Course Modules in Church History - More Ideas for Assignments on Work
Seminary Curriculum / Produced by TOW Project
Here are more sample assignments to help inspire fresh thinking about how to incorporate a concern for vocation, flourishing and economic justice in a seminary course on Church History.
Unacceptable Jobs for Christians
Ask students to respond to the Apostolic Tradition’s list of unacceptable jobs for Christians (chapter 16 here.)
- What is the context for this writing? (It will help to have students read the entire document – it’s not long – and/or use this at a point in the semester when you are studying the early church.)
- Why are these jobs defined as unacceptable? What themes unite them? How did they function in Roman society?
- Would you put forward a similar list of unacceptable jobs today? If so, why? If not, why not?
It may also help to introduce as resources some links from the Theology of Work Project and The High Calling:
- Sections of “Is Church Work a Higher Calling?”
- “Unjust Work”
- “Can You Do This Job to the Glory of God?”
Lesson Plan for Education at Church
Ask students to write a lesson plan – including modern-day application questions – for teaching in a church educational setting (Sunday School, small group, etc.) about some aspect of church history dealing with work, vocation or discipleship (whether this be a movement, figure, event or famous text).
Since the ascension of Jesus and the birth of the church at Pentecost, the followers of Christ have experienced persecution and martyrdom, established orthodoxy and orthopraxy, endured internal division and social upheaval, and sought to proclaim the good news "to the end of the earth." How can we possibly begin to grasp the complexity of the church's story? In this brief volume, historian Jennifer Woodruff Tait provides a primer using seven sentences to introduce readers to the sweeping scope of church history.
Image by Martijn Baudoin . Used with Permission.
These assignments were written by Jennifer Woodruff Tait, web editor at the Theology of Work Project and an Episcopal priest. They were originally published in the Oikonomia Network Newsletter.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, Copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
