(Cover page)
(Put a title here such as)
Doctrinal Statement
as required by Credentials Committee
(state or district name)
by
(name)
(Date)
Formatting: Indent first line, double space, 1 inch margins all around. Use a 12 point standard font such as arial or times new roman. Include page numbers on the bottom right corner. Include a bibliography at the end of the paper.
Introduction. Include here a brief introduction that provides an overview of your journey of understanding theological doctrines and their importance to you.
Part One: My Doctrinal Statement
Put the number and title of the topic in bold here
Write your paragraph about that topic here. This paragraph should be long enough to adequately define the topic. Follow this format for each topic.
Be sure to cite in parentheses resources that you cite or to which you refer and then list them in your bibliography. For example, All organizations, including churches, have a unique culture, (Schein, 1990).
Conclusion. Provide a brief summary of the experience and ramifications of being required to clearly, concisely define your doctrinal beliefs.
Part Two: Practical Application of My Doctrinal Statement
Start a new page. This section is designed to help you bring theology to life. You are free to structure this section in whatever way is most helpful to you. This part should be 3-5 pages.
1. Describe how your theology described in your doctrinal statement has made a difference in your life, how it will impact your actions and ministry. You can write about specific topics or the experience in general.
2. Choose at least 5 topics and describe how each will play out in your life and ministry. For instance, how will your theology of the role of leadership guide your actions in leading, developing leaders and structuring leadership teams?
Bibliography
Be sure to cite all resources that have impacted your theology, even if you don’t quote them. List in alphabetical order including author, editor or person first, the year, the title, page numbers, publisher and location. Below are examples.
Barker, Joel (1990). “The Business of Paradigms” video.
Kotter, John P. (1990, May-June). What Leaders Really Do. Harvard Business Review,
pp. 103-111.
Schein, Edgar H. (1992). Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
Bass Publishers
Spears, Larry C. (1998). Tracing the Growing Impact of Servant-Leadership. In Larry C.
Spears (Editor), Insights on Leadership. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.