photo by Jo JakemanI'm reading the books of Proverbs, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus in order to determine some personal development goals for an Applied Ministry course I am taking this summer. Being a seminary student, I am surrounded on a regular basis by people who would regard themselves as fools for Christ. Many have forsaken all to pursue theological training in order to prepare for service to their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Proverbs 18:2, however, smacks many seminary students (myself included) square in the mouth:
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,Ow! Man that hurts. Have I been a fool when expressing my opinions? Do my opinions weigh more than those of other students, much less professors? How can we students feel so bold as to argue over minutiae with men who pour out their hours every day on interpretation and research? Especially those students who attend The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary? We hold most, if not all, of the faculty at this school with the utmost respect, yet it seems like every semester professors must deal with at least one disrespectful, foolish, opinion-expressing student.
but only in expressing his opinion.
I don't believe there is anything wrong with pursuing wisdom and understanding, but I believe this proverb helps us see the line that divides the wise from the fools. Let us be seekers after the truth, and let us be ready to abandon any opinion that is not clearly supported by Scripture! Let us be fools for Christ, not foolish "Christians."
~ Todd
2 comments:
"...at least one disrespectful, foolish, opinion-expressing student."Were they tacking 95 theses to the door? ;)
A zeal of God not according to knowledge, or perhaps novices lifted up with pride?
A harder question to answer may be what SBC assembly would not accept any one of these as a pre-packaged elder/bishop/pastor once they are "credentialed"? Should they?
It's hard to say, but no, I do not think someone should be recognized or selected as an elder/pastor without due diligence. I believe an elder led church is the biblical model, and it helps to give a church the necessary discernment needed to appoint a flawed human being to the position of lead pastor. It is clearly not impossible for a church to exercise wisdom without elders, but it is more dificult without a group of men partnered together to serve the people of God.
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