Andy Rowell

Category: Th.D. / Ph.D.

  • Moving, Summer Schedule and New Email Address

    June 3, 2007 (See updates to this post farther down in the post). 

    Dear All,

    Sorry for not blogging much recently but we are busy preparing to move from Upland, Indiana to Duke, North Carolina.  I am going to be doing my Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) at Duke Divinity School.   The full update about that is at my post Starting Doctor of Theology (Th.D) at Duke Divinity School in the fall. 

    Schedule

    Here is our upcoming schedule if you want to keep track of us or meet up with us. 

    • June 5-7 Wheaton, Illinois. Visiting my parents
    • June 13 Upland, Indiana. Packing the PODS moving container.
    • June 14-17 Traverse City, Michigan. Wedding for Deepak Prabhaker and Corinne Fosdick.  I am giving homily.  Deepak is a high school friend of mine. 
    • June 17 Grandville, Michigan.  Amy and I are attending church at Rob Bell's Mars Hill Bible Church on Sunday at 11:00. 
    • June 18 Drive to Durham, North Carolina. 
    • June 19-21.  Paint inside of house. 
    • June 23.  Move stuff in to house. 
    • July-August.  Teach myself to read German to pass language exam in the fall if possible.  I haven't been able to find anyone yet to study with me. 

    New email address

    I have also updated my email address.  My primary address will be andy.rowell@ gmail.com (There is no space).  I don't plan on ever posting that one on the web in its entirety to try to keep away the spam.  I have another one listed on this website rowell.andy@ gmail.com.  That one will be forwarded to the main account.      

    I also have a Duke email address but since it is limited to 100 MB and gmail gives you 2860 MB I am just going to go with the gmail one.  If you are curious, it is andy.rowell@ duke.edu (there is no space) – that will also be forwarded to the main account.  Perhaps if I am writing any serious proposals, I will use the duke address but the practical aspects of the gmail one are strong!

    I can send you a gmail invitation so you can get gmail if you email me and ask. LATER NOTE: Anyone can now sign up for gmail.  No invitations are needed. 

    My wife Amy's new email address is rowell.amy@ gmail.com (no spaces).  Her website is http://www.amyrowell.net/

    I used How to Import Archived Outlook Email Into GMail Using GML – wikiHow to import our Taylor University email messages into gmail.

    I will blog again soon.  Until then, there are lots of other good things to read and listen to.  See my:

    The Best Blogs for Church Leaders to Read

    Best Podcasts for Church Leaders

    I have also been reading Christianity Today's new LiveBlog. 

    Grace and peace, 

    andy

    Update July 9, 2007:

    We have arrived in Durham and are getting settled.  The photo below was taken July 1st in front of Duke Chapel. 

    Dscn3310

    Update July 19, 2007

    German

    I have finished 10 of the 30 days of German Quickly: A Grammar for Reading German by April Wilson.  I have made and used German Quickly flashcards on Flashcard Exchange.  (You can use them online for free or pay $20 for a lifetime membership for access to printing them.  I used this site when I studied for the GRE last year.  See my post about the GRE here).   

    July 21, 2007

    Email update

    I send out an email yesterday to friends and family with our new phone numbers and address.  If I didn't email you and you are a friend, I don't have your email address!

    Here is the quick update I sent to people:
    • I am starting my Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) degree this fall at Duke Divinity School. 
    • We thoroughly enjoyed serving as professors of Christian ministry at Taylor University the last two years.
    • We have purchased our first home and have moved to Durham, NC.   
    • Amy is due to have Baby #2 September 27th.  It's a boy. 
    • Ryan turned 2 in April and is doing well. 
    • It will probably take me about five years to finish the program. 
    • Amy is hoping eventually to work part-time in pastoral ministry at a church.

  • Starting Doctor of Theology (Th.D) at Duke Divinity School in the fall

    Update: see my March 2009 post: Advice about Duke Th.D. and Ph.D programs in theology

    Original post:

    Lots of news: This fall I am starting Duke Divinity School's Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) program.  We bought a house today in Durham, NC.  And we are having baby 2 in September!    Duke

    Below I have answered the basic questions. 

