ALLIANCE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY



ALLIANCE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

MI 705 - Seminar

Global Expansion of the Church

Fall 2003, Tuesdays 8:45am-12:15pm

Room: 380

Assistant Professor Stephen Bailey

Room 213A Tel# Ext. 6967

Stephen.Bailey@alliance.edu

Assistant Professor Chuck Davis

Room 212 Tel#

Chuck.Davis@alliance.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTON

This course considers the expansion of the Church around the world in history through the lens of nine key dynamics identified by Church Historian and Missiologist Paul Pierson. A biographical approach is used allowing students to become familiar with great missionaries in history. Their successes and failures are analyzed in light of Pierson’s nine principles. Students are involved in a “living room” style discussion based on selected readings or a guest lecturer’s presentation. This course seeks the formation of a “learning community” of those intending cross-cultural and / or urban ministry. A portion of the class time will be spent in peer-driven faculty resourced mentoring clusters focusing on personal development.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. To provide students with Paul Pierson’s paradigm for understanding the expansion of the Church of Jesus Christ through history.

2. To enable students to become skilled in evaluating Church movements through Pierson’s nine principles.

3. To familiarize students with a number of key leaders in missions history.

4. To develop each student’s ability to listening and learn from the ideas of others through group discussions.

5. To enable to students to identify areas in their personal lives where they want to grow and to help them take steps toward growth in those areas.

COURSE CORRELATION

MI 705 fits into the second phase, (the Church Phase), of the ATS model of ministerial formation (see ATS catalog, p.5-6). Within that model, the goal of this course is to enable the student to see the human factors that shape the church and the implications of these factors for the ministry and mission of the Church.

REQUIRED READING

Nouwen, Henri J.M. 1994. The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming. NY: Image Books. ISBN: 0-385-47307-9

Ruth Tucker. 1983. From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Pp. 490. ISBN 0-310-45931-1.

Course Reader. 2002. Pp.150.

A Mission Biography, to be chosen by the student.

Andrew Walls. “The Translation Principle in Christian History.” in The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. 1996. Pp. On Library Reserve.

OTHER RECOMMENDED READING

George G. Hunter III. To Spread the Power: Church Growth in the Wesleyan Spirit. Nashville, TN: Abington Press. 1987.

Kenneth Scott Latourette. A History of Christianity. Vols. I and II. New York: Harper and Row Pub. 1975. Pp. 678 and Pp.1506.

Samuel Hugh Moffett. A History of Christianity in Asia: Beginnings to 1500. Vol. I. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins Publishers. 1992. Pp.512 and A History of Christianity in Asia: 1500 to 1900. Vol. II. 2003.

Stephen Neill. A History of Christian Missions. New York: Penquin Books.1964.

Mark A. Noll. Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of the Christianity. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. 1997. Pp. 315.

Peter C. Wagner. Spreading the Fire: A New Look at Acts – God’s Training Manual for Every Christian. Volume 1: Acts 1-8. Ventura, CA: Regal Books. 1994. Pp.223.

Lighting the Word: A New Look at Acts – Bringing the Gospel to Every Nation and Every People. Volume 2. Acts 9-15. Ventura, CA: Regal Books. 1995. Pp.246.

Blazing the Way: A New Look at Acts – Sharing God’s Power Throughout the World. Volume 3: Acts 15-28. Ventura, CA: Regal Books. 1995. Pp.250.

Andrew F. Walls. The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. 1996. Pp.261. and The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. 2002. Pp. 277.

RECOMMENDED BIOGRAPHIES

Breamhall, A. J. 1981. Hudson Taylor and China’s Open Century. Great Britain: Overseas Missionary Fellowship.

Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. 1980. Mission for Life: The Story of the family of Adoniram Judson.

New York: The Free Press.

Constance, Helen. 1988. Stepping Out in Faith: The Story of Columbia Missionaries George and Helen Constance. Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications.

Dys, Pat. 1986. He Obeyed the Lord: The Story of Albert B. Simpson. Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications.

Francis, Mabel. 1993. One Shall Chase A Thousand: The Story of Mabel Francis. Camphill, CA: Christian Publications.

Goforth, Rosalind. 1937. Goforth of China. Minneapolis: Dimension books.

Hitt, Russell T. 1997. Jungle Pilot: The gripping story of the life and witness of Nate Saint,

martyred missionary to Ecuador. [Updated 1997 edition with epilogue by Stephen Saint]. Grand Rapids: Discovery House Publishers.

