We rejoice in June with all those who have finished their school year after completing countless tests, papers, reports, and exams. We celebrate those who are moving from Pre-K to full-time kindergarten, from elementary school to middle school, middle school to high school, high school to college, and college to graduate school.
Somehow, in spite of my age, I snuck into this year’s group of graduates. After almost five years of work, I was awarded my Doctor of Ministry degree by Princeton Theological Seminary on May 23. The last part of the process, writing my dissertation, occupied much of the last year, and almost every spare minute the past few months. Vacations and days off were spent in front of my computer as I worked to meet the deadline. Cole, our Scottie, served ably and faithfully as my Research Assistant.
When I began the Doctor of Ministry program in September 2004, I was looking for a structured and intensive program to continue my growth both in faith and as a pastor. I’d found that attending the occasional two-or three-day Continuing Education seminars schools offer was not enough.
The program at Princeton provided depth, breadth, and perhaps a little more intensity than I had bargained for! The first two years were given over to three separate resident workshops held on the Princeton campus, and then lengthy reading lists and papers to write on our own back home.
Then it was on to the dissertation, or Final Project. Mine focused on how elders in our church perceive their call to leadership as they go about their work on the Session. The impetus for my dissertation was the fact that there is no church-wide training program for elders. We have more than 11,000 churches in our denomination and we are all going about our training in 11,000 different ways.
One of the many blessings I found in the program came from the 8 other students who were part of my class. Four of us were Presbyterian, and the others represented the Episcopal, Lutheran, Church of the Brethren and Church of Christ denominations. We came from throughout the country, as well, with one classmate coming all the way from Hawaii. We’ve all become wonderful friends over these past five years; I will miss my time with them.
This will be the last degree I am likely to pursue, but it certainly is not the end of my learning. God calls us to learn, to “take and read” as Augustine put it. Now, however, I can choose what I want to “take and read” as I continue my own journey as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and the stack of books has grown large these past few years. What’s on your summer reading list?
Grace & peace,
Pastor Skip
