I successfully defended my dissertation for the Doctor of Ministry degree on May 23, 2023 at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary through a hybrid model of meeting in Kansas City, MO (I live in Alabama) and meeting for online Zoom classes. I began in the summer of 2019 with classes and then, for the last year and a half, have been in the “writing stage” of writing my dissertation entitled, “The Questions We Ask: Addressing Doubt in the Congregation of Riverside Heights Baptist Church in Tallassee, AL.” Here are a few thoughts after a very long, 4 and a half year journey through a doctor of ministry degree
WHAT IS A DOCTOR OF MINISTRY DEGREE?
A Doctor of Ministry degree (DMin from hereon) is a professional degree that focuses on developing a high degree of competency within ministry practice. This type of degree is distinguished from what some call a research doctoral such as the Ph.D (or a D.Phil in the UK as well as a Th.D. and others). The research doctorate is for those, basically, who want to be a professor and/or do research fulltime. The DMin (or other professional-type of degrees…in the secular world the Ed.D., D.N.P., D.B.A. or others) are for those who desire to remain in their profession but learn skills on practicing at the highest level within that field. I was originally accepted into MBTS’s Ph.D. program, but I decided that since seeking a fulltime professorship was not my goal, that a DMin would work just fine for my own goals. I really would just like to remain at a local church while teaching adjunctively on the side at a bible college or seminary in classes of ministry practice or in apologetics.
WHAT DID I LEARN IN THE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY PROGRAM AT MBTS?
- I am astounded at how much I still do not know. After 5 total degrees at this point for me (B.A. [Religious Studies major, Spanish minor] at the University of Alabama, M.Div. at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, M.A. [Apologetics concentration]. at Birmingham Theological Seminary, and a D.Min [Apologetics concentration] and the ThM (Master of Theology in Applied Theology) at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, I truly wonder what I really know? Knowledge is so vast in so many areas that I stand in awe at my own lack of knowledge. Certainly, after two advanced degrees in apologetics, I think I can speak with some authority in that arena, but even then there is still so much to learn. Education, when properly understood, should be a humbling endeavor since we will only know vastly small amounts of knowledge in our lifetimes.
- While I wonder what I actually do know, I did learn how to do research at a high level. I learned how to go through peer-reviewed material and learned to decipher between high quality material and even higher quality material. I’ve learned that many folks have been contributing and thinking much about many items in many fields for a long time and that vast storehouses of knowledge are available to anyone willing to seek them.
- Any degree, but especially any doctorate, is a ton of work. Even though many may see the DMin as “less” of a degree than the Ph.D, the project itself (dissertation) for me was no less than many PhDs I’ve seen, and maybe even more, depending. Certainly, there is more coursework required in the Ph.D., and with a seminary Ph.D there are research language requirements, but I can say that this DMin I did at MBTS was very challenging and pushed me to the edge of my capabilities. I was exhausted at several points and was discouraged at one major point, but I had already poured so much into this degree that I had to finish…and I did! So, anyone doing any degree, but especially any doctorate (whether professional or research) is going to do a lot of work to obtain it. Blood, sweat, and tears will emerge as a result of carrying out these degree requirements.
- I don’t “feel” like a “Doctor.” Some call this “imposter syndrome,” while some of this is simply questioning the value of a DMin compared with a PhD (or some other research doctorate.) However, MBTS has declared that “Doctor” should be included with my name, no matter how I feel, because I met their degree requirements for the appropriate degree.
- I experienced some deep and unexpected emotions towards the end of this degree. While there is certainly the experience of tremendous relief and satisfaction to be finished with the degree, I also experienced a sense of disappointment as well. First, in my pride (notice, I said, “in my PRIDE” which is not a good thing!) I believed I wanted my dissertation “readers” (those professors who read over and guided me in my dissertation along the way and ultimately graded my work) to be more “wowed” at my work than they were. This had nothing to do with them or the quality of the guidance (they were both very helpful throughout the process!), instead it had a whole lot to do with my pride and seeking after the applause of men. This is a danger that any of us can fall into with any of the work we do. However, we should do our work for God’s glory and not for our own glory. This is sinful pride and should be set aside. The professors did say that the middle section of my dissertation (which was really the real “meat” of this work) was very good, but there were other parts of the dissertation that, rightly and deservedly, drew some constructive criticism. This type of criticism is always to expected anytime one submits his work for public viewing and for others to read. Not everyone is going to agree with all of our work all of the time and that is okay. That is the nature of scholarship, in general, and it is the nature of living in a world with those of other opinions. We need to be humble enough to learn from others and listen to what others have to say, especially about our own work. Our own work is better with the thoughts and critiques of others, not less.
