Our times are not unique for the fact that Christians ask and are asked hard faith-related questions. But the conditions of our times have increased them to an exceptional degree. Our times are conditioned by massive thought diversity, and we are awash with more information than we know what to do with. For this reason (among others) the cultivation of Christians and churches that thrive is more challenging than it has been in the past. We have need for intellectual formation that is geared for these realities that churches face.

To meet this need, I would like to pitch the idea of regional and national fellowships of pastor-theologians.

The idea of “pastor-theologians” is not new. Many (or most, or even all) of the great thinkers from Christian history were also pastors who took responsibility for local congregations. There has been a lack of pastor-theologians identified in contemporary Christianity, although there are also signs that this is correcting. The vision of pastor-theologians has been displayed well in Hiestand and Wilson’s book The Pastor Theologian: Resurrecting an Ancient Vision, and this book is well worth reading (you can read my summary of it HERE). Not every pastor needs to be a deliberate theologian, although every pastor should recognise that to their people, they are one.

Here is my vision for what fellowships of pastor-theologians could look like.

My own vision for either or both regional and national pastor-theologian fellowships is that of local lay-experts who can invest themselves in one or more topics more deeply than their regular church responsibilities might require. This investment is for the support of church leaderships and to serve local congregations. Their role would be to promote theological formation in their wider church networks and assist in supporting challenges of a theological nature, insofar as they relate to their subjects of focussed attention. Operating in fellowships allows for a distribution of topic specialization within a wider network of churches and provides for mutual sharpening and spurring between pastor-theologian colleagues.

Primary responsibility for a church is held by their pastors and elders, but the complexity and array of topics that might require attention is beyond the scope of one pastor or one eldership. This alone points to the need for regional networks that develop and promote local lay-experts (or actual academic experts where available) who can be called upon to troubleshoot when the need arises. To do this, churches must recognise that an important part of some pastors’ role will require them to leave others tasks to be taken up by others in the church. Pastors must be freed to give attention to the important at the expense of the urgent.

It should be readily acknowledged that an abundance of excellent educational material and scholarly research is already available. Some of it is freely available online or in inexpensive books, neatly packaged to give clear answers to common questions. But some of it hidden away in Bible College libraries or in expensive journal subscriptions, and less obviously helpful for non-experts wanting to understand tricky topics. To be able to resource churches and troubleshoot challenges, we need people to invest themselves in one or more subjects and make themselves useful for needs as and if they arise.          

Pastor-Theologians are Leaders who…

• Share pastoral responsibility in a local church.
• Ground themselves in God, his Word, and his church of the present and the past.
• Familiarise themselves with current discussion on their topic, as well as key literature from the recent or more-distant past.
• Understand the reasons people come to different positions on an issue.
• Can explicate the relevance of salient biblical texts.
• Think theologically about the issues at hand.
• Draw on the resources and events of Christian history.
• Understand the practical implications for churches and Christians in their contexts.
• Synthesise important considerations in a coherent manner.
• Communicate clearly, both in writing and by spoken word.
• Bring clarity to the issues in the present and point out pathways through pastorally challenging contexts.

Outputs we could Expect from Pastor-Theologians include:

• Meeting and advising local pastors, elders, and other leaders as requested.
• Annotated bibliographies of written, audio, and video resources.
• Summaries and commendations of the best resources.
• Seminars at regional church gatherings and other forums for lay church leaders.
• Short courses for churches.
• Contributing to workshops that dig deeper into topics as needed or wanted.
• Short articles, videos, and podcasts covering different aspects of their topic, eventually building a comprehensive covering of their chosen issue. These could be added to a resource bank online for denominational websites.

Pastor-theologian fellows and their work should be publicized in local and denominational channels so that they are known and commended for their service to churches.

Subjects that churches could invite Pastor-theologians to consider investing into include:

• God and suffering, evil, and justice.
• Marriage, family, singleness.
• Wealth and poverty.
• Local and overseas mission.
• ‘Soft secularism’ – the impulse to prioritize acquiring, achieving, and experiencing.
• ‘Hard secularism’ – being a religious minority in a changing culture.
• Christian nationalism.
• Immigration, race, and multiculturalism.
• Sexuality and identity.
• Church and party-politics.
• Technology and Christian formation.
• Denominational identity.
• The Covid era issues.
• The value of gathered Christian community.
• Theology of war.

Each of these topics have many subsets and would be best served in bite-sized contributions made available as known parts of a larger map of each subject. Aspiring pastor-theologian fellows could begin by mapping out the issues for their topic and compiling a reading list to begin with.

The Task Ahead

Realistically, the tasks of pastor-theologians are years-long projects—even life-long endeavours. In time, newer pastor-theologians should be encouraged either to fill the gaps in subjects within their regional fellowship or to eventually succeed older pastor-theologians in their field.

Developing pastor-theologians will be long-term investments. We need continuing development for those Bible College graduates who have shown both intellectual aptitude and a heart for pastoring. We need to make known the disciplinary, educational, and spiritual skills and competencies that pastor-theologians should aim for. We need ongoing training for pastors that challenges them to take up the tasks of pastor-theologians listed above. These tasks give an outlet for our best thinkers in our churches, providing a wider scope than is often found in an individual church.

Nurturing future pastor-theologians will involve identifying potential leaders, coaching them in their character, convictions, and skills, and identifying manageable opportunities for them to give meaningful contributions in their own contexts. In promoting fellowships of pastor-theologians, we could give goals for fellows to aspire to and work towards, at different levels that are appropriate to the different stages that leaders are found in.

This is an important and needed work for our churches. I have heard lay Christians on multiple occasions complain that their churches have never spoken about the hot topics that they are taking the heat for in their workplaces or ministries. I have seen the results of poorly equipped Christians faced with challenges they were not prepared for.  It is well past the time for churches to promote and produce theologically-minded pastors.

It is true that pastor-theologians are not the only kind of church leaders we need today. However, in 2099 when people look back over the twenty-first century, they will see that fellowships of such leaders played a vital role in leading churches successfully through the challenges of our century.

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