Units timetabled for 2013 and 2014 are provisional only, and details of semester and time will change. The official timetable for each year is released on 1 September of the prior year.

Archived unit descriptions for 2011 are available here.

Church: Community for the Kingdom

Unit Code: 
CT317
RTI: 
United Faculty of Theology
Unit Value: 
15 points

This unit is a study of the church as the community which arises from Jesus’ preaching of the kingdom of God and is oriented to the mission of that kingdom. Topics covered will include: the mission of God; New Testament images and metaphors for the church; historical and contemporary models of church and mission; contextualisation and inculturation; the relation between the church and the world; the relation between the local church and the wider church; the marks of the church; church order, organization, authority and reform; ecumenical issues.

Learning Outcomes: 

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the Kingdom of God and the church
  2. Critically evaluate a variety of theological approaches to church and mission
  3. Identify key theological documents in a variety of ecclesiological traditions and reflect theologically upon them
  4. Articulate a theology of the nature and mission of the church
  5. Apply a theology of the church and its mission to a particular contemporary context.
Lecturer/s: 
Janette Gray
Lecturer/s: 
Christiaan Mostert
Timetabling
Semester: 
Semester 1
Day: 
Wednesday
Time: 
2:15 - 5:15
Location: 
Centre for Theology and Ministry
Unit Frequency: 
Annual
Years Offered: 
2010
Years Offered: 
2011
Years Offered: 
2012
Years Offered: 
2013
Years Offered: 
2014
Unit Fields
Courses: 
Graduate Diploma in Theology
Courses: 
Master of Divinity
Courses: 
Master of Theological Studies
Field: 
Field C Christian Thought and History
Disciplines: 
Systematic Theology
MDiv Field: 
Worship and Mission of the Church
Department Name: 
Department of Christian Thought and History
Unit Level
GradDip Field: 
Elective
MDiv Type of Study: 
Integrative
Prohibited Combinations: 

Students who have previously completed CT110 or CT210/310 Mission of God: People of God, or CT245/345 Church may not enrol in this unit.

Mode of Teaching: 
Semester
Teaching Methods: 

2 lectures and 1 tutorial per week for 12 weeks 

Workload
Number of timetabled hours per week: 
3
Expected personal study hours per week: 
9
Total workload hours per week: 
12
Total workload hours for unit: 
144
Assessment
Assessment TypeWeightingLearning Outcomes Assessed
Assessment Type: 

1 thematic essay of 3000 words

Weighting: 
50%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
1, 2 and 3
Assessment Type: 

1 integrative essay of 3000 words

Weighting: 
50%
Learning Outcomes Assessed: 
4 and 5
Recommended reading: 

* = set texts recommended for purchase

  • Bosch, D. Transforming Mission. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1991.
  • Dulles, A. Models of the Church. New York: Doubleday, 1987.
  • Füllenbach, J. Church: Community for the Kingdom. Maryknoll: Orbis 2002.
  • Gaillardetz, R. Ecclesiology for a Global Church: A People Called and Sent. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2008.
  • Küng, H. The Church. London: Burns & Oates, 1967.
  • Moltmann, J. The Church in the Power of the Spirit. London: SCM, 1977.
  • Pannenberg, W. Systematic Theology. Vol. 3. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans / Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1998.
  • Robinson, J. A. T. The Body. London: SCM, 1952.
  • Schillebeeckx, E. Church, the Human Story of God.  New York: Crossroads, 1990.
  • Tillard, J. M. R. Church of Churches: The Ecclesiology of Communion. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1992.
  • The Nature and Purpose of the Church: A Stage on the Way to a Common Statement. Faith & Order Paper 182. Geneva: WCC, 1998.
  • Volf, M. After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.  

© United Faculty of Theology, 2008-2012.