Redemptive Imagination in the Marketplace Cohort
Doctor of Global Leadership
Final Application Deadline: August 7, 2026
Final Decisions Sent: August 21, 2026
Fall Quarter Starts: September 28, 2026
Important note: This cohort is designed specifically for applicants who do hold a professional master's degree (such as an MBA, JD, Edu, etc.) but do not hold a theological Master's degree. This doctorate program is specifically designed for marketplace and ministry leaders who have extensive experience in the marketplace or nonprofit ministry and are interested in pursuing a theological doctorate degree without a second theological master's level training. Theological studies will be embedded into the course of study throughout the cohort.
Cohort Description
In a rapidly changing world, leaders across industries and sectors are uniquely positioned to be agents of God’s redemption and renewal as they seek answers to the most pressing challenges of our times. In corporations and nonprofits, in entrepreneurial endeavors, and in educational institutions, we need leaders who are both oriented by the hope of Christ and equipped to energize systems and people toward a wide array of systemic changes and prophetic possibilities that align with the mission of God at work in the world. Eminently practical and deeply theological, this cohort seeks to equip students to integrate their faith with their work in a way that produces generative experiments, renewed relationships, and meaningful results that ignite change in whatever context they lead.
Year 1: The Mission of God and Flourishing (14 units)
Fall 2026 (MB769): Sep-Dec, 2026 (Online)
Winter 2027 (MI770): Jan-Mar, 2027; Hybrid: Online and In-Person Pasadena, CA, Feb. 24-27, 2027
Spring 2027 (MI771): Mar-Jun, 2027 (Online)
Students will learn practical theology methods, which will serve as an enduring framework for their entire program so that they might listen deeply to the needs of their context, understand what is going on, discern what ought to be going on, and eventually produce a strategy for the way forward. We will dive deep into both the listening task of practical theology by putting our contexts alongside the stories of Jesus in order to set a biblical and theological foundation for God’s redemptive arc of work alive in the world today. Finally, by the end of year one, students will develop a research question that will guide their studies and the development of their final doctoral project.
Year 2: Prophetic and Redemptive Imagination (14 units)
Fall 2027 (MB774): Sep-Dec, 2027 (Online)
Winter 2028 (MB773): Jan-Mar, 2028; Hybrid: Online and In-Person Pasadena, CA, Feb. 23-26 ,2028
Spring 2028 (MB775): Mar-Jun, 2028 (Online)
Students will build on topics covered in the first year as they prepare to do their own original data collection in their context—learning to ask deep questions about what God is up to in their context. To do so, we will draw on biblical and theological sources that help illuminate these concepts in today’s marketplace. By the end of year two, students will be actively engaged in their dissertation work through both data collection and increasingly individualized reading lists and have engaged in biblical and theological frameworks that support renewed imagination in their context.
Year 3: Contextual Analysis and Inner Life of a Leader (14 units)
Fall 2028 (MB774): Sep-Dec, 2028 (Online)
Winter 2029 (MB773): Jan-Mar, 2029; Hybrid: Online and In-Person Pasadena, CA, Feb. 21-24, 2029
Spring 2029 (MB775): Mar-Jun, 2029 (Online)
Whether students are seeking to energize their people to overtly join God’s mission of redemption or engage in work that aligns with it, this work is hard. Given that, a critical component of leadership is tending to our own souls. In this year, and with all the learnings from years one and two in tow, students will engage a variety of resources that seek to engage their own spiritual, psychological, and emotional capacities, all the while continuing to press forward in their individual data collection and dissertation projects. In addition, this year will feature opportunities for online peer-to-peer and professor-student coaching conversations, working through students’ doctoral projects.
Year 4+: Dissertation (12 units)
Fall 2029 (MI772): Sep-Dec, 2029 (Online)
Winter 2030 (ML790A): Jan-Mar, 2030 (Online)
Spring 2030 (ML790B): Mar-June, 2030 (Online)
At this stage, and guided by the frameworks from years one through three, students have experimented with leading for redemptive imagination in their specific work context. Now, in year four, the work done so far culminates in a contextually focused project including a research-based dissertation that helps students articulate and disseminate findings related to their change/innovation project.
Cohort Mentor
Michaela O’Donnell
She is the author of two books, Life in Flux: Navigational Skills to Guide and Ground You in an Ever-Changing World written with Lisa Pratt Slayton (Baker Books, 2024), and Make Work Matter: Your Guide to Meaningful Work in a Changing World (Baker Books, 2021).
Co-Professors and Guest Lecturers: Michaela is joined by a dynamic set of co-professors and guest lecturers, including folks such as: Mycal Brickhouse, Gustavo Santos, Uli Chi, and more!
Mycal Brickhouse
Dr. Brickhouse, is the program director for the new FORWARD Consortium. Brickhouse is a seasoned leader with extensive experience in managing multi-million-dollar grant programs and cultivating collaborative partnerships. Working at the intersection of faith, leadership, and community empowerment, he previously served as director of programs and grants at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School. Brickhouse is an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, with a decade of experience as an associate and senior pastor. He holds dual BA degrees in political science and African American studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MDiv and DMin from Duke Divinity School. He is also a graduate of the Black Theology and Leadership Institute at Princeton Theological Seminary and the Millennial Leaders Project at Union Theological Seminary. Actively committed to the work of reconciliation, justice, and community uplift, Brickhouse serves on the Board of Directors for NeighborUp, formerly Dorcas Ministries.
Rhonda Butler
Rhonda C. Butler is a leadership scholar, ordained minister, executive coach, consultant, and sought-after speaker with more than 25 years of experience developing leaders across higher education, ministry, and corporate settings. Throughout her career, she has helped leaders and organizations navigate growth, transformation, and change, while equipping emerging and established leaders to lead with greater effectiveness and purpose.
Most recently, Dr. Butler served as a leadership and management faculty member at High Point
University, where she was the Founding Executive Director of Women’s Leadership, Inaugural Director of the Women’s L.I.F.T. (Leading and Inspiring Female Trailblazers) Fellowship, and former Director of the MBA Program. Through visionary leadership, innovative development initiatives, mentorship networks, and strategic partnerships, she helped prepare the next generation of leaders for success in their careers, communities, and callings.
Prior to High Point University, Rhonda served as a management faculty member at Elon University and Bennett College, where she was the inaugural Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Institute for Young Women. She also served as a National Director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA, providing leadership development and spiritual formation for students, faculty, and campus ministers across the country.
Rhonda resides in North Carolina, where she also serves as an Associate Minister. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, traveling, supporting college athletics, and exploring new culinary experiences. She is passionate about integrating faith and leadership to help people flourish, strengthen organizations, and advance the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Important Dates
Final Application Deadline: July 31, 2026
Final Decisions Sent: August 21, 2026
Fall Quarter Starts: September 28, 2026
Contact
Office Hours
Monday – Friday
8 am – 5 pm (Pacific Time)
To view in-person welcome center hours for Pasadena, Arizona and Houston, click here.