John K. Smarth

The notion of every pastor being a theologian and every Christian ought to be theologically informed may sound ridiculous to most contemporary believers. Living in an era where most pastors are more fascinated by pop culture than biblical ethics, truth, and theological aspects of the Christian faith, I think it is time to ponder the relevancy of theological knowledge in the Church of God. One thing I am certain of is that without the knowledge of proper theology: knowing who God is and his sovereign power, Christians will not fully understand their faith. Knowing God’s purpose for creation, his reaction to the first sin of humans, and his redemptive plan for fallen humanity would not make any sense to believers until they are conversant with some theological knowledge. Edward W. Klink III commented that “Scripture is the shorthand term for the nature and function of the biblical writings in a set of communicative acts which stretch from God’s merciful self-manifestation to the obedient hearing of the community of faith.”1 Theologian pastor] If his observation is accurate, it becomes an affirmation of why it is relevant for all Christians to be knowledgeable in theology to fully understand God’s dealings with ancient Israel and the application of those writings to believers of today.

Furthermore, with the strong influence of the Enlightenment period, modernism, and now the postmodernism era on the popular cultures of the West articulating subjective truth rather than objective truth of the Bible, Christian apologetics has never been more necessary than now. With “new Atheist narratives, they have spun a credibility-killing web around faith”2 making young Christian doubt their faith. If only the pastor will understand the theological interpretation of the “Good Shepherd” and his responsibility as defined by God, neglecting theological knowledge would be considered twice. According to Todd Wilson and Gerald Hiestand, “Whatever we may say about the work of pastor theologians, we must say first and always that pastor theologians are pastors, shepherds of the people of God.”3 No Christian can effectively defend the fundamental beliefs of the faith from atheists and those who embrace other worldviews with proper knowledge of theology. It is theology to gives a deeper meaning and understanding of biblical themes and doctrines to believers. It is a theology that enables the pastor and believers to understand that Scripture is the Spirit-breathed gift of God which grants wisdom to salvation and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, equipping the man of God for every good work (2 Tim 3:16–17).

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[1] Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan. The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2015). 139.

[2] Rebecca McLaughlin. Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion. (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2019).18.

[3] Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan. The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2015) 11.

Bibliography

Becoming A Pastor Theologian: New Possibilities for Church Leadership. Edited by Todd Wilson and Gerald Hiestand. Illinois: IVP Academic, 2016.

Vanhoozer J. Kevin and Owen Strachan. The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2015.

McLaughlin Rebecca. Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2019