Sometimes I wish I had six lives. I would definitely spend a life studying anthropology and what makes MK’s tick. Another life would study South American History and why they have such a hard time with democracy. And at least one would be for developing women’s ministry teams. Then I would spend one reading what all my missionary colleagues have learned and gleaned from their years as educators, church planters and team builders.
I was in the educators meeting at the Orlando LAC retreat. Several people mentioned the theme of their Doctoral dissertations. Others are writing a Master’s thesis. I asked Debbie Anderson if I could read hers. Jim Mazurek’s thesis for Facultad ended up being a book on Apostolado that we all need to read. Rocky Grams, my brother, ended up with a book on the Argentine revival with his thesis. Mike Peterson did his dissertation on “Led By The Holy Spirit”: The Missionary Career, Leadership, Thought, and Influence of Alice Eveline Luce”, a woman who had an unparalleled influence on revival and missionary involvement in Latin America. My husband Mike tracked 423 Bible School students for a year, doing his Master’s thesis on issues of Retention and Attrition in Higher Theological Education.
What an amazing wealth of resources if we were aware of each other’s papers and research developed as missionary educators.
I mentioned this in our ACLAME meeting and we would like to throw out a challenge to all of our missionaries in the LAC area. Tell us your name, title of your dissertation or thesis, and a short blurb on what it’s about, and where your degree is from. We’ll compile this information into a file that can be accessed as an idea exchange for your colleagues. Maybe you’ll invite one of them to speak on the topic for an event you’ll be sponsoring with their specific information. Or just ask if you could read their material and be enriched by it.
So many times we work hard and develop a wealth of knowledge on a key subject. And all too often, only a professor or a few academic advisors from the University reads it. Yet most of our work has to do with what we are doing as missionaries in Latin America, data that could be of help to many others.
Would you consider sharing your information with us? We’re not asking for your work in electronic form. Just let us know what you’ve done, the title of the work, and any other information that might be of interest to someone who would get in touch with you to investigate further.
If you’re open, we’ll share what’s compiled at a later date. We need to cheer each other on to love and good works and celebrate each other’s accomplishments!
MonaRé Shields
If you’d like to network your resources please email the following information to this address:
- Name
- Title of Thesis
- One paragraph about what it is about.
- Master /Doctorate/ from Where
Mona, thanks for this excellent idea. I agree completely. We will all be better served if there is a means of sharing information about different themes we are researching. This is precisely the kind of service ACLAME needs to offer. Thanks again for taking the initiative on this. Blessings!
Mona, I, too, think this is a great idea. I hope that “modesty” doesn’t reign here, leaving us with no papers to enjoy. I would like to see a copy of the thesis Mike wrote on Bible school attrition. Maybe you can encourage him to share it with the rest of us. Thanks.