Department of Character

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

DEPARTMENT OF CHARACTER

CD 121 CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

The very center of Christianity is Jesus Christ. And the Bible says that God’s ultimate will is that each one of us develop the character of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:28–29). When Jesus was on earth He constantly preached godly character, and He regularly condemned religious hypocrites whose character was not Christlike. Godly character is the most important quality of a Christian. This course is completely unlike secular courses that go by the same name.

Learning all about the Lord and the Bible is great. Learning to minister in power is fantastic. But if we do not develop His character we are not living as Christians, and we will eventually get shot down by the world, the flesh, or the devil. God gives definite steps in the Bible to achieve victory in each area of our lives, and Character Development is the course in which you’ll learn them. This is one of the most exciting courses in the entire university, a life-changer you will never forget. (18 units)

CD 201 WALKING WITH GOD

Jesus' invitation to His disciples in Mark 3:14 was not just to follow Him, but “. . . that they might be with Him. . . .” That is the invitation from Jesus to us. Our heavenly Father’s heart is that we would walk in the security of our identity in being loved by God, chosen before time began, holy and precious in His sight. The purpose of this course is to help us understand and identify the things that hold us back from that intimacy, get past those “road blocks,” and press in to the relationship we are all hungering to have with our heavenly Father. There is no limit or measure as to what that can look like. (2 units)

CD 338 SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

This is the spiritual side of Christian character development. With the great interest among God’s people in finding real, workable solutions for the problems in today’s world, there is often a loss of that which Scripture makes primary: Developing our personal relationship with God. This course will help the student develop that intimate experience with the God he or she longs for. This course is a rich experience in knowing God better. (2 units)

CD 343 CHRISTIAN ETHICS

The need has never been greater for men and women of integrity, who live lives of love and truth. Ethical dilemmas loom on every side in today’s world. In the marketplace, at work, in the church, and at home; in relationships with people, the government, and the media; financially, spiritually, morally, politically, and in every other way, Christians are faced with ethical questions. This course looks in-depth at many of these issues and helps students develop a systematic, biblical way of determining what Christ would do in these situations, thus bringing a higher degree of integrity to their lives. (2 units)

CD 355 CHARACTER OF A LEADER

There are greater demands on leaders today than ever. The resulting pressure causes many leaders to fail, often wreaking havoc with those they were leading and causing a blight on the name of Christ. A leader needs above all character—strong, godly character—if he or she is to finish well. This course will help leaders understand how to develop the strength of character needed to stand and prevail in today’s world. (2 units)

CD 360 SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

Sin as a condition works its way out through the “bodily members,” that is, the ingrained habits of the body (Rom. 7:5). And there is no slavery that can compare to the slavery of ingrained habits of sin. Sin is part of the internal structure of our lives. No special effort is needed to produce it. No wonder we feel trapped.

Our ordinary method of dealing with ingrained sin is to launch a frontal attack. We rely on willpower and determination. Whatever the issue for us—anger, fear, bitterness, gluttony, pride, lust, substance abuse—we determine never to do it again; we pray against it, set our will against it. But the struggle is often in vain. What we must have is “an inside job,” an inner transformation. It is by God’s grace that we win our battle against evil.

God has given us the disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of getting ourselves in position to receive
His grace: The disciplines help us to place ourselves before God so He can transform us. In this course, we will learn about the spiritual disciplines from the Scriptures and practice them in the class-room. You will have an opportunity to both learn about and put into practice these treasures from God. Will you join us in this exciting quest and experience the freedom Christ promised? (2 units)