Doctor of Ministry in New Testament Context : DMin
Program Type
Hours
36 HoursLength
3-4 YearsNorthern’s DMin programs enable ministry leaders to undertake doctoral study that is both academically rigorous and deeply engaged in ministry practice, personal renewal, and God’s mission in the world.
Program Description
The Doctorate in New Testament Context, supervised by professors Scot McKnight and Nijay Gupta, provides a theological, practical, and academic framework for pastors, congregational leaders, writers and all who desire to think critically and faithfully about the context of the New Testament while reviewing character, ministry call, and direction. Students will develop an ability to bring the Bible to life for the people in their ministries and help to create church cultures that learn to read the Bible better.
Unique opportunities for peer collaboration are encouraged. For example, the 2018 cohort published Conflict Management and the Apostle Paul, edited by Scot McKnight and Greg Mamula.
“The Doctorate in New Testament Context will give pastors the opportunity of a lifetime. In my speaking and conversations with pastors, preachers, and lay folks, one of the most illuminating features we have to bring to the church is clarifying the historical context of Jesus and the apostles. Time and time again flashes of insight come to Bible readers when they grasp a social custom at work, a religious controversy throbbing behind a question put to Jesus, or a historical memory that is shaping precisely what Jesus was teaching or the apostle Paul writing. Because this ‘background’ or ‘Jewish context’ is so important and at the same time much less accessible for pastors, the Doctorate in the New Testament Context will provide pastors with the opportunity to focus study on Jewish texts and this will enable them to shed light on pressing concerns in the church today.” — Dr. Scot McKnight
Applying to the Program
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. To be considered for admission, please complete the Doctorate application form here, along with a nonrefundable application fee. This is a highly competitive program and special consideration is given to highly motivated, talented students who have a passion for Christ’s church and who want to make a difference in their current context.
Requirements for Completion
DMin programs are four year programs, consisting of seven courses over three years and a year for thesis writing. Occasionally a student will need more time to complete program requirements. In that situation, the outer limit for completion of the program is ten years.
Curriculum
The Doctor of Ministry program consists of 36 quarter hours of study. Each course is structured in a one-week intensive format. Each student writes a thesis at the end of the program.
- Core Courses – 3 courses /12 quarter hours
- Specialized Courses – 4 courses / 16 quarter hours
- Thesis Project Research and Writing – 8 quarter hours
Core Courses
DM 7015 Becoming Doctors of the Church (4 quarter hours)
This course introduces students to the function and importance of the office of “doctor of the church.” In the course, students delve deeply into “why I believe” the central tenets of the faith and identify and begin to research a key ministry context. The research will become central to the doctoral thesis.
DM 7045 Bible and Theological Method (4 quarter hours)
This course is a general hermeneutics course that grounds theological method and the study of Scripture. It provides an opportunity for students to engage specific biblical texts and theological topics as they relate to their ministry contexts and thesis.
DM 7060 Thesis Design (4 quarter hours)
This seminar walks the student through constructing a thesis that begins with a driving question about the relationship between their specialization and a ministerial context.
Course Content
Pre-Intensive Work
Prior to each intensive course, students complete reading, reflection, and assignments through which learning is applied to one’s own ministerial context. Students bring a variety of individual ministry issues to the course. Each course is designed with this in mind so readings and assignments allow for flexibility in terms of personal focus.
Intensive Weeks
Courses typically meet in the winter and summer of each year for a week-long intensive from Monday – Friday midday. This is a productive, flexible format for doctorate study and allows students to focus for several months on each course. Course sessions involve engagement of heart, intellect, and practical implementation. The goal is to create a community of faith, learning and support. During intensives, students engage in reflection and development of action plans for responding in new ways to issues and opportunities in ministry.
Post-Intensive Work
Following each intensive week, students complete reflective assignments, often leading to further research and study in order to faithfully implement new ministry action within one’s ministerial context.
