Five Day Intensive

Rev Assoc Prof Geoff Thompson, Rev Prof John Flett & Prof Amy Platinga Pauw

This unit explores the roots of the Christian community in the messianic ministry of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ and the sending of the Spirit. It highlights the diverse embodiments of the church found in the New Testament and presents them as evidence of the ferment and de facto experimentation which characterised the formation and self-understandings of early Christianity. The ecclesiologies built around the classic marks of the church will be surveyed, but this survey will demonstrate that such ecclesiologies often obscure the experimentation which properly belongs to reflections on the Christian community. The Reformation’s disruption of the Western church, the modern missionary and ecumenical movements, the emergence of the ‘global church,’ and ecclesiastical scandals and corruption all provide the background to the contemporary recognition of ecclesiological ferment and recent discussions about the polycentricity of Christianity. This ferment will be framed Christologically and pneumatologically in ways that provide theological foundations for experimental reflection on the church’s mission, structures, and sacramental practices. The unit will include some focus on the relevance of these issues to the vocation of the Uniting Church in Australia.

 

 

DELIVERY NOTES This intensive will extend over five days straddling the third weekend of July (with a rest day on the Sunday). The unit will include an evening public lecture to be delivered by Prof Amy Plantinga Pauw on July 18th, 7:30 pm at Brunswick Uniting Church, 214 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Online support will be provided between the conclusion of the intensive and the conclusion of the assessment tasks.

PREREQUISITES CT100P

 

To see more details about our Winter Intensives for 2024, click here.

 

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Details

Undergraduate (CT2011P)

1. Articulate the key critical issues in theological debates about the nature, purposes and practices of Christianity communities.
2. Explain the emergence of Christian Communities as the consequence of Jesus’ messianic ministry.
3. Describe the diversity of the ecclesiologies indicated in the New Testament
4. Explain the significance of the Reformation, the modern ecumenical movement, and the polycentric ‘global church’ for contemporary discussions of ministry and mission.
5. Integrate the themes of polycentricity and experimentation into an understanding of the church’s witness in contemporary Australia, with particular reference to the vocation of the Uniting Church in Australia

Assessment

Task 1 – Learning Resource – Study Guide for a Local Community of Faith

A Study Guide which introduces the diverse ecclesiologies of the New Testament intended for use in a local community of faith. (900 words)

Task 2 – Minor Essay 

An essay which critically studies the ecclesiology of either a particular ecclesiastical tradition or a significant theologian. (1350 words)

Task 3 – Major Essay

An essay which investigates themes of experimentation and polycentricity in contemporary ecclesiology (2250 words)

 

Undergraduate (DA2011P/DM2011P)

Task 1 – Learning Resource – A Study Guide which introduces the diverse ecclesiologies of the New Testament intended for use in a local community of faith.

A Study Guide which introduces the diverse ecclesiologies of the New Testament intended for use in a local community of faith (900 words).

Task 2 – Essay – Minor

An essay which critically studies the ecclesiology of either a particular ecclesiastical tradition or a significant theologian (1350 words).

Task 3 – Essay -Major Essay

An essay which investigates the themes of experimentation and polycentricity in contemporary ecclesiology (2250 words).

 

Postgraduate (CT8011P)

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Details

1. Articulate the key critical issues in theological debates about the nature, purposes and practices of Christian communities
2. Explain the historical and theological background to the emergence of Christian communities as the consequence of Jesus’ messianic ministry
3. Describe the diversity of the ecclesiologies evident in the New Testament and explain the relevance of the language of ‘experimentation’ to this diversity
4. Assess the respective significance of the Reformation, the modern ecumenical movement, and the ‘global church’ for the contemporary discussions of polycentric ecclesiology
5. Demonstrate the relationships between eccleisology, Christology and pneumatology as they inform the mission of the church.
6. Integrate the themes of polycentricity and experimentation into an understanding of the church’s witness in contemporary Australia, which particular reference to the vocation of the Uniting Church in Australia

Task 1 – Learning Resource –  Study guide for a Local Community of Faith

A Study Guide which introduces the diverse ecclesiologies of the New Testament intended for use in a local community of faith (1400 words)

Task 2 – Essay – Minor Essay

An essay which critically studies the ecclesiology of either a particular ecclesiastical tradition or a significant theologian (2100 words)

Task 3 – Essay – Major Essay

An essay which investigates the themes of experimentation and polycentricity in contemporary ecclesiology (word 3500)

 

Postgraduate (DA8011P/DM8011P)

Assessment

Task 1 – Learning Resource  A Study Guide which introduces the diverse ecclesiologies of the New Testament intended for use in a local community of faith.

A Study Guide which introduces the diverse ecclesiologies of the New Testament intended for use in a local community of faith (1400 words).

Task 2 – Essay – Minor Essay

An essay which critically studies the ecclesiology of either a particular ecclesiastical tradition or a significant theologian (2100 words).

Task 3 – Major Essay

An essay which investigates the themes of experimentation and polycentricity in contemporary ecclesiology (3500 words).