Reflection Papers
INSTRUCTIONS
No Reflection Assignment should be submitted in less than 1,200 words (averaging 400 across the three questions). However, there is no maximum word countso write as much as you think is needed to cover the question well so that you can add to your learning. You should integrate course readings and additional research (as relevant) into your answers. These assignments are reflectional in nature, but they should also be viewed as a way to demonstrate mastery of course material.
Reflection: Theology of Leadership Assignment
1. Leaders in History: Identify a leader in history that you would like to know more about. This could be a business leader, political leader, religious leader, military leader, or someone from another vein of leadership. After identifying this leader review some biographies and resources on their life and explain what you think makes them a leader worth following. (Note: if you are in a chaplaincy program, focus on identifying and reviewing the life and leadership of a chaplain with a ministry similar to your own.)
2. Theology of Leadership: How did the theology of Luther, Calvin, Edwards, and Bonhoeffer influence and impact their leadership? Be specific about what aspects of their theology encouraged them to lead. How does theology provide the foundation for biblical leadership?
3. Theological Assessment: What aspects of your understanding (or practice) of theology are weakest, and what can you do about it in the next twelve months?
Reflection: Spiritual Disciplines Assignment
1. Leadership and Delight in God: Shaw and Strobel have argued that our highest response to God is delight. Do you agree? If so how do you cultivate this in your own life and the life of those you lead? If you disagree, what is our highest response to God? Support your conclusions with a theological and scriptural basis.
2. Edwards, Leadership, and Resolutions: Jonathan Edwards wrote half of his 70 resolutions by the time he was 20 years old. Start writing your own list of life-resolutions (or continue writing if you already have started life-resolutions). Use this weeks journal to begin your own list of leadership and life-resolutions and the steps you will take to meet those goals. Include resolutions about your spiritual life, your family life, and your ministry life. Make sure to take Strobels advice into account when you are creating your resolutions. Recognize that these resolutions need to be Spirit-led and not created from your own fleshly effort.
3. Learning Discipline from Leaders: How has reading about the spiritual disciplines of Bonhoeffer and Edwards influenced your own spiritual discipline? What practices or changes do you anticipate making in your own spiritual life based on what you have read so far in the course textbooks.
Reflection: Family Leadership Assignment
1. Balance in Family Leadership: Reflect on your own personal attempts to balance your marriage, your family, your education, your ministry, and your leadership responsibilities. Do things need to change in order for you to better balance your demands?
2. Leadership Legacy: What kind of legacy are you leaving? Is it more like Billy Sunday, William Carey, Adoniram Judson, or Hudson Taylor? Or is your legacy like someone else weve read about (or not read about).
3. Lessons from Life and Leadership: Write out the life lessons (good or bad) that you learned from your mother and/or father (or caretaker). Then start to list the lessons you would want to pass on to your children (and if you have children the lessons you are currently passing on to them).
Reflection: Vocational Leadership Assignment
1. Leadership and Temptation: Billy insulated his life from temptation by creating a resolution early in his ministry to not misuse money, avoid sexual temptation, cooperate with local churches, and to reliably report on the successes of their evangelistic ministry. The Modesto Manifesto provided him personal guidelines regarding his own expectations for himself. What type of guidelines have you put in your life? What type of guidelines do you need to put in your life?
2. Humble Leadership: How have you seen the thread of humility woven into the lessons of this course, and what do you think is the role of humility in the life of the Christian leader? How does one cultivate humility as a discipline?
3. Leadership Reflections: Synthesize what you have learned in this class between spiritual leadership, ministry/pastoral care, and your vocational goals (i.e., chaplaincy, human services, teaching, leadership, shepherding, etc.).
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
