The Imprint Institute Curriculum
Overview
Over the next year, you will be working through the whole Bible through different lenses. You will be developing a biblical theology of Mission, a biblical theology of Suffering, a biblical theology of Sexuality, and a systematic theology of the essentials. The goal is to equip you to be a missionary in a fallen world, filled with hurt, pain and confusion. We want to equip you to be effective with the Bible right where you are.
The first seven months of the program will be spent having this modeled for you. You will learn primarily through instruction, dialogue with teachers and your cohort, and assignments. The last two months of the program you will learn primarily through reproducing this. You and your cohort, equipped with a firm grasp of the story and content of the Bible, will answer a specific question or address a specific topic. You will be on the path to becoming a growing expert on what Bible has to say about a specific area of your choosing. The goal is to increase your interest and retention in your study by addressing the areas that are important to you and close to your heart.
In the end, we look forward to learning from you.
Our Foundation: The Bible
Biblical fluency: this is the foundation of the program. At the end of the program, we want you to be so comfortable with handling the Bible that we could parachute you into any non-believing country with just the Bible (no other source material) and you could spark a gospel movement. With that being said, we want to take this year to load you up.
During the Fall and The Spring you will be spending over 150 classroom hours learning your Old and New Testament from seminary professors, pastors, and godly men and women who understand the urban context. It is for anyone that wants to know their Bible in order to be an effective witness, not just a good conversationalist. In order to give you the Bible in a way that forces it to stick you will be going through the grand narrative twice – once in the Fall and once in Spring.
Our Lenses: Mission, Suffering and Sexuality
Mission
Mission is not a concept found in the Bible; it is the sole purpose and identity of the written Word. Every word in the Bible leads to these truths: we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, and strength; we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. If both of these things are true, then we are making disciples of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all of the commands [He] has commanded [us] (Matt. 28:19,20). As we canvas the Bible, we will pay special attention to how we are to engage in work and culture in light of this.
Suffering
Life happens inside seasons of blessing and suffering. The one guarantee for all human life is that at some point we will suffer. In suffering and brokenness, many people ask questions about life, purpose, and God. What does the Bible have to say about hurt, pain, suffering, death, dealing with the poor and disenfranchised? How do we counsel people through pain? Our students will become equipped to answer questions asked by those who suffer in a way that leads them to the Lord.
Sexuality
Human sexuality is no longer taboo, so let’s talk. Christians are the least informed people group about homosexual, transgender, and transsexual topics. These are the most avoided conversations for our culture. As believers in Jesus, we need to be able to join these conversations and offer an informed perspective. How do we respond to the changing sexual landscape? What does the Bible really say about homosexuality? How do I engage someone in the LBGT community, with the gospel, in a real way? How do we wrestle with issues of singleness, marriage and divorce with the complex family systems that life in the city exposes us to? These questions and many more will be addressed in our sessions, as we learn how to answer them based on Jesus’ example.
3 Structural Components of IMPRINT
Classroom: Students of Imprint will get 4 hours a week of formal instruction from proven pastors in the urban context as well as those from other contexts who can speak to the urban context, seminary professors, and others who serve as experts on culture, art, and other selected topics. The aim of this time isn’t just content, but context as well. It is not just monologue, but dialogue. The goal is to truly gain understanding—and that comes through more than just lectures.
Cohort: Life change doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it takes place in community. There is no substitute to being able to process all that you are learning with other people who bring different perspectives and experiences to the table. During the next 9 months you will do just that. You and 4-6 other guys or girls will be taking this journey together.
Contemplative: Reading, writing and reflecting. There is something about putting your thoughts on paper that forces them to become concrete. In this year, you will be challenged to do plenty of it.
This program concludes with you becoming an expert as it relates to one area of your choosing. As you are learning the contents of the Bible and applying it to your context, you will be responsible for reproducing this same level of understanding in a specific area of interest. You will choose a topic, issue, or a problem work to be able to articulate a comprehensive understanding of the topic as the Scripture speaks about it.
SCHEDULE
31 Weeks (2 semesters):
Fall – 14 weeks (9/13-12/12) – one week off for Thanksgiving
Spring – 17 weeks (1/7-5/8) – one week off for Spring Break
2 Nights per week:
Monday nights – 7:00-9:00pm
Wednesday mornings – 5:30-7:30am
2 Weekends per semester (required for Seminary credit):
Friday nights
All-day Saturday – 8:00am-5:00pm (2 per semester)