Law and Theology (E.J.D.)

Program Overview

The Executive Juris Doctor (E.J.D.) in Law and Theology is designed for leaders who make decisions with legal consequences and want to make them wisely. Pastors, executives, school heads, and nonprofit directors meet the law constantly — in contracts, employment, safeguarding, governance, and public controversy — but they rarely have the time or the need to become practising lawyers. This program gives them legal fluency, and it pairs that fluency with the theological reflection that helps a leader decide what the law permits and what justice requires. Students begin with how legal systems work: the sources of law, courts and precedent, and how to read a statute, a contract, and a judgment. They then study contracts, liability, and risk, and regulation, compliance, and governance. The specialization adds a theology of law for leaders: the foundations of legal authority in natural law and Scripture, justice and mercy in institutional decisions, conscience and obedience when law and conviction conflict, and the ethics of power, accountability, and forgiveness inside organizations. Graduates lead churches, schools, ministries, and businesses with a clearer understanding of the law and a firmer moral compass. The executive capstone addresses a real decision in the student's own organization — a policy, a dispute, or a governance reform — and documents the legal analysis and theological reasoning behind it. The E.J.D. is a professional credential for leaders; it does not qualify graduates for bar admission or the practice of law.

Core Courses

• EJD 501 — Legal Systems and Legal Reasoning for Executives (6 credits)
• EJD 510 — Contracts, Liability, and Risk (6 credits)
• EJD 520 — Regulation, Compliance, and Governance (6 credits)
• EJD 611 — Foundations of Law for Theological Leaders (6 credits)
• EJD 621 — Justice, Mercy, and Institutional Decisions (6 credits)
• EJD 631 — Conscience, Obedience, and Public Witness (6 credits)
• EJD 690 — Executive Legal Capstone in Law and Theology (12 credits)

Admission Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from a recognized institution
• At least five years of professional, executive, or ministry leadership experience
• Statement describing the legal questions the applicant’s work regularly raises
• Current résumé or ministry profile
• Official transcripts from prior institutions when available
• Signed acknowledgment that the degree does not qualify the holder for bar admission or the practice of law