Pastor, Should You Be Ashamed?

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

In a recent conversation with an anesthetist, he told me that he was headed to a resort hotel where he was required to take another training seminar.  The curriculum was going to cover new techniques, new studies that have been published about health issues, new trends in the industry, etc.  The trip has its costs.  It is an imposition on his schedule, it will be expensive and he may already know much of the material that will be presented in class.  “But,” he said, “I have to go in order to keep my license.” 

Why?  Why doesn’t the medical profession association have faith in its members that they will keep themselves apprised of the latest developments?  Why don’t they accept the fact that most of the consumers of health products and practices are happy with their guys?  Why should they demand such a rigorous education to become a health professional, and then keep badgering those who have earned their degrees to know more and more?  The answer is simple:  responsibility to the public.  The bottom line is that health care professionals, despite their masters’ or doctors’ degrees, are still servants.  While they may be handsomely rewarded for their work, their primary goal is not to make money or to swagger with the prestige associated with the job, but to serve their patients in the best possible way.

Let’s now switch tracks to the ministry—which, by the way, means “servant.”  What are pastors and preachers doing to keep their knowledge and skills on the cutting edge?  (And also, by the way, I didn’t bring this up.  Blame the Apostle Paul for this.)  Is the world of biblical knowledge so simple that nothing more than a basic education is needed?  Is the anointing of the Holy Spirit enough to cover any of the gaps in training?  Wouldn’t more education just result in an elitist corps of ministers more interested in becoming intellectual snobs than serving people?  Wouldn’t it be a huge waste of time, energy and money to sit around in classrooms instead of pulling souls out of the gutters of sin?  Isn’t the call of God on one’s life all that’s necessary to qualify him or her to do the work? 

You may look at these questions as casting unfair aspersions on sincere ministers who are already doing a good job and who are probably overworked and underpaid.  That’s seeing it from the standpoint of the minister.  That’s like the servant saying to the master, “Quit complaining.  I’m doing a good enough job.  You don’t need anything more than what I am giving you.  You’re fine.”  The irony of the matter is that the master (in this case, the congregation) could actually agree with the servant.  But the laity may not understand that something is being withheld from them, or that there is a better way to do something, or that something being taught to them is in error. 

Paul’s instruction to Timothy was to study.  Study involves curriculum, reading, writing, note-taking, time, concentration and learning.  Beneficial study requires a hungry attitude, an active mind and a sensitivity relevant to the needs of people.   But there is another stipulation attached to the Apostle’s order to study.  The servant studies in order to “show himself to be approved unto God.”  Approval is what a grading system is all about.  All students have to be tested to determine whether or not they have mastered the material.  In other words, students cannot design their own course of study and do just enough to satisfy themselves.  This means that there must be prescribed curriculum, course requirements and a way to measure progress.  This was true with Paul’s education and it is certainly true of the educational system in our day. 

I don’t mean to be rude or brutal, but the preacher who doesn’t know what he is talking about should be ashamed of himself!  The minister who is more caught up in the prestige of the position than actually serving people has cause for shame.  A license to preach must mean more than getting a one-time approval for ministry.  Licenses can become obsolete.  The changing times demand that the ministry should continually upgrade itself and become aware of the needs of people in these days.  Preachers who are preaching to 1990’s congregations in 2016 are doing a great and inexcusable disservice to a congregation. 

Should we develop a continuing education system?  Should we require continuing education as a means to keep one’s license?  Those are legitimate questions that we must ask ourselves.  If our intent is elitism, then obviously not.  But if we are truly interested in serving people to the best of our ability, then it is something substantial for us to consider.  Whatever we decide, we must not bow our heads in shame because we failed to be the best we could be. -JMJ