The Bible is the best indicator of what God expects for those that he has called to
shepherd his flock. 2 Timothy establishes the expectation for believers to be
theologians and have an ardent knowledge of the word of God for righteous living
and teaching. f The Bible tells the reader “Be diligent to present yourself approved to
God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2
Timothy 2:15, NKJV), in 2 Timothy, Paul expresses the importance of studying the
word of God which will be outwardly demonstrated in the teaching and living of
Timothy, to the believers that were looking to him as a physical representation of
Christian life.
This concept is the same today with Christian leaders in society. f Both believers and
non-believers looked upon as Christians leaders to be worldly representations of
Jesus Christ. f One of the biggest challenges faced by many in ministry, especially
women, is hearing the call to serve and assuming the call from God was the only
thing required. f However, what has been sorely lost in many churches is for the
pastors to adhere to the words of 2 Timothy 2:15 or 2 Timothy 3:14-17, where it tells
the reader that scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching and reproof. f One
must study the word and develop an understanding of the history behind the word. f
As written by Wilson and Hiestand, it is important for the pastor to also be a
theologian.
The pastor theologian must not only read scripture, but they must properly exegete
the text. f The pastor must not only establish a sound hermeneutical understanding of
the text, but they must perform ecclesial exegesis of the text (Wilson and Heistand,
2016,145). f This practice will entail a level of academia and intimate engagement of
the text. f As referenced earlier, many pastors hear the call and respond but fail to
seek higher level educational study to broaden their knowledge and understanding of
the history of the text in order to properly exegete the text, which often leads to
eisegesis. f Women in ministry are more readily inclined to be satisfied with the roles
assigned and never seek to gain additional knowledge for themselves. f Personal
experience resulted in a change of perspective. f With over thirty women ministers in
the pulpit, there are a limited number that have pursued a higher level of education
and understanding in biblical studies or theology. f There was an inward desire to
break the mold resulting in a personal pursuit to gain the knowledge in preparation
for the assignment as opposed to accepting the assignment and lacking the
knowledge. f As stated in the text it is necessary for women to play a greater role in
their pursuit of becoming pastor theologians (Wilson and Heistand, 2016, 169).
Reference list
Todd Wilson and Gerald Hiestand, Becoming a Pastor Theologian: New Possibilities
for Church Leadership, Downers Grove, IL, InterVarsity Press, 2016.
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