I began my Doctorate of Ministry (D.Min.) journey in August of 2024. In an effort to include you in my journey, this monthly blog exists to reflect why I’m doing this, what I’m learning, and how this will impact our church.
Each month I’ll break things down into three sections: The Road Behind, The Present Road, and The Road Ahead.
The Road Behind
August was my first full month of Doctorate homework. That said, classes were introductory and relatively minimal (you’ll see what I mean when you read The Present Road). I met once for each class on Zoom (classes are: D.Min. Orientation (1 credit hour), Missional Ecclesiology (3 credit hours), and Justice, Mission, and the Kingdom of God (3 credit hours)), which was a great way to begin meeting my classmates. Cohorts are staggered at Lipscomb, so my 2024 incoming Doctorate class will take classes this year with the 2023 Doctorate Class. Then in 2025 I’ll take classes with the incoming 2025 Doctorate Class.
I read three books in August: Generous Justice by Time Keller – arguably one of the most accessible theology books I’ve ever read. Anyone, without much education or church upbringing at all, could pick this book up and learn great things. The Justice Calling by Bethany Hanke Hoang and Kristen Deede Johnson – this presented a global view of justice, particularly looking at sexual and economic injustices, and the call for God’s people to trust in Jesus and persevere as they partner with God in bringing justice to the world. Finally, I read A Light to the Nations by Michael Goheen, the most technical of these three books, with challenging vocabulary and concepts, but ultimately filled with incredible insights about the calling for the church to be a light to the nations so all people can see God and be blessed by God.
As for assignments, for the D.Min. Orientation class I was required to take the DISC Profile, a behavior assessment tool that I took with this same professor in my Master’s program in 2015. I scored relatively similarly, though to my joy, certain behaviors that I scored low on in 2015 (like compassion and listening) had significantly increased – though, not surprisingly, my core behavior was nearly identical: high energy people person. I also wrote a 4-page book review on The Justice Calling, and began research for my first essay, which will be largely about A Light to the Nations. I found a fascinating article about missions in Ghana (remember, this program is highly tailored to the student’s interests and desires, so I am intentionally looking for multicultural insights that work for Northland) that already generated ideas of how we can better partner with the Ghanaian church.
The Present Road
It is now September 2024. Classes are in full swing, and homework ramps up. This month I’ll be focusing on four textbooks: Reading the Bible Missionally by Michael Goheen, Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King Jr., Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, and Participating in God’s Mission by Craig Van Gelder and Dwight Zscheile. I’ll also be writing four essays and a reflection on my learning from the DISC profile
On average, I’ll be reading about 60 pages a day. But I balanced my homework assignments so that any day I need to write or research will normally be scheduled on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday (days of the week I regularly avoid my usual church workload – Sunday service and weekend activities aside). I also made sure I didn’t double stack reading and writing on most days. I’ll either read OR write.
The Road Ahead
As noted in last month’s blog, September and October will be the heaviest parts of the semester. August was pretty light, just being introduced to the course work and material – that being said, it was still encouraging and educational! November and the first week of December are relatively light, wrapping up everything I’ve learned. I’ll also be traveling in October to Nashville for 10 days of intense study and formation with my cohort and professors.
At the end of each semester, I’ll use the Road Ahead section to highlight the upcoming courses (as they have a map for the entire program, so I know exactly what I’ll be taking over the next two years).
Far down the road is the D.Min. project. Instead of the Ph.D. dissertation, the D.Min. utilizes a project for the culmination of all I’ve learned. I’ll be putting things into practice at Northland and writing about the whole process. This semester should help with the formation of ideas for that project. I’ll offer my current hope now: something to do with multicultural ministry in an urban environment. We’ll see how close my hope is to what I actually do in Fall 2026!
For now, I ask you keep me in your prayers and offer anything you hope will encourage me on this journey. I hope to share much with you all through this process, and I pray that God transforms me beyond my wildest imagination. Thank you.