Date

8-9-2024

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Brandon L. Pugh

Keywords

Minor Prophets, expository preaching, hermeneutics, christocentric application

Disciplines

Communication | Practical Theology

Abstract

The purpose of this action research project is to help members of First Baptist Church Greenville, KY, interpret and apply the Minor Prophets from a Christ-centered perspective. This project measured church members’ understanding of the Minor Prophets as they pertain to Christians today. It also measured attitudes and affections toward the Minor Prophets. A total of eleven people participated in the study. Eight were female; the other three were male. Each participant completed a pre-intervention survey, along with three instructional workshops that focused on biblical exposition, biblical theology, and hermeneutics. An eight-part sermon series was implemented to model the kind of interpretive methods taught during the workshops. Participants completed sermon evaluations after sermons three, five, and seven. At the conclusion of the sermon series, each participant took a post-intervention survey that was identical to the first survey. There was also a focus group meeting with eight of the participants. A statistical comparison of the pre- and post-intervention survey instruments demonstrated a significant improvement in church members’ ability to understand and apply the Minor Prophets from a Christ-centered perspective. Data from the sermon evaluations and focus group meeting corroborated the statistical data, showing that participants grew in their understanding of Minor Prophets and came to value these books as relevant to their lives as modern Christians. This study demonstrates how coupling instructional workshops with expository preaching has the potential to enhance church members’ understanding of how all of Scripture points to Jesus Christ.

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