CLC Course Descriptions

Bible (BI)

BI 101 - Hermeneutics* | 2 CREDITS | This course will introduce the student to the basic principles of Bible interpretation. Students will learn to interpret the Bible in its literary, historical, cultural and grammatical contexts. Time will be spent understanding the various literary genres of the Bible including narrative, poetry, wisdom literature, prophecy, gospel, epistle, and apocalyptic literature.

BI 102 - Homiletics | 2 CREDITS | Homiletics will introduce the students to a 12-step teaching process moving from the exegetical idea to the delivery of the lesson. Various communication dynamics and principles will also be addressed. As a practical component, students will prepare and deliver biblical lessons for evaluation.

BI 201 - Old Testament Survey* | 2 CREDITS | This course will offer an overview of the thirty-nine books of the Hebrew scriptures. It emphasizes the historical context, basic structure, central themes, and theological highlights of each book.

BI 202 - New Testament Survey* | 2 CREDITS | This course offers an overview of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. It emphasizes the historical context, basic structure, central themes, and theological highlights of each book. The Intertestamental Period will also be studied.

Church History (CH)

CH 101 - Church History* | 2 CREDITS | This course seeks to survey some of the major events, persons and movements in the history of the Christian Church from the early Church to the present day. The student will learn from the mistakes and triumphs of our rich Christian heritage.

CH 201 - History of Worship in the Church | 1 CREDIT | This class will explore the various forms and expressions of worship throughout the history of the church. The design of the class is to celebrate the rich diversity and creativity in worship expressed throughout church history and to identify various concerns of pitfalls along the way. This class will include an assessment of contemporary worship models and seek to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Christian Leadership (CL)

CL 101 - Dynamics of Small-Groups | 1 CREDIT | This course will establish the biblical support and significance of small-group ministry. It will also address the dynamics of small-groups and cover principles and training for effective small-group leadership.

CL 102 - Spiritual Leadership | 1 CREDIT | This course will introduce the student to the biblical principles of spiritual leadership. It will also cover the practical issues of leading and managing people in a ministry context.

Church Ministry (CM)

CM 101 - Introduction to the Church | 1 CREDIT | This course will be an overview of the biblical purpose of the Church and what this purpose might look like fleshed out in a variety of settings including inner city, suburban, rural and cross-cultural environments. It will cover both the big picture and the every day realities of Church ministry.

CM 102 - Core Values | 1 CREDIT | This course seeks to understand the key characteristics of a vibrant, God-honoring church: worship, outreach, prayer, instruction, community, service, and stewardship.

CM 201 - Principles of Church Planting | 1 CREDIT | This class will study various current church planting models and seek to assess strengths and weaknesses of each model. From Scripture and an understanding of successful models of church planting, the class will develop principles for planitng churches.

CM 202 - Ethnic and Inner City Church Planting | 1 CREDIT | The CLC will seek to offer specific instruction and training for those called to start or minister in a specifically targeted inner city or ethnically targeted church plant. The CLC will work with the student to determine the target group and an appropriate curriculum based on that target. In some cases this may be an indpendent study counting as elective credits.

Counseling (CO)

CO 101 - Biblical Counseling | 1 CREDIT | Provides a survey of various approaches to counseling and seeks to define a biblical approach to counseling and care for people in the context of the local church. It will also provide an overview of identifying and responding to common behavior issues.

CO 102 - Marriage and Family | 1 CREDIT | This course will establish the biblical purpose of the family. It will also address the biblical roles of the husband and wife, and father and mother. Issues related to adult singles, single parenting, blended families and divorce and remarriage will be included as well.

Missions (MI)

MI 101 - Perspective on the World Christian Movement | 3 CREDITS | This is a dynamic course where the student discovers what God is doing around the world and considers his or her part in God's purposes. This class helps the students understand God's plan for the world - and the student's life - as the class explores the biblical, historical, strategic, and cultural ways that God is at work in the world around us. This class is taught under the Perspectives Study Program which is a ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission. This class should be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit. Contact the CLC office for details.

MI 102 - Paul and Early Christian Mission | 1 CREDIT | This course will explore the missionary life and experience of the Apostle Paul, paying special attention to Paul's theology of Mission, Prayer, Practical Application, Leadership Development, and Discipleship.

Philosophy (PH)

PH 101 - Philosophy* | 2 CREDITS | This course presents an overview of philosophy from a Christian perspective. Recognizing our obligation to love God with our minds, this course explores the importance of the life of the mind for the Christian and the need for critical and logical thinking. Some of the areas in the discipline of philosophy which may be covered are metaphysics, the theory of knowledge, the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of human persons, ethics, and the philosophy of science.

