Courses

In Psalm 86:11 (NIV), the psalmist asks the Lord for an “undivided heart.” Many of us, however, have more experience with a fragmented and disintegrated heart than with an undivided one. We believe that we should engage in the activities of a life of faith, that we should do good work, and that we should be authentic in our worship. We think we know what a life of faith is supposed to look like, whether we live up to that or not. We all work, whether that work is valued by others or not, whether we value it ourselves or not, whether we are remunerated or not, and whether we think we are fulfilling a calling or vocation or not. We know that we are to worship God, although opinions abound as to what that means or how it should look and sound. As reflective believers, we might admit that our own lives—and the lives of those that we work with or minister to, lead, or educate—are fragmented and disintegrated, that we have divided hearts rather than undivided hearts. What would it look like to be wholehearted and thoroughly integrated believers? This course will provide the opportunity to investigate and evaluate the three core areas of faith, work, and worship, to address challenges and opportunities for meaningful integration in our lives, and to explore how we might live and minister from a place of wholeness and wholeheartedness.

Knowing

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the inter-relationships between faith, work, and worship in your church tradition or specific church or ministry context;
• Research our themes in areas that are new to you or take you deeper in familiar ones.

Being

• Reflect on how faith, work, and worship have shaped who you are;
• Challenge your life-patterns to be open to possible disjunctions or blind spots; • Explore a deeper, transformative integration of faith, work, and worship.

Doing

• Solve a problem of inconsistency or fragmentation in your life and ministry or for those within your circle of influence related to faith, work, and/or worship;
• Design an integration of faith, work, and worship for your life and ministry and others;
• Research faith, work, and/or worship (through papers or projects) in ways that increase your own wisdom and insight and can benefit others.