(Center for Urban Ministerial Education)

Church of God of Prophecy Consortium, NE Region - Summer, 2010 

Church and Community:   
Introduction to the Public Ministry of the Church (SE/MC 602) 

Professor: Rev. Dr. Eliana Runyon

Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 Cell: 781-856-0872 

“You are the salt of the earth…

You are the light of the world.”

Matthew 5: 13-16 

I. Course Objectives:    The Student: 

      A. Develops his or her understanding of the biblical and theological basis of

            the public ministry of the Church 

      B. Develops his or her biblical, theological and social ethical reflection on the

            Mission of the Church and public ministry. 

      C. Develops an understanding of types of action which the Christian and the

            Church can take for faithful public ministry 

II. Textbooks 

Required: 

Linthicum, Robert, Building a People of Power: Equipping Churches to Transform Their Communities (Waynesboro, GA: Authentic/World Vision, 2006). 

Stone, Bryan P. and Claire E. Wolfteich, Sabbath in the City: Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence (Louisville, Kentucky:  Westminster John Knox Press, 2008). 

Villafañe, Eldin, Seek the Peace of the City: Reflections on Urban Ministry (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995). 

Wallis, Jim, Faith Works: How Faith-based Organizations are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods, and America (Berkeley, CA:  Page Mill Press, 2000).  

Recommended: 

Linthicum, Robert, Empowering the Poor: Community Organizing Among the City’s ‘rag, tag, and bobtail’ (Monrovia, CA:  MARC/World Vision International, 1991). 

Sider, Ronald J., Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger:  Moving from Affluence to Generosity (Dallas, TX:  Word Publishing, 1997, 20^th anniversary revision). 

Villafañe, Eldin, Beyond Cheap Grace: A Call to Radical Discipleship, Incarnation, and Justice (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006). 
 

III. Course Requirements: 

A. Common Reading:  As a background for course and class lecture/discussion, the student should complete required readings (whole book) by the first day of class. 

      B. Critical Analysis and Reflection on three Required Texts: 

As you read the books, select two key themes/ideas in each book that will be helpful to your ministry.  

      Provide a brief three-page analysis of each of the following books:

1. Seek the Peace of the City, by Villafañe;
2. Faith Works, by Jim Wallis; and,
3. Sabbath in the City, by Stone and Wolfteich.   

      D. Final Paper: 

            Based on class lectures, course required readings, bibliographical

            resources, and your knowledge, prepare a sermon, Bible study or

            academic paper on one of the following themes/issues: 

1. The Biblical Basis for Public Ministry
2. Justice and the Public Ministry of the Church
3. Politics and the Public Witness of the Church
4. The Public Ministry of Jesus
5. The Christian Community as a Public Church

            Paper should be 8-10 pages long; due July 17^th, 2010.

            Please email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . No printed copy is necessary.  
 

IV. Grade Evaluation 

      Your class grade will be evaluated as follows: 

                  Common Readings   20%

                  Attendance    10%

                  Critical Analysis and Reflection  30%

                  Final Paper    40% 

      Minus any penalty for unfulfilled requirements (e.g. regular attendance, late

      papers).

Format for Critical Analysis and Reflection papers:  

Page 1 – Brief synopsis of the book’s content.   

Page 2 – First half: Identify 1^st key theme/idea you selected from the book and explain why you chose it.

– Second half: Describe how you would utilize it in your ministry setting. Be clear, specific and practical. Theoretical/abstract or general statements are not acceptable. Flesh it out. 

Page 3 – First half: Identify 2^nd key theme/idea you selected from the book and explain why you chose it.

– Second half: Describe how you would utilize it in your ministry setting. Be clear, specific and practical. Theoretical/abstract or general statements are not acceptable. Flesh it out. 

      Required page layout :

      Margins 1.0 L, 1.0 R, 1.0 Top, 1.0 bottom.

      Font: Times New Roman, size 12.

