Teaching Baptist History and Doctrinal Distinctives to the Congregation of Mount Zion Baptist Church, West Paducah, Kentucky

Abstract

ABSTRACT

TEACHING BAPTIST HISTORY AND DOCTRINAL DISTINCTIVES

TO THE CONGREGATION OF MOUNT ZION BAPTIST

CHURCH, WEST PADUCAH, KENTUCKY

Clarence Wesley Conner, D.Ed.Min.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2017

Faculty Supervisor: Dr. T. Vaughn Walker

This ministry project was designed to conceptualize, develop, and teach a

discipleship training curriculum that instructed members of Mount Zion Baptist Church

of West Paducah, Kentucky, to understand and appreciate their Baptist heritage. Chapter

1 establishes the goals of the project and the ministry context. The first chapter also

explains the rationale for the project, outlines its definitions, limitations, and delimitations,

describes the research methodology employed, and defines a successful outcome.

Chapter 2 lays out the biblical and theological basis for teaching the history

and doctrinal distinctives of Baptists. An exegesis of two Old Testament texts and three

New Testament texts provides scriptural support for teaching Baptists to appreciate the

doctrines, people, places, and events that shaped their spiritual heritage.

Chapter 3 advances the historical, theoretical, and practical issues related to

teaching Baptist history and doctrinal distinctives. This chapter includes a historical

survey of past Baptist leaders on the subject, and emphasizes the practicality and

relevance of the topic.

Chapter 4 explains how the discipleship curriculum of the project was

developed and implemented at the Mount Zion Baptist Church. This chapter also gives a

detailed review of the study sessions and the project’s successful outcome.

Finally, chapter 5 concludes with a forthright appraisal of the project’s

purpose and goals. Chapter 5 also provides a candid evaluation of the strengths and

weaknesses of the project, and offers ideas on what could have made it better.