One aspect essential for Christians that have been long overlooked is
growing in the knowledge of theology. We have become accustomed to
attending church and simply being told what to believe. In many
believers, there is not that longing for a deeper understanding and
comprehension of the theologies found in the Scriptures.As pastors, we
have gotten used to being taxi drivers to our congregation in the sense
that we wait for them to get to us and drive them to where they want to
go and not where they need to go. In all of this, we are losing the fire and
passion for a deeper understanding of the nature of God and His Word.
Kevin Vanhoozer says, “The idea of the pastor as a theologian—one who
opens up the Scriptures to help people understand God, the world, and
themselves—no longer causes the hearts of most church members to
“burn within” them (Luke 24:32).”1
In addition, we have been driven by our desires to be relevant to the
culture and those around us that we have lost our commitment to being
students of His Words. We are more prone to teach only on the things that
sound good and are attractional as oppose to the whole counsel of God.
Robertson McQuilkin, in his book about Biblical Ethics, ask the question,
“What study could be more important for Christians than fulfilling the
purposes of God for their lives—a will that is for our good and our well-
being (Deut 6:24; 10:13)?”2Hence the necessity to study and to learn
about Theology. As times continue to get more problematic and difficult to
embrace, it should be our desire and commitment to be the type of people
that stand on solid ground. Without Theology, we are like a leaf that is
drifted away by the winds of our culture and society. We settle with the
role of being taxi drivers to our people as oppose to shepherds that teach
and directs their sheep in the direction that they need to go. Kevin says,
“Every pastor is responsible for communicating Christ and for ministering
God’s Word, at all times, to everyone, and in many ways. Ministering the
Word of God to the people of God is the pastor’s lifeblood.”3
1Kevin J Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan,The Pastor as Public Theologian:
Reclaiming a Lost Vision(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, A
Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2020), 1.
2J Robertson Mcquilkin and Paul Copan,An Introduction to Biblical Ethics:
Walking in the Way of Wisdom(Downers Grove, Il: Ivp, An Imprint of
Intervarsity Press, 2014), 23.
3The Pastor as a Public Theologian,!3.
