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!
On 60 Minutes last week, CBS did a feature on recent brain research trying to determine if science could read a person’s mind. This is a fabulous feature. Since I’m using this kind of research as part of my dissertation, I thought I might share this with you.
Just a few moments ago, I finished up the major pieces of my dissertation. My parents provided some resources so I could come to Rehoboth Beach, DE and spend three nights in a hotel and finish this up. I have emailed everything to my professors and a professional editor I have been using. Hopefully, I will only have to work on minor edits, expanding some thoughts, and tweaking some ideas. Anyone who has ever written a dissertation knows what a pain it can be.
I also discovered late this afternoon that there was a problem in posting comments. That issue has been resolved. If you have had something to say, and couldn’t please try again.
Now, I’m off to get some supper and relax before heading home tomorrow!
Today I begin my writing journey known as the doctoral dissertation. I want to be done as soon as possible. I know that I have need to be working on three things in my life right now: finishing a book on success in ministry, writing my dissertation, and continuing to get physically healthy. In the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten a good bit done on the book, and now starts the dissertation.
I’ve already set up an auto-responder to let people know that I may not respond quickly. I have my writing music in place and my office set up as I need it.
I’ve been reading A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix by Edwin H. Friedman, in preparation for my doctoral dissertation. This book is about how emotional processes are what need to be engaged when thinking about leadership and change within an organization, not logic, reason, or methodology.
Friedman, in the first chapter on “Imaginative Gridlock” deals with the characteristics of a gridlocked system, and there are three:
1. An unending treadmill of trying harder;
2. Looking for answers rather than reframing questions; and
3. either/or thinking that creates false dichotomies.
Game on, I say!
