May 1, 2009
The End of the Beginning
Doctoral Hood
Today my wife and my parents are in Portland, OR for a few days. For the past three years, I have been working on my Doctor of Ministry, Leadership in the Emerging Culture at George Fox Seminary. I was in a cohort led by Dr. Len Sweet which ended with 18 students from various denominations and various parts of the world. It has been a transforming journey.
My work focused on understanding behavioral change through the integration of emerging sciences and theology. I looked at emotional intelligence, neuroplasticity (how the brain functsion and changes), identity, and socialization to understand how we were created, how behavior is formed, how behavior is changed, and the role of the Gospel, the Godhead, and the Church works in it all. It was extremely enlightening.
Tonight, about half of our cohort gets hooded and tomorrow night we graduate.
Out of this work, I’m almost finished with a manuscript for a book that will come out of this research. It’s going to be entitled, Wholly Rewired: Science, the Gospel and the Journey towards Wholeness. I’ve shared parts of this work on this blog over the past couple of years. It will finally be all in one place. I’m extremely happy of the work that I have done.
People call this point in the education process either graduation or commencement. But I have chosen to call it the End of the Beginning. I am finishing one part of my life but beginning another.
I want to thank you for following me on this journey. I hope we’re together for many more years to come. When I return, you can call me Dr. Phillips or just David or Dave. But please don’t call me Dr. Phil!
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Congratulations! You’ve worked hard and you’ve earned this degree. I’m proud of you. …and you introduced me to some great authors and books.