Black Church Studies
The Institute for Black Church Studies Program at the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky offers two tracks of study:
a nine-credit hour graduate certificate,
and a concentration in the Master of Divinity program
Graduate Certificate Program in Black Church Studies
Our program offers graduate courses for local pastors and lay leaders, leading to a certificate in Black Church Studies. The Black Church Studies Certificate Program requires the successful completion of three courses. After the successful completion of nine credit hours of coursework, students will receive a Certificate in Black Church Studies from the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky.
Master of Divinity Concentration in Black Church Studies
The Black Church Studies concentration enables students enrolled in the Master of Divinity degree program to take graduate level courses in history, theology, and homiletics. BSK students who enroll in the Black Church Studies program may choose courses from the BCS curriculum. Upon graduation, Seminary students will receive both a master’s diploma and a Certificate in Black Church Studies.
Ministry Training Program in Black Church Leadership
The Institute for Black Church Studies will offer four seminars and two instructional videos.
Courses and videos will be offered at a CBF Church in the Bahamas.
After the completion of six courses, students will complete a writing lab and accompanying assignment.
Upon successful completion of three-day training, each participant will be awarded a Certificate in Black Church Leadership suitable for framing.
BSK offers both a graduate certificate and a Master of Divinity (MDiv) with a concentration in Black Church Studies.
Apply for the Cosby Scholarship
Click to Learn More About the Kevin & Barnetta Cosby Seminary Scholarship for ADOS
(American Descendants of Slavery)
GRADUATE CERTIFICATE
INT 2503: Introduction to Black Church Studies (Required for BCS Concentration and BCS Certificate)
This course begins with an introduction and comprehensive structural approach to Black Church Studies. Questions include, what is Black Church Studies and its relation to Black Studies? What are the disciplines that inform Black Church Studies? The substance of the course provides a historical and theological study of African American Christianity exploring slave religion, the origins of black churches, the black church during Jim Crow and the freedom struggle, the post-Civil Rights black church, the black church and the academy, the emergence of Pentecostalism, and the importance of African American women to the black church.
INT 2633: The Life and Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Approved Elective for BCS Concentration and BCS Certificate)
This course will explore the theology of Martin Luther King, Jr., viewing King as a major Christian theologian, not just a Civil Rights leader. The first part of the course will provide a historical overview of slavery and segregation in America and their intersection with King’s work in the Civil Rights Movement that helps student to understand the contours of King’s thought as it evolves from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The second part of the course will examine the influences on his thought such as the prophetic tradition in Scripture, the Protestant Liberal tradition, the African American Baptist tradition, and black nationalist thinking. We will also interrogate his legacy today and its implications for church and society.
THE 2703: Black and Womanist Theology
MDIV CONCENTRATION
INT 2503: Introduction to Black Church Studies (Required for BCS Concentration and BCS Certificate)
This course begins with an introduction and comprehensive structural approach to Black Church Studies. Questions include, what is Black Church Studies and its relation to Black Studies? What are the disciplines that inform Black Church Studies? The substance of the course provides a historical and theological study of African American Christianity exploring slave religion, the origins of black churches, the black church during Jim Crow and the freedom struggle, the post-Civil Rights black church, the black church and the academy, the emergence of Pentecostalism, and the importance of African American women to the black church.
INT 2633: The Life and Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Approved Elective for BCS Concentration and BCS Certificate)
This course will explore the theology of Martin Luther King, Jr., viewing King as a major Christian theologian, not just a Civil Rights leader. The first part of the course will provide a historical overview of slavery and segregation in America and their intersection with King’s work in the Civil Rights Movement that helps student to understand the contours of King’s thought as it evolves from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The second part of the course will examine the influences on his thought such as the prophetic tradition in Scripture, the Protestant Liberal tradition, the African American Baptist tradition, and black nationalist thinking. We will also interrogate his legacy today and its implications for church and society.
THE 2703: Black and Womanist Theology
MINISTRY TRAINING PROGRAM IN BLACK CHURCH LEADERSHIP
Required Courses
- Black Church Studies
- Biblical Interpretation in Black Church Traditions
- Theology in Black Church Traditions
- The Prophetic Tradition and Black Church Traditions
- The Spirituality of Black Preaching
Choose Two
- Instructional Videos on 21st Century Ministry in Black Churches
- Effective Teaching for Black Churches (instructional video by Geneva Nelson)
- Technology in Teaching (instructional video by David Cassady)
- Pastoral Care and Trauma for Black Churches (instructional video by Anastasia Holman)
- All students are required to purchase Stacey Floyd-Thomas, et al. Black Church Studies: An Introduction (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007).