Introduction
Does a pastor need a seminary degree? It’s a question with more nuance than a simple yes or no. Pastor Jim Butler walks through what the Bible actually requires of men who would lead and teach in the church, where formal education fits in, and why the standard should be high regardless of whether a man serves full-time or in a supporting role.
Got a question on Christianity, Gospel, Scripture, Theology? Submit your own questions here.
Transcript
Summary Keywords: Seminary necessity, pastoral ministry, biblical qualifications, self-study, sound doctrine, apostles, eldership, teaching aptitude, theological education, part-time pastors, vocational ministry, online seminary, self-discipline, pastoral experience, church leadership.
Speakers: Wim Kerkhoff, Pastor Jim Butler
Is Seminary Essential?
Wim Kerkhoff 00:07
So, yeah, Jim, how necessary is seminary for pastors? Is there a difference for full time versus vocational? There are biblical qualifications, how much training? Where somebody’s just done good self-study, and they’re apt to teach, and they’ve got the desire, can they preach? Yeah, I know you’ve got lots of thoughts.
Pastor Jim Butler 00:28
Good question. So how necessary is seminary for pastors? I’m going to have to nuance this. It’s not essential. I mean, if you look at the disciples of our Lord, the apostles of our Lord, they didn’t go off to the master seminary. They were with the Master for three years. And that was a sort of informal seminary training.
There are famous autodidacts in the history of the church, self-taught people. Spurgeon, John Gill, brilliant towers of biblical and theological knowledge. But a Spurgeon or a Gill comes around very infrequently. I think most men aspiring for the Christian ministry need to embrace that they’re probably not Spurgeon and they’re probably not Gill.
So is there a hard and fast rule that says thou must go to seminary if you pursue the pastoral ministry? No.
The Church as Pillar and Ground of the Truth
Now, having said that, the primary function of the church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. So you want your best men, and I don’t mean best in terms of ontology, he’s a better man than me. At some fundamental level, you need your best men in terms of understanding Scripture and theology to function in that capacity, that is, proclaiming the pillar and ground of the truth.
The qualifications for pastors or elders is very conspicuous in 1 Timothy chapter 3. The virtues, he must be a one-woman man, he must not be a lover of money. Those things should be common among all of God’s people. I think Paul’s point is there needs to be demonstrable faithfulness in those virtues. But there’s a particular gift unique to the eldership: he must be apt to teach.
“Apt to Teach” and the Call to Sound Doctrine
By virtue of that, a man that’s apt to teach, it’s obvious that he’s learned, he has the ability to teach. Again, Ezra set his heart to study the law, to do it, and then to teach. He didn’t just show up and teach. He studied so that he could teach as well.
The emphasis on sound doctrine in the pastoral epistles, sound doctrine, not tongues, not prophesying, not coffee time with all the sheep in the church. It’s on sound doctrine. Having finished John’s Gospel in John 21 in the epilogue, the restoration of Simon Peter. Do you love me? Yes, then feed my sheep. Do you love me? Yes, feed my sheep. Do you love me? Feed my sheep. What’s the point? Well, church, you’re supposed to feed the sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the primary function as the pillar and ground of the truth.
Do We Want Educated Men in the Pulpit?
So do we want guys that don’t know that much, or do we want guys that know a lot? I’d argue that we want guys that know a lot. Now, some guys again, there are autodidacts, guys that can teach themselves a lot. There are probably people that have a lot of skill on the body. They’ve read a lot of medical manuals. Well, if I’m going in for brain surgery, I want a guy that went to the best place, that has the steadiest hand and is the most accomplished and capable before he jumps into my brain. I don’t know why the church would settle for less.
And I would argue as well, the command to give double honor to those who rule well in 1 Timothy 5:17, honor in that passage has to do with payment. I know there are churches that say pastors shouldn’t be paid, which I don’t understand. How does a guy who sits in a cubicle for eight to ten hours a day deserve to be paid, but a pastor who labors in the Word and doctrine doesn’t? Paul says those who preach the Word should live by that. Give double honor to those who rule well, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.
The overarching assumption seems to be an educated ministry, educating the people of God, men capable of feeding the sheep of God.
