The Doctor of Ministry provides an opportunity for continued theological study and disciplined reflection on the practice of ministry. This is an advanced degree for those with a Master of Divinity or its equivalent and significant ministry experience.

Specifically, Eden’s doctoral program is born out of the necessity for practical Theology. “Practical theology” has emerged as a distinctive approach and discipline to the theological assignment before us – reflection on the praxis of faith in community. This doctoral program is focused on the way theology is practiced in communities and embodied in religious leadership committed to human thriving and freedom.

Practical theology understands its assignment and its call within progressive religious movements to read the signs of both traditions and the times – attuned to hear communal and individual suffering in conversation with traditions, cultures and living sources of wisdom that bear visions of justice and hope for healing.

Leaders formed by practical theology and its methods deepen understanding of problems and solutions in the practice of ministry. The Doctor of Ministry degree allows space and opportunity to study and reflect upon how theological commitments are experienced in the lived lives of people in particular contexts, and how that experience can be a resource for communities and leaders seeking to deepen their participation in God’s redemptive work in the world.

Three concentrations of study and reflection offer realms in which to deepen ministerial practice toward social transformation: Ministry in the Public Square,  Urban Chaplaincy as Public Witness, and Specialized Ministry.