March 15, 2011

Yesterday, I mailed the defense draft of my thesis to Luther Seminary.  It’s the beginning of the end of my Doctor of Ministry.  In April, I defend the thesis, and in May, hopefully, I graduate.  The D. Min. program was a theological lifeline during the last three years at Grace in Detroit Lakes, reconnecting me with the wider church and renewing my mind and heart.  I am a better pastor because of it.  What I realized from both the D. Min. experience and my collegial relationships in the Northwestern Minnesota Synod (especially the text study and the Synod Council) was the importance of learning and growing in community – the community of pastoral colleagues, as well as the community of the congregation.

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