Schrock retires from AMBS after 12 years of service
Published: September 23, 2025
By Annette Brill Bergstresser
ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Daniel P. Schrock, DMin, of Goshen, Indiana, has retired from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana. He concluded his roles as Curriculum Specialist for the Doctor of Ministry in Leadership program and Core Adjunct Faculty member on May 20, 2025.
Over 12 years, Schrock taught courses in spiritual direction and spiritual practices for both graduate-level and continuing education programs at AMBS. He also played an integral role in launching the seminary’s Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program in 2022.
“In both of his roles, Dan offered his always-patient, wise and compassionate perspective, drawing on his many years of effective pastoral ministry, leadership, spiritual direction and teaching,” said Jewel Gingerich Longenecker, PhD, Dean of Lifelong Learning. “Most recently, his investment in helping to launch and lead AMBS’s DMin program has been an extraordinary gift that will impact ministry leaders and the seminary for years to come.”
Schrock brought extensive experience and education in pastoral ministry and spiritual direction to his work at AMBS. He earned a Master of Arts in Theology from Chicago (Illinois) Theological Seminary (1987) and a Certificate in the Art of Spiritual Direction from San Francisco (California) Theological Seminary (1999). Working on his Doctor of Ministry in Christian Spirituality (2007) through Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, led him to write The Dark Night: A Gift of God (Herald, 2009). In 2016, he completed Supervisor Training for Spiritual Directors through Together in the Mystery in San Luis Obispo, California.
As a pastor, he served Lombard (Illinois) Mennonite Church (1990–91), Columbus (Ohio) Mennonite Church (1991–2002) and Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship in Goshen (2002–20), and he has offered spiritual direction for both individuals and groups since 1996. In 2007, he began a private spiritual direction practice specifically for Christian leaders.
In 2009, he joined AMBS as a guest instructor in Christian spirituality, often partnering with Marlene Kropf, DMin, Associate Professor Emerita in Spiritual Formation and Worship, as she led AMBS’s Spiritual Guidance program. Together, they co-edited An Open Place: The Ministry of Group Spiritual Direction (Morehouse, 2012).
Schrock became a Core Adjunct Faculty member in 2013, continuing Kropf’s work in spiritual guidance following her retirement. He also began developing and refining a series of three intermediate-level supervised seminars for students who wanted to grow in offering spiritual direction. These yearlong noncredit seminars eventually became Spiritual Direction: Foundations; Spiritual Direction: Mystery; and Spiritual Direction: Wisdom. Schrock said he especially enjoyed being in classes with students and watching their development over time.
According to Gingerich Longenecker, participants in Schrock’s courses consistently affirmed his skilled teaching, depth of wisdom, and experience.
“We heard from students that Dan’s thoughtfully chosen resources, organization and preparation for class set the stage for a rich learning experience,” she reflected. “They also appreciated his supervisory skills and his openness to making space for student discovery and discourse — helping them not only gain important skills, but also grow in self-awareness, deepen their prayer life and trust in the Spirit’s presence.”
Vice President and Academic Dean Beverly Lapp, EdD, described Schrock’s questions as “one of his most significant spiritual gifts.”
“You might hear Dan ask a question like, ‘How is your soul today?’” she reflected. “Each time I’ve experienced this, it feels fresh and surprising, and it reorients me. It’s amazing how one question can make one feel pastored to.”
In 2022, Schrock took on something he’d never imagined doing: launching a degree program. He was drawn to the opportunity to co-direct AMBS’s new DMin program with Gingerich Longenecker, whom he knew well from their shared work for AMBS’s Church Leadership Center. And he was excited about what the program could offer experienced pastors: opportunities to reflect on their leadership, deepen their theological insights and develop competencies that would help them minister effectively in their changing contexts — in turn benefiting the church.
Schrock worked with Gingerich Longenecker, Lapp, and President David Boshart, PhD, to design the program’s structure, curriculum and processes, and to choose faculty members. After the first year, he shifted his focus to serve as DMin Curriculum Specialist.
“This is, in a way, Dan’s second retirement, following his retirement from pastoring in 2020,” Lapp noted. “We’re so glad he chose to stay active with us for a few more years, and we’re grateful for the strong legacy he leaves at AMBS.”
Schrock, who is also a 1981 graduate of Goshen College, plans to continue offering spiritual direction. He and his spouse, Jennifer Halteman Schrock, attend Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship.
A search is in process for the next lead instructor for AMBS’s Spiritual Direction Seminars, which will resume in the 2026–27 academic year.
Located in Elkhart, Indiana, on ancestral land of the Potawatomi and Miami peoples, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs — all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God’s reconciling mission in the world. ambs.edu
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