Birmingham Theological Seminary
Doctor of Ministry

The Doctor of Ministry Program (D.Min)
BTS has designed its Doctor of Ministry program to accommodate both the bi-vocational pastor and the fulltime pastor active in the ordained ministry. At the present time we offer two major tracks for our Doctor of Ministry Program: l) Pastoral Leadership and 2) Biblical Counseling. Each member of our program faculty has obtained a terminal degree but they are also fulltime ministry practitioners. They have learned to integrate biblical, historical, practical and theological resources into successful ministries; therefore, they serve as academicians as well as mentors to the student.

Applicants may secure an application form from the seminary office. Applications must be submitted prior to admission to the program. International students whose primary language is not English must submit TOEFL scores. In addition, procedures required for foreign students in relationship to immigration policies are applicable.

Consideration by the doctoral committee will include the completed application, evidence of cultural appreciation, evidence of the application of Scripture to the care of souls, and administrative skills in managing the ministry. These matters will be assessed through personal references, a personal interview and/or whatever testing the administration deems useful.

Pastoral Leadership

Program Requirements
The Doctor of Ministry degree requires a satisfactory completion of 30 hours of course work as prescribed in the curriculum and a dissertation. The student is expected to maintain a GPA of at least 3.1 with no more than one C grade in the entire program. The Master of Divinity or its educational equivalent (including at least one of the biblical languages from an acceptable seminary) and three years of ministry experience are prerequisites for admission. Students with an MA in a ministry field may apply after five years of ministry with the submission of a scholarly paper of 15-20 pages reflecting the student’s ministry growth during these five years. Students will be accepted provisionally for the 1st semester dependent upon completion of the scholarly paper. The doctoral committee will determine any additional prerequisites that may be required. This program, in accordance with the historical theological position held by the mainstream of evangelical churches, is limited to male students. (Refer to “The Role of Women in the Church a Rationale for the BTS Position)

The Doctor of Ministry program, including a dissertation or project cannot be completed in less than three years. The degree must be completed seven years from the date of enrollment. In exceptional circumstances, a student may apply for a one-year extension beyond the seven-year limit to the doctoral committee. The student must register and pay tuition each semester. See schedule of fees for extension costs.

A student will be considered to have a lapsed registration after one calendar year without activity. The student will be required to request reinstatement and will incur a fee of $90.00 in addition to the continuation fee.

Program Structure
Doctor of Ministry courses are offered in three intensive, one-day sessions during the semester. The remainder of the 39 hours of class time will be fulfilled using the DMin forum interacting with the cohort and faculty member. The day of the week will usually be Friday, though each class may negotiate the day of the week with the professor. The one regular exception to this format will be the Church Revitalization course. This course will meet Thursday afternoon through Sunday noon in conjunction with the Church Revitalization Seminar at Briarwood Presbyterian Church usually during the third week of January.

Independent Study
With the approval of the Doctor of Ministry Committee, the student must complete three hours of credit through independent study. The student must secure a faculty member willing to supervise the course. He must then submit a proposal for the course that the faculty member must approve. Upon approval by the faculty member, the student must then deliver the proposal with the signature of the faculty member to the Director of the DMin program and the Vice President of Academic Affairs for final approval. The independent study course will be taken at the completion of the required courses of study, prior to the Dissertation courses.

Course Requirements
Each Doctor of Ministry course offered includes approximately 2000 pages of reading that must be completed in the increments prescribed by the professor. The professor must receive the following in evidence of the completion of the reading assignment:

Dissertation or Project – Pastoral Leadership Program
The final phase of the program is the dissertation or thesis project. The student may elect to either write a dissertation (Ph.D. in nature) or complete a project. If the student elects a dissertation, he must provide evidence of knowledge of basic statistics or be willing to take the requisite statistical course(s) at a local university. The Doctor of Ministry project is the application of research abilities applied to understanding a ministry problem and devising a practical program to solve this problem. If the thesis project is elected, it must include a means of evaluating the effectiveness of the devised program. The final written submission of the project may be presented in publication form rather than standard academic format (e.g. Turabian Style Manual). However, in this case the student must also present proper documentation appropriate to his research.

The student will register each semester for the course 9121 (Dissertation/Project) and pay the tuition fee of $450.00 until the dissertation/project has been completed. This registration must occur during the registration week at the beginning of each semester. In any semester in which the student is not going to register for any reason, he must pay a $300.00 continuation fee.

The student will be assigned a mentor and will be expected to meet with the mentor at least twice a semester. The mentor will file a report on these meetings with the Doctor of Ministry Committee on the appropriate form. Except for medical or extreme personal reasons, the student is expected to make progress each semester. Mentors are expected to be available to the student throughout the program.

