Thesis Defended!
Something happened today. I successfully defended my Doctor of Ministry thesis for Acadia Divinity College. This was a long time coming for me as I have a complicated doctoral career.
I actually more than doubled the time that it should have taken me to earn this degree. There are numerous reasons for this. One is that I took some time off because I got sick with sarcoidosis. We also had a number of other family issues around that time. This caused a lot of challenges.
I was originally doing research on faith questions of Christian students and Canadian universities. Not only did I start that research, I actually finished a first draft of that thesis.
Then I stumbled. Because of some of the delays and some problems with the research that I had undertaken, it was going to require major revisions before being ready to defend. The problem was that I lost all passion for that topic.
So I let Acadia know that I was withdrawing from the Doctor of Ministry program.
However, the good people at ADC were extremely supportive and encouraging. They were willing to work with me if I was willing to give it a try. I responded by saying the only way I could continue would be to totally change my research topic.
And that is what I did.
I put away my old thesis and started a new one from scratch. This one was on disability ministry for small churches. This topic was much closer to my heart. This was evident by how much quicker I was able to write this thesis compared to my previous thesis.
After some time working on this thesis under the supervision of Dr. Glenn Wooden, I finished my thesis. But that was not the end. I still had to pass an oral defence of my thesis.
And that is what I did this morning.
I am so thankful for all those who have supported me through this long process. I would like to especially thank my wife Amanda who has been so encouraging. She is the one who first suggest I do a DMin at Acadia. She also supported me when I made the difficult decision to switch topics, even though it would have been easier for my family if I had ended my studies.
So am I a doctor now? Technically that will happen in the fall at graduation. To be honest, it is not the title that matters to me. I am satisfied with my accomplishment.
I also want to add that it is appropriate that this took place the day after Father’s Day. My dad was extremely supportive of my education and he dreamt of me of becoming a doctor (even if not a medical doctor). I would like to think that he would have been proud of this accomplishment.
