Grounded in Scripture and Doctrine

The six courses of the Competency-Based Theology Education (CBTE) Minor are, first and foremost, grounded in Scripture and doctrine.

The three Biblical History and Literature courses focus your attention on the Bible. These courses are built around weekly readings from the Bible. Each week your readings are guided through focus questions to consider as you read, reflection journaling to understand your deepening awareness of God’s Word, and discussion boards to share your thoughts and questions within your cohort. The weekly synchronous meeting is an opportunity to engage in dialogue with the professor and your cohort members to connect your independent work to your growing awareness of what it means to be a redeemed child of God.

Christian Doctrine I and II are more asynchronous, though there are optional individual or small group review sessions with the faculty member. Each week the class focuses on a different central tenet of our shared faith as WELS, ELS, or WELS-affiliated Christians. These courses rely on low-stakes self-assessments, targeted videos, reflection journals, and interactive discussion boards to discover the connection between what we believe and why we believe it. Each unit in the course closes with a test to see how you have grown in your understanding from the self-assessments completed as you move through the unit’s content. There are also a few short papers and projects in these courses to apply what you are learning to your future work in the public ministry.

In Lutheran Confessional Writing, learners closely study the works collected in the Book of Concord (1580). These documents may be over 400 years old, but they continue to guide our profession of faith. In fact, those who serve in the public ministry of the WELS are called upon to affirm that they believe that the Unaltered Augsburg Confession is a true exposition of the Word of God and a correct presentation of the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and that the other confessions in the Book of Concord are also in agreement with this one scriptural faith: the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Small and Large Catechisms of Martin Luther, the Smalcald Articles, and the Formula of Concord during their induction service. Thus, studying these works is not only important for us to understand and share our shared faith but also to understand what we are called to uphold as ministers of the Gospel.

But wait,that sounds a lot like a traditional class. What makes this different?

Each of these six courses is structured as a three-credit class completed over fifteen weeks, so they can appear to be very similar to a traditional, on-campus offering. The difference is that CBTE courses are built around competencies rather than objectives or outcomes. Learners must demonstrate each knowledge, skill, attitude, and behavior associated with their courses. They cannot pass a course if they have not successfully achieved each competency for that course. These competencies are often mapped to authentic assessments. In our CBTE courses, for example, a learner may be asked to craft a devotion or Bible study or create an infographic to explain a specific tenet of our doctrine. The end result is that the courses may feel similar to a traditional, on-campus course’s pacing, but the content is organized to align with competencies and designed for returning adult learners with varied lived experiences to incorporate into their learning experience.