Upcoming courses

Three credit hours — Jamie Pitts, PhD — Not available for audit

A descriptive and analytic study of the settings, ideas, and personalities that shaped Anabaptism within the context of the early 16th-century church and society. Bearing in mind the social and political setting, the course will highlight doctrine, ethics, mission, sacramental life, and spirituality in various streams of Anabaptism, noting their common and contrasting characteristics. The relevance of this heritage for contemporary ecumenical, doctrinal, congregational, and personal life will be assessed.

Two credit hours; two semesters required — Susannah Larry, PhD — Online, synchronous, Tues, 12:30–1:30 p.m. ET — Not available for audit

This is the basic course in the Old Testament exegesis sequence. It prepares students for exegesis by providing (1) a working knowledge of Hebrew grammar; (2) the ability to read Hebrew narrative; and (3) an introduction to the process of exegesis. Both Part 1 and Part 2 of this course are required, for a total of four credit hours. This course is a prerequisite for Old Testament exegesis courses.

Three credit hours — Jacqueline Hoover, MA — Not available for audit

As Christians live side by side with Muslims in today’s global world, it has become imperative for Christians to wrestle seriously with the Islamic tradition in order to support and participate with both Muslim and Christian communities in their struggles with the meaning and import of Islam. This course examines foundational Islamic narratives and texts — including the Qur’an and the Prophetic Tradition — and how Muslims have interpreted these in law, doctrine, and spirituality through the centuries. Gender issues, the history of Muslim-Christian relations, and the emergence of contemporary Muslim movements will shape discussions in the course along with case studies drawn from different parts of the world. This will inform discussion of a way forward in Christian witness and service among Muslims.

One credit hour — Allan Rudy-Froese, PhD — Not available for audit

Students will practice playing and resting in community with a view to a deeper understanding of themselves, their relationships, and the wider world. We will consider recent theologies of play and Sabbath and ponder how the church might play its way into God’s mission in the world.

Three credit hours — Drew Strait, PhD — Online and a few live meetings by arrangement — Not available for audit

By reading material from the New Testament, students will come to understand better the scope of the Bible and its contents and background in conversation with thoughtful critical scholarship. After an orientation to the Greco-Roman world and the structure of the New Testament, students will sample biblical texts and themes, including the Gospels, Acts, the Pauline writings, the historical Jesus, and eschatology.

Three credit hours — Drew Strait, PhD — Fri, 1:30–4:30 p.m. ET — Auditors: consult with instructor

Note: Blended courses are campus courses that students at a distance can join via videoconference during posted class times.

We haven’t always known quite what to do with the relationship between peace and justice. The biblical texts bear witness to both the Holy Warrior God and the prophet who decries peace without justice, to the Jesus who came not to bring peace but a sword, and to the Jesus who weeps over Jerusalem because it did not recognize “the things that make for peace.” In this course we study pertinent biblical passages in order to gain perspective and to provide a basis for reflecting on peace and justice praxis today. We look at some hard topics: patriarchy, the so-called violence of God, empire, and colonization. We also look at some topics that are more pleasant but also contain their own complexities, such as hospitality and migration, our relationships with each other and with the earth, and eschatological hope, among others.

Three credit hours — Malinda Elizabeth Berry, PhD — Tues, 1:30–4:30 p.m. ET — Auditors: consult with instructor

Note: Blended courses are campus courses that students at a distance can join via videoconference during posted class times. 

This course seeks to deepen students’ awareness and analysis of systemic and interpersonal racism’s impact on the history and current life of the Christian church as well as to help students articulate a more just vision of the church and identify forms of resistance to racism compatible with a commitment to Christian nonviolence. Our primary framing for this analysis comes from (a) Michael Omi and Howard Winant’s theory of racial formation, (b) Willie Jennings’s theological analysis of the diseased Western social imagination, and (c) John de Gruchy’s definition of reconciliation as the restoration of justice. We will also employ strands of methodology that ultimately become a variegated cord of Christian social ethics (anthropology, biblical studies, history, sociology, and theology).

