Hiestand on the Pastor-Scholar

I somehow missed these worthy words from my buddy Gerald Hiestand, a pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel, on the need for pastor-scholars:

“The legacy of such great men teaches us the value of uniting the role of pastor with that of theologian; yet a resounding absence of such a union marks the church today. Our most significant theologians now reside almost exclusively in the academy. To be sure, the rise of the academy requires thoughtful academic theologians who live and move in that environment. But is it best that virtually all of our theologians have moved to the academy? There is a need for a renaissance of the pastor-theologian, pastors who endeavor to do theology from the pastor’s study and not solely the professor’s lectern.  Not every pastor is called to a life of scholarship. Nor is every professor called to the pastorate. But many young people today feel the pull between a life of scholarship and the life of the church. It is to our detriment if we force such individuals to choose between these two callings.”

This is something I’ll be writing more about in days to come.  For now, it’s enough for me to heartily second Gerald’s words, and to point you to an exciting event that the Henry Center will be doing on this topic.  Piper, Carson, and Q&A at one of Chicago’s most exciting churches–does it get any better?