Effective pastors grow alongside their congregations. Sustainable ministry requires the habit of continued leadership development to carry across a variety of domains, as pastors work to be healthy, fit, and effective emotionally, physically, financially, relationally, intellectually, and spiritually.
Health doesn’t happen by accident; it emerges as we follow the Spirit’s call to new habits, relationships, and opportunities. And it doesn’t happen in isolation. Change is sustained as people belong to a community that supports their commitment to a specific way of life. Whether we’ve been part of a book group, a running club, or Bible study, many of us have been part of a community that helped us live and think differently.
For Revs. Christy Lipscomb, Tamar Eisenmann, and Theodore Griffin, the Spirit’s leading drew them toward doctoral work: infusing new rhythms with a new collaborative community.
For Rev. Lipscomb, doctoral work was her dream since she was 12 years old, and had grown as she looked up to her dad (also a pastor), embraced her call to be a pastor, and combined her love for school with her desire for every formational opportunity she encountered. But Rev. Lipscomb’s decision to pursue doctoral work now came from her time in a healing and deliverance ministry, where she learned to lean into her identity in Christ. “I had always felt called to a preaching and leadership ministry,” she reflected. “That experience of confirmation in my identity and call to ministry triggered within me the sense that it was time for me to begin my doctoral work.”
For Rev. Tamar Eisenmann, the encouragement to pursue doctoral work came from her senior pastor at the time. “Your doctoral program will cause you to dive deeper into your area of study than you ever would on your own,’ he said. And he was absolutely right. I never would have made that investment on my own if I didn’t have him guiding me and cultivating that investment.” After deciding to explore doctoral work, Eisenmann decided to look into Wesley Seminary, since both the theological tradition and the learning model (intensives that built community among participants) seemed more feasible during her season of pastoring and parenthood.
For Rev. Theodore Griffin, the “nudge” came from the invitation of a long-time friend, Dr. Abson Joseph, who suggested that Rev. Griffin may be better able to share his experience of ministry with other students — and sharpen his own skills in ministry — by continuing his education. “I had no intention of starting my doctorate, but that call piqued my interest — and every single person I shared this with (my wife, my 2 adult children) said, ‘Theo, go for it,’ And I realized this might be a good move, and actually applied.”
The coursework led to productive rhythms of discipline for Rev. Griffin: “So much of my study, I realized, was for a sermon every Sunday; having this kind of discipline of study was different and refreshing,” he reflected. But much of the refreshment was the formative learning community Rev. Griffin studied with. “My class at Wesley Seminary was one of the most diverse classes I had ever been in. Of the 11 of us in the cohort, 4 were women, and 7 were African-American. And because our class came together just prior to George Floyd and all that happened in Charlottesville, that community meant a lot.”
Rev. Lipscomb similarly found that her efforts in classes gave her needed resources for her congregational efforts: “One thing I loved about Asbury is that I would say 95% of my coursework assignments were specifically relevant to my church work. For example, one of my assignments was to work out a new discipleship approach in my setting. That project became my ‘COVID re-engagement strategy.’ I used this to lead my church out of the depths of 2020-2021, into re-engagement with in-person church gatherings, re-connection with the disconnected, and the re-starting of our ministries. It was a truly blessed and good – albeit hard – time.”
Rev. Eisenmann chose to study transformational preaching. “In all my education — from my bachelor’s degree to my Master’s degree’, or all the conferences and workshops I had gone to, the one area I had never really developed was my preaching,” reflected Rev. Eisenmann. Her coursework’s focus on the Bible, discipleship, evangelism, leadership, and other topics far overshadowed her investment in preaching formation. “Preaching is one of my more natural gifts, but I hadn’t developed it yet. And so I had to wonder: am I stewarding this gift well? People liked to listen to my preaching before, but I notice that God is using my preaching in more people’s lives since taking the coursework.”
Rev. Griffin’s project focused on biblical and ethical leadership among senior pastors of color, specifically those leading mainly white congregations. He explored habits and approaches of ethical leadership, and how being a leader of color in a predominantly-white context might shape pastoral behavior and leadership. “The Holy Spirit formed me in my understanding and my practice of biblical and ethical leadership, and I think when you look at the several persons who have fallen morally in leadership — and you look at the larger culture – you can see how availing yourself of the advantage of further training could be helpful in our landscape.”
Rev. Lipscomb’s project focused on designing a spiritual leadership formation system for church staffs, helping distinguish how “leadership development” differs from “spiritual leadership formation,” and how it might be systematized to be replicable, consistent, and contextual. She was impressed to find that her research had a profound impact in the development of her own staff, and in helping their view of ministry go from reliance on their own skills and talents, and more toward “partnership with Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Revs. Eisenmann, Griffin, and Lipscomb all agree that one of the most important ingredients in discerning whether or not to pursue a doctorate is the amount of time and focus you can give. Every season of life is different, and while “you can’t anticipate everything that will happen, you can anticipate that more than what you expect will happen, and that absolutely should not be underestimated,” Lipscomb reflected. Purposeful rhythms of Sabbath/days off, personal habits of well-being, and intentional time in life-giving relationships should be in place before starting a doctoral program. Without that support, prior commitments can crumble under the weight of a new commitment.
Another component of doctoral readiness has to do with financial margin. Everyone’s financial readiness for a doctoral program is different, but there are grants, scholarships, and resources available for Wesleyans looking to pursue a Doctorate of Ministry degree in a sustainable, cost-effective way.
“The Wesleyan Church has made provisions through the Education and Clergy Development (ECD) office to support students financially in their ministry training. We believe that God calls people from all walks of life to serve and lead his church and we believe in the value of formal education to train and form women and men for pastoral leadership. In addition to grants for undergraduate and master’s ministry students, the recent introduction of the Doctor of Ministry grant for Wesleyan pastors at Wesley Seminary at IWU and Asbury Seminary aims to support healthy, fit, and effective pastors. We want to strengthen pastors in ministry, support pastors in the local church, and support our local churches with well-trained and deeply formed pastors. We believe the Doctor of Ministry grant can help,” said Dr. Aaron Perry, Director of Wesleyan Academic Initiatives for the ECD.
For more information on Wesleyan Higher education, including financial support for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, click here. To submit an application for the Doctor of Ministry grant (students at both Wesley Seminary and Asbury Seminary are eligible), click here.
