Many Christians are living as unbelievers even though they attend church
service regularly. “Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them,” Jesus said
(Matthew 7:20). Although the context refers to false prophets, one can see the
lack of righteous fruits emanating from certain Christians. Thus, it would be
easy to dismiss them as false brethren, false prophets, or any other terms one
might use to indicate their inauthentic Christianity. However, this is not the
case. The main problem with this predicament is the lack of theological
teachings in the church.
Vanhoozer explains that “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.”1 Most pastors have abandon being a theologian for lack of
preparation, being busy with all sorts of activities, and therefore, are not
studying to show themselves approved unto God, a worker worthy of his calling
to rightly divide the word of truth (1 Timothy 2:15). When I procrastinate to
study for a preaching engagement, I resort to emotionalism, psychological, or
motivational preaching. It is much easier to grab a few well-known and
motivating scriptures and “bless” the people. Often the people react positively
to such messages. However, I know that they were not well-fed due to a lack
of theological nourishment.
Indeed, some Christians and ministers do not feel it is essential to be informed
or studied in Scripture, philosophy, history, etc., because they believe the Spirit
or the anointing is all they need. In my early years of walking with the Lord, I
was acquainted with the Bible. I did not know direct leaders who were into
theology, philosophy, and other social categories that the pastor must address.
Multiple believers are at that stage. It seems that many pastors are reluctant to
teach the people theologically. But if the church member is to function
effectively and accurately represent Christ in the world, they will have to receive
such a teaching. As Peter J. Leithart proposes, “Ecclesial biblical theology must
be theology for the church. This means that at least it should be written in
plain English (or French or Spanish or Swahili or Chinese)—winning, witty,
engaging English, but plain for all that. It should be readable by all who want to
read it.”2
Effectively, I believe the Christian and minister ought to be taught in ecclesial
biblical theology. Every believer indeed has a unique call to particular areas in
bringing the Gospel. Being educated both theologically, philosophically, socially,
etc., is of utmost importance.
Word Count: 434
c c c 1.Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan, The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming
a Lost Vision (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 1.
c c c 2. Becoming A Pastor Theologian: New Possibilities for Church Leadership. Edited by
Todd Wilson and Gerald Hiestand (Chicago, IL: IVP Academic, 2016), 10.
