When a Giant Spreadsheet...

...is like a jigsaw puzzle: Musings on Seminary

Hi everyone! I’ve been putting in the work to finish my dissertation for my DMin (Doctor of Ministry) degree in New Testament Studies, at Houston Theological Seminary with the wonderful Drs. Lynn Cohick and Scot McKnight.

Here’s a photo of a giant spreadsheet I made for one of my chapters:

A jumbo spreadsheet I did for a key chapter in my dissertation, where I listed and analyzed every single mention of a woman in each of the 4 Gospels. I’m sure there was a better way to do a spreadsheet than this messy one!

My dissertation is 66,000 words right now, with about 180 sources, and is an important step towards graduation which will hopefully happen in December. Before that, I have to:

• Undergo a dissertation review by my supervisor, Dr. Cohick

• Receive a review from a second reader

• I’ve asked

  Heather Hart
  , a seminary friend from Northern Seminary (where I got my masters) to review my findings in the chapter using the spreadsheet (which she helped me with in the role of a research assistant).

• After these reviews, I’ll be doing a rewrite, which may involve additional content and sources.

• Once I submit the rewrite, I’ll wait to see if it’s accepted by my supervisor and the seminary itself.

• I’ll prepare a presentation on my topic for the defense. At the defense itself, I’ll need to ready myself for questions on my topic (some are softball question, some are tougher).

• In December, hopefully I’ll walk and receive my diploma and my hood. This feels like a big moment, the culmination of seven years of seminary.

• Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention I will be 60 years old when I graduate (!)

  It’s almost never too late to start something new. Start small, but start today. It costs nothing to do a little research and take a baby step towards seminary, or something else you’re dreaming of.

This spreadsheet is important to my topic of women writers in the ancient world (spoiler—there were plenty of them) and whether women contributed to the writing of the New Testament, especially the Gospels. I used the spreadsheet to track the women mentioned in the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; some women were unnamed but many were. The dataset was a little unwieldy, thus the spreadsheet cobbled together with tape. I think it’s a good representation of a dream come true, including the messiness!

Do you have any questions about seminary? I’ll try to answer if I can. Or, do you ever dream of going to seminary? What’s a step you can take towards that dream?

I have loved just about every minute of my seminary education, and look forward to what new adventures await as I weave in what I have learned to my work.

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