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Living Theologically

theology and the Christian life

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Seminary

What’s the Difference Between a D.Min and Ph.D?

Trevin Wax has recently offered his counsel for those considering a Ph.D. I really appreciated his post, because it’s something I’ve prayed about many times. In the end, I opted to pursue a D.Min. in “Ministry to Emerging Generations” through Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which I completed in January of 2014. I had known that I would pursue a doctorate of some kind for a few years, but I was torn between Ph.D and D.Min.

Version 2There was a long time where I didn’t consider a D.Min a “real” doctorate and looked down on it as an imposter doctorate… something people get when they want the title “Dr” but they aren’t smart enough to get a Ph.D. Obviously, my opinion has changed.

My hope is that this post will help clarify the differences between a Ph.D and a D.Min while offering what I wish I had known going into the program. Continue reading “What’s the Difference Between a D.Min and Ph.D?”

Why Seminary is Worth It

On the Facebook groups I’m a part of, this seems to be a fairly regular question: “People keep encouraging me to go to seminary. Is it worth it for youth pastors?” As someone who has studied to complete two seminary degrees (M.Div. & D.Min., both at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary), and as someone who has been in full-time youth ministry for a decade, I think I’m qualified to finally address this question on the blog. What I’ve written below is largely based off my M.Div. since that’s far more common. If you would like to discuss the benefits of a D.Min. please comment on this post and we can dialogue there.

I want to address three common objections before presenting some reasons why I believe seminary is important (not essential, but important) for anyone who is called to lifelong pastoral ministry. After those three objections, you’ll see my list of arguments for why seminary is worth pursuing.

Why Seminary? Continue reading “Why Seminary is Worth It”

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