Responding to God's Call: Tools and Resources for Faithful Discipleship

Dr. Kathleen Henderson Staudt (Kathy) Fall 2006 Tuesday Evenings 7:30-9:30, September 12-November 21.

 

This class is designed for people who have spent some time in study, discernment, spiritual reflection, and are wondering, “so now what?” You may have completed a number of evenings school courses, or a program such as EFM or DOCC, and may have a sense that God is calling you in new ways to a particular area of ministry, that is, to a particular way of being/serving/growing that participates in God's work of reconciliation and healing in the world. Or you may be discovering/claiming new roles in the life of your congregation. Through readings and experiential class exercises, we will explore how we can respond more faithfully to God's call. The Course will include invitation to participants’ clergy leaders to join in some of our class meetings. 7:30-9:30 Tuesday evenings.

 

BOOKS

 

REQUIRED.

Ben Campbell Johnson, Hearing God's Call:Ways of Discernment for Laity and Clergy. Eerdmans, 2002lISBN 0-8028-3961-4

Verna Dozier, The Dream of God: A Call to Return. Seabury Classics. (ISBN #1596280158)

McQuiston II John. Always we Begin Again: The Benedictine Way of Living. Morehouse, 1996. ISBN #O-8192-1648-8

Diana Butler Bass and Joseph Sicking, eds From Nomads to Pilgrims: Stories from Practicing Congregations. Alban Institute, 2006. ISBN#1-56699-323-7

 

RECOMMENDED and on 2-hour reserve in Bishop Payne Library (and good additions to your library)

Caroline Westerhoff, Callings: A Song for the Baptized

Richard Foster A Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth

Evelyn Underhill The Spiritual Life, The School of Charity

Frederica Harris Thompsett Courageous Incarnation

Susan Farnham, Listening Hearts

Lloyd Edwards, Discerning Your Spiritual Gifts

Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time

 

 

SCHEDULE OF CLASS MEETINGS

 

Day 1: The Tools for Discipleship:

an overview of topics to be covered in these 10 weeks.

Our experience of call: the challenge of response

 

Day 2: 9/19 Living our Baptismal Identity: the shape of a Christian Life

               Baptism and the call to discipleship

               Christian living as a response to God's call -- basic practices and disciplines

constructing a simple rule of life

               The Body of Christ - the Poem of God

(Readings for Days 1-2. Choose 2 from this list)

John McQuiston, Always we Begin Again whole book (it's short)

.Evelyn Underhill, The Spiritual Life (the whole book: it's short)

*Richard Foster, "A Celebration of Discipline" pp. 1-11, and choose 2 other chapters that draw you

Ben Campbell Johnson, Hearing God's Call and pp. 115-149 ("Living into the Call" and "From Call to Call")

              

9/26: (no class: writing assignment due on Blackboard)

 

Day 3: 10/3 Responding to God in Scripture

Reading, *Verna Dozier, The Dream of God , chapter 2 (pp. 27-29) (on Blackboard)

               Ben Campbell Johnson, pp. 166-177. Biblical Illustrations of God's Call

 

 

PARTICIPANTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO INVITE THEIR PASTORS TO THE NEXT TWO SESSIONS

Day 4: 10/10 The Disciple-Making Congregation

               Disciples v. volunteers; busy-ness and faithfulness; burnout and call.

Readings in Bass and Sicking, From Nomads to Pilgrims, pp. 1-16, 167-178

               *"Making Disciples: Learning to Live Jesus' Way" Chapter 4, pp. 46-58 in Polling-Goldenne and Jung, Discovering Hope: Building Vitality in Rural Congregations

              

Day 5: 10/17: Practicing Discernment in Community

               Hearing God's call in our lives

               Listening for God in Community

               Coporate Discernment

               *Readings. Standish, "Divine Coincidences," pp. 17-33. in Bass and Sicking "From Nomads to Pilgrims"

               *Carolyn Westerhoff, Callings pp. 31-48

Johnson, pp. 84-100

Tutu, God Has a Dream. Chapter 6, "Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart," pp.71-98 and *Chapter 7, "Stillness: Hearing God's Voice", pp. pp. 99-112

              

 

Day 6: 10/24 Ministry in Daily Life

*Thompsett, Courageous Incarnation, pp. 90-124 (posted on Blackboard) also read 1-26 if you have the book

               Diehl, The Monday Connection selection posted on Blackboard

               Dozier, The Dream of God, pp. 122-151.

