Course Objectives
By the end of this course the student will have:
- Learned how to use the case study method for teaching biblical studies in ministry.
- Explored issues of leadership and ministry in Jesus and the Gospels and Paul and his Letters.
- Applied lessons from ancient Christian practices of leadership to the needs of ministry and service today.
Course Requirements
- Attendance and participation in all sessions is required. Because this course is intensive, interactive and meets only five times for full-day sessions, one absence will impact final grade. More than one absence will constitute course withdrawal.
- Reading
Efrain Agosto, Servant Leadership: Jesus and Paul (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2005).
David Bartlett, Ministry in the New Testament (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993).
Craig Blomberg, “Implications of Globalization for Biblical Understanding,” in Alice Frazer Evans, Robert A. Evans, and David A. Roozen, eds., The Globalization of Theological Education (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993), 213-246. [On Reserve]
Wes Howard-Brook and Sharon H. Ringe, The New Testament: Introducing the Way of Discipleship (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2002).
Jeffrey H. Mahan, Barbara B. Troxell, and Carol J. Allen, Shared Wisdom: A Guide to Case Study Reflection in Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993).
Material handed out in class on case study methodology.
Harry S. Wilson, Pastoral Theology from a Global Perspective (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996). [On Reserve]
Burton H. Throckmorton, Jr., Gospel Parallels: A Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1992), for help in preparing a Gospel case study to compare and contrast various versions of a Gospel pericope [On Reserve].
- Assignments
- Each student will write and present one case study, including teaching notes, either on a Gospel story having to do with leadership or an incident in one of the Letters of Paul. Students will use readings in Gospels, Paul, and the textbooks to determine which Gospel pericope or epistle passage they will recreate as a case study in an issue of religious leadership.
- In addition, each student will serve, at least once, as a scribe for a case study presentation and an evaluator of a case study teaching experience. The scribe is responsible for taking notes on newsprint provided during each presentation and for submitting a typed version of the notes at the next class session. The evaluator fills out an evaluation sheet provided for each case study, makes the initial response, leads the subsequent discussion and submits written evaluation comments at the next class session.
- On the final day of the class (December 12) each student will submit a revised version of their written case study and teaching notes, based on feedback from the professor, the evaluator and fellow students at the end of their teaching session, as well as the written evaluation submitted subsequently.
- One week later (December 19) the student will submit (to the professor’s office via email, regular mail or personal delivery), a 12-page essay stating the historical and exegetical background, and theological implications for the passage they studied in their case study. This paper will integrate their understanding of the passage with the rest of the New Testament document (Gospel or Pauline Letter) in which the passage is found, modern interpretations of the passage, and the student’s own understanding of how this passage might apply to issues of leadership in ministry in our own day and age.
Course Schedule
September 19 Introduction to Course; Case Study Method; Studying Leadership in the New Testament.
Guest presenters: Alice Frazer Evans and Robert Evans, Co-directors, Plowshares Institute; Founding Directors, Case Teaching Institute
Read: Shared Wisdom, 11-32; Ministry in the New Testament, 1-22; Case Study: “Lobola for a Dead Woman;” Handout: “Problem-Posing Case Studies and How to Study Them.”
October 10 Leadership in the Gospels: According to Mark and Matthew
Read: Shared Wisdom, 33-60, 115-128; Ministry, 58-88; New Testament, 16-61; Agosto, Chapter Two; The Gospels of Matthew and Mark.
Presentations: Case Studies in Mark and Matthew
October 31 Leadership in the Gospels: According to Luke and John
Read: Sharing Wisdom, 61-89; Ministry, 89-149; New Testament, 62-102; Agosto, Chapter Three; The Gospels of Luke and John.
Presentations: Case Studies in Luke and John
November 14 Leadership in Paul: His Churches & Leaders
Read: Shared Wisdom, 91-103; Ministry, 23-57; New Testament, 122-147;
Agosto, Chapters Four & Five; 1 Thessalonians, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, Philippians, Philemon.
Presentations: Case Studies on Paul, his churches and his leaders
December 12 Leadership & the Post-Pauline Experience
Conclusion of Course: New Testament Leadership Today
Read: Shared Wisdom, 105-114; Ministry, 150-200; New Testament, 148-167; 1-2 Timothy, Titus; Blomberg, 213-246; Case: “Pray for a Miracle.”
Presentations: Final Case Studies on Paul and the Pastoral Epistles
Submit: Final Version of Case Studies and Teaching Notes
December 19 Final Paper Due by 5pm in Professor’s office (by mail, email or drop-off).
