doctor in the house

Last Wednesday, Joe went up to Kentucky for his dissertation defense hearing. This was the day we had been anticipating for quite a while...like months. Years maybe.

Joe started the DMin (Doctor of Ministry) program at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky before we had kids. We went up to the campus for orientation and his first class in January of 2009. On his next trip I went again, but this time I was 8 months pregnant. The next time he went up, January 2010, Hannah was four months old. He has traveled up to Asbury twice a year for his coursework. That doesn't seem so bad. But the pre-course work (and the post-course work, too) was brutal. I can remember one of the trips being preceded by something like 15 books to read and write about.

The dissertation phase started nearly two years ago. Joe knew what he wanted to research and write about, a passion for him: health and fitness. And so the official title of his dissertation became: Improving Clergy Health through Scripture Reading and Exercise. Right up his alley, huh? And Lord knows clergy as a whole could stand to be in better health.

So for the last two years, he has worked painstakingly hard on this dissertation. Dissertation - a word that has been said so much in this house, Hannah first said it when she was just 2 1/2 years old {"I'm working on my dissertation," she'd tell people.} Joe has spent many "days off" at home, holed up in his office, working. And except for the occasional trip, two-day weekends have been few and far between.

In the course of this degree, we have had two children and moved to a new home (and new city). And obviously, Joe had a job change too: pastoring a new church. To say the last few years have been busy is a bit of an understatement. It's like this dissertation has taken on a life of its own (a very real and active life) and has, at the very least, been always-present in the backs of our minds.

The first milestone was the proposal hearing. Joe went up to Asbury in February for that. He came back home with some work to revise and lots, lots more to do in the months to come. For those that may not know (like me before I lived it), a dissertation is written in chapters. The "proposal" is chapters 1-3, which includes the background, the literature review, and the methodology. Discussion (data & results) and findings (analysis & summary) are chapters 4 and 5.

After finishing the work, sending to the editor, making necessary revisions, and sending to his mentor for final review, last Wednesday was the culmination. To defend his dissertation, Joe faced a committee of three: two professors & the head of the DMIN program, who would decide whether his dissertation was accepted, accepted with revisions (reworking), or deferred. I talked to Joe just as he went in the room at 2 o'clock, and anxiously awaited his call around 4. There was little doubt that he would do well. But how well was the question. What kind of questions would they ask? How many revisions would he have to make? We were confident he would be approved, but there was a wide range of possibilities in this 176-page document. Instead, the first thing he said to me was, "It couldn't have gone any better. No revisions!" What?! "Amazing" and "Radical" were two words they used to describe his work. When he walked back into the room, his mentor said "Congratulations, Dr. Buck." Praise God! Joe sounded so relieved and I was so happy.

I am relieved this phase of our lives is over. I am relieved that this is behind us and we can move on.

I am thankful that all of Joe's hard work has paid off and he did so well. I am thankful for the many prayers, thoughts, encouraging words, texts, and phone calls both Joe and I have received through this process and especially this last week.

I am excited about what this means for Joe's career in the ministry and what tools this degree has equipped him with to fulfill God's purposes for his life.

I am looking forward to the days ahead. I'm looking forward to weekends (which to us mean Friday-Saturday) where Joe can have the weekend to play, be with family, and start working on that honey-do list that has been building up. :)

Wednesday morning Hannah sent her daddy this video:

"I hope you have a good plane on your dissertation." Love it and love her. And yes, he did have a safe flight and did a good job on his dissertation. We are so proud of him!

There is a doctor in the house. Formally, it is The Reverend Doctor Joseph Alexander Buck, IV, but I think he'll accept Dr. Joe. ;)