Tasks

Reading:
• Bible passages (I prefer ESV, RSV, NIV; others acceptable with permission)
• Patrick Robertson and David Watson, The Father Glorified
• Lesslie Newbigin, A Walk through the Bible
• Stanley Grenz, Created for Community, second edition
• selected shorter readings, on Canvas or linked from schedule

Potentially, one of the following, in order of popularity; difficulty :: • Matt Mikalatos, My Imaginary Jesus (review) for a zany whirlwind journey with a donkey and the Apostle Peter in Seattle pondering how our 'contextualizing' can domesticate Jesus as an idol.
• Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism for examination of common reasons for people today not to believe in the God is Christian faith, and then reasons that trust in God is warranted, or at least worth entertaining.
• N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope (reviews) for clarifying and exploring the significance of Jesus' resurrection for our faith, present, and future.
• Thaddeus Williams, Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask about Social Justice for a theological critique of critical social justice theory.
• Vincent Donovan, Christianity Rediscovered (reviews) for fans of cross-cultural mission and contextualization (even American) in greater theological depth than The Father Glorified.
• Simon Chan, Grassroots Asian Theology: Thinking the Faith from the Ground Up for an Asian appraisal of contemporary Asian Christian theologies.
• Karl Barth, Dogmatics in Outline (reviews) to learn from a theological giant how thoroughly theology centers on Jesus Christ.
• Robert Barron, And Now I See (reviews) for lovers of literature and Roman Catholic theology.
• Steve Addison, The Rise and Fall of Movements for historical, theological, missional perspective on the trajectories of Christian institutions we tend to take for granted.
• Lesslie Newbigin, selected writings (on Canvas) for a theology grounded in God's cosmic mission respected in contemporary contexts. Read a decent selection as it interests you. If you prefer something more structured, I recommend the book The Gospel in a Pluralist Society which is a masterpiece.
• Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World–and Why It Matters for highlighting the Bible's (and especially the OT's) 'spiritual cosmologies' and how biblical passages reflect them.

Lectures: Online (YouTube playlist here) surveys and analyses of key doctrines in the Christian tradition, for you to consider in light of the primary biblical sources with which you're discovering.

Examinations (~30% total). We will have one midterm and one written and/or oral final exam. All examinations will cover up to the day of the exam.

Active participation (~35%). Participation is qualitative as well as quantitative, and is not just awarded proportionately. The word 'attendance' is related to the word 'attention': If you're passive, off-topic, or checked out, you aren't participating or attending. Likewise, in the 'real world' if you miss a day of work every week, or just show up and sit at your desk doing nothing, you don't get 80% of your pay; you lose your job.

Read or watch assigned material either before or after class as the schedule indicates. Assignments and tests draw on these sources as we have processed them in and out of class rather than just measuring your recall of the content.

BTW, I buy most of my books used on eBay, where they're often cheaper than used on Amazon.

Mentoring: Our topic is intrinsically relational: "what you have heard ... entrust to faithful [people], who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim 2:2 ESV). You will identify someone for whom you are an IRL influencer—a younger sibling, a peer, a teammate—to mentor, duckling-discipleship style. This primarily involves teaching them how to discover as well as mentor others. (David Watson: "mentors make mentors.") I do not set the agenda for your relationship; God and you do. You should also lean in to a mentor of your own—a parent, teacher, coach, older sibling, etc., preferably from outside college who already influences you—and seek to discover more truly and equip yourself as a duckling.

Multiplication: Our topic is intrinsically missional: "freely you have received; freely give" (Matt 10:8 NIV). Choose a topic of interest and pursue it with others in groups of your own that include people not in our class. You have two great sets of options: (1) lists of six-week 'story sets' (relevant Bible passages) are here for you to use. (2) The '7 Journeys' story sets in Roy Moran's book Spent Matches are on Canvas. Your groups are of course welcome to continue with different topics, or even longer term.

Office hour appointment. I consider time spent with a student in person a much better investment for both of us than the same time spent writing comments on an assignment that may never be read. So I encourage you (but do not require you) to meet with me one-on-one, or with the rest of your usual discussion group, at least once during the semester during my office hours. We can get to know each other better, address concerns, tailor the course to your particular interests and needs, and extend what you are learning. Make an appointment over Google Calendar. If you forget your appointment, just apologize and make a new one. If I cancel your appointment unilaterally, please accept my apologies, and make a new one.

I especially encourage office-hour visits if you are feeling discouraged by test results, committed to passing on what you are discovering and starting discovery groups, intimidated or overwhelmed by the material, or unsure in your faith.

Tutoring: Further help is available through the library's tutoring program. Further details are to be announced.