Before the presentation of the rough draft of the dissertation project to the Doctor of Ministry Committee, the student will be expected to gather five peers (not necessarily BTS Doctor of Ministry students) and make a presentation to them. The student must request a two page written evaluation by each peer, which must be submitted with the rough draft to the mentor and the second reader.

Upon acceptance by the mentor and second reader, the student must submit a third copy for the outside reader. A $400.00 outside reader fee must accompany this submission, approved by the respective Directors of the DMin programs. Five copies of an abstract of not more than 1500 words must also be submitted at this time. The Vice President and DMin Director will then notify the student to schedule a time for an oral defense of his work before the committee.

Oral Defense
The oral defense will be scheduled to be held before a committee consisting of the mentor, second reader, DMin program Director and VP of Academic Affairs or his designee. Any faculty member may attend and ask questions. However, only the Doctor of Ministry Committee may vote. The student will receive a pass, a suspension, or a failing grade. A failing grade has no recourse and the student must complete another dissertation or thesis project if he desires to complete the program. A suspension means that the committee believes that there is a shortcoming either in the dissertation or in the student’s ability to defend his work or sustain the interview. In such cases, it will be at the discretion of the committee as to how the student may resolve the difficulty. The grade shall be determined by a majority vote of those eligible to vote.

The student will follow the schedule of dates by which he must make these submissions in the year in which he anticipates graduating:

• First draft of the Proposal: September 21
• Final draft of the Proposal: October 30
• Chapter One: December 1
• Chapter Two and Three: February 15
• Peer Review: February 25
• Project Implementation Completed by March 21
• Final rough draft of dissertation: April 1
• Final draft: April 15
• Oral Defense: May 1

Curriculum
DM9101 Church Revitalization: Developing and Maintaining a Healthy Church - Harry Reeder (3 credit hours)
At the heart of the DMin program is the vision for healthy churches. The Church Revitalization Seminar held annually at Briarwood Presbyterian Church serves as the catalysis of this course. This intensive seminar stimulates pastoral-self examination and church structural examination. In addition to the seminar, students will complete assigned readings and present a paper interacting with the seminar content, readings and ministry site.

DM9104 The Care and Curing of Souls - Howard Eyrich (3 credit hours)
This class will examine a biblical model of counseling as well as exploring a biblical model of caring for the sheep of God's fold. Personal and professional development of the minister as well as the ministry setting will be the focus of the course. Reading, lecture, role playing, peer evaluation along with case studies and a project applicable to the student's ministry setting will comprise the elements of this class.

DM9105 Personal Leadership Development - Thad James (3 credit hours)
The personal development of existing and new leaders is the focus of this course. The purpose is to assist the student in the critical task of self-evaluation or examination. The course will look to the inward training, to the heart of the leader, and facilitate the further development of good and faithful servants of our Lord to lead the church in spiritual and numerical growth.

DM9106 Developing and Training Effective Church Leaders – Larry Cockrell (3 credit hours)
This course is designed to help leaders disciple and train effective church leaders for the local church. It seeks to provide students with the tools to impart a world and life view and to equip others to become leaders who, through personal discipline and commitment, influence others to accomplish goals and objectives for the glory of God.

DM9107 Transformational Leadership for a Postmodern World Howard Eyrich & Jim Maples (3 credit hours)
There are three foci in this course. First, the course will explore types and models of leadership that are necessary to do ministry in our postmodern society. Second, the course will explore the theological and ethical constructs of transformational leadership. Third, the course will explore the contextualization of ministry in light of the racial, ethnic, cultural and economic diversity that characterizes the church of the 21st century. The overall question will be, “How to lead congregations to develop the reputation, ‘they have turned the world upside down.’”

DM9108 Preaching in a Neo- Pagan World – Jim Maples (3 credit hours)
The objective of this course is to inform students regarding the world in which they live and to understand how to address the culture that has infiltrated the church. Utilization of the medium of expository preaching will be explored and developed. It will help the student grasp the issues that need to be addressed in the church today and realize the importance of the preaching of the word as one seeks to speak to those issues apologetically.

DM9110 Educational Ministries of the Growing Church - Dave Matthews (3 credit hours)
How to educate current members and plan for the education that comes with anticipated growth. A well orbed program from children's ministries to women's ministries and men's discipleship through Sunday School, new member’s classes, small groups and media will form the structure of this course.

DM9111 Independent Study - A faculty mentor will be assigned by the program Director appropriate to the subject matter of the proposal (3 credit hours)
The student will submit a proposal to the Director for this Independent Study. The proposal must include at least 3000 pages of reading and a scholarly paper of not less than 25 pages. Additional direction for this paper will be found in the course syllabus The paper must include a practical application to some ministry in the student's church.

