Is There Life after Completing the PhD Thesis?

Yes, there is life after submission, but it is still rather hec-
tic. Ever since I submitted on 21 January, I have had sev-
eral things on my mind. Mind you, I have been making ev-
ery effort to decompress from the final submission run: I've
taken long naps, been sleeping in, and reading fun stuff, too.
But I haven't been able to slack off too much.

Just because I have submitted my PhD thesis does not mean
that I have my PhD. By 21 April 2008, I have to defend the
argument of my thesis to two academics who know my field
of research, the theology of mission. Based on a close reading
of my thesis, they will determine whether I am granted a PhD
degree or not. I am still waitng to hear the date of my oral de-
fense and will write more about this when I know more.

For the past week I have been working on extending my stu-
dent visa that expires at the end of January. Since I have sub-
mitted my thesis, I have found that I am on shaky ground
as a student. Despite my flimsy status, I have been advised
to present my case for an extension. However I still have to
be prepared to return to the USA for a brief time if those ef-
forts fail. I'll keep you posted.

The biggest news for me is that a committee of the Church
of Scotland has assessed my qualifications and experience as
a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and determined
that I meet their criteria for entering a process of transfering
my ordination from the PC(USA) to the Church of Scotland.
I discern a strong calling from the Lord to remain in Scotland
as both a scholar and minister. Even though I have no idea
how that will work itself out, I can do no other than plan to
stay in Scotland for the time being as a minister in the Church
of Scotland. I covet your prayers and will keep you informed
as the process unfolds.

While I have these three crucial items to attend to, I eagerly
await time to decompress in the near future.

Blessings and peace to all of you.

Three Things I Did Before I Submitted the thesis

The process of researching, writing, and submitting my PhD
thesis has been my sole focus for over four years now. I came
here for no other reason and I committed myself to accom-
plishing the task. I rid mysef of anything that hindered me
from completing such an undertaking.

I have identified three routines that helped me to carry out
this process: a rhythm of daily morning prayer, regular
times of journaling at a local coffee shoppe, and frequent
walks on a nearby bluff that overlooks the North Sea.
Those three were foundational during my four years here.
Without them my life would have been disordered, dis-
tressed, and in disarray. They helped me to keep in relation-
ship with the Lord, to be in touch with myself, to connect
with people, and to enjoy the finer things of life.

Last Monday, just a couple days ago, the 90,ooo plus words
of my thesis were stored in my memory stick ready to be
printed out on paper. Since I had over an hour before the
printing office opened I did what I have done for most of my
four years here. I took a brisk walk along the top of the bluffs
and was re-energized by the fresh air. I remembered concerns
I had expressed to God and was reminded of God's lovingkind-
ness and faithfulness. Then it was time for morning prayer at
the University Chapel. Since it was Monday,I was the only one
there. But I knew I was not alone. I went over to the coffee
shoppe for a hot chocolate. I was too excited to journal, but I
shared with a friend, a fellow PhD student, that I was submit-
ting within the hour. When the printing office opened, I had
three copies of the thesis printed out. Within an hour they were
delivered to the college office.

It was important to me to do those three things because they
had been so foundational to my life here. Now that the thesis
has been submitted I probably will never go back to it the way
I had done. But I will always do some variation of each of the
three things I did before I submitted. I'll share more about
each of those in future postings.

Peace and blessings in Jesus to you and yours.

Birth Announcement

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT

It's a PhD thesis!

Name: 'The Ecumenical Third World Missiology
of Orlando E. Costas'

Delivered by Jeff Tippner
St. Mary's College office, University of St. Andrews

10:30 am, Monday, 21 Jan. 08

Length: 243 pages

Weight: 90,000 words, 946 footnotes

Thesis has no hair and does not cry!

Godfather: Prof. Mario Aguilar

Both thesis and postgrad student are doing well