“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
Certainly one of the crying needs of the church is the reinvigoration of the model of the pastor-scholar. While scholars are seldom pastoral in their orientation and aims, pastors are seldom theological, much less scholarly, in their thinking and practice. As a result, the church suffers from an overabundance of superficiality and a dearth of substance. What is needed for the long-term health and vibrancy of the church are pastors with scholarly heads and shepherding hearts.
3 comments ↓
Hear, Hear! I totally agree this is needed. The secular society around us deserves and demands a well thought and reasoned defense of our faith. Many evangelicals have abandoned the hard work of thinking through our faith. I think some great past examples of pastor-scholars are: G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Malcolm Muggeridge, with more contemporary examples like Ravi Zacharias, and Tim Keller, Chuck Colson, and more.
I totally agree. Even the teenagers desire this approach. They are up to the challenge and appreciate it as much or more than most adults. When the man that just presented the intellectually invigorating message demonstrates a heart for the people he shepherds, it is a veritable petri dish for growth!
I agree with the previous commentators as long as the scholar-pastor explains to the congregation words like explication and meta-narratives. Not everyone in your audience identifies with your educational achievements. For most of your audience, you will be their only professor-ever.
The pastor/scholar should also be a teacher and as you know the burden of a teacher is to ensure that most of your “class” understands where you’re coming from. The average person from CMC has not been to graduate school and will easily get lost without stories and illustrations to help guide them.
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