DM9120 Research and Design - Thad James (3 credit hours)
Required of all students, this course will prepare the student to do the necessary research for his dissertation or project. Students will become acquainted with the latest in research methods and research tools including the internet.

DM9121 Understanding the DMin Dissertation/Project - Jim Maples (3 credit hours)
The dissertation project is the cumulative capstone of the Doctor of Ministry. This course will explore methods, models and process of writing a DMin. project. The final product will be the production of a project proposal.

DM9122 DMin Dissertation/Project (6 credit hours)
Student will be assigned a committee, submit a proposal and complete the final project.

Honors D.Min.
Students with a GPA of at least 3.3* at the master’s degree level may apply for the Honors Doctor of Ministry. The Doctor of Ministry Committee will carefully consider the application and may require a personal interview and if the student is not a BTS graduate or former BTS student, the committee may require the submission of scholarly paper written in the master’s degree program for consideration. The student will attend a two-day orientation for the program in which the nature and requirements of the program will be developed.

The program must be completed in five years. Graduation from the program is contingent upon the dissertation/project publication. The student must keep a bibliography and journal of his reading for the program, which must be at least 30,000 pages.

The student will be assigned a committee of three readers. The chairman will be a BTS faculty member. The student will develop a proposal in conjunction with the mentor that must be approved by the committee. One committee member may be a non-BTS faculty member who is approved by the Vice President and DMin Director. The mentor will be the advisor for the program and may be anyone in the area of study with proper credentials approved by the DMin Director. The student must have a personal interview with the Vice President and/or DMin Director in which he presents his proposal for the mentor. The student will be responsible for negotiating a contractual arrangement with the mentor regarding time and financial remuneration. A copy of this contract must be filed with the Vice President and DMin Director and both must approve the contract. See Student Handbook for tuition and fees.

*Prospective students with a GPA of less than 3.3 may be considered upon the following criteria: 1) At least seven years of ministry experience which reflects above average abilities. 2) Demonstration through an interview with the Vice President or Director of the Doctor of Ministry program that he has acquired the necessary skills to complete the program.

Doctor of Ministry Biblical Counseling Program

Program Requirements
This Doctor of Ministry degree requires a satisfactory completion of 30 hours of course work as prescribed in the curriculum.  The student is expected to maintain a GPA of at least 3.1, with no more than one C grade in the entire program.  The Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling or its educational equivalent (including at least one of the biblical languages from an acceptable seminary) and three years of ministry experience are prerequisite for admission.  Students with an MA deemed appropriate preparation for the biblical counseling ministry by the Director of the program who meets the prerequisites may apply. The doctoral committee will determine any additional prerequisites that may be required.

The Doctor of Ministry program, including the Internship may not be completed in less than three years.  The degree must be completed in seven years from the date of enrollment.  Students may apply to the doctoral committee for a one-year extension.

Course Requirements
Each Doctor of Ministry course offered includes approximately 2000 pages of reading that must be completed in the increments prescribed by the professor.  The professor must receive the following in evidence of the completion of the reading assignment:

Program Progression
Doctor of Ministry students will be required to complete the program at a minimum pace with that of their fellow cohort group. However, a student may request an exemption for one semester in writing to the Registrar and will not be charged a fee for the exemption. If the student fails to file for the exemption there will be an automatic continuation fee charged to the student's account.

A student will be considered to have a lapsed registration after one calendar year without activity.  The student will be required to request reinstatement and will incur a fee of $90.00 in addition to the continuation fee.

Program extensions after the initial five years will be granted for a maximum of three years, on a per year basis.  An extension fee, in addition to tuition, will be incurred at year six $200.00; year seven $300.00; and year eight $575.00. All extensions must be requested in writing at least thirty days prior to termination date. Students granted extensions beyond year six must meet any and all catalog/curriculum changes.

Candidacy
The Doctor of Ministry Committee will grant candidacy status upon the following criteria:

Internship Program
The setting or place of the internship program is to be arranged by the student with the DMin Director. The internship program should begin after accumulation of 15 hours of course work at a pace suited to the student accumulating 150 hours of supervised counseling before the last semester in which the student graduates. Ideally, the setting of the internship should reflect the commitment to biblical counseling. The purpose of the internship program is to provide the student the opportunity to apply biblical counseling. If this is not possible, the student shall inform the DMin Director how he or she is going to apply biblical counseling in a less than ideal setting. It is incumbent upon the student to set up the internship program with the DMin Director to insure that the setting and location of said internship will be appropriate or qualify to be an internship program. The internship program then provides the framework from which the student will write his or her project (see curriculum description DM9552 Biblical Counseling Internship Practicum for further information and a brief description of the dissertation paper below).

