Christian Mission
Teacher:
Pastor Robert Skoretz, M.A.
Office: 909-796-0161 x3409
E-mail: rskoretz@lla.org
Website:
(ID: 16021204) (PW: Skoretz)
Required Books:
The Bible
Steps to Jesus or Steps to Christ by Ellen G. White (You can access this for free online!)
Red Letter Christians by Tony Campolo
COURSE INTRODUCTION
As Christians, we believe we have received the incredible gifts of life, love, and salvation from Jesus Christ. How can we now share these gifts with others? What does it mean to witness to others about Jesus Christ and how can we do this in appropriate and relevant ways? How can we best serve others in our school, church, and community? This class will give you the opportunity to develop personal answers to these questions through your reading of Scripture, class activities, and reflection and discussion. Ultimately, what you discover in this class can make a difference in your life and in our world!
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The main goals of this class are to help you explore the meaning of service, mission, and witness in the life of a Christian and to help you develop skills and experience in these areas. There will be many opportunities for open and honest thinking, discussion, activity, and personal decision-making. Coursework will include service activities and projects, exercises in scriptural and cultural interpretation, discussion and sharing, and book reports. Your grade will not depend on what you believe but it will reflect your ability to use the basic tools that are part of developing and evaluating a life of service and witness. The ultimate goal of this class is to uplift Jesus as the best guide for sharing God’s love to our world!
We are beginning a very interactive journey together; remember to treat each topic and project with respectful compassion and each classmate and member of the community with openness and sensitivity. This should be a safe place to think, speak, and learn.
Welcome to class! I am really looking forward to our time together and may God bless you above and beyond your expectations!
EXPECTED SCHOOL-WIDE LEARNING RESULTS
Christian Mission
The goals and content of this class include and reflect the overall goals of our school. Our desire is that when you graduate from Loma Linda Academy you will have grown:
Spiritually
- Accepting Jesus Christ personally and growing through His word
- Showing commitment to the Church
- Some of the ways this can happen in this class begin with our worship and prayer time. You will never be forced to participate; only invited and encouraged to worship God in a supportive atmosphere.
- This class will challenge you to give hands and feet to your spiritual life. We will explore devotional methods, experience and reflect on service activities, and seek to understand and share an authentic personal witness. We will examine how these topics unfold in the church and in the larger community.
Intellectually
- Demonstrating thinking skills, study skills, communication skills, and life skills necessary to succeed in college and a career
- Appreciating beauty wherever it may be found
- One primary way we will do this is in the scriptural and cultural interpretation work as you learn to think carefully about what the Bible says in context about service and witness and then think reflectively on the real and felt needs of people in our world and how Christians can effectively meet those needs.
- Beauty has taken on a very narrow and limited definition in modern culture. One goal this class pursues is how to recognize the beauty in all of God’s children and how to embrace and restore the dignity and beauty God wishes for each life.
Physically
- Living a healthy, balanced lifestyle
- Developing a program of life-long fitness
- Christian service and witness both originate in the good news of God’s love for humankind. Much of that love is manifest in physical health and blessings that empower people to live well and flourish. Our work together will examine how religious work must always be embodied in practical ways.
- Healthy living is often a natural and attractive way to begin to share the good news of God’s love with people. Meeting physical needs is also often the necessary first step to genuinely help people who are seeking for God. Jesus fed the crowd the loaves and fish even as he preached the gospel to them.
Socially
- Maintaining healthy, interpersonal relationships
- Displaying responsible citizenship with a desire to serve others
- Christian service and witness at its best is all about deep relationships of love and trust with people. Where service and witness can go wrong is when people become numbers or projects in even the best intentioned “programs” for service and witness. This class will take an honest and challenging look at how we treat people.
- This class will challenge you to think deeply about what it means to live as a Christian in our world today. You will have opportunities to discuss and dream and live lives of responsible citizenship and Christ-like love.
GRADING
Why give grades in bible class? No grade can measure your faith and no grade should ever be seen as a judgment of your personal worth to God! However, a grade is very useful in helping you determine what you are learning and how well you understand the basic skills that are related to the religious life. The following grading scale and weights will be used:
100-92% = A, 91-90% = A-, 89-88% = B+, 87-82% = B, 81-80% = B-,
79-78% = C+, 77-72% = C, 71-70% = C-, 69-68% = D+, 67-62% = D and 61-60% = D-.