      Paragraphs: block style, double spaced lines.

Course Outline 
 
 
 

Introduction 

      A. “Knowing Each Other”

      B. Scope, Objectives, Method and Requirements of Course

      C. Defining our Theme 
 

I. Biblical and Theological Basis of the Public Ministry of the Church 

      A. The Jeremiah Paradigm for the city (The theological concept of Shalom) 

1. A Theology of Prayer:  The City and Spirituality

C. The Church and Its Public Ministry:  Lessons from Jesus 
 

II. The Church and its Public Witness 

1. The Classical Missiological Categories of the Church’s Mission

B. Justice Towards the Poor 
 

III. Social Diakonia:  The Public Ministry of the Church 

      A. Typology of Social Diakonia 

      B. Towards Faith-Based Community Organizing:  Saturday Workshop  
 

Selected Bibliography 

Berger, Peter, and Neuhaus, Richard John.  To Empower People:  The Role of Mediating Structures in Public Policy.  Washington, D.C.:  American Enterprise Institute, 1977 

Boff, Leonardo.  The Lord’s Prayer: The Prayer of Integral Liberation.  Maryknoll, New York:  Orbis Boos, 1989 

Boyte, Harry C.  Commonwealth:  A Return to Citizen Politics.  New York:  The Free Press, 1989 

Carle, Robert D., and DeCaro Jr., Louis A.  Signs of Hope in the City:  Ministries of Community Renewal.  Valley Forge, PA:  Judson Press, 1997 

Claman, Victor N. and Butler, David E., with Jessica A. Boyatt.  Acting on Your Faith: Congregations Making a Difference.  Boston, MA:  Insights, 1994 

Conn, Harvie M.  Evangelism:  Doing Justice and Preaching Grace.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Zondervan Publishing House, 1982 

Conn, Harvie M., and Ortiz, Manuel.  Urban Ministry:  The Kingdom, the City, & the People of God.  Downers Grove, Illinois:  InterVarsity Press, 2001 

Cromartie, Michael (ed.).  A Public Faith:  Evangelicals and Civic Engagement. Lanham, Maryland:  Rowman & Littlefiedl Publishers Inc., 2003 

Dionne Jr., E.J. and DiIulio Jr.  What’s God Got To Do With The American Experiment? Washington, D.C.:  Brookings Institution Press, 2000 

Donaldson, Dave and Carlson-Thies, Stanley.  A Revolution of Compassion:  Faith-Based Groups as Full Partners in Fighting America’s Social Problems.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Baker Books, 2003. 

Galileo, Secundo.  The Way of Living Faith:  A Spirituality of Liberation.  San Francisco, CA:  Harper & Row, 1988 

Green, Clifford J. (ed.)  Churches, Cities, and Human Community:  Urban Ministry in the United States, 1945-1985.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996 

Gushee, David P., ed.  Toward a Just and Caring Society:  Christian Responses to Poverty in America.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Baker Books, 1999 

Heco, Hugh, and McClay M., Wilfred.  Religion Returns to the Public Square:  Faith and Policy in America.  Baltimore, Maryland:  The John Hopkins University Press, 2003. 

Hessel, Dieter T.  Social Ministry.  Philadelphia:  The Westminster Press 1982 

Kozol, Jonathan.  Amazing Grace:  The Lives of Children and Conscience of a Nation. New York:  Crown Publishers, Inc., 1995 

Kretzmann, John P. and McKnight, John L.  Building Communities From the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets.  Evanston, Illinois:  Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research Neighborhood Innovations Network, 1993 

Lappe, Frances Moore and DuBois, Paul Martin.  The Quickening of America: Rebuilding our Nation, Remaking our Lives.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass, Inc. Publishers, 1994 

Linthicum, Robert C.  City of God, City of Satan:  A Biblical Theology of the Urban Church.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Zondervan Publishing House, 1991 

