Dear Sisters and Brothers in
Christ,
The "Excellent Adventure" begins in mid-October, when I will begin my part-time studies toward a Doctor of Ministry degree concentrating in justice and advocacy. Though coursework will occur
in a variety of settings, I am working toward this degree through the Lutheran
Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in a program that can be completed in no
less than three years and no more than six.
What does this mean for
Incarnate Word? It means that you my brothers and sisters will be my mentors,
on occasion my case studies, and always my friends with whom I will work to
both experiment and apply advocacy programming in our congregation. Therein
lies the beauty of the Doctor of Ministry degree. Unlike a Ph.D., which is
academic in nature and requires full-time attention to coursework, the D. Min
degree is designed for full-time parish pastors and their congregations.
Using my continuing education
time, there will be a couple of weeks over the course of the year that I will
need to be in Philadelphia doing coursework. The remainder of the year, I’ll be
working with you and other leaders of Incarnate Word in programming as well as
the day-to-day pastoral ministry we have always done together.
The course I’m taking in
October is entitled, “Discerning a Direction Toward Renewal”. In this week long
intensive course, we will be examining and critiquing multiple 21st century
approaches to congregational transformation and renewal. I will also be
assessing my own leadership style and skills as well as the strengths and
challenges of our mission context here at Incarnate Word. The desired outcome
of this course is to give us tools in our continued efforts of assessing and
developing suitable strategic plans for our congregation.
I am tremendously appreciative
of the love and prayers of both Executive and Congregation Council leaders, who
have encouraged and supported me in these efforts of discernment. I am thankful
as well for each and every one of you as together in Christ, we strive not to
be a corporate entity focused on church survival, but a mission outpost seeking
to pour ourselves out in love for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Doug
