Course Descriptions
Certificate in Intercultural Leadership
Students enrolled in the Certificate in Intercultural Leadership program may meet the 15-credit requirement by choosing 5 courses from the following list (subject to per-term course offerings):
BCCS 400 Biblical Foundations of Leadership - 3 Credits
This course is a study of key principles of intercultural leadership arising from a number of biblical passages and characters. The challenge in studying leadership from the scriptures is that the Bible itself is cross-cultural to the western mind. It is tempting to impose generally accepted western leadership principles upon our understanding of how notable biblical characters exercised leadership. This course will not follow that path. In addition to challenging teaching, this course will provide considerable opportunity for reflection and interaction with fellow students and the instructor in the principles of intercultural leadership.
BCCS 401 Spiritual Formation for Leaders - 3 Credits
This course examines spiritual principles and examples that can be utilized in intercultural spiritual leadership. The student will study how God develops leaders, the essential qualities needed for spiritual leadership, and how to be successful and finish well as a spiritual leader. In addition, it will also address how to avoid common pitfalls that leaders encounter. Opportunities will be provided for personal evaluation and practice in one’s cultural context.
BCCS 402 Jesus as Leader - 3 Credits
This course will examine key areas in which Jesus laid a foundation for intercultural leadership. It will particularly hone in on two of these: First, it will guide the student to study foundational issues related to servant leadership; second, it will focus on Jesus and the specific ways in which he modeled leadership for his disciples as well as for us today. As Jesus did in the first century, the student may find that much of his style of leadership runs counter-cultural to leadership theory and practice today.
BCCS 403 Perspectives on Intercultural Leadership - 3 Credits
This course will explore leadership issues from an inter-cultural and global perspective. It will provide students with a valuable perspective on their own and other cultural perspectives through the comparison of cultural expressions of leadership.
BCCS 404 Intercultural Communication - 3 Credits
This course will explore the factors that serve to facilitate or impede communication within one’s cross-cultural context. The student will be able to learn the difference between perceived communication and the reality of what cultural communication consists of and apply the principles to help him or her communicate more effectively.
BCCS 405 Exploring Culture - 3 Credits
This course will explore the tools and methods used to explore other cultures. It will focus on the key concepts of Ethnography, Cultural Hermeneutics, and Qualitative Research and the value they play in allowing a leader connect with a non-western culture.
BCCS 406 Intercultural Leadership Development - 3 Credits
This course will address the theory and practice needed for effective intercultural leadership development. It will deal with the tension and conflict that missionaries, pastors and lay-leaders experience when they attempt to work with people who come from different cultural and social backgrounds. Specific attention is given to issues of intercultural communication, collaborative leadership, biblical principles of leadership, and how western leadership principles help or hinder in effectively developing intercultural leaders.
BCCS 407 Collaborative Leadership - 3 Credits
This course is designed to introduce both a theoretical and practical framework for collaborative leadership. It will provide opportunities to integrate both a practical and theoretical framework and will be valuable in assisting students into how collaborative relationships are achieved in a cross cultural context.
BCCS 408 Vision and Strategic Planning - 3 Credits
This course will examine how leaders can use creative processes to develop shared vision, communicate it to internal and external groups, and translate it through strategic planning processes into action. Leading theories of vision and strategic planning in organizations will be examined, as well as the dynamic of how these can most effectively be handled in a non-western context.
BCCS 409 Issues and Trends in Global Leadership - 3 Credits
This course will explore the current issues and trends in Global Leaderships. It will look at what current issues are boundaries for leading in a global setting, and possible solutions to effectively overcoming these boundaries. The course will also explore some recent trends that have had major implications on leadership development and the role the west plays in overcoming or further inhibiting leadership growth and development.
BCCS 410 Cultural Innovation and Change - 3 Credits
Cultures throughout the world are changing, adapting to internal needs and external circumstances. This course will look at change, how it is impacting local culture and how that change impacts ministry within the culture. The course will also look at the bigger picture of globalization and the placement of local cultures and worldviews within emerging predominant worldviews.
BCCS 411 Lifelong Leadership Development - 3 Credits
This course explores the nature of lifelong Christian leadership development. It will specifically explore the value in the continued health and development of the leader. It will explore case studies of leaders who have continually developed over a lifetime and provide practical application for how this can most effectively be achieved.
Program Outcomes
Course Schedule