Students present first doctoral dissertations at AMBS
Published: March 25, 2026
By Annette Brill Bergstresser
ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, marked two historic days on Jan. 29 and March 4: the first two public presentations of professional doctoral dissertations in the seminary’s new Doctor of Ministry in Leadership (DMin) program, which launched in January 2023.
Janeen Bertsche Johnson, MDiv, of Goshen, Indiana, presented her dissertation at AMBS and via Zoom on Jan. 29, and James Rissler, PhD, of Macon, Georgia, presented his at Atlanta (Georgia) Mennonite Church and via Zoom on March 4. They’ll be the first two students to complete the program when they graduate on May 2.
“Both of these first two DMin presentations beautifully illustrated the academic rigor and pastoral heart that define AMBS,” said Jewel Gingerich Longenecker, PhD, DMin Program Director. “While thoroughly researched, these projects aren’t just academic exercises; they represent vital, transformative work that speaks directly to the challenges and opportunities facing the church today.”
Johnson’s dissertation, “Healing after the Shame of Difficult Ministry Endings,” reviewed psychological, biblical and pastoral writing on shame and on healing from shame. She interviewed five Mennonite pastors about how they found healing after a difficult and shame-inducing end to a pastoral role. Common themes of healing that emerged included distancing (through time, space and boundaries), spiritual grounding, processing and releasing pain, affirmation of the interviewees’ ministry gifts and identity, and understanding the shame event.
Johnson’s interviewees also described experiences of transformation — separating from the shame, developing compassion toward themselves and others, observing personal healing and growth, renewing pastoral identity and moving toward forgiveness. Johnson hopes that her study will be a helpful resource for people who have had painful experiences of shame.
The committee members for Johnson’s presentation included Gingerich Longenecker and Leah Thomas, PhD, of AMBS; and John Hershberger, PhD, of Goshen, Indiana. J. Nelson Kraybill, PhD, of Elkhart, Indiana, served as the external reader.
Rissler’s dissertation, “How Faith-Adjacent People Experience Spirituality in Wild Church,” focused on the spirituality of people attending Atlanta Mennonite Church’s Wild Church experiment who identify as spiritual but not religious. Through interviewing six faith-adjacent individuals and conducting a focus group with five Wild Church leaders, he found that they experience spirituality in nature, emphasize feelings of spirituality over intellectual reflection about it, value slowing down and being attentive, seek without needing to know or fully understand their spirituality, and value communities of care.
In light of these values, Rissler believes that his study may offer insights to communities of faith that are interested in broadening their sense of community to include faith-adjacent people, while not expecting them to join other forms of worship or to understand their spirituality in Christian terms.
The committee members for Rissler’s presentation included Gingerich Longenecker and David Boshart, PhD, of AMBS; and Sarah Werner, PhD, of Columbus, Ohio. Larry Miller, PhD, of Atlanta, Georgia, served as the external reader.
Program background
AMBS’s DMin in Leadership program was the first in the United States to be deliberately developed with an Anabaptist framework. It was also the first DMin in the U.S. and Canada approved by the Association of Theological Schools to be designed from the outset as a competency-based program.
According to Gingerich Longenecker, the 32-credit-hour program is designed to help ministry professionals strengthen their leadership capacities by building on what they’ve learned in their prior studies and leadership roles.
Students in the program complete online coursework while based in their professional ministry or leadership context, coming to the AMBS campus each January for a week of intensive in-person class sessions. This allows them to put their new understandings of leadership into practice in real time and to reflect on how what they’re learning is deepening their leadership identity, she said.
Each student develops a customized learning plan around their needs and goals and focuses on gaining competence in five key areas: Anabaptist Leadership, Intercultural Leadership, Teaching Leadership, Change Leadership and Resilient Leadership. Students also take core leadership courses, develop a leadership portfolio and complete a doctoral research project with the goal of generating new knowledge on a specific practice of ministry.
Gingerich Longenecker said she has been excited to see strong interest in the program since its inception. The program currently has 24 students in four cohorts — representing 14 U.S. states and one Canadian province.
“It’s been wonderful to see students at this level dive into these opportunities for learning and growth in leadership with both enthusiasm and dedication,” she reflected. “I’m particularly heartened by the supportive relationships that are being formed as we gather each January for our in-person courses. And I’m energized to see students engaging deeply in topics that are close to their hearts for their doctoral research projects.”
Students can complete AMBS’s DMin program in as few as three years and as many as six years. Each student is part of a cohort of peer learners and has a faculty mentor and an advisory ministry group to guide their studies.
Applications for the January 2027 cohort are due Sept. 15. To learn more or apply, see ambs.edu/dmin.
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
Want to receive AMBS news and updates via email?