For a few weeks in the newsletter, you’ve seen a note that I (Pastor Jay) am starting classes this week for a “Doctor of Ministry” that is affectionately known as the “D.Min”, not to be confused with the nefarious spirit creature.

I am taking on this project with so much gratitude for University Lutheran, allowing me to engage in these classes and especially to all of you who gave to help fund this project. This project is not just “for Jay”. Certainly I am the one being directly formed by the classes and the work, but I truly believe that these classes will make me a better pastor for University Lutheran and the Church at large. 

With that said, I wanted to introduce a little of what this journey is going to be like. Some of you have asked, some of you couldn’t care less, and some of you might be somewhere in between. Regardless, since I believe this is something for the church, I think it is important for me to communicate to you about it. 

The basics of this degree journey are that I am going to be researching something and becoming something of an expert in the specific thing I am studying. This is going to be a little different than a Ph.D. however. In a Ph.D. most of what I was studying would be applied to the theoretical understanding of a certain topic. The D. Min is a “vocational” doctorate, which means that it is more focused on ‘doing the job’ than it is necessarily the “theory”. So think about how an “M.D.” is focused on doing the work of a doctor, or a “J.D.” is focused on doing the work of a lawyer. A D Min is focused on doing the work of a pastor – not necessarily the theory of a theological concept like “the atonement” (that would be a Ph.D. topic).

My first class is acclimating me to the process and the overall major product of the process, which will eventually be a 200-300 page paper on a topic I will be researching. I haven’t exactly decided on what that research topic is going to be, but by the end of this first class I should be mostly ready to declare what I will be studying and researching. One thing to know is that I will be studying and researching this thing HERE, at University Lutheran. It’s nothing new to say that “University Lutheran is my laboratory,” it has been ever since I was a brand new pastor trying to figure out how to do ministry – but now it is going to be even more so in a more official sense. 

This process will take approximately 3 to 4 years. Throughout that time, you’ll certainly see how this is playing out here, but you’ll also see an occasional email from me (maybe every 3-6 months) about how it is going. In the meantime, if you want me to bore you with details, feel free to email me or talk to me about it.

Once again, thank you for this opportunity to better myself and my ministry for the sake of being a better servant to you and the Church.