Summer 2016 THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: HIS 6811 ONLINE Brent J. Aucoin and Amy Whitfield and

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1 Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the great commission. Summer 2016 THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: HIS 6811 ONLINE Brent J. Aucoin and Amy Whitfield and Course Time and Location: ONLINE June 14-15, 2016 at SBC Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO COURSE DESCRIPTION: A study of the history, structure, and work of the Southern Baptist Convention. Students are required to attend the SBC annual meeting as a part of this course. This course is worth 3 semester hours and is graded pass/fail. SEBTS CORE COMPETENCIES: Spiritual Formation: Demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue an authentically Christian way of life, manifested by trust in God, obedience to Christ s commands, and love of God and neighbor. Biblical Exposition: Demonstrate the ability to properly and effectively interpret, apply, and communicate the Scriptures. Theological Integration: Demonstrate the ability to understand and apply the doctrines of Christianity to life and ministry. Ministry Preparation: Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and Christian disposition necessary for ministry and leadership in the church and the world. Critical Thinking and Communication: Demonstrate the ability to think critically, argue persuasively, and communicate clearly. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: 1. Students will become familiar with Southern Baptist History, theology, and polity and identify and assess their relevance for contemporary ministry. (cc 3, 4) 2. Students will attend the SBC Annual Meeting and participate in discussions with various SBC leaders. (cc 4) 3. Students will learn how to pray for the SBC and do so every day leading up to the convention meeting and will attempt to share the gospel with at least one non-christian during the time of this class. (cc 1) 1

2 Statement of Academic Expectations Though this is a travel course that is graded pass/fail, it is still a church history elective that is comparable in its academic expectations to traditional electives in church history. READING REQUIREMENT Each student is required to read: Dockery, David S. Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Proposal. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, ISBN PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS You must complete the following participation requirements to receive passing credit for this course: 1. You are required to pray every day for the SBC from May 19 to June 14. Please see the prayer guide included later in this syllabus. If you pray for the SBC for just a couple of minutes per day, you will spend over an hour in prayer for the SBC leading up to the Annual Meeting. 2. You are required to attempt to share the gospel with at least one non-christian during this course. 3. You are required to subscribe to the Baptist Press newsletter and to read it daily leading up to the convention You are required to listen to the following episodes of the SBC This Week podcast ( a. Episode 25 Interview with Micah Fries about SBC s 500 largest churches b. Episode 36 Interview with Florida State Executive Director Tommy Green c. Episode 43 Interview with SBC Parliamentarian Barry McCarty d. Episode 45 Interview with SBC Presidential Candidate JD Greear e. Episode 46 Interview with SBC Presidential Candidate Steve Gaines f. Episode 47 Interview with SBC Presidential Candidate David Crosby 5. You are required to listen to all of the SBC This Week podcasts from May 1 to June You are required to watch all of the videos from Midwestern s symposium on Southern Baptists in the 21 st Century. See: 7. You are required to attend the Executive Committee meeting and the subsequent panel discussion with Executive Committee staff on June 13. The tentative time for these events is time. (You will find out the location for that meeting closer to the SBC). Please arrange your travel so that you can arrive at the Convention Center before the meeting begins in order to rendezvous with your instructors. 8. You are required to attend the SBC Annual Meeting in St. Louis on June 14 and June 15. The Convention will begin Tuesday morning at 8am and will last until 9pm on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, the Convention will begin at 8am and last until around 5pm. 9. You are required to be present in the Convention Hall for the following portions of the program: 2

