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Course Content
Seminar Groups
Mentor Training
History of EFM
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Course
Content
Participants
in the EFM program study the entire sweep of the Christian tradition
from the earliest period to the present. Participants learn the
disciplines of biblical exegisis and interpretation, systematic
theology, church history, ethics, liturgies and ascetical theology.
Classes
are limited to ten participants to assure maximum participation
and comprehension.
The
traditional content is not studied in a vacuum. Students belong
to small "communities of learning" in which the events
of each person's life may be examined in the light of the materials
being studied. While the course materials provide substantial
academic content, the focus of the program is on life as ministry
and understanding that ministry. EFM provides Christians with
that basic skill which is the foundation of all Christian ministry
- theological reflection. In doing this, participants sharpen
their skills of personal and cultural assessment and enhance abilities
to be effective in a variety of ministries.
Description
of Worship: To explore the interweaving of personal devotion and
corporate liturgy in worship in order to equip mentors to develop
their seminar groups as worshipping communities. As a result of
this formation event, participants may expect to: distinguish/articulate
the relationship between personal devotion and corporate liturgy;
acquire the "know-how" to design worship with seminar
groups; and use more fully the resources available through EFM
materials for study and worship.
Outline
of Reading Materials: The program recommends thirty-six group
meetings during the course of an academic cycle. New members begin
with the first lesson of Year One. Participants in the same group
may be studying at different levels. They read thirty-three chapters
of academic content and five common lessons that are common to
all levels and which help the group to get started, to learn to
reflect theologically, and to develop its spirituality.
The
First Year - The Old Testament
- Overview
of the History of Israel - Introduction to the Critical Study
of the Scriptures
- The
Book of Genesis - The Themes of Creation, Sin, Judgment and
Redemption - Beginning the Study of Theology, Ethics and Liturgics
- The
Exodus-Sinai Event and the Establishment of the Tribal Confederacy
in Canaan - The Covenant of God with His People - The Books
of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, and 1 Samuel
- The
Rise of the Monarchy - The Books of 2 Samuel, 2 Kings, Deuteronomy,
Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah of Jerusalem, Jeremiah and Ezekiel
- Exilic
and Post-Exilic Judaism - Judaism at the Beginning of Christianity
- Second
Isaiah - Ezra - Nehemiah - The Chronicler - The Psalter
- The
Wisdom Literature
- The
Maccabean Revolt
- Judaism
and the World of Jesus
The
Second Year - The New Testament
- Greek
Culture - The Roman Empire
- Judaism
and the Second Temple
- Biblical
"Criticism" and the Gospels - The Gospels of Mark,
Matthew, Luke and John - the Life of Jesus - the Mighty Acts
of Jesus - the Cross of Jesus - the Exaltation of Jesus
- The
Acts of the Apostles
- Pauline
Christianity and the Epistles
- The
Letters of John
- Hebrews
- 1 Peter - James - 2 Peter - Jude
- The
Revelation of John
The
Third Year - Church History
- The Early Church Fathers
- Gnosticism
- Montanism - The Apologists
- Irenaeus
- Clement - Origen - The Great Cappadocians - Athanasius - Tertullian
- Augustine
- Nicea
to Chacedon
- Early
Liturgies - Spirituality: Monasticism, Mysticism and Prayer
- The
Medieval Church - Aquinas - Bonaventure
- Secularism,
Religious Dissent - The Reformation: Luther and Calvin - the
Catholic Reformation - the Radical Reformation - Anglicanism,
Puritanism, Pietism
- Christianity
in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries - The Industrial
Revolution
- John
Wesley: The Methodist Church
The
Fourth Year - Theological Choices - Nineteenth
Century Anglicanism
- American
Church History
- The
Emergence of Modern Religious Thought - The Rise of Science
- Kant - Schleiermacher - Hegel - Kierkegaard - Sartre - Camus
- Whitehead - Tillich - Moltmann - Cobb - Pittenger
- Modernism
- The Rise of Biblical Criticism - Ritschl - Barth - Bultmann
- De-Mythologizing
and Neo-Orthodoxy - The Rise of Fundamentalism
- The
Liturgical Movement - The Crisis of Suffering - The Theology
of Liberation
- Christianity
and Religious Pluralism - Non-Christian Religions - 21st Century
Challenges
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