In this thread I will dive into why it is so important to be a theologically informed
Christian. We as believers must know the bible and truth well for multiple
reasons. It is sad that some churches and minsters/ministries do not believe this
is of the upmost importance. One of the books and chapters that stood out in
this week’s reading was in “The Pastor Theologian as Biblical Theologian”. In the
reading Peter J. Leithart “expresses a vision for an ecclesial biblical theology, a
biblical theology produced by pastors who serve local congregations for the
edification of fellow believers in their own and other churches (Leithart 2016).” I
feel it is extremely important to teach our churches deep theology, philosophy,
and church history. As Leithart mentioned, there is a biblical and theological
literacy problem within the church and we have to develop ways to help our
churches study the bible and history better. I know it is super popular in today’s
culture for pastors to only use 1-2 verses and then just share personal stories
and make people laugh for the remaining 30 minutes of the message. But our
people need more than that. We also need to teach them how to study God’s
word during the week. Another line that I thought was interesting in Leithart’s
book with regards to talking how biblical authority in culture has lost some
impact, “Scripture was demoted from sacred text to culture artifact as it was
subjected to the probing of new analytical tools (Leithart 2016).”It appears that
we are not (if we ever were) one nation under God. I live in Dallas, Texas where it
feels like there’s a mega-church on every street corner. Which sadly part of the
culture is that the bible is just a cool book to most people that has some
important life quotes. The bible has lost it’s sting to most of culture and in
response to that we need to dive deeper into theology, philosophy, and history not
shallower with our churches. 2nd Peter 3:18 says that believers need to, “But grow
in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Savior Jesus Christ.” Church leaders need
to do a better job at helping church members grow in the knowledge aspect. This
is so important because a more theologically informed Christian and Church can
better reach, evangelize, and disciple the world. If you yourself do not have good
theology then how will you answer any tough questions those around you who
don’t know Jesus will have? We must be prepared for any kind of question or
opposition.
Leithart, Peter. Becoming a Pastor Theologian. IVP. 2016.
