Competency Areas
Aligned with Competency Area(s) 15
15. Understanding of Heritage
Have knowledge of and appreciation for the history and thought of Christianity and of the history, structure, practices, and ethos of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
God and the History of God's People
Taught by Rev. Dr. Christy Newton
This introductory course in church history looks at where the Church has been and how its past shapes future directions. We will examine the Church’s development in the Americas, in Korea, and in the United States, focusing on how missionary movements, Manifest Destiny, migration, and colonization have shaped Christian communities. We will also consider how this history informs Christian education today.
This course is part of the DSF Certificate Program.
Meet Your Instructor,
Rev. Dr. Christy Newton
Rev. Dr. Christy Newton (DSF/GTU graduate, Ph.D./2011) is the Executive Director at DSF, an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and has served Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ congregations in Arkansas and California for over 25 years. Most recently, from 2013-2023, she served as Senior Pastor of First Christian Church (DOC) of Vallejo, CA. Since 2011, she has also taught Social Ethics and the Practice of Ministry online for Lexington Theological Seminary. Her teaching credits also include work at Pacific School of Religion, San Francisco Theological Seminary, the Graduate Theological Union, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Chapman University, and Yagumo Juko in Nagoya, Japan. She regularly leads retreats and teaches a variety of courses in the areas of social ethics, leadership formation, spirituality, globalization, and culture. She is energized by practical and public theologies that insist on hospitality, justice, and compassion, and she is relentlessly inspired to help individuals and communities find ways to sustain their prophetic voices in a difficult and polarized world. Dr. Newton earned her M.Div. in 2000 from Pacific School of Religion and her Ph.D. in 2011 from the Graduate Theological Union.