    What is the Th.D.? 
    The Th.D. stands for Doctor of Theology.  It is the equivalent to the Ph.D.  Duke University's Graduate Program in Religion has offered an outstanding Ph.D. program for many years.  The Th.D. will be headquartered in Duke Divinity School.  This is only the second year that the Th.D. degree has been offered by Duke Divinity School.  Like Duke, Harvard University has a Ph.D. and Harvard Divinity School has a Th.D.  I will be able to take courses at Duke University. 
    This degree differs from the Doctor of Ministry or D.Min. which is offered by many seminaries.  The D.Min. is a degree which can be done by pastors while they are in full-time ministry.  The D.Min. takes about three years and pastors spend a couple of weeks a year on campus at the seminary.  It is loosely equivalent to another masters degree.  The Ph.D. or Th.D. are 4-7 year full-time academic degrees that prepare people for work as professors.
     
    What do you hope to do with the Th.D.?
    I hope to serve as professor of Christian ministry at a Christian college or seminary.  I also hope to continue in church leadership. 

    What are you going to study?
    My area of concentration is ""Scripture and the Practice of Leading Christian Communities and Institutions."  I'm hoping to do qualitative research on a few innovative churches and effective church leaders and analyze them through the foci presented by Duke professor Richard Hays in his book Moral Vision of the New Testament.  The foci are cross, community and new creation.  Duke has an outstanding faculty and I hope to learn from many of them. 
     
    How long is the program?
    The first two years I take three courses per semester.  I'm trying to decide what to take next year.  Here is the list of courses.  The third year I prepare for comprehensive exams and nail down my dissertation proposal.  The fourth year I crank out that dissertation.  However, most people in the Duke University Ph.D. in Religion take 5-7 years so we'll see. 

    When are you moving to North Carolina?
    We bought a house today in Durham and the closing is June 15 so we will move from Upland, IN around then.  We were in Durham last week for a Th.D. orientation day and house-hunting.

    What will Amy be doing?     
    My wife Amy Rowell is going to be having Baby Rowell #2 around September 26th.  We're excited.  Hopefully she won't have this one two months early like last time.  We're very excited about baby 2. 
    We are also really praying that she will find a pastoral position in a church.  She is interested in the areas of adult discipleship, preaching, women's ministry, small groups and pastoral care.  Amy is currently serving as a professor of Christian Ministry at Taylor University where she teaches courses such as Personal Foundations for Ministry and Ministry by Women in the Contemporary Context.  She has her MDiv from Regent College and won the preaching award there.  She has served on the pastoral staff at a number of churches.  Thanks for praying that she will find a position where she can use her gifts.

    Do you have any advice about applying for Ph.D. programs in church leadership?
    I wrote blog posts about my Ph.D. application process and my advice about the GRE and my CV.   

  • Bonhoeffer and the Emerging Church: Ph.D. Application Paper

    Update January 31, 2007.
    I have posted below the revised paper.
    Update December 31, 2006
    I have posted below the revised paper.You are still welcome to give me feedback for later deadlines though the immediate deadline is passed.
    Original post December 23, 2006
    It is crunch time now and I'm getting my application materials ready for Princeton, Luther, Fuller and Emory in about a week.  EmergingchurchDuke is a month later.  See my quick update about the Ph.D. here.
    I would love it if any of you wanted to read my paper and give it some feedback.   
    The paper is about Bonhoeffer and the Emerging Church movement.  I think it is worthwhile stuff but I would appreciate your advice about things to change.  Not academic enough?  Work on the writing? Focus more? 
    I have attached it below. 

    Download bonhoeffer_and_emerging_church.doc

    Download bonhoeffer_and_emerging_church.pdf

    Thanks so much.  Thanks for your prayers.  I hope you are well.  Merry Christmas.
    andy