3 a. Presidential Address b. Tuesday afternoon business session in its entirety c. LifeWay Report d. ERLC Report e. Seminary Reports f. Convention Sermon g. NAMB Report h. IMB Report i. Panel Discussion with Entity Presidents and Messengers j. Joint Mission Presentation, IMB and NAMB 10. You are encouraged, but not required, to be in the Convention Hall for all of the parts of the program not indicated above. If you are not in the Convention Hall during part of the program, it is assumed you are in the Exhibit Hall or at a meal during break. You should plan to spend a total of approximately twenty hours participating in SBC-related activities. 11. You are required to attend the Southeastern Seminary Alumni and Friends Luncheon at the SBC. Students are responsible for the cost of the luncheon. You can register for the luncheon on the SEBTS website. Please not that if you do not register, you will not have any food, but will still be required to attend the event. 12. You are required to attend at least one additional auxiliary meeting on June 14 or 15. A full list of auxiliary meetings, times, and locations will be made available on the SBC Annual Meeting website ( We strongly encourage you to attend at least one of the following auxiliary meetings: a. SEND Luncheon b. Baptist21 Luncheon c. For the Church Luncheon d. 9Marks at 9 events e. ERLC event f. Friends and alumni meeting of a Baptist college or seminary g. Women s Leadership breakfast h. LifeWay breakfast 13. You are encouraged to attend the Pastor s Conference on June in St. Louis. 14. You are required to participate in an online discussion via Moodle the week following the SBC. The instructors will post some discussion questions. Please contribute your own reflections and interact with at least two fellow students. The discussion will be available on Moodle from June 16 - June 22. WRITING REQUIREMENTS Write a reflection essay on the 2016 SBC Annual Meeting. The reflection essay should be 5 8 pages. The essay must be double-spaced and use Times New Roman 12 point font. Please include a cover page. In the essay, summarize your experience at the SBC, including what sessions and other activities you attended, your impressions, and how your participation has influenced your sense of the Southern Baptist identity (either positively or negatively). Feel free to share any other insight you learned from your participating in this year s SBC Annual Meeting. This assignment must be uploaded to Moodle by 11:59pm ET Friday July 8. 3

4 Write a resources paper identifying the assigned print, audio, and video resources you used in preparation for attending the SBC annual meeting and briefly explain the main point(s) of each one. Each entry should be between 40 and 150 words. Please identify the resource in bold and then provide your explanation in a single-spaced paragraph. We suggest one entry for each chapter in Dockery, Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal and one entry for each assigned podcast and video. This assignment must be uploaded to Moodle by 11:59pm ET Friday July 8. Write a one-page paper that includes the following information, to be uploaded to Moodle by June 15: 1. A statement that you have read 100% of all the assigned readings with reasonable care 2. A statement that you carefully listened to or watched 100% of all of the assigned podcasts and videos. 3. A statement that you have subscribed to the Baptist Press newsletter and read it daily. 4. A statement that you prayed for the SBC every day from May 19 through June A statement that you have attempted to share the gospel with at least one non-christian during the month leading up to the annual meeting; for this one, please give me a paragraph telling me the name of the person, the date you talked, a description of the conversation, and any spiritual decision resulting. THINGS TO REMEMBER: Please keep in mind the following items as you participate in this course: 1. You are responsible for your own travel, lodging, and meals while in St. Louis 2. You should inquire with your local church about the possibility of serving as a messenger and having a voice in the business of the convention 3. If you do serve as a messenger and choose to speak during a business session, please remember that you represent both your church and SEBTS (think before speaking!) 4. You are highly encouraged to spend time at the SEBTS booth mingling with alumni and prospective students SBC PRAYER GUIDE 1. Sundays: pray for your local church and at least one other SBC church or church plan (please pray for different churches each week) 2. Mondays: pray for the IMB (president David Platt) 3. Tuesdays: pray for the NAMB (president Kevin Ezell) 4. Wednesdays: pray for SEBTS (president Danny Akin) 5. Thursdays: pray for the other five seminaries Southern (president Albert Mohler), Southwestern (president Paige Paterson), New Orleans (president Chuck Kelley), Golden Gate (president Jeff Iorg), and Midwestern (president Jason Allen) 6. Fridays: pray for Ronnie Floyd (SBC president) and Frank Page (president of the SBC Executive Committee) 7. Saturdays: pray for the ERLC (president Russell Moore), LifeWay Christian Resources (president Thom Rainer), and GuideStone Financial Resources (president O. S. Hawkins) 4

5 GRADING SCALE Grading Scale A = 95% - 100% B = 87% - 94% C = 77% - 86% D = 70% - 76% F = 0% - 69% DISCLAIMER: This syllabus is intended to reflect accurately the course description, course objectives, general content, grading criteria, course requirements, attendance requirements, and other information necessary for students to appraise the course. However, the professors reserve the right to modify any portion of this syllabus as may appear necessary because of events and circumstances that change during the term. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Students are expected and required to uphold the highest standards of academic honesty in this and all courses. In particular, students are to refrain from any form of cheating or plagiarism. Failure to do so will result in a failing grade for the assignment and/or the course, and may lead to disciplinary action. NOTE: Southeastern Seminary policy states, In no case may a student merely copy and paste any material from one paper to another without the prior written permission of the instructor. In the rare case when a student is given permission to use his/her own scholarly work in subsequent research, the student must still cite his/her previous coursework as an unpublished paper. Failure to follow these guidelines constitutes plagiarism, and all appropriate penalties will apply. 5