Kennedy, Pagan. Black Livingstone: A True Tale of Adventure in the 19th Century Congo.

USA: Penguin Books.

Mangalwadi, Vishal and Ruth. 1993. The Legacy of William Carey: A Model for the

Transformation of a Culture. Wheaton: Crossway Books.

Northcott, Cecil. 1973. David Livingstone: His Triumph, Decline and Fall. Philadelphia: The

Westminster Press.

Seaver, George. 1957. David Livingstone: His Life and Letters. New York: Harper & Brothers

Publishers.

Shenk, Wilbert R. 1983. Henry Venn: Missionary Statesman. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Taylor, J. Hudson. c. Hudson Taylor. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House. c. Pp.159.

Taylor, Howard. 1953. Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret. London: China Inland Mission.

Tozer, A.W. 1990. Let My People Go: The Life of Robert A. Jaffrey. Camphill, PA: Christian Publications.

Van Dyck, Howard. 1956. William Christie: Apostle to Tibet. Harrisburg: Christian

Publications, Inc.

F. Deauville Walker. William Carey: Father of Modern Missions. Chicago: Moody Press. 1980. Pp.256.

CLASS REQUIREMENTS

1. Class attendance and participation in mentoring groups each week. There are no excused absences. Students are expected to come prepared to contribute to the discussion about the assigned articles, their wider studies in missiology, and their ministry experiences. Each student will be assigned to lead one or two class sessions. They will be evaluated in regard to their ability to summarize the material in the reading and lead a discussion around key questions that are raised in the reading for mission strategy.

2. Weekly Reading Assignments and Reading Reports. A reading interaction paper will be due at the beginning of each class session for the assigned text (students should keep a copy for themselves to aid in the class discussion). A sample of the expected format is attached to the syllabus. If you must be absent from class you should turn in your interaction paper before the class period occurs. The interaction paper for the first class will be due at the beginning of the second class on September 11th. All other interaction papers are due at the beginning of class on the day the reading is assigned. Please type all interaction reports.

3. Missionary Biography – Each student will write a 10 to 15 page paper on a missionary whose life and ministry made a significant contribution to the expansion of the Church. In most cases you will need to do some background research that goes beyond the biography that you read in order to write this paper. The paper must follow the University of Chicago formatting style for term papers. Include a bibliography and footnotes. Divide the paper into easy to follow and logical sections. Consider how this person’s life contributed in ways that line up with Pierson’s 8 theses. Also consider important contributions they made to mission in ways that went beyond the 8 theses. The paper will be due on December 4th.

4. Mentoring Groups – Following each class (2 hours) students will meet in peer mentoring groups to discuss progress on personal learning goals, insights arising from the student’s interaction with their weekly ministry and to pray for and with each other. Additional assignments may accompany the mentoring group meetings.

EVALUATION

Class Attendance/Participation 30% Missionary Biography 20%

Reading Reports 50%

GRADING SCALE

Grades are assigned based on your competency in performing the assignments in this syllabus.

A (4.0) 93-100 A- (3.7) 90-92

B+ (3.3) 88-89 B (3.0) 83-87

B- (2.7) 80-82 C+ (2.3) 78-79

C (2.0) 73-77 C- (1.7) 70-72

D+ (1.3) 68-69 D (1.0) 63-67

D- (0.7) 60-62 F (0.0) Below 60

LATE WORK

All written work is due by the beginning of class on the date assigned. Work will be accepted up to one week late, but grades are lowered 3 points for each day an assignment is late. See the ATS policy on extensions (ATS Catalog p.46). Incompletes will not be given except in the case of serious illness or emergency.

CLASS SCHEDULE

R = Class Reader

T = Ruther Tucker Text

September 4

1. Reading Assignment:

2. Topic: Introductory Matters

1. Reading: Tucker, “Colorizing Church History” in R, Chapter 1 in T

2. What This Course Covers And Why

3. The Class Syllabus And Text Books

4. Paul Pierson’s 8 Theses on Global the Expansion of the Church - Bailey

5. Biases We Bring to the Study of History - Bailey

1. September 11

1. Reading Assignment: “Acts 1: History’s Most Powerful…” in R, Chapter 2 in T

2. The Role of the Holy Spirit in Missions and Mission History - Davis

2. September 18

1. Reading Assignment: “Acts 3-4: 130 Converts a Day” in R, Walls article, Chapters 3 & 4 in T

2. Theological Breakthroughs: Crossing Barriers - Cloutier

3. September 25

1. Reading Assignment: “10 Epochs of Redemptive History” in R, Chapters 5 & 6 in T

2. Pivotal Events that Spark Expansion

4. October 2

1. Reading Assignment: “2 Structures of God’s Mission” in R, Chapter 7 in T

2. Two Structures: Church and Mission

5. October 9

1. Reading Assignment: “The Gospel to the Irish” and “How Celtic Christianity Communicated the Gospel” in R, Chapter 8 in T

