Celebrating the dissertation defense and graduation

This posting takes a break from the heavier subject matters to thank everyone who had a hand in helping me get through my doctoral studies. I started the program in January 2001 and graduated on December 15, 2007. Dr. John Agada became the chair of my dissertation committee in June 2006 and that was the best thing that could have happened in regards to getting things in high gear towards completion. The photo at left is my dissertation committee on the day of the defense. From left to right, Dr. Don Wicks from Kent State University, myself, Dr. Herbert Achleitner from Emporia State University and my mentor, and Dr. John Agada from Emporia State University and my dissertation committee Chair.

Here is a photo from the processional march. The person in front of me is Mohammed Nasser Al-Suqri, one of my fellow SLIM doctoral students. We were the only two to graduate this semester. There were three other students who started the program with me in January 2001. I am the only one of the four fortunate enough to have finished the program. A major factor in my success was my employment position at SLIM and Emporia State University. The faculty and administration were very supportive and allowed me to take the time I needed this past summer to write the dissertation. Many colleagues across campus offered encouragement and support at critical times and I am also grateful for receiving financial assistance from the Richel Doctoral Student Scholarship Fund.

The support from my family these past several years was wonderful. I managed to attend most all of the important events, ball games, etc., and we found the time to take some meaningful family trips while I was involved in the PhD program. But there were also a lot of evenings and weekends holed up with the books and the computer that precluded just spending time together with each other. Each of my loved ones inspire me in their own individual way and truly helped to keep me grounded.

Sorry for the gap (pun intended)

I was shocked to see that it has been seven weeks since my last posting. Not that I was being lazy during that time, it's just that 3 business trips, my dissertation defense, and the Thanksgiving holiday were a bigger priority.

A colleague forwarded a call for papers to me on the topic of "The Internet as an Ethical Challenge for Religions" and I am giving some thought to a proposal. While conducting my research, I was amazed at the vast number of sermons that published online. On one hand, this could be an extension of outreach ministries to folks unable to attend worship services with their local congregation. Much like tape recordings of the worship service that are delivered to shut-ins, but then shut-ins might not have Internet access. Perhaps this is a ministry to folks who are geographically removed from the local congregation for one reason or another, but then those folks could be sent an email with the sermon as an attachment instead of being asked to go to a web site to read or print the sermon.

Could the reason for posting so many sermons to the web be an effort to reach a global audience? If so, for what purpose? One finding from my research was an understanding of the sermon preparation process as collaboration with the Holy Spirit. The clergy member has a responsibility to thoroughly research the selected Scripture text and then wait for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to prepare a sermon based on the needs of the congregation served by the clergy member. Such an understanding helps to explain the many different interpretations that can be given to the same Scripture text by many different clergy members.

Does posting a sermon to the Web carry with it at least some degree of assuming that here is a message that the whole world could use? Is there at least some degree of presumption on the part of the clergy member of possessing a particular "truth" that everyone needs to hear? Of course, much of this depends on the nature of the message being posted to the Web and I certainly would not want to deny anyone the use of this wonderful tool for self-expression, especially since there are probably more bloggers than there are clergy members posting sermons.

Anyway, I would appreciate any thoughts, feedback, or suggestions. I am working on a survey of congregations that have web sites and those who do not, which I hope to conduct in the next few weeks. Stayed posted.