The Society for the Advancement of Ecclesiological Theology

December 1, 2009 by Gerald Hiestand

Taxonomy of the Pastor-Theologian, Conclusion: Who Should Draw the Wider Circles?

In my Taxonomy series, I’ve been arguing that we should reserve the term “pastor-theologian” for those particular pastors who write ecclesial theology.  But a few, at least, think I’ve defined the term too narrowly.  And they might be right.  But the central point I’m trying to make in the paper is still a point worth making, namely this: that the SAET is advocating for something different than what we typically think of when we hear the term “pastor-theologian.”  But methodologically, perhaps trying to wrench the term “pastor-theologian” into line with the SAET’s purposes is not the best way forward (and frankly too much work, given its understanding in our current vernacular). Perhaps we need a new term altogether – one that captures the essence of what the SAET is after. As I mentioned to Nic and Ed in the comments, this is all a work in progress, so let me try it again from a slightly different angle (stealing an idea from a not particularly great movie)…

1. All individuals are called to draw a circle of theological protection around themselves, taking responsibility for their own relationship with Christ.
2. Some have a wife and children, and their circle of theological protection must extend to include their families as well as themselves.
3. Some individuals are called to the pastorate and must draw a circle of theological protection around themselves, their families, and an entire local assembly of Christians.
4. And even more broadly, some individuals are gifted and called to draw an even wider circle, serving as theologians for large swaths of the Christian tradition, or even the whole of the tradition.

In our present day, the church has looked to the academy to draw the wider circles (number 4 above).  Historically, this hasn’t always been the case. Theologians such as Athanasius, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Edwards, etc. were all churchmen, and it was understood that the “wider theologians” would be drawn mainly from the pastorate. But today, we no longer look for pastors to fill this role. Those who feel a sense of theological calling beyond the local church do not remain in the church, but move into the academy, in as much as the academy has become the new theological center of  gravity. Now certainly not every pastor is gifted or called to this broader function. But we do the church a grave disservice when suggest, (implicitly or explicitly,  that pