To begin, I want to be clear on one thing:
Though in this post I encourage all pastors to be “scholars”, I am not referring to men with multiple degrees or the priority of doing your graduate work overseas. Rather, a scholar is simply “a learner person” or “a specialist in a given branch of knowledge”. All pastors can and should pursue a reasonable and self-defining level of biblical scholarship.
It is without debate that John Calvin is the standard par excellence for the Pastor-Scholar.
One author wrote,
“As far as John Calvin was concerned, almost nothing was more urgent for the church than the reformation of pastoral ministry. For centuries, most ministers had been shockingly ignorant of the Scriptures and thus ill-equipped to preach the gospel.
As Calvin said in one debate with a Catholic cardinal (pretending to defend the Protestant cause before God): ‘Those who were regarded as the leaders of faith neither understood Thy Word, nor greatly cared for it. They drove unhappy people to and fro with strange doctrines, and deluded them with I know not what follies.’”
This author continues,
“In order for his ministry to have this effect, the minister had to be faithful in interpreting and applying the Scriptures. This, in turn, required careful study. Although his preaching was not for a scholarly audience, Calvin took a scholarly approach to his preparation. Typically, he preached through whole books of the New Testament (or the Psalms) on Sundays and from the Old Testament the rest of the week. In both cases he preached directly from the Bible in its original languages.”
Convicted, yet? I am.
Here are 4 reasons pastors need to be scholars:
Reason #1—The spiritual condition of men deserves it.
It is good to remember that a medical doctor spent years of his/her life training to be able to save a life or at least to improve a life. Every patient wants to know their doctor is not just competent, but eminently skilled in his/her trade. Yet this training is focused on this present world and it offers no relief for the spiritual or the eternal.
Does this mean the spiritual is more important than the physical? In one sense…..yes, in other sense…..no. God created and designed humanity to be eternal beings, composed of both body and soul. Yet the reality is that the physical, though important, is temporal and the spiritual is eternal.
Here are a couple verses that elevates the eternal over the temporal:
1 Timothy 4:8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
Therefore, does it seem right that most medical doctors are more skilled and knowledgeable of their trade than most pastors are regarding their own trade?
Reason #2—The ability to counsel others requires it.
Why does a Pastor have to be a scholar to counsel others? Doesn’t scripture instruct Christians to counsel Christians (Col. 1:28)? Yes, it does. But the reality is that Pastors should be skilled to handle the most difficult problems of the sheep, since this is his Spirit-endowed gift to the local church (Eph. 4:11). How it must grieve God when His undershepherds “farm out” hurting and lost individuals to Christian pop psychologists who have a painfully low view of the sufficiency of scripture!
Is biblical counseling hard, humbling and time-consuming? Absolutely. Yet I have found that nothing keeps the pastor from becoming an ivory-tower theologian than looking across the table at broken and hopeless people. Through the pain of their decisions, they are looking for a spiritual doctor, a Pastor-scholar or maybe more specifically a “spiritual Pastor/Scholar/Doctor” who will not only assess their problem, but help them towards the goal of progressive sanctification.
One last thing: I am saying the Pastor has to deal with every counseling situation? No, of course not! But a good under-shepherd who truly cares for his flock will be faithful to train others to be the “counseling extension” of the leadership of the local church (2 Tim. 2:2).
Reason #3—The proper interpretation of scripture requires it.
If scripture is authoritative (which it is), then it is sufficient for every aspect of the Christian’s life. Yet this sufficiency is only enjoyed if it is applied by the Christian to his/her life.
So….you are saying….just apply God’s word to my life….that sounds easy enough.
But remember this: Correct application is only possible when you have arrived at the correct interpretation.
You might ask, “Is finding the proper interpretation hard to do?” Well, the degree of difficulty depends on a number of factors: 1) the prerequisite of conversion; 2) spiritual maturity and 3) the illumination of the Holy Spirit. But here is the universal truth: Correct interpretation takes hard work. It is hard work examining the context, both broad and narrow. It is hard work understanding the grammar and syntax of the original languages. It is hard work mining down to the goal of authorial intent.
Oh….and we can’t forget the priority of prayer to remind and forge within the Christian a humble, teachable heart.
Reason #4—Ignorance breeds lack of trust and respect.
The sad reality is that Pastors are not respected today. I am sure there are many reasons, but I would guess this reason is “near the top”. MANY PASTORS DON’T HAVE ANSWERS. Again, I am not asserting that the occasional, “I am not sure” or “I don’t know” is inappropriate. I am sure at times honesty demands it. But if this is the common answer to any question of difficulty or if this is the consistent answer to anything off the script of Sunday’s sermon….then you are a disgrace to the gospel ministry and the reason many people claim that Christians are ignorant, crazy fundamentalists, who are “out of touch” with the culture and worldviews of the 21st century.
Please, Pastors and Christians…..know your Bible and know your God.
If people don’t like your assessment of their situation because it is according to the word of God or because they are nauseous from the offensive smell of the gospel, you can be confident the Self-existence One is clapping in the Heavenly places. But if you return a blank stare or an embarrassed mumble, shame on you.
You have proved yourself to not only be an ignorant follower of Christ but also passively suggested that Jesus Christ is not really worth following at all.
