Doctrine: The Shape of the Course

I. Prologue
  • Welcome one and all! (Luke 18:9–17)
  • "Sail #1" is being hearers and doers of God's Word. Let's practice that now, and I'll tell you later what all that means.
  • In pairs for the sake of time, answer the following questions. Skip the gray ones this time:
    • Briefly, what are you grateful for?
    • Briefly, what are you struggling with?
    • Read 2 Timothy 2:1–14 together, twice.
    • Close your Bibles and try to reconstruct it from memory. You can use your own words.
    • What does it teach us about God, God's qualities, and God's purpose?
    • What does it teach us about people, including ourselves?
    • Try to summarize its main point.
    • What concrete action will you take before our next class meeting to obey (observe, apply, practice) what you have learned?
    • Whom specifically will you bless by sharing what you learned?
  • "Sail #2" is multiplying prayer. Let's pray.
II. Application
  • Our passage points to some key findings and features of Christian doctrine:
    • "The saying is faithful" (also 1 Tim 1:15, 4:9): Good theology suits its topic and its purpose. (It's a good servant, but a bad master.)
    • "Remember Jesus Christ": What God is doing aligns again and again with what God has done, shown in the scriptures of Israel (the Old Testament) and Jesus' apostolic church (the New Testament and through the end of the age). So we will practice relying on scripture to know God and ourselves and to test and guide church teachings.
    • "Share in suffering": Our topic is a self-involving, world-engaging, vulnerable, transformative 'contact-sport.'
  • Typical doctrine course structures reflect a traditional model of learnèd Christian life and thought.
    This has proven strengths, as well as demonstrated weaknesses.
    It's also struggling with waning impact and relevance in its local and global settings.
  • Fruitful movements across the world are 'fresh wineskins' for theology, so our structure adopts key features (Paul Hueghebaert):
    • mission clarity
      (God's will drives mission drives disciple-making drives movement drives theology),
    • spiritual breathing rather than acquiring mere knowledge
      (hearing and doing the Word),
    • growing relationship with God in radical dependence on the Holy Spirit rather than 'flesh'
      (so multiplying extraordinary prayer, etc.),
    • discovery in scripture as the main curriculum (supplemented by theological milestones to guide as well as appraise),
    • relational learning: disciple-makers make disciple-makers by MAWLing
      (so squads & leaders, duckling discipleship, five-fingers people, people of peace, new groups, catalytic leadership, and more), and
    • structural multiplication rather than growth by addition
      (rabbits before elephants).
III. Structure
  • Our online syllabus sketches a route (some of which is 'on-trail' and some not) through basic skills for theological formation:
    • Our topics begin with 'DNA': foundational skills and priorities for life-long learning for maturing and multiplying in others. (We have already practiced two.) Then we explore standard doctrinal topics through discovery, testimony, and connecting critically with broadly evangelical ('Chris Chen') theological tradition.
    • Why stress basic skills? FDNY firefighter Kevin Shea (WTC 1993): "when you master the basic moves, they become advanced."
    • We build a 'ground floor' by discovering how to hear from God through the Bible (Eph 2:20), often in squads (Eccl 4:9–12), in and out of class and in and out of cultural Christianity, and acting on what we learn.
    • We encounter testimonies of others building too—people coming to know and share God in The Father Glorified (TFG), one another, and others we know.
    • We survey some past 'second floor' findings: Newbigin's mature biblical grand story in A Walk through the Bible, and major historical doctrines and perspectives in lectures and brief Systematic Theology Study Bible (STSB) articles.
    • Squads take turns appraising those articles' worthiness. How faithful are they to the originating DNA?
    • Optionally, you can engage an additional book of 'third floor' contemporary theological reflection, application, and strengthening. Does something on the list pique your interest?
    • To bless others we share what we learn, especially the basic skills that can keep multiplying.
    • We strengthen peers in squads, mentor fellow 'duckling disciples,' and help others mature and multiply.
  • The course allows freedom to choose written exercises, that optional book, longer lectures, and even scripture 'story sets' best suited to you.
  • Grading gauges your overall skill acquisition, performance, and strengths, rather than your ability to "hack bad tests." Put grades in their rightful place in 'the collegiate value paradox.' (More on that later this week.)
    • All take a graded midterm and final and submit three or more written exercises from a range of activities.
    • (Canvas will just be for announcements, files such as shorter readings, and submitting written exercises, not for calculating your grades.)
  • Our schedule plots out the course's various tasks and dates.
  • All of this aims to guide and encourage you along 'the Way,' or at least show it to you, so you can guide and encourage others in turn.