PH 102 - Ethics* | 2 CREDITS | This course analyzes the major theories of ethics and then applies them to contemporary ethical issues. Students will assess these theories and their applications from the standpoint of a Christian worldview. The goal of the course is to equip students to think critically and biblically about who is a good person and what makes acts good, admirable and right.

PH 201 - Worldviews* | 2 CREDITS | This course is a general introduction to worldviews. The student will analyze what a worldview is and how it applies to all of life. Various major worldviews will be investigated including the Christian worldview, other forms of theism, naturalism, eastern pantheism, New Age, postmodernism, etc. The student will be engaged in critiquing each of the worldviews covered. Additionally, the student will consider how to integrate his or her Christian worldview into every sphere of life.

PH 202 - Christianity and Culture* | 2 CREDITS | This course presents a theology of contemporary culture. It examines the current state of our culture from a biblical perspective and investigates the influences (positive and negative) the culture has on the church as well as what influence the church can have on our culture.

PH 212 - Apologetics* | 2 CREDITS | This course studies the intellectual defense of the Christian worldview. It investigates the biblical mandate to "contend earnestly for the faith." A biblical model for defending the truth-claims of Christianity will be studied along with strategies for apologetic engagement. Among the topics covered will be the existence of God, the reliability of the Scriptures, the identity of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, and religious pluralism.

Theology (TH)

TH 101 - God, Revelation, Bible* | 2 CREDITS | A survey of some of the central issues in the study of God, revelation and the Scriptures. Among the topics covered are the nature, attributes and activities of God; the nature and scope of general and special revelation; and the inspiration, inerrancy and authority of the Hebrew- Christian Bible.

TH 102 - Humanity, Sin, Salvation* | 2 CREDITS | A survey of some of the central issues in the study of humanity, sin and salvation. Among the topics covered are the nature and purpose of human beings and their status as the image of God; the origin of sin and its effects on both humans and creation; and the gracious provision of God's salvation.

TH 103 - Christ, Holy Spirit* | 1 CREDIT | Addresses some of the central issues in the study of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Among the topics covered are the person and work of Jesus including His deity, incarnation, humanity, earthly ministry, present ministry and future ministry. Also covered are the person and work of the Holy Spirit, especially His role in the salvation of humans.

TH 104 - Church, Future Things* | 1 CREDIT | A survey of some of the central issues in the study of the Church and future events. Among the topics covered are the purpose, organization, ordinances, and ministries of the universal and local church; the rapture of the Church, the second coming of Christ, and the eternal state.

TH 201 - Spiritual Warfare | 1 CREDIT | Deliverance. Bondage Breaking. The binding of curses. The tearing down of Satanic strongholds. These are concepts that are pre-occupying many Christians today. Some popular theologians and other sincere men and women are teaching and encouraging these ideas. But is it safe? Are there pitfalls? What is a believer to do? How can he or she be guided through all this sometimes conflicting material to arrive at a balanced and biblically defensible view? The Bible is clear that there is such a thing as spiritual warfare. There is also a clear foundation of biblical teaching that we already have the victory in Christ. The goal of this course is to equip the student to think critically and biblically about spiritual warfare, impressing participants with its reality, while giving confidence and practical means to address it.

TH 202 - Financial Stewardship* | 1 CREDIT | This course will explore financial stewardship from a biblical perspective. Students will examine a theology of stewardship, an exegesis of several key biblical texts and some of the exegetical, theological and financial views in popular stewardship books. Basic economics for families and churches will be covered as will personal investing and estate planning.

TH 301 - Theology of Worship | 1 CREDIT | This class will study the concept of worship from Genesis to Revelation. It will seek to understand the role and priority of worship, the cultural forms of worship and the principles of worship for the church today. The goal of this class is for each student to be able to define and defend a biblical theology of worship.

Seminar

Seminar I | 1 CREDIT | Offered every fall this seminar provides the student with an opportunity to learn about an aspect of theology, worldviews, culture or leadership from a visiting instructor who possesses expertise in that area. Topics vary. May be listed as BI 301, CL 301, PH 301, or TH 301 depending on the topic.

Seminar II | 1 CREDIT | Offered every spring this seminar provides the student with an opportunity to learn about an aspect of theology, worldviews, culture or leadership from a visiting instructor who possesses expertise in that area. Topics vary. May be listed as BI 302, CL 302, PH 302, TH 302 depending on that topic.

Independent Study

Independent Study | 1 or 2 CREDITS | Research and specialized studies designed to meet the needs of the individual student. The topic of the independent study must fall under one of the areas of study offered at the CLC. Fall independent studies will be assigned the course number 310 preceded by the topic nomenclature (e.g., pH310) and the spring independent studies will be assigned the course number 320 preceded by the topic nomenclature (e.g., PH320). Consent of the instructor and approval by the Academic Dean is required prior to registering for the class.