Covers missionary behavior in the book of Acts and other relevant New Testament texts that overlap with the chronology and content of the material recorded in the sequel to Luke’s Gospel. Students will engage these biblical patterns for the sake of discerning how the Church ought to emulate the models portrayed in these texts, but also how to engage presently in faithful improvisation for the sake of an ever-changing world. The course will be structured by readings, lectures, discussion forums, group projects, and also an argumentative essay.
Students in this course will be further equipped with the tools and skills necessary for faithful biblical interpretation, for the appropriate application of scripture for missional/ministry purposes, and for the sensitive translation of the gospel across cultural, contextual, social, and ethnic bounds.
With the primary focus of this class being on Acts we get to dive into the biblical text that gives us the most insight into the habits, practices, and methods of the earliest form of Christian mission. Acts undoubtedly informs so much of a biblically robust missiology that it’s very important that we give Acts the attention it deserves.
This class will offer a biblical focus on missional habits, missional practices, missional behaviors, and missional messages through a study of the book of Acts.
As a class focused on missional methods from the book of Acts, it will be inherently driven by missiology, both in terms of the subject matter and in the way it informs how we should pursue missions today.
We will study how and why the gospel was contextualized in Acts itself, discern ways to carry on this pattern of contextualization today, and consider further the various ways that we read, interpret, and explain Acts in light of our own contexts, backgrounds, traditions.
As we study Acts we will give special attention to the way the apostles were sensitive to the different cultures and people-groups as they shared the gospel message in order to inform our own pursuit of cross-cultural missions.
Learning the message, methods, practices, and behaviors of the early church in their missional efforts is expressly done for the purpose of considering how precisely these are to be applied in our own lives and missionary endeavors.
This course will contain a number of exercises, projects, and assignments that provide the student with various ways to engage and experience the text through diverse means.
