Archive for April, 2010

Every pastor is a theologian. The question is whether their theology is biblical. “I am convinced that if we want our ministry to have a lasting impact and churches to be healthy we must first do our theology well,” writes Michael Lawrence in Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church. He argues that learning to do biblical theology is no mere academic exercise. It shapes preaching, counseling, evangelism, the ability to engage wisely with culture, and more.

What does a pastor’s role as theologian look like practically? Here are a few examples:

• Teaching the church about God’s goodness and sovereignty, so that when a child is diagnosed with cancer, the parents will be grief-stricken but not completely undone.
• Equipping the eighteen-year-olds heading off to college with the necessary tools for facing the radical relativism of their professors.
• Knowing how to help the man in your church who is struggling with whether or not God knows the future because his brother-in-law from another church gave him a bad book.
• Helping a young wife and mother who struggles with perfectionism and people-pleasing to find her justification and worth in the gospel.
• Preparing the engaged couple for the challenges of marriage through premarital counseling that focuses on God’s plan for our holiness and not just instantaneous happiness.

Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church is essentially a biblical theology how-to guide to help pastors learn how to pastor well. Learn more here.