The Return of the Pastor-Theologian (HT: Owen Strachan)
“Pastors should stick to writing pop theology and Christian living stuff.” God forbid! Expounding God’s Word and reflecting on the nature of the atonement, etc., needs to be brought back into the domain of the church. We need a return to the days when pastors wrote theology that was richly theological, deeply biblical, historically informed, culturally aware, prophetic, and intelligent–not so it would be accepted by the academy, but so it would renew the church.
Peter Mead agrees: Pastors are Theologians.
A Tim Keller interview on poverty and inner-city ministry.
Grudem: The Lord’s Supper is more than a symbol. I believe the same about baptism.
Bill Kinnon rants. Dan MacDonald responds.
Kevin DeYoung on the cultural mandate – part one and part two
The danger of plans, programs, vision statements:
I fear that the cross, without ever being disowned, is constantly in danger of being dismissed from the central place it must enjoy, by relatively peripheral insights that take on far too much weight. Whenever the periphery is in danger of displacing the center, we are not far removed from idolatry” (D.A. Carson)
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Darryl, if those first two are correct, they really speak to the question of whether a seminary education is something a pastor needs. I say yes, but then I think a seminary education would be a benefit to anyone who desires to know, not only “what the Bible says to me,” but what it has said to the great cloud of witnesses down through the centuries. There are limitations to that mindset–Will Willimon illuminates these–but on the whole they do not outweigh the overall benefit, in my opinion.
Mike:
I think it goes beyond seminary education. Pastors are constantly pushed toward the practical side of ministry and away from theologizing – not that theology isn’t practical! We need to recover a model of pastoral ministry that is more theologically driven than many of the current models today.
I agree that it goes a long way beyond seminary education. It seems to me that theology is very practical or our theologizing is never done until it leads us to praxis. Agreed that many of us are pushed, pulled, even dragged into the practical without careful consideration of the presuppositions behind our ministry activity. Agreed that most of us do not take the time to consider carefully our theological presuppositions. I would suggest that what we need is a community pastoral model that bridges theological presuppositions and practical implications along with caring and courageous implementation of those implications. Without a community focus we will lose the accountability, encouragement, and work of the Spirit that we need in this process. So much more to talk and think about in this area.
I like. Theology needs to be written not just for scholars and clergy, but for the church. There is no reason members of the body can’t chew on substantial, nourishing food.
I don’t know that a seminary education is ‘required,’ but it sure can be a good place to learn with others.