Three credit hours — Susannah Larry, PhD — Thurs, 8:30–11:30 a.m. ET — Campus: Open to auditors; Blended: Auditors: Consult with instructor

Note: Blended courses are campus courses that students at a distance can join via videoconference during posted class times. 

Wisdom literature addresses difficult and probing questions about the meaning of life, freedom, responsibility, divine-human interaction, suffering and the problem of evil, the function of praise and lament, and the ethics that flow from a proper theology. In this course, we will discuss the perspectives presented by the wisdom traditions, especially as manifested in the books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes.

One credit hour — Janeen Bertsche Johnson, MDiv — Tues evenings: Jan. 18, 6:30–7:30 p.m. ET; March 1, 8, 15, 29, April 12, 6:30–9:30 p.m. ET — Open to auditors

Note: Blended courses are campus courses that students at a distance can join via videoconference during posted class times. 

This colloquium focuses on the structure, organization, governance, foundational documents, vision and goals, decision-making processes, leadership, and identity markers of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA. Special attention will be given to the integration process (1995–2001) and recent developments, as well as to the relationship of regional churches and area conferences to the denominations.

Three credit hours — Jamie Pitts, PhD — Thurs, 1:30–4:30 p.m. ET — Auditors: consult with instructor

Note: Blended courses are campus courses that students at a distance can join via videoconference during posted class times. 

Recent church debates about sexuality have involved disagreement about their relationship to the global church. Some critics of the movement for LGBTQ inclusion in church membership, ministry, and marriage describe it as a Western phenomenon that further isolates Western churches from other Christians. On the other hand, proponents of inclusion have sometimes charged that current Christian sexual categories are a product of the same colonialism that has disfigured and divided the global church. In this course we will examine conflicting arguments over the historical and theological origins of Christian sexual ethics, giving special attention to colonial and mission histories.

Three credit hours — Rebecca Slough, PhD — Tues, 8:30–11:30 a.m. ET — Campus: Open to auditors; Blended: Auditors: consult with instructor

Note: Blended courses are campus courses that students at a distance can join via videoconference during posted class times. 

This course examines the contexts of the missional congregation or other church institution — its immediate environs as well as the larger political, cultural, and global milieu — for the purpose of the church engaging those contexts with the gospel. The course will apply the same sociological, anthropological, and theological analyses in North American cultures that have been used in understanding contexts around the world. Methods for researching congregations will be taught and practiced.

One credit hour — Rachel Miller Jacobs, DMin — Thurs, 12–1 p.m. ET — Open to auditors

Note: Blended courses are campus courses that students at a distance can join via videoconference during posted class times. 

For students who enroll in it, the colloquium functions as a worship committee that helps those on the AMBS campus worship in ways that reflect the diversity of our learning community. This diversity includes but is not limited to differences in language, culture, nationality, theological orientation, and worship “style.” In our work together, we will practice tending to chapel services that are both suited to our particularity and that unite us with the body of Christ in worshipping the living God. For those who are leading an individual chapel service, the colloquium serves as a group with whom to do some preparatory brainstorming to begin their planning and to debrief after the fact. For both groups, the colloquium provides a lab setting for worship planning and evaluation that strengthen corporate worship life. Students must register to receive credit; other students may attend without registering. The colloquium may be taken twice for credit and is open to anyone on the AMBS campus. Those planning and leading chapels are strongly encouraged to attend the colloquium in advance of their chapel service in order to take advantage of the resources available through the colloquium.

Three credit hours — Jamie Pitts, PhD — Tues, 8:30–11:30 a.m. ET — Open to auditors

A descriptive and analytic study of the settings, ideas, and personalities that shaped Anabaptism within the context of the early 16th-century church and society. Bearing in mind the social and political setting, the course will highlight doctrine, ethics, mission, sacramental life, and spirituality in various streams of Anabaptism, noting their common and contrasting characteristics. The relevance of this heritage for contemporary ecumenical, doctrinal, congregational, and personal life will be assessed.