2. Key Persons: Patrick

6. October 16

1. Reading Assignment: “John Wesley as Church Growth Strategist” and “Two Brothers Who Changed Church Singing” in R, Chapter 9 in T

2. Leadership Patterns: Wesley Brothers and the Methodist Pattern

7. October 23 / Fall Break

8. October 30

1. Reading Assignment: “Insights into the Nature, Course, and Demise of Spiritual Awakenings” in R, Chapter 10 in T

2. Spiritual Dynamics: Spiritual Awakenings

9. November 6

1. Reading Assignment: “4 Men, 3 Eras, 2 Transitions” and “The History of Mission Strategy” in R, Chapter 11 in T

2. Two Structures: Faith Missions

10. November 13

1. Reading Assignment: “Student Power in World Missions” in R, Chapters 12 & 13 in T

2. Spiritual Dynamics: Students & Mission

11. November 20

1. Reading Assignment: “Retreat of the West” and “Fate of Younger Churches” in R, Chapters 14 and 15 in T.

2. Climactic Contextual Conditions: Colonialism – Its Impact and End

12. November 27 / Thanksgiving Day

13. December 4

1. Reading Assignment: “The Masai,” “The Response,” “A Time for Laughter/Tears” in R, Chapters 16 & 17 in T.

2. Research Paper is Due

3. Leadership: 3rd World Missions and New Forms in Theology and Strategy

14. December 11

1. Reading Assignment: “Emerging Missions in Partnership,” “3 Dimensions of Asian Missions” and “Outline of a Strategy to Reach Asia’s Slums” in R, Chapter 18 in T.

2. The Future of Missions: The Surprises of God

MI 705 – Seminar: Global Expansion of the Church

Weekly Reading Interaction Report

Name:__________________________________________Date:___________Box #____

Title of Article:___________________________________________________________

Title of Source:___________________________________________________________

Author/s:________________________________________________________________

Evaluation: (1 low---10 high)___________

Summary Sentence/s:

2/3 Insights from the Reading

Application for Ministry

Other Questions I Have

Paul Pierson’s 8 Major Theses

On The Global Expansion of the Church

1. Two Structures – This thesis describes the two church structures that God has used in church history – the church congregational structure (sometimes called modality) and the church mission structure (sometimes called sodality). The thesis states the normative use of both structures as part of God’s redemptive purposes. It seeks to relate the strengths and weaknesses of both these structures and the interdependent nature of the two structures.

2. Theological Breakthroughs – This thesis refers to the observation that every new expansion (and renewal movement) has usually been accompanied by new understandings of some aspect of the Gospel and or the meaning of being a Christian in a given time and context.

3. Spiritual Dynamic – Various elements seem to accompany renewal and expansion such as: small group activity, lay leadership, study of the scriptures, new hymnology, the use of spiritual gifts, mystical experiences with God, sacrificial dedication to the principle of the cross, etc. This thesis seeks to describe the underlying causes of the spiritual dynamic of expansion and renewal movements.

4. Mission Structures – A major thesis that Pierson will repeat is the use of mission structures in the expansion of the Gospel into new areas: cultural, geographical, and linguistic. This thesis seeks to understand the patterns of the mission structures, their associations with each other and with the congregational structures and with the new Christianity arising from their efforts. A part of this thesis involves the generation of new mission theory and application of it by the mission structures to stimulate the expansion of the Gospel.

5. Climactic Contextual Conditions – A key element in new movements of renewal and expansion is the historical context. There appear to be certain times when the contextual situations are “right” so that something really happens. This thesis seeks to posit that idea and to describe it.

6. Key Person – This thesis recognizes that breakthroughs, expansion, renewal movements and the like are almost always triggered by a key person.

7. Information Distribution – There is a contagion with movements. The spread of information about movements results in new offshoots of movements. And what is true about movements in general is true of ideas in particular. This thesis seeks to capture that dynamic.

8. Leadership Patterns – New movements of expansion usually happen in connection with new patterns for the selection and training of church leaders. This thesis examines that dynamic.

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