Short written exercises (~35% of your grade total) (submitted on Canvas): These will help you reflect on course activities and material to increase their fruitfulness. You choose a number of these from the available options you will find linked from the schedule. Submit at least three of the following:

• duckling (guidance/'mentoring') report
• either do-and-tell report or discovery group (seven journeys or Waha story sets) report
• prayer and worship analysis
• worship service analysis and DBS comparison
• love's way exercise
• either Bible log or living theology log
• a book-specific exercise

They have no formal length requirements; if you want a gauge, aim for roughly 1000 words. They of course require proper citation and quotation of any sources you draw on, the absence of which is academic dishonesty. Do not use any AI tools, which will shortcut your learning process.

Let me anticipate the inevitable question: "What are you looking for?" I'm not looking for a command performance; I'm looking for exercise—for substantive engagement with the course material, both lectures and readings. I'm looking for signs you are really wrestling with and assimilating the course concepts. And of course I'm looking for you to have done what the assignment asks you to do. A follow-up question, less often stated, is "Why are you making us do this?" It's a good question; I've dropped a lot of questions where the answer wasn't compelling enough. Each assignment is crafted with an aspiration that's mentioned in its prompt. That's what I'm after.

I keep using the word exercise, to help counter the high-school baggage associated with 'essay,' 'assignment,' 'writing,' 'paper,' and the like. These exercises are like problem sets, meant to give you practice working with the stuff. So just exercise! Write them in sweats or yoga pants if it helps.

Assignments are due on the date listed in the schedule. The following are guidelines to give you an idea of how I will be evaluating these:

Consistently excellent quality (something like "A"): all assignments complete, on time, full responses to question(s), uses sources broadly and appropriately, demonstrates unusual grasp of the material, well written.

Consistently good quality (like "B+"): complete, on time, full responses, uses sources broadly and appropriately, demonstrates sound knowledge of the material, well written.

Adequate quality (~"B-"): complete, generally on time, adequate responses, works with sources, demonstrates basic knowledge of the material, mediocre writing (some grammatical and spelling errors).

Deficient (~"C"): occasionally missing or late, repeated failure to do what is assigned (e.g., not using sources well enough, tangential topics), poor understanding or misunderstanding of the concepts, or poor writing.

Poor (~"D"): somewhat incomplete, generally late, consistent failure to do what is assigned, poor or no grasp of the concepts.

Inadequate (~"F"): largely incomplete, failure to do what is assigned.

Policies

Late work. Work that is late may be penalized, moderately, unless I have excused it.

Note well: If you upload 'the wrong file' for an assignment, or a 'corrupt' version of a file, you have not submitted the assignment. If I notice two weeks later while grading and ask for the correct one, I'll regard your submission as two weeks late. (Dishonest students use this trick for extra time on assignments.)

Grading. I gave you approximate percentages above; I may weight your strongest result higher to respect that different people have different strengths. Here is how tasks are likely to figure into your final grade:

*factor ( = final grade penalty if incomplete)**	weight of grade
participation* (attending, diligence, group, visits, etc.)	moderate
written assignments*	moderate
midterm and final	moderate

You probably want a rubric with precise percentages, but after twenty years of teaching I'm unsatisfied with those and especially with the way the grading process distorts the learning process. Some students' understanding is best reflected (for better or for worse) in written work; others, in test scores; still others, in oral communication. Your grade will be whatever in my judgment best reflects your understanding at semester's end. You may appeal if you think the results are inaccurate.

So your course grade reflects the final product more than the process, while the process is what produces the product. I consider lectures, readings, written assignments, and even mid-term tests to be preliminary steps along the way of our course. They give you exposure to material, experience processing, and some feedback. They are for getting you ready. So use them that way!

I am not using grades as rewards along the way to direct the process. If you are the type of learner who needs such incentives and is unlikely to adapt, you should either work out an accountability structure for yourself or reconsider taking the course at this time.

Integrity. You will not engage in academic dishonesty (as described in the student handbook) such as cheating, plagiarism, or representing others' work (including AI) as your on. Students who do will fail the course.

Writing Center. The writing center is a creative, collaborative space where you can improve in writing skill and confidence. Our peer tutors serve as friendly 'test readers' for your projects, helping you develop and revise your writing before submitting it to professors, employers, and others. We encourage you to meet with a tutor at least 48 hours before your writing deadline. Be ready to share your assignment prompt and your latest draft, no matter how rough. All tutorials are free of charge. Make an appointment at westmont.mywconline.com.

Academic Accommodations. Westmont is committed to ensuring equal access to academic courses and college programs. In keeping with this commitment under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008, individuals with diagnoses that impact major life activities are protected from discrimination and are entitled to reasonable accommodations. Students who choose to disclose a disability are encouraged to contact the Accessibility Resource Office (ARO) as early as possible in the semester to discuss potential accommodations for this course. Accommodations are designed to ensure equal access to programs for all students who have a disability that impacts their participation in college activities. Email aro@westmont.edu or see westmont.edu/accessibility-resources for more information.