- A second feeling of disappointment, which was quite unexpected, was that after doing a ton of work in the classes, as well the work on the dissertation, one receives a piece of paper declaring the degree which one has obtained. After I defended, I was relieved and we did celebrate some with a nice dinner, but I realized that getting a doctorate was not even close to being the “be all end all” of accomplishments in life. Indeed, this degree was not “it.” I don’t believe any accomplishment will ever completely “fill” us because no accomplishment is able to fill us. For anyone reading this who believes that earning the title of “doctor” (or any other worldly, professional or academic title) will be “it,” I’m here to tell you that you will be greatly disappointed. This is not to say that what you have done does not matter, but simply that we can hype these types of accomplishments up so much that, ultimately, we make them bigger than they really are. Ultimately, what we are looking for is intimacy with God. The applause which comes from other people can never really satisfy us at the core of our beings. The “holes” in our hearts are too big for accomplishments or people to fill.
- If you have a topic you are really passionate about and want to research and spend a lot of time on, then do a doctorate. But given the status of jobs (especially within academia or theological education), it is quite unlikely, unless you have great connections or unless you accomplish some type of providentially-driven feat that is widely noticed, that you will simply or easily land a job within these places of higher learning. If you have a family, you must not assume that your spouse is on board because you are about to pour out a lot of time and a lot of money for this degree. As I said earlier, it will be a sacrifice. You have to make sure that the time and money are both there, or you won’t make it to the finish line. Before I started the DMin, I had a few time slots where I knew I had the time to pour into this degree. These particular time slots were periods when, mostly, my wife was also working, so it did not hinder our time together too much. You have to make sure those time slots are available before you start the degree, or you may find yourself running out of money, time, and steam…in addition to hurting your family, which is worse. Most importantly, you have to make sure that your family (wife/husband and kids!) are “on board” and agree and understand the sacrifice that will be made. I mentioned to my kids on multiple occasions that “Daddy has to go do school now. I’ll be done at some point and we can play!”
- Celebrate the Accomplishment! Indeed, my wife and I did go and celebrate after the degree was finished. I mentioned that we went out to eat, and it was great. We almost never get to go out to eat at a restaurant, but we made time for this since it was a big deal to finally be done. I ate a steak and ice cream, and it was great! Most of all, it was great to be able to spend some time with my wife and feel that sense of accomplishment with her since I simply could not have finished this without her love and support along the way. There were several times I was discouraged and she would speak encouraging words back to me to carry on, which I did.
- I highly recommend a Doctor of Ministry degree (or any further education one wants to do) after being in ministry for 10 or 15 years since it functions as a good “mid-life degree.” What I mean is that after a certain period of time, like I did, you might stop reading hard stuff and you might get a little lax on knowing what’s going on in your particular ministry fields of interest. I found this degree challenging and refreshing. It was good to get to read difficult texts again and to think deep thoughts again. I’d been in youth ministry for 9 years previously and had not read much deep stuff and my mind had “missed” that deeper material, so it was nice to be forced back into that again. It is also good to recreate a new ministerial comradery of guys (and gals) who are in ministry and pursuing this degree alongside you. You’ll make new friends and you’ll learn interesting stuff from others who reside in different parts of the world, and that will enrich your own thinking and ministerial context. If someone feels like they are growing a little stagnant in their ministry, I would recommend the Doctor of Ministry, particularly, to help “knock off” some of the rust and get back into the classroom to learn, get challenged, and get refreshed in one’s academic and spiritual pursuits.
- If you are wanting to get a Doctor of Ministry degree, or a Ph.D., or any other degree, I could not recommend Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (in Kansas City, MO) enough. The degree is (especially after Covid) a hybrid of having to be on campus and taking the course online. I had a few Zoom classes where we would meet everyday, all week on Zoom. I also had other classes that I had to fly to MBTS to take the course for a week. I made some ministerial acquaintances and met some really smart guys whom I will certainly turn to for ministerial or apologetics/theological questions in the future! It’s worth it to be on-campus if you can do that, but if not, then doing the hybrid model will work as well so that you can remain in your current location.