25% Service Activity Participation
25% Projects
20% Book Reflections
10% Homework
10% Quizzes
10% In-Class Participation
CLASS PROCEDURES
ASSIGNMENTS: All assignments are due at the beginning of class or when the teacher calls for them during class. All late work is reduced in value 10% each day it is late up to 50%. This is especially significant on large projects.
ATTENDANCE: If you come after the bell rings it is your responsibility to come to me and remind me to change your absence to a tardy. Watch me do it before you take your seat! Obviously the best idea is to be on time!
CHEATING: Don’t do it! We will talk in class about specific things that are academically dishonest. Not only is it a moral issue but there will be real consequences in your grade and standing at this school. Project papers and the book report will be submitted to Turnitin.com. Plagiarism and cheating incidents will be dealt with according to the school handbook.
COMMUNICATION: My office is open to you all during lunch and after school to come and talk about anything, work on stuff for class, or just hang out. Call my office when necessary. Also, please feel free to talk to me through e-mail any time – I check my mail daily. My goal is to help you really enjoy this class and accomplish meaningful and relevant work. Talk to me if you have questions or concerns or if you are just having a bad day or bad week - we’ll find a way to make it work.
Please check the class website often for digital copies of all important instructions and links to online resources. This class website is http://skoretzchristianmission.blogspot.com/. Also, please check PowerSchool often as your assignments will be listed there along with a detailed description. When we do projects that require turnitin.com check your submission for my comments so you can make some improvements, if necessary, and resubmit. I will try to keep each form of communication active to help you do your best.
DISCIPLINE: You will find that I enjoy a fun classroom with a relaxed atmosphere. However, I expect all students to follow my lead and cooperate in learning. If your behavior creates a problem that a gentle warning in class cannot solve, then I will meet with you after class to resolve the problem. If we work together, almost all situations can be easily taken care of this way. If you choose not to cooperate then I will call your parents to enlist their help. The final step is to meet with your parents and the principal. I sincerely hope there is no need for involving parents or principal. Choose now to make this classroom a fun and safe place to learn.
EXPECTATIONS: Respect for others – their personal belongings and academic work – is expected at all times. Also, each of you is given full respect by your teacher as you enter the class – I ask for the same respect back as we work together this year. This classroom is to be a safe place to worship God and talk about our beliefs – no one should be put down for sincerely voiced beliefs.
PARTICIPATION: This class needs you! Your comments, contributions to group activities, and general citizenship in the classroom will go a long way toward helping us learn and making this class fun!
SERVICE ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION: A significant portion of your grade is based on your full participation in the service activities we experience. There will be time for preparation as well as honest reflection on the activities. I hope that all that we do will be enjoyable for you but even if it is not, it is important that you participate respectfully.
WORSHIP: Each day we begin class with worship. Sometimes this will be a short verse and prayer, other times we will do something interactive. At all times we will address God with thankfulness, celebration and respect.
Welcome to class! I am really looking forward to our time together and may God bless you above and beyond your expectations!
Christian Mission
Important Due Dates
- Book Reflection Papers:
- Steps to Jesus/Steps to Christ is due on Thursday, March 1, 2018
- Red Letter Christians is due on Thursday, April 5, 2018
- Charitable Organization Project Report is due Tuesday, April 17, 2018
- Mentor Hours Project Report is due on Tuesday, May 22, 2018
- Two Service Learning Projects will be assigned with due dates to be determined in class.
Detailed descriptions of each project and other class assignments will be posted on the class blogspot:
Dear Parent,
Thank you for being a partner with me in the education of your student. Please read the course outline for Christian Mission and sign below that you have reviewed it and noted the key activities and their due dates. Please email or call me if you have any questions.
_____________________________
Printed Name of Student
_____________________________ _____________________________ ____________
Parent Signature Printed Name of Parent Date
This form is due on Thursday, January 25, 2018! Thank you for assisting your student in returning it on time.
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