Growing in Faith allows students to choose 2 paths toward graduation.  Both tracks require the Foundation year.  After completing the courses in the Foundation year, students can either choose the Road to Service or Faith Formation track.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

FOUNDATION YEAR - For all students
 Introduction to the Old Testament - This course seeks to give you the basic knowledge to navigate the ancient, alien world of the First/Old Testament in your heart, mind, and imagination.  We will explore what Scripture intends to be, where it arose and spoke, who wrote and edited it, how various worldviews shaped its contents, and when and especially why these particular things were put on record.  The people then and there can then meet and converse with us in the here and now.  The purpose of all this is that, as much as possible, you come to know the faithful yet flawed people (like ourselves) you meet there, to share more deeply their love of the God we all worship, and to embrace them as companions in following God.

Christianity in a Lutheran Key​ - While all Christians share a common set of theological beliefs, Lutherans look at things through a filter of grace.  In this course we will discover more about our Lutheran roots.  We will also look forward to challenges that face us in the future.
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Introduction to the New Testament - The purpose of this course is to help participants understand the gospel message as revealed in the New Testament (NT), to explore the life and faith of the Christian church in the first century, to understand how the NT came down to us in its present form, and to understand and use a variety of tools for interpreting the NT.  Throughout the course students will reflect on how the NT gospel has shaped our Christian lives.   

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​Lutheran Creeds and Confessions -  This course provides an analysis of the historical context and theological content of the Book of Concord (the Lutheran Confessions) with an eye to establishing the importance of its witness for Christian mission and ministry.   

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Living as a Christian in the World​ - This course allows students to explore their place in a world that is no longer predominately Christian.  Participants will discuss and explore their role as members of both a Christian community and the community at large.  In addition, participants will begin discernment of future service and ministries in their congregations, communities, and the larger church.  

Worship Matters​ - Why do we worship Sunday after Sunday?  Is worship intended for an “in group” to comfort and console?  Is worship intended to equip for mission and service?  Is worship for God or for us?  As we explore these questions, we will discover tensions in worship:  a God focus or a communal focus, a head focus or a heart focus, a structured worship or a free worship, a universal church focus or a focus on the local assembly and its needs. 

ROAD TO SERVICE - For those considering congregational leadership or synodically rostered leadership where available. Students should consult with local leaders for assistance in selecting elective courses.

Healthy Congregational Dynamics - All faith communities face challenges of change and conflict.  This course will address ways to understand and address change and issues of conflict.  Through the use of family systems theory, we will explore the dynamics of congregational life and pastoral leadership. ​

Christian Caregiving - Caregiving is the responsibility of the entire faith community.  With differing gifts individuals care in a variety of ways.  This course is intended to assist the faith community in its caregiving ministries and give practical guidance on how to care.  

Church History  - Every 500 years society and its institutions go through major changes.  The church, too, has been emerging in the same pattern.  This course will explore those patterns, people, and factors that have led and are now leading to a continuing evolution of the Christian movement.  ​

Cultural Diversity/Anti-Bias training​ - Participants will discover their own biases and those of the institutions of which they are a part, why those biases exist, and how to confront and overcome them.  

2 Electives
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FAITH FORMATION​ - For those who are looking to deepen their personal faith in a more general manner.

Church History - Every 500 years society and its institutions go through major changes.  The church, too, has been emerging in the same pattern.  This course will explore those patterns, people, and factors that have led and are now leading to a continuing evolution of the Christian movement.  

Cultural Diversity/Anti-Bias training - Participants will discover their own biases and those of the institutions of which they are a part, why those biases exist, and how to confront and overcome them.  ​

4 Electives

ELECTIVES

Christian Doctrine - Christian Doctrine introduces participants to Systematic Theology, presents a vision of the coherence of Christian beliefs with each other, helps identify foundational doctrines, gives an understanding of orthodoxy and heresy, fosters an understanding of the communal and historic nature of doctrines and their spiritual foundations, and helps participants understand and express why disciplined thoughts and faithful confession are crucial for church leaders. 

Communicating the Gospel​ - Together we will explore what the Gospel is and how best to communicate the Gospel in the 21st Century.  We will discuss practical ways for living out our baptismal calling.  Our sessions will include discovering the “gospel” in the four Gospels, as well as how the gospel is communicated in worship, read and spoken word, preaching, the sacraments, and the arts.  The gospel is most vividly expressed in communities of compassion and lives of service.

Christian Ethics -Participants will reflect on the implications of the Ten Commandments for contemporary life.  They will be introduced to concepts and systems by which the Christian tradition has taught personal and public morality, for example, the “Deadly Sins” and “Cardinal Virtues,” the “Just War” theory vs. Christian Pacifism, human nature and human sinfulness, and Luther’s “Two Kingdoms” theology.  The course provides opportunity for disciplined reflection on vexing ethical issues such as sexual ethics, sanctity of life, political witness, and economic justice.  Special attention will be given to the official social statements of the ELCA.

Religions of the World​ - America is a country founded on the idea of religious freedom.  To that end, people of almost every faith in the world have claimed this country as their own.  This course is intended to provide a general introduction to contemporary theological issues in the context of American religious pluralism.  It will help prepare Christian leaders to become aware of people of other faiths in their midst and seek ways to engage in dialogue for building communities of faith.  We will touch on pertinent theological and pastoral issues.  

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