Dissertation or Project Program Capstone Paper and Oral Defense
BTS requires that the Biblical Counseling Doctor of Ministry degree program have a final Capstone project. This project is also explained in the Internship Practicum Preparation Seminar.

The student should be careful to meet all requirements of timing, form, and style (see below for details) when submitting the Capstone Project. The capstone project requires an oral defense before the DMin committee (composition of the committee will be: Chairman/supervisor, a faculty member at large chosen by the student and another biblical counseling professor approved by the supervisor).

The course capstone paper (the final paper for any Doctor of Ministry course that is intended to cap the knowledge acquired during the course for the student) is due within 90 days from the last day of the completion of the Internship.

Prior to the final submission of the paper, a student shall provide a rough draft of the paper by February 15th to his or her professor for the purposes of corrections, improvements, and other changes if need be. Subsequent to the submission and acceptance of the rough draft of the capstone paper, the student shall schedule an oral defense of his/her paper, preferably three weeks before the final date of submission which is April 1st or six weeks before the date of graduation.

The oral defense will be comprehensive in nature covering the whole of biblical counseling since the internship is comprehensive of the discipline. In addition, because of its comprehensive nature, the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is all relevant material for discussion.

Presentation of Capstone Project Paper
Following the oral defense based upon the completed and approved rough draft, the student will present the final draft to the DMin Director for approval.  Three copies of the final draft are required at least three weeks prior to commencement.The final draft copies must be printed on 20-24 point acid-free paper of 20% rag content.  Typeface should be Times New Roman 12 point font.

Two copies are bound for the institution and one for the student.  Fee is determined annually based upon current cost.  Students may acquire extra copies at the seminary cost if requested in writing at the time of submission.

Other Matters
All administrative concerns not specifically addressed with reference to the Doctor of Ministry Program in Counseling should be referenced to the Director of the program or the VP of Academic Affairs. The Doctor of Ministry degree is awarded to students upon the successful completion of the curriculum, completion of Qualifying Exam (after completion of 12 hours), Oral Defense of Internship Practicum, and the satisfactory completion of all financial obligations.

Curriculum

DM1111 Developing Effectiveness in Biblical Counseling—Howard Eyrich (3 credit hours)
Students will identify requisite qualities and skills necessary for successful Biblical Counseling, along with effective strategies to enhance personal effectiveness through applied models and constructs.

DM1112 Biblical Counseling and Human Physiology—Howard Eyrich/Sam Chastain (3 credit hours)
The purpose of this course is to provide the student with knowledge of the relationship between human physiology and human behavior and application of Biblical counseling principles to this relationship and appending problems.

DM1113 Biblical Hermeneutics for the Practice of Biblical Counseling - Thad James (3 credit hours)
The purpose of this course is to explore the interpretation and application of Scripture to human problems and the theoretical implications for the integration of psychology and theology.

DM9221 Biblical Counseling and Marriage & Family—Dave Matthews (3 credit hours)
The student will explore preventative measures that can be employed in the church to eliminate family problems as well as biblical strategies and methods of counseling to provide the rebuilding of broken relationships.

DM9222 Biblical Counseling and Ecclesiology, Legal Issues and Peacemaking—Howard Dial, Howard Eyrich and Glenn Waddell (3 credit hours)
This course will explore the role of counseling in the church, contemporary legal issues and the proactive role of the counselor in peace making.

DM9331 Biblical Counseling and Psychopathology— Howard Eyrich (3 credit hours)
Students will conduct extensive exploration of biblical categories of human problems in comparison to the DSM IV diagnostic system. Advanced Biblical Counseling approaches to anorexia, anxiety, obsessive/compulsive behaviors will be developed.

DM9332 Biblical Counseling and Psychological Assessment/Evaluation—Mark Shaw (3 credit hours)
Students will conduct an evaluation of the TJTA, the MMPI-II, the MBTI and other instruments in relationship to Biblical Counseling.

DM9441 Biblical Counseling Elective or Independent Study—Staff (3 credit hours)

DM9551 Biblical Counseling Internship Seminar —Staff (1/2 day-no charge)
A non-credit, but required seminar designed to prepare the student to conduct the Biblical Counseling Internship Practicum.

DM9552 Biblical Counseling Internship Practicum and Capstone Dissertation Project—Faculty Team (6 credit hours)
Student will complete 150 hours of counseling and case analysis (up to 15,000 words). Since this is a professional degree the Capstone Project will flow out of the Practicum experience and consist of 12,000 to 15,000 word personal reflection paper developing his/her development both professionally and personally through the internship and integration of the knowledge acquired in the program.

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