Church, Ministry and Sacraments (CT3742Z)

Undergraduate, 18.0 points

Content

This unit considers the theology of the Christian Church, Christian ministries, lay and ordained and the celebration of the Christian sacraments. Content will include reference to Church in the New Testament, historical developments in the understanding of Church, the doctrine of church in contemporary theology, ministry in the New Testament, the development of the doctrine of Ministry to the current time, role and ritual in contemporary culture, the question of ‘What is a sacrament’, and the sacraments of Communion and Baptism.

Unit code: CT3742Z

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 3

Unit discipline: Systematic Theology

Proposing College: Uniting College for Leadership and Theology

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Learning outcomes

1.

Discuss the importance of major historical and social developments in the theology of Church, Ministry and Sacraments for contemporary ministry practices.
2.

Critically reflect on contemporary understandings and practices of Church, Ministry and Sacrament.
3.

Critically evaluate their starting assumptions about Church, Ministry and Sacraments.
4.

Evaluate skills and dispositions required for various roles in contemporary faith communities.

Unit sequence

A Level 3 unit in undergraduate theology and ministry awards

Prerequisite Units: CT1740Z Introduction to Christian Thought or equivalent

Pedagogy

UCLT uses primary and secondary sources considered through different lenses to identify and explore the challenges of the unit material for the contemporary world. Students are engaged in a range of comparative, analytical and reflective practices to identify the original meanings of the text in their contexts and to interpret them hermeneutically.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1982.
  • Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Trans. Daniel Bloesch & James Burtness. Minneapolis, WI: Fortress Press, 2005.
  • Burns, Stephen. Worship and Ministry – Shaped towards God. Preston, Vic: Mosaic Press, 2012.
  • Cahalan, Kathleen A. Introducing the Practice of Ministry. Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2010.
  • Douglas, Sally. The Church [Triumphant] As Salt: Becoming the Community Jesus Speaks About. Bayswater, Vic: Coventry Press, 2021.
  • Johnson, Elizabeth. Ecclesiology in the New Testament. Nashville, Tennessee: Abington Press, 2020.
  • Jones, L. Gregory & Armstrong, Kevin R. Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2006.
  • Ross, Susan A. Extravagant Affections: A Feminist Sacramental Theology. New York, NY: Continuum Publishing, 1998.
  • Smith, James K.A. Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013.
  • Thompson, Geoff. Disturbing Much Disturbing Many: Theology Provoked by the ‘Basis of Union.’ Northcote, Vic: Uniting Academic Press, 2016.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Personal Reflection

Two short guided reflections

 1000 20.0
Summative Reflection

Responses to various components of the course work

 1500 35.0
Essay

Church, Ministry & Sacraments in a disrupted, uncertain social & ecological era.

 2500 45.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 20 Oct, 2022

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-20 17:18:45 +1100