Jump directly to the Content

Guard Your Study Time with a Blowtorch

…and other strategies for becoming a Pastor Theologian.
Guard Your Study Time with a Blowtorch

It’s hard to be an ecclesial theologian in a local church. That’s not whining; that’s reality.

For starters, there is little institutional support for ecclesial theologians. Nearly all the currents in the academy and the church push aspiring ecclesial theologians in a different direction, whether to do more “rigorous” or “academic” scholarship, or to be less “heady” and more “practical” in ministry. Frankly, this creates an inhospitable environment for ecclesial theologians, a state of affairs that is unlikely to change any time soon.

Despite the challenges, however, it is possible to be an ecclesial theologian. But to do so requires thoughtfulness and intentionality; it won’t just happen. In fact, pastors in pursuit of this calling need to adopt a few well-conceived strategies and take some bold and creative steps to see it happen. Here are a few of the strategies we recommend.

Guard Your Study Time with a Blowtorch

When ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
Reflections of a Preacher’s Kid
Reflections of a Preacher’s Kid
You hear criticism about PKs resenting how they were raised and what it did to them. Tim Stafford looks at what his father did right.
From the Magazine
Empty Streets to the Empty Grave
Empty Streets to the Empty Grave
While reporting in Israel, photographer Michael Winters captures an unusually vacant experience at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close