               *Sims, Servanthood selection posted on Blackboard

 

Day 7: 10/31 Discerning Spiritual Gifts Class will draw on Lloyd Edwards, Discerning Your Spiritual Gifts, pp. 1-73. *pp. 1-34 on Blackboard)

****REFLECTION PAPER # 2 is DUE TODAY See instructions under "Requirements and Logistics"

 

(Days 8 - 10 will center on topics that arise out of the class's discernment and will be tailored to meet the needs of the class . Your reflection papers will be my guide in planning these last sessions of our class time) Readings and written reflections TBA

 

Examples of possible topics for Days 8-10

 

Day 8: 11/7 Ministries of Presence and Healing; Ministries of Teaching & Proclamation

              

Day 9: 11/14 Leadership as Ministry ; Ministry and Creativity

 

Day 10: 11/21: Sharing our experiences: Where do we go from here?

 

REQUIREMENTS and LOGISTICS:

 

1. READINGS: Reading assignments posted for each day of class are those that I will be drawing on for my part of the class presentation. Come to class prepared to discuss these readings. I expect that you will read about 30-50 pages a week. I list more pages than that for each week's assignment, knowing that each person's interest will take them in a different direction. Some readings are posted on Blackboard for your convenience. These are marked with a *. All are available at the reserve desk in the Bishop Payne Library.

 

You will get more out of the class if you buy the books listed as "Required." They contain assignments beyond what can be posted on Blackboard. I also recommend that you purchase at least ONE of the books listed as recommended, and read in it throughout the semester to support your spiritual practice

 

2. ATTENDANCE: Much of the learning in this class happens in our interactions with each other. I understand that many students travel and of course we will work around your schedule, However, this cannot be a correspondence course. If you are taking the course for credit, you need to be present for at least 7 of the 10 class sessions. If you have to miss more than 3 classes, you should plan on changing to "Audit"

 

3. ASSIGNMENTS:The following assignments are required of all students taking the class for credit. All students are encouraged to do them if you have time, since they will help you to process what you are learning in the readings.

 

1. Each student should commit to some simple spiritual discipline/ regular practice for the duration of this course: we will discuss on Day 2 how to construct a very simple "rule of life" and part of our practice during this class will be to explore connections between spiritual practice and our ability to respond to God's call.

 

2. Reflection Paper #1 2-4 pages(Due on Blackboard by September 30 (no class on 9/26)

               Read at least 2 of the readings listed as resources for September 19, and write a 2-3 page reflection paper in response to them. What speaks to you in these readings about the shape of a Christian life? What seems to resonate with your life? What discipline are you planning to take on as we meet together for this course? (It can be something you are already doing or something new: keep it simple and doable, appropriate to your circumstances).

 

3 Reflection Paper #2: 2-4 pages Due on October 31

Read my article, "Annunciations in Most Lives," (posted on Blackboard) for some context, and read a substantial portion of at least one of the readings suggested for September 19. Then write a brief reflective paper (you can use "I," and reflect personally) answering ONE of the following questions.

 

 

Options for second reflection paper (due October 31).

 

Option I: Reflection on call and response

What seems to you to be the desire of God for an area of life where you feel called to serve (workplace, church, family)? What is the work of the church in this area?

 

What seems to be your piece of this work?

 

What energizes you for this work?

What gets in the way of your ability to respond to this call?

 

What feeds you, what drains you?

 

What help and support do you need?

 

OR you may approach this reflection through Bible study and reflection on call

Choose one of the Biblical stories of the calling of the disciples, in Mark 1: 16-20, Matthew 4: 18-22, or Luke 5: 1-11. Then reflect on these questions:

 

1. What details of this story particularly catch your attention, speak to you?

 

2. Describe a situation where it seemed that Jesus was saying to you, "Follow me?" What did you have to leave behind in order to respond?

 

2. Where have you found abundance in responding to this call?

 

3. What gets in the way of your response?

 

4. In what ways do you feel your life is being changed by your effort to respond to this call?