So is seminary absolutely essential? No. But I would definitely recommend it, and I would definitely recommend good ones. What can happen is that theologically conservative men can go to liberal colleges and come out liberal, or come out apostate. We need institutions that work in conjunction with churches, with elders’ influence and professors that have pastoral experience. That, to me, would be the best thing, that they’re competent to educate men for the task of laboring in the Word and doctrine.
Full-Time vs. Part-Time Pastors
Now, in terms of full-time and part-time, if a guy is a vocational plumber but he has the aptitude to teach, he has the aptitude to preach, and he’s going to function in a support capacity, he’s not going to be the primary. We believe in a two-office ministry, pastor/elder/bishop and deacon, but within the pastor/elder role, some men labor more in the Word and doctrine and do more of the preaching and teaching ministry of the church.
So if a guy comes along who is vocationally engaged in another job but has the aptness to teach, I’m not convinced he needs to go to seminary. I am convinced he needs to be proven. I’m convinced he needs to read the books we recommend him to read, to have a good and robust understanding of the system of doctrine in our confession of faith, before we would utilize him. But if a guy is going to do it in a part-time capacity, and for him to uproot his family and go to seminary, yeah, I’m not convinced of that.
But a fellow whose life calling is to be a pastor, I would put him in the category of the guy whose life calling is to be a doctor. Go learn how to do it the best you can. The seminary gets you into the ballpark.
I just assumed that all pastors always read good books. Probably not the best assumption, but I bless God I had Dr. Richard Barcellos as my mentor, my longtime friend. I’ve known him probably 35 years now. He’s been very influential in my life, and crucial in terms of my understanding of pastoral ministry, including the point that I need to keep reading. Not only because I have to, but because I want to. I want to read, I want to learn, I want to understand more, so that I can be one who labors faithfully in the Word and doctrine, for the good of my own soul and my own growth.
But pastors that have a seminary background, that doesn’t get you off the hook. You need to keep up. There are things that come on the radar that do need attention, and I think pastors do well to keep up with at least some of those trends.
Wim Kerkhoff 08:45
So basically, for a full-time pastor, definitely seminary. But if they’re part-time, in a supportive role, could they be in the office of elder, preaching three or four times a year, just fill the pulpit when the primary pastor is away?
Can a Part-Time Elder Fill the Pulpit?
Pastor Jim Butler 08:58
Yeah, I don’t see anything precluding that. And the availability now, IRBS, for instance. I don’t want to make this an IRBS plug, but I guess I’m duty bound to do so. I believe in the faculty there. I think they have a first-rate, world-class faculty. Excellent men. Very skilled.
The brick-and-mortar school, as beneficial as going there and being around people and having access to your professors, it’s kind of not the world we live in anymore. With the availability of an online approach and with interactive video calls where you can raise your hand and interact with professors, you can talk to any of those guys at any time. They’re not inaccessible. So the modern approach to a good seminary education, it’s available.
Self-Discipline and the Weight of Pastoral Ministry
And the final thing I’ll say is that it’s going to take self-discipline and self-government and self-denial. I always tell guys that want to study a lot: take the time away from yourself, not your wife and kids. Either get up earlier or stay up later. The wife is losing her mind with the kids running around. Get up early. Stay up late.
Part of the pastoral ministry, and I think this goes underappreciated, it is hard. It is a very difficult work. It is not the most difficult. I’m not up at 2am shoveling coal. I bless God that I don’t have to do that. But it is tough and it is demanding.
Just as a doctor who loosens the wrong wire messes a patient up, and they could die, a pastor giving bad counsel or bad doctrine, they die and go to hell. Again, God is sovereign, but instrumentally, I don’t want to be the guy that helps somebody find hell quicker.
There’s a lot involved. The most educated, the most experienced, the most equipped we can be in terms of our own mental faculties, so that we can then present and teach to others, just seems like a no-brainer. Why would we want ignorant people in pulpits? We want smart people. You want smart people in operating rooms. You want smart people working on your car. You want smart people making your pizza. But when it comes to the church, he’s got such a nice heart, he has coffee with us all the time, he’s good at golf, he’s so sweet. I’m sorry, but can the guy preach the Word? That’s the job. Calling sinners to faith and repentance and feeding the sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ so they can deal with the issues of life.
Want more theological Q&A?
Explore the full Ask FGBC archive: https://www.freegrace.ca/ask
Got a question on Christianity, Gospel, Scripture, Theology? Submit your own questions here.