A Note from Scot McKnight:
“I made a commitment some 15 years ago that I wanted to make the knowledge we have about Judaism more accessible to the church, and to do that we have to learn to “translate” those details and complicated discussions into language that not only can be understood but that matters for ordinary people living ordinary lives in ordinary churches. The Doctorate in the New Testament Context is designed to help pastors create church cultures that learn to read the Bible better. Pastors routinely tell me they don’t have time to read all those Jewish sources, so we want to carve out time for pastors to progress in a degree that leads them into great Jewish texts that are behind our New Testament. The Doctorate in New Testament Context will give pastors the opportunity of a lifetime, time to investigate Jewish texts in order to enhance our perspective of the New Testament. In doing so, the Doctorate in New Testament Context will give pastors texts and tools to do this for themselves and for their congregation and show their congregations how they can do it too!”
Courses
The DMin program consists of 36 quarter hours of study. Each course is structured in a one-week intensive format. Each student writes a thesis at the end of the program.
- Core Courses – 3 courses /12 quarter hours
- Specialized Courses – 4 courses / 16 quarter hours
- Thesis Project Research and Writing – 8 quarter hours
Core Courses
DM 7015 Becoming Doctors of the Church (4 quarter hours)
This course introduces students to the function and importance of the office of “doctor of the church.” In the course, students delve deeply into “why I believe” the central tenets of the faith and identify and begin to research a key ministry context. The research will become central to the doctoral thesis.
DM 7045 Bible and Theological Method (4 quarter hours)
This course is a general hermeneutics course that grounds theological method and the study of Scripture. It provides an opportunity for students to engage specific biblical texts and theological topics as they relate to their ministry contexts and thesis.
DM 7060 Thesis Design (4 quarter hours)
This seminar walks the student through constructing a thesis that begins with a driving question about the relationship between their specialization and a ministerial context.
Specialized Courses
In addition to the three DMin core courses, students take four courses (16 quarter hours) in New Testament Context.
DM 7850 New Testament and Its World I (4 quarter hours)
This course will study the world of Jesus and the Gospels. The seminar will focus on five topics, one per day: Sexuality, Torah Observance and Ethics, Eschatology, Judgment and Hell, Social Realities, and Jesus and Judaism. These issues can be controversial in our day, and we examine them in their historical contexts.
DM 7851 New Testament and Its World II (4 quarter hours)
This course will examine earliest Christianity in the context of Greco-Roman religions. This seminar builds on the previous courses on Judaism, Jesus and earliest Christianity. This course will extend the previous study of Judaism and the Greco-Roman world into the world of the apostle Paul. We will look especially at the similarities and differences between early Christianity and Roman religion, Greek religious influence, Jewish religion, Foreign/imported cults and mystery cults, Household religion, and the Imperial cult (“Divine Honors for the Caesars”). Key questions we will examine overall: What made Christianity distinctive? What made it dangerous and offensive? What made it attractive and inviting?
DM 7852 New Testament and Its World III (4 quarter hours)
Students of the Bible are always striving to understand the Bible in its original context while making connections to their own contexts. Key to such contextual analyses are the topics of race and ethnicity. This course seeks to develop a biblical theology of race and ethnicity by considering these questions: what is meant by race and ethnicity, particularly in antiquity? How do race and ethnicity relate to slavery? How our understanding of race and ethnicity inform the contemporary Christian church?
DM 7853 Study Tour in Israel (4 quarter hours)
This course takes students on a trip of a lifetime to Israel. Students discover the ancient world of Jesus and his apostles, explore archaeological sites around the Sea of Galilee and within the city of Jerusalem. Students will have opportunities to spend time in reflection and discussion with other students and participants on the trip. Study tour offered in the spring of a students’ third year of the program.
Thesis
Students can work on many possible thesis projects in completing the DMin in New Testament Context, including, but not limited to a focused study of a biblical book, or a topic such as poverty/wealth in the ancient and contemporary world, creation care in the NT, and holiness in Jesus’s teachings.
FAQS
Student Stories
Read what our students have to say about their experiences here.