Interview with Dr. Daniel Dapaah on the Release of His Latest Book

On the jacket of “Growing in Discipleship: A Guide to Spiritual Maturity in Christ,” the book is described as having been written “for both new and old believers who are seeking a deeper engagement with and understanding of the good news of salvation in Christ.” And that author Dr. Daniel Dapaah, professor of divinity at Leland Seminary and associate pastor of Parkwood Baptist Church, Virginia, “has broken down the complex theological concepts to present them in a concise and accessible format to readers who have no background in biblical studies.”

We wanted to learn more about what inspired Dr. Dapaah to write “Growing in Discipleship.” The following is an abridged transcript of our conversation:

What is the genesis of this book?

It came about several years ago when I was asked to be the Director for Discipleship at Mount Vernon Baptist Church. I created an outline for the in-church Bible studies, but those who couldn’t come every Sunday asked if I could expand on it and email bullet points to them so they could follow along. The only problem was that I also taught in the seminary full time and I’m a family man, but I said, “Sure, we're in this together,” so I would try. Both the outline and interest grew, so when I transitioned to Parkwood Baptist Church where there was a much bigger audience, I added more flesh to it and a colleague added graphics to each of the chapters. That's how the book actually came about.

What was your process for writing it?

Last year, Parkwood gave me a sabbatical for three months, so I decided to bury myself at Virginia Theological Library in Alexandria to work on the book. I live in Fredericksburg, so at 7:30 am, I would hit the road on I-95 North and I didn't go home until the library closed at 9:00 PM.  

How did you decide which concepts to include?

I decided that the best way to make Bible studies accessible to the people who work in the church - Bible teachers, Sunday school teachers, children's ministry leaders and others – was to break down all the difficult theological concepts that we in the seminary kind of take for granted.  I began with the Bible: how did the Bible come about? From there, I focused on some of the key fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, like discipleship, stewardship, what did Christ’s death mean and something we call substitution.  Those are some of the things that I thought the person in the pew should actually know.

Do you anticipate there being a second volume that goes into other concepts?

People have asked me if there is going to be a sequel and the answer is maybe, based on the feedback I get.  I intentionally made each chapter very short except for the first chapter about the Bible. I didn't want to overwhelm them with anything too heavy.  It's possible that I could try to  expand on these concepts  -- maybe each chapter will end up being one book. So I will have my work cut out for me if I turn ten chapters into ten books!

You cited specific Bible passages for every concept. Was this the most time-consuming part about writing the book?

Absolutely! I had to go through all of the verses of scripture to make sure of what I was citing.  And I had to decide which translation of the Bible I should use. I decided to stick with the New Revised Standard Version because, as a teacher of Greek Biblical languages, that is the translation that I prefer and think comes closest to the Greek New Testament.  

How is this book different from your previous book?

 The first book I wrote was very academic and very expensive, as you know textbooks are.  The Relationship Between John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth: A Socio-Historical Study is a historical study geared toward academia, so I quote a lot of passages in the original Hebrew or Greek language.  In Growing in Discipleship, if I'm quoting something in the Greek, I use the English alphabet to convey that and then explain it in layman’s terms. This book was written with the perspective of making it accessible and readable – and priced much less expensively!   

The book provides lots of opportunities for readers to comment on the principles and the Bible passages you cite. How important are these individual or group exercises?

It was a painstaking job to quote so much scripture, but I want the readers to be able to engage with each scripture -- individually or as a group corporately -- based on what they read in the chapter. Each kind of question is designed for them to delve a little bit deeper into the scripture and come up with their own understanding.  Remember I'm a teacher, a professor in the seminary, so I want my students to have their own thoughts about the particular passage of scripture, but with some background.

Are there any concepts that you wanted to be sure to explain thoroughly because they are the most difficult for people to understand?

In the very first and longest chapter, I tried to explain what the word “scripture” means, what the word “Bible” means, what the word “testament” means, because these are basic concepts that we need to understand before we can begin to engage with the rest of the book.

The ordinary person in the pew may say, “Well, it's God's word and that’s good enough for me.” But the Bible didn't just fall from the blues skies.  God used fallible, sinful human instruments like you and me to put the Bible together, so we have questions like, is it inerrant or are there mistakes in it?

The second, but much shorter, part of the book is about Parkwood Baptist Church. What was your reasoning for including this?

 I think it enhances everything that I've done in this book.  In the very beginning, it says this manual has two parts: the first introduces important fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith to which mainstream Protestant churches subscribe.  It's primarily designed for new believers and those desiring to expand their knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The second part presents an overview of Parkwood Baptist Church which is an example of a Christian community that is actually trying to put the concepts that I have outlined in the first part of the book into practice. So you get the kind of practical aspect of the book through Parkwood’s ministries -- which is discipleship.  The publisher was very interested in this because it makes my book unique.  It adds something practical – like icing on the cake!

Do you think that this will be used by readers to influence their own churches’ teachings?

 Well, it's there for them to see and maybe to relate to in their own particular church settings.  I use Parkwood as an illustration of a church that is trying to live out its Christian faith. So, it’s more than just an act of my gratitude toward Parkwood.

How hard was it to determine when the book was finished, when you had to put down your pen and submit that final copy? 

I think an analogy would be an artist or painter who has to determine when his work of art is finished, when he has put down his paint brush.  When writing, you have to determine, “is this too long? Is  this is too short?” You put it down, then you come back to it and need to revise it . Then you get to the end of the book and have to decide, “Is this OK? Does it end well or is it too abrupt.”  

This is something that you on work with your publisher or editor. In “Growing in Discipleship,” I came to a point where I thought I needed to keep writing. Then my editor said, “Yeah, you can keep writing but that means you're not going to get to the end of the book and we have a deadline.”  You've got to make sure that you actually end the book at some point, but yes, it's a difficult thing to do.  But after you've looked at what you've written, I think there comes a point where you say, “I think it's enough.” Every good thing has an end or must come to an end, so I think what I did in my book is to end it in a way that encourages the readers to continue on their path of further exploration into the concepts that pique their interest or imagination.”  

Do you see this as a tool for any church to use for Bible study?  Absolutely. This book is written for every denomination within the Christian community.  I have tried as much as possible humanly possible, through the help of the Spirit, to articulate some thoughts about all these different or key concepts of the Christian faith.  

Our new president at Leland, Dr. Ken Pruitt, has articulated that we are taking the seminary to the church.  So what my book does, together with Leland, is go to the church to help the congregants understand scripture.  Thank you, President Pruitt, for this vision. We are coming to the church because that is what mission is all about. I think my book is a little contribution to that concept.  

Consumers can purchase “Growing in Discipleship: A Guide to Spiritual Maturity in Christ” at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.