Class Availability at SF Urban

Course Offerings Required for all Participants:

IS 190 SF Urban Practicum (8 units from an Internship in a vocationally- related area) Students learn resume-building and interviewing skills, complete three full interview sessions and accept placement in a supervised internship in a highly regarded business or non-profit organization. Close relationships with SF Urban personnel and on-site supervisors create a world-class learning opportunity in which vocational calling, social justice and faith issues are integrated. In most cases, this internship will fulfill GE requirement: Competent and Compassionate Action.

IS 195 SF Urban Studies (4 units) Study San Francisco and you get a glimpse at the future of American thoughts and trends. Many issues, such as poverty, homelessness and ethnic diversity are more accessible in this urban environment along with broader issues of racism, sexual orientation and diversity of faith community commitments to human needs. Interaction with local guest speakers supplement significant text readings, reflective writing and guided discussions.

Elective Offerings Fall Semester;

RS 117 The Emergent Church: 1st and 21st Centuries (4 units)
An overview of the similarities between the early church’s strategic growth patterns and the contemporary Emergent Church movement in the urban environment. Reading and interpretations of relevant New Testament passages will be discussed in light of conversations with leading figures in the Emergent Church movement in San Francisco.

ENG 134 Ethnicity, Race and the City (4 units)
A comprehensive look at literature from diverse sources, which express broader perspectives available in the urban environment. Students interact with representatives of diverse communities which make up the unique environment of San Francisco.

IS194 Independent Study (2-4 units, by request) In collaboration with San Francisco based faculty and with relevant departmental colleagues, a student may self-design a course which integrates the unique environment of San Francisco into the study of their discipline (example: SF Social services and their effect on poverty and homelessness in the city; Cultural Impact on International Trade Relations- Chinatown’s familial structures and their effect on social capital; A Survey of Church positions on Homosexuality, etc.).

Elective Offerings, Spring Semester:

ENG 104 Modern Grammar and Advanced Composition (4 units)
Prerequisite: completion of the first-year writing for the liberal arts requirement. Strategies and practice in writing non-fiction, expository prose. Special emphasis on revision and style. Includes mini-lessons, peer editing, in-class writing, workshops and oral presentations. Focus will be on themes derived from the student’s interaction with San Francisco, its people and unique issues.


RS117 The Emergent Church: 1st & 21st Centuries (See Above)

RS 117 The Emergence of the Church: 1st & 21st Centuries

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Join Us For the Journey That Spans the Centuries!
Professor: Scott E. McClelland, Ph.D.

Course Meets TH 1:00PM-4:00PM (and some field trips/evenings)
Office Hours: By appointment

Cell Phone: (415) 734-8761;

FAX: (415) 931-0212
E- Mail: Smcclelland@westmont.edu

DESCRIPTION:Theologian/futurist Leonard Sweet notes that the 21st Century has more in common with the 1st Century than any other time in-between. This observation is particularly relevant as we assess the growth and development of “The Emerging Church” in the Book of Acts (and other NT literature) and “The Emergent Church” of our day. An overview of the interaction of church and culture will be our focus as it informs the formation of the early church as well as contemporary churches/ church groups seeking to be “Emergent” in a post-Christian environment such as San Francisco.

Field Trips and guest speakers will focus on illustrative “Emergent Church” communities in the San Francisco Bay Area .Students who read the required material, interact in class discussion, and complete the assignments should (1) understand the basic nature and structure of the early church as described in the NT; (2) have a firm grasp on relevant NT passages related to church development in their original contexts; (3) appreciate the development and diversity of the early and contemporary post-Christian church, and; (4) be able to engage more competently and sympathetically in local and ecumenical discussions of the church today.

REQUIRED READING:

Butler-Bass, Diana. Christianity for the Rest of Us.

Patzia, A. The Emergence of the Church: Context, Growth, Leadership, Worship.

Scandrette, Mark. Soul Graffiti: Living in the Way of Jesus.

Sweet, Leonard (ed.) The Church in Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives.

Wright, N.T. The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is.

FOCUSED READING: (choose one specialized topic for team presentation)

East- West: Jenkins, Philip. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity.

Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner? Holben, L.R. What Christians Think About Homosexuality

Most Segregated Hour: West, Cornel. Race Matters.

Authentic Worship: Best, Harold O. Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspective on Worship and the Arts.

Course Requirements: Book Synopses, Term Paper, Group Presentation.