Faster Unto Thee

Update on "The Reality of Doctorates and Teaching"

Last year I wrote a short post on the realities of pursuing a doctorate and teaching. I've just added a link to that post to a blog I discovered yesterday by Duke Th.D. student Andy Rowell. There Rowell explains the differences between Duke's Th.D. and Ph.D. programs and sheds light on many issues connected to earning a doctorate. For those of you interested in doctoral studies in one of the theological disciplines, go check out his blog.

Wise Words for Degree Junkies

Thoughts from The Imitation of Christ, chapter 2, by Thomas A' Kempis.   His words are in bold italics:

Everyone naturally desires knowledge, but of what use is knowledge itself without the fear of God?  We must not confuse the acquiring of knowledge with holiness, nor let the natural desire for knowledge overtake a desire to grow in holiness, but seek knowledge as an aid to it.

Restrain an inordinate desire for knowledge, in which is found much anxiety and deception.  Learned men always wish to appear so, and the desire recognition for their wisdom.  The desire to be addressed as "Doctor" or the use of a degree to impose upon people or to feed a weak self image must be destroyed.  Seek a degree to be useful in God's kingdom, if such is the will of God for you, but do not seek it for status.

The more complete and excellent your knowledge, the more severe will be God's judgment on you, unless your life be the more holy.  Do not neglect your sanctification while gaining academic knowledge.  Always study as a disciple of Christ, to become more like him, not merely for intellectual curiosity or for academic recognition.

If you desire to know or learn anything to your advantage, then take delight in being unknown and unregarded.  Do not use your schooling in a manipulative way to advance yourself.  Learn, serve, produce, but be content to work in an obscure corner of God's kingdom.  Do not flash your credentials for profit, but let the Lord direct employers, etc. to you.  And if you remain unknown, be content with being faithful in your obscure corner.

Meeting a Need: South African Theological Doctorates

For several years I have been stuck.  I have been trapped by a dilemma that seemed to have no solution, but now one has appeared.  The dilemma is this: how can I continue in pastoral ministry while at the same time pursuing an academic degree in systematic theology when there are no schools close by to me that offer such a degree? 

The issue of a school being nearby is crucial to me since I do not wish to relocate near a school and leave my present ministry.  You see, doctoral programs require a thing called residency; you must physically live near the school in order to participate in traditional classes, engage with a community in scholarly pursuits and, not of least importance, help the school maintain its accreditation.  Accreditors, it seems, require residency in research-oriented doctoral programs.  In practial doctorate programs, such as the D.Min., residency is usually limited to a few weeks a year, in contrast to several years for a Ph.D. or Th.D.

So one solution for folks like me is to seek out a solid, credible, but not accredited doctoral program that can be completed without residency.  Now, there are few schools that provide a high-quality doctoral program in theology.  One excellent unaccredited school is Columbia Evangelical Seminary.  This school provides a quality Th.D. program that is truly respectable and fits the needs of many people, and does so at a great price.  But if one needs a degree from an accredited school to qualify for teaching, etc. at an accredited school, a degree from an unaccredited school will not suffice.

So what to do?  If you don't want to or cannot relocate to go to school, is there another option?  Yes, there is.  The answer is distance learning through one of the strong schools in South Africa.  There are several strong, fully-accredited, academically sound universities and at least one private seminary that can help: The University of South Africa, University of Stellenbosch, University of the Free State, University of Pretoria, and others. 

My choice is the South African Theological Seminary (SATS), a relatively new and private school that is fully accredited and academically strong.  SATS offers a Doctor of Theology degree (the theological equivalent of a Ph.D.) that requires no residency.  All the work is done via a mentor, dissertation committe, etc.  Thank God for the internet! And while the cost is more than doing a D.Th. through one of South Africa's state-supported schools, the difference is worth it because it is a firmly evangelical school. I have been "provisionally accepted" into their program.  I can begin once I send them the first year's tuition.

Are doctorates from South Africa finding good acceptance here in the U.S.?  Check out DegreeDiscussion.com for a thoughts on this. The acceptance appears to be growing based on the quality work of some who hold them.  Sure, it can be argued that it is best for one's career to relocate and attend a school at home, but when the choice appears to be between a quality doctoral program via distance learning and no doctoral program at all, the choice is clear. 

I'd love to hear from others who have experience with one of the South African schools in the fields of either biblical studies or theology.  What has been your experience?

The Reality of Doctorates and Teaching

Many seminary students and graduates get the "doctorate bug."  Their educational experience is such that they fall in love with learning and new ideas, and at times dream of what it would be like to be a professor.  Little do they know the real amount of work that Ph.D./Th.D. studies demand, nor what the day-to-day academic life of a full-time professor is actually like. 

Pastors, at times, get bitten by the doctorate bug as well.  Some want to escape the rigors of pastoral life by trading for an academic one and so pursue Ph.D. work, while others merely want to be addressed as "Doctor," so they enter a D.Min. program which has far fewer demands than an academic doctorate.  And then there are some pastors who honestly want to continue their education for more effective pastoral ministry and so they pursue doctoral studies.

Professor Keith Drury of Indiana Wesleyan University has done us a great service in describing what the day-to-day life of a professor is actually like here.  Read this, and any romanticizing of the professorial life will die a quick death. If teaching still appeals to you after reading this, than maybe you are truly called to teach.

Professor John Stackhouse of Regent College has written a nice piece about what it takes to choose, get into, and survive a Ph.D. program in theology, religion, etc.  What you will gain from reading this is that you must seriously count the cost before entering a quality doctoral program.  That is, if you can get into one at all.

Update 3-13-09: Duke D.Th. student Andy Rowell provides great help on getting into a doctoral program, the differences between a Th.D. and Ph.D. at Duke and much, much more at his blog.