Two credit hours; two semesters required — TBD — Weds, 8:30–11:30 a.m. ET — Auditors: consult with instructor

In this first-level Greek course, students learn the basics of the Greek language and read parts of 1 John, an early Christian letter about knowing and loving God. This basic skill-building course for the New Testament exegesis sequence also will help students gain a clearer understanding of the biblical text and how it functions in the life of the church. Imagine! You can read Greek! Both Part 1 and Part 2 of this course are required, for a total of four credit hours. This course is a prerequisite for New Testament exegesis courses.

Four credit hours — Paul Keim, PhD — Tues, 1:30–4:30 p.m. ET — Auditors: consult with instructor

The Bible occupies a central role in the life of the church, and it is essential for students to acquire a deep knowledge of the history of biblical interpretation and to develop competency in biblical hermeneutics. The history of interpreting the Bible by faith traditions in different places and different times continues to shape the questions that contemporary readers bring to the Bible. The process of interpreting the Bible is furthermore complicated by the diverse contexts of the readers of the Bible. This course will introduce students to the major methods of interpreting the Bible throughout the history of the early church, including allegorical and typological interpretations. Students will become acquainted with the interpretation of the Bible in the Reformation era (Luther, Calvin, and Anabaptists), and they will learn about modern methods of studying the Bible (e.g., historical, source, redaction criticism, etc.). Students will also engage with more recent methods of interpreting the Bible such as feminist, womanist, postcolonial, queer, and ecological criticism. The overall goal for the course is for students to develop their interpretive skills by way of engaging with tradition and recent developments in reading the Bible so that they may become equipped to preach and teach the Bible effectively in their own context.

Three credit hours — Rachel Miller Jacobs, DMin — Thurs, 1:30–4:30 p.m. ET — Open to auditors

With communal worship at its center, this course has one goal: to strengthen students’ capacity to integrate worship theory and practice so that they can plan and lead worship with increasing competence in order to enrich a congregation’s experience of God, foster unity in the body of Christ, and strengthen the church’s witness in the world. Focused on developing and refining both a working theology and practices of worship, the course explores key biblical, theological, and historical foundations for Christian worship; teaches contextual analysis skills and practices; and introduces skills for studying biblical texts, crafting words for worship, and leading old and new rituals. Students will also explore their identity and embodiment as worship leaders and formulate a set of principles for training and leading a worship planning group, including strategies for evaluating and assessing worship.

One credit hour — Allan Rudy-Froese, PhD — By arrangement — Auditors: consult with instructor

The preaching module can be attached to another course that students are taking, with the purpose of helping them translate what they are learning in the host course into effective sermons that communicate with congregations. Any course in which the material being learned is appropriate for preaching can be considered a host course; the focus of the module is the preparation of a sermon series. Prior preaching instruction and permission of the preaching instructor are required.

Three credit hours — Drew Strait, PhD — Thurs, 8:30–11:30 a.m. ET — Auditors: consult with instructor

By reading material from the New Testament, students will come to understand better the scope of the Bible and its contents and background in conversation with thoughtful critical scholarship. After an orientation to the Greco-Roman world and the structure of the New Testament, students will sample biblical texts and themes, including the Gospels, Acts, the Pauline writings, the historical Jesus, and eschatology.

Two credit hours — Andy Brubacher Kaethler, PhD — Thurs, 5:30–7:30 p.m. ET — Open to auditors

This course seeks to reclaim focused, intentional living by developing a pattern for daily life modeled after the life and practices of Jesus Christ, including regular practices of worship; fellowship and hospitality; work and reflection; Sabbath and rest; and holy play. We will develop language, concepts, and habits by which to evaluate the role that technology plays in permeating and distorting our relationships with God, with community, and with creation. The course requires commitment to daily Christian practices, moderate reading and writing, and weekly group reflection.