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)?”2 f Hence 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
1 Kevin 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.
2 J 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.
3 The Pastor as a Public Theologian, 3.