__________________.  Empowering the Poor:  Community Organizing Among the City’s “Rag, Tag, and Bobtail.”  Monrovia, CA: MARC, 1991 

__________________.  Building a People of Power:  Equipping churches to Transform their Communities.  Waynesboro, GA:  Authentic/World Vision, 2006 

Marty, Martin E.  The Public Church:  Mainline—Evangelical—Catholic.  New York: Crossroad, 1981 

Medoff, Peter and Sklar, Holly.  Streets of Hope:  The Fall and Rise of an Urban Neighborhood.  Boston, MA:  South End Press, 1994 

Meeks, Wayne.  The First Urban Christians.  New Haven:  Yale University Press, 1983 

Mott, Stephen.  Biblical Ethics and Social Change.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 1982 

Neuhaus, Richard John.  The Naked Public Square.  Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 1984 

Niebuhr, H. Richard.  Christ and Culture.  New York:  Harper and Row, 1951 

Newbigin, Lesslie.  Truth to Tell:  The Gospel as Public Truth.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991 

Palmer, Parker J.  The Company of Strangers:  Christians and the Renewal of America’s Public Life.  New York:  Crossroads, 1981 

Pasquariello, Ronald D., Shriver Jr., Donald W., and Geyer, Alan.  Redeeming the City: Theology, Politics, and Urban Policy.  New York:  The Pilgrim Press, 1982 

Peters, B. Guy.  American Public Policy:  Promise and Performance, 4^th ed.  Chatham, New Jersey:  Chatham House Publishers, Inc., 1996 

Sandel, Michael J.  Democracy’s Discontent:  America in Search of a Public Philosophy. Cambridge, MA:  The Belknap Press at Harvard University Press, 1996 

Sennett, Richard.  The Fall of Public Man.  New York:  W.W. Norton & Company, 1992 (ed.) 

Sider, Ronald J.  Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.  Dallas:  Word Publishing, 1997 (20^th Ann. Revision) 

Skillen, James W.  The Scattered Voice:  Christians at Odds in the Public Square.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Zondervan Books, 1990 

Stackhouse, Max L.  Public Theology and Political Economy.  Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1987 

Stone, Bryan P.  Compassionate Ministry:  Theological Foundations.  Maryknoll. New York:  Orbis Books, 1996 

Stone, Bryan P. and Claire E. Wolfteich.  Sabbath in the City:  Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence.  Louisville, Kentucky:  Westminster John Knox Press, 2008 

Thiemann, Ronald F.  Religion in Public Life:  A Dilemma for Democracy.  Washington, D.C.:  Georgetown University Press, 1996 

Villafañe, Eldin.  Seek the Peace of the City:  Reflections on Urban Ministry.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing House, 1995 

______________.  The Liberating Spirit:  Toward an Hispanic American Pentecostal Social Ethic.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing House, 1993 

______________.  A Prayer for the City:  Further Reflections on Urban Ministry.  Austin, TX.:  AETH, 2001 

______________.  Beyond Cheap Grace:  A Call to Radical Discipleship, Incarnation, and Justice.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing company, 2006 

Villafañe, Eldin, Jackson, Bruce, Evans, Roberts and Evans, Alice.  Transforming the City:  Reframing Education for Urban Ministry.  Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing House, 2002 

Walker, Theodore, Jr.  Empower the People:  Social Ethics for the African American Church. Maryknoll, NY:  Orbis Books, 1991 

Wallis, Jim.  Faith Works: How Faith-based Organizations are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods, and America.  Berkeley, CA:  Page Mill Press, 2000 

Webber, George W.  Today’s Church:  A Community of Exiles and Pilgrims.  Nashville:  Abingdon, 1979 

Wilson, William Julius.  When Work Disappears:  The World of the New Urban Poor. New York:  Vintage Books, 1996 

Winter, Bruce W.  Seek the Welfare of the City:  Christians As Benefactors and Citizens. Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994 

Yoder, John. H.  The Politics of Jesus.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing House, 1972