Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

Unit Description

The aim of this unit is to help learners develop a proficiency in their understanding of leading and building communities of faith in light of the contemporary leadership context in the local church (Ecclesiology).

The unit commences by defining the basic tenets of community from a socio-cultural and theological perspective. The learner explores the establishment of communities in the Old and New Testaments. Special attention is given to how the church organised herself in communities through the ages. Here an analysis is made of various significant leadership styles, structures and methods on the basis of biblical and historical evidence. The role of leadership is explored in the different expressions of the church in church history. The doctrine of the trinity is studied as a theological foundation for leading and building community in order to differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate Christian leadership practice.

Focus on leading and building community continues by examining the concepts of spiritual formation and pastoral theology and their philosophical and practical usefulness in leading and building community.

An important aspect of the unit is the emphasis on spiritual growth, since leading and nurturing a community involves an understanding of how people grow spiritually. Learners will be exposed to different models of qualitative and quantitative church growth. Learners will be required to assess these models and to be able to discuss areas of difficulty that arise from the study

Teaching Strategies

The learning process consists of three phases: Reading, Residential, and Research. Each phase has a blend of individual and group learning, and subsequent phases build upon the learning of those that come before.

The first phase is a Reading phase, and lasts for 12 weeks. The learner, as part of a small cohort study group (3 to 5 members), is guided through a reading program to explore the current scholarship on the practice of leading and building community.

Reading assignments are compiled with the help of the librarian, the educational technologist, and administrative support staff. Required weekly readings are posted to the unit website once a week for downloading, utilising Tabor Victoria’s Moodle platform.

Students are also required to read the prescribed textbooks in this phase.

During this first phase learners in cohort groups embark on a guided social inquiry, resulting in a research project . Hands-on research conducted in context by each participant allows him/her to gain an understanding of specific, emerging ministry concerns/questions encountered by local churches.

Second phase is a residential phase: Equipped with the reading and research, learners then undertake a Residential phase of 40 hours’ worth (one week, full-time) of residential study. During the residency, all cohort groups gather in a teaching church chosen because of a leader who is known as a thoughtful practitioner, and because the agency has a proven track record in “Leading and Building Community”.

In the third Phase students complete a personal theology in which issues related to “Leading and Building Community” are explored. Cohorts also plan and implement an intervention at a local church. The intervention is a professional presentation that summarises findings and proposes a number of ways the church might go about addressing the emerging questions. The intervention invites thoughtful practitioners into theological reflection and constructive thinking about the concern and what might be done to begin addressing it. Following the intervention, the small cohort study group reflects upon and assesses their collaborative work.

Unit offerings

Face to face: (Every 3rd Year, Semester 1)

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.