attend the Adopting for Life Pastors’ and Leaders’ Dinner and the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit VII conference in their entirety. Enrollment in the course will mean that the student will be enrolled, at no cost to the student, in both the dinner and the conference.

For more information on the dinner, see here: http://events.sbts.edu/afldinner/. For more information on the conference, see here: http://www.christian-alliance-for-orphans.org/summit.

2.) Reading Assignments. Each student is expected to read all textbook readings as indicated in the syllabus. A reading report affirming your completion of the required reading must be uploaded to Moodle on or before July 1. The reading includes all of the books listed under ―Required Texts‖—Moore, Burke, Eldredge, Patton, and Mundy—as well as one book of the student’s choosing from the list ―Recommended Reading.‖

3.) Personal Interaction Paper. The student will complete a 10-12 page analytical paper in which he or she reflects thoughtfully on the Adopting for Life Pastors’ and Leaders’ Dinner and the Summit VII conference. Each student must interact critically with what he or she learned at the dinner and conference and how such learning can be applied to the student’s life and ministry in regards to adoption and orphan care, both now and in the future. The personal interaction paper must be uploaded to Moodle on or before June 3. The paper should be written in conformity with The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Style Guide.

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COURSE GRADING

Personal Interaction Paper (due June 3) – 40 percent Reading Report (due July 1) – 60 percent

The grading scale for this course is the following: A = 97-100 B- = 87-88 D+ = 75-76 A- = 95-96 C+ = 84-86 D = 72-74 B+ = 93-94 C = 80-83 D- = 70-71 B = 89-92 C- = 77-79 F = 0-69

No late work will be accepted except in the most extreme circumstances.

COURSE OUTLINE

The exact course outline is still to be determined, but the following topics may be addressed:

-The Doctrine of Adoption and the Old Testament Scriptures -The Doctrine of Adoption and the New Testament Scriptures -Adoption and the Ancient Near East -Adoption and the Roman Empire -Adoption and Christian Systematic Theology -Orphan Care and Adoption in the History of the Christian Church -Adoption, Infertility, and the Ethics of Reproductive Technologies -Adoption and the Ethics of ―Blended Families‖ -Adoption and the Ethics of International Orphan Care -Adoption and Legal Matters -Adoption and the Great Commission Mandate -International and Domestic Adoption -Adoption and Racial Reconciliation -Adoption and Health Concerns -Preaching and the Creation of an Adoption Culture -Ministry Programs and the Creation of an Adoption Culture -Adoption and Stewardship Emphasis -Ministering to Special Concerns for Adoptive Families -Ministering to Those Who Were Adopted -Ministering to Birthparents and Others Affected by Adoption

HONOR CODE

All students are required to affirm their academic integrity when submitting all course work and assignments, with the following statement, signed by the student on the front of the course work:

On my honor, I have neither given nor taken improper assistance in completing this assignment.

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FINAL NOTE RE: THE SYLLABUS

The professor reserves the right at any time to alter the syllabus at his own discretion.

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