LW Course Descriptions - Lexington Theological Seminary

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LW Course Descriptions

LW 550 – Introduction to Worship This is a four-week (1 credit) course that is a prerequisite for all other courses in the LW area (Leading the Church in Worship). Students will master basic concepts and theological issues that will provide the foundation for consequent LW courses. In this course students will learn the following:

A basic understanding of ritual, symbol, and worship
A broad overview of the biblical and historical foundations of Christian worship, including marking liturgical time
A beginning theology of Christian worship and proclamation
Issues related to leadership in worship, including structuring the liturgical year and designing a basic worship service
The origins and use of lectionaries
The office of daily prayer
An introduction to leading public prayer
An introduction to choosing music for the liturgy

NOTE: This course includes two required assignments in your current congregation. One is to write and lead the opening prayer (called a “collect”) for the Sunday service midway through the course. You should begin to make arrangements for this as soon as you have registered for the course. In the other congregational assignment, you will lead the prayers of the people during the worship service immediately following the last day of the course. Note: If leading the prayers during these worship services would conflict with the schedule of your church and cannot be accommodated, please contact the instructor immediately to discuss alternatives. This course also includes an assignment that requires you to designing a worship bulletin and choose hymns for an upcoming service sometime within the next three months. Note: You are just designing the service as an exercise; it does not have to actually happen in the congregation (although that would be the ideal.) The point is to give you practice in designing a worship service and preparing a bulletin (a requirement for MDiv students as part of the competency exam). Prerequisite: None Credit: 1.0 Instructor: Dr. Leah Schade

LW 552 – Congregational Song In this course, students learn the history and theology of congregational singing as a significant element of Christian liturgy and gain practical skills for choosing congregational music for worship. The course is oriented toward students with minimal musical training. This course is a two-week (.5 credit), self-standing module. “Self-standing” means students work through the material independently and at their own pace (as long as all material is completed by 6:00 pm ET on the Saturday of the second week. Prerequisite: LW 550 Credit: 0.5 Instructor: Dr. John Opsata

LW 553 – New Birth to Dying in Christ: Baptism, Table, Wedding, Funeral This is a four-week (1 credit) course that offers students an introduction to the history, theology, and leadership of Christian rites of passage and sacraments/ordinances. In this course students will become familiar with the following:

- Socio-religious theoretical perspectives on the function of rites of passage and worship rituals.
- Biblical, historical and theological foundations for sacraments/ordinances and Christian rites of passage.
- Detailed understanding of the major rituals of baptism, communion, weddings and funerals, including biblical, historical and theological background, as well as practical considerations.

Prerequisite: LW 550 Credit: 1.0 Instructor: Dr. Leah Schade

LW 554 – Sermon Preparation This course will introduce students to the basic forms and functions of preaching, with the goal of moving from biblical exegesis to theological public proclamation. Students will build a “homiletical toolbox” for preaching that will include the use imagery, metaphors, and creativity in crafting sermons. We will also attend to the performance of preaching, including the use of one’s body, presence, and voice in order to deliver effective, engaging, and inspiring sermons. NOTE: This course includes a required assignment to preach in your ministry site which is to be recorded and submitted following the on-campus intensives. You should begin to make arrangements for this as soon as you have registered for the course.

This course will consist of several pre-class assignments and 3 full days of in-person instruction.

Prerequisites: LW 550, IF 552, IS 560 Credit: 2.0 (Offered during On-Campus Intensives) Instructor: Dr. Leah Schade

LW 572 – Preaching & Leading Worship in the Black Church E. B. Dubois in his book The Souls of Black Folk stated that “the preacher is the most unique personality developed by the Negro on American soil. He early appeared on the plantation and found his function as the healer of the sick, the interpreter of the Unknown, the comforter of the sorrowing, the supernatural avenger of wrong, and the one who rudely but picturesquely expressed the longing, disappointment, and resentment of a stolen and oppressed people. Thus as bard, physician, judge, and priest, within the narrow limits allowed by the slave system, rose the Negro preacher, and under him the first Afro-American institution, the Negro church.” This course will provide the students with a broad overview of the central place that this unique personality plays in leading the black worship experience. The students will become familiar with the black preacher’s role and function in the black church community, the emphasis on call, preaching style and prayer. Prerequisite: LW 550 Credit: 1.0 Instructor: Dr. William Lee

LW 573 – Biblical Preaching TBA Prerequisite: LW 550 Credit: 1.0 Instructor: Faculty

LW 574 – Preaching in the Purple Zone Red state/blue state politics threaten the foundations of our democracy in the United States and rend the fabric of our churches. In fact, the trend of corrosively divisive politics often puts congregations in the middle of this tension in unique ways. How can preachers approach the homiletic task of addressing public issues without causing further divisions or risking their own position of trust within the congregation? Do they even dare attempt to preach prophetically in such a fractured and deeply divided socio-political culture? This course will help students understand the challenges facing clergy and congregations, while encouraging and equipping them to address the vital issues of our time. Key to this endeavor is using a method of civil discourse called “deliberative dialogue” for finding common values among politically diverse participants. This course equips students to help their congregations respectfully engage in deliberation about “hot topics,” find the values that bind them together, and respond faithfully to God’s Word. NOTE: This course requires you to participate in a synchronous online deliberative dialogue session. The instructor will contact students before the course begins to determine the most ideal day and time for this 75-minute session. This course also requires you to preach one time in your congregation. The sermon is to be recorded and submitted along with the manuscript on the Sunday immediately following the end of the course (see Schedule of Assignments for full details). You should begin making arrangements for this as soon as possible. If you have questions, please contact the instructor. Prerequisite: LW 550 Credit: 1.0 Instructor: Dr. Leah Schade

LW 575 – Worship Renewal While the decrease of participation in church life in North American society can be traced to a range of complex reasons, one certainly must be the mediocrity of preaching, liturgy and music in worship. The Twentieth Century has seen major liturgical renewal efforts in the form of the scholarly Liturgical Movement research, Vatican II, the WCC’s efforts resulting especially in the Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry document, the widespread acceptance of the Revised Common Lectionary, and the struggle between “traditional” and “praise” worship especially in the arena of music. But continued work to renew worship at the congregational level is needed for the Twenty-first century church if it is to thrive and inform the lives of its members. This course will introduce students to the history of worship renewal and principles for evaluating and renewing worship in their congregations. Prerequisite: LW 550 Credit: 0.5 Instructor: Faculty

LW 576 – Worship Space In this course, students examine the evolution, significance and best uses of Christian liturgical space. Specific issues to be studied:

typical floorplans of worship spaces
liturgical art
liturgical symbolism
renewal of worship space

Prerequisite: LW 550 Credit: 0.5 Instructor: Faculty

LW 577 – Practice Preaching This course is designed to allow students the opportunity to practice and improve on the range of skills learned in Sermon Preparation (LW554) while giving focused attention to one homiletical issue. The course is limited to eight students, each of whom will preach, record and upload one sermon to be watched individually and discussed in weekly synchronous video conferences. Sermons must have been preached within one month of the start of the course. Because of its synchronous structure, the course lasts for a month; but because of the student work load expected, the course receives .5 credits. Prerequisites: LW 550, LW 554 Credit: 0.5 Instructor: Dr. Leah Schade

LW 579 – Preaching and Leading Worship in the Small Church Smaller congregations present both different challenges and potential for meaningful and appropriate Christian worship than larger churches. In this course, students will explore a range of principles and practices specifically targeted for leading worship and preaching in congregations with an attendance of 100 or less. Prerequisite: LW 550 Credit: 1.0 Instructor: Faculty

LW 580 – Proclamation and Song In this course students will examine how preaching may be blended with song to increase effectiveness in proclaiming the Gospel. The course examines specific aspects of preaching theory that deal with the Focus and Function of the sermon. Music is not limited to any specific genre. We will look at a number of criteria for selecting songs for the purpose of enriching preaching. The course is designed to help preachers, pastors, church musicians, and other worship leaders make the most of the mutually beneficial relationship between the Word spoken and sung. The various congregational contexts represented by students in this class will be important to our discussions. Prerequisite: LW 550 Credit: 1.0 Instructor: Dr. Catherine Williams

LW 590 – LW Competency Exercise *Please refer to section 7.1.6-7.1.8 of the Student Handbook* Prerequisite: Completion of all other LW 500 level work Credit: 0.5 Instructor: Dr. Leah Schade

LW 670 – Interpreting and Preaching the Synoptic Gospels Sound exegesis is necessary if today’s preaching is to contain any of the depth and power of the ancient Christian kerygma. The link between academic biblical scholarship and the life of the church and of the individual Christian sitting in the pew, however, is often strained. In this seminar students will enhance their skills in critical interpretation of the Synoptic Gospels that should be used in the service of preaching the Good News as well as examining pitfalls into which trained exegetes can fall when making the move from the desk to the pulpit. Prerequisite: Successfully completed one competency exercise and a minimum of 60% of LW 500 level work Credit: 2.0 Instructor: Faculty

LW 671 – Technology in the Sanctuary This course examines the evolving role of technology in Christian worship and related ministries of the church, introduces students to theological and practical issues related to utilizing technologies available to worship planners, equip students with beginning skills in using some of these technologies, and gives chance for students to reflect on the influence technology has on their own spiritual lives. Prerequisite: Successfully completed one competency exercise and a minimum of 60% of LW 500 level work Credit: 2.0 Instructor: Faculty

LW 672 – Sermonic Design

During the last forty years, homiletical scholarship has given extensive attention to the question of sermonic form, especially since 1) content and form are inseparable and 2) sermon form implies a certain theological understanding concerning the nature of the Good News and of scripture, and vice versa. However, one rhetorical form does not fit all sermons. This course in sermonic design will serve as an introduction to a few of sermon forms that have been most influential over the last few decades, and will include discussions of how one chooses an appropriate form for a given sermon, how form shapes delivery, and how different forms are heard and experienced.

Prerequisite: Successfully completed one competency exercise and a minimum of 60% of LW 500 level work Credit: 2.0 Instructor: Faculty

LW 673 – Preaching in Post Modernity Challenges to the Enlightenment epistemology and suspicion of authority arose in the late Twentieth century and continue to influence society and the church today. This course will explore the dynamics of postmodernism and a number of different homiletical responses to it. Prerequisite: Successfully completed one competency exercise and a minimum of 60% of LW 500 level work Credit: 2.0 Instructor: Faculty

LW 674 – Generational Issues in Preaching and Worship

American society is currently composed of at least five generational cohorts, each with a distinctive world view molded by foundational experiences in history, culture and religion. The business world has long understood the need to develop and market products to suit the differences among these generations, but the church tends to shape its worship and institutional life on a “one size fits all” basis. In readings, video, lecture and conversation we will explore the unique qualities of the WWII (or Silent) Generation, Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and their children’s as-yet-unnamed generation (which some call “Z”) to understand how we might translate the gospel in worship and preaching with language and experiences which will better enable all of them to connect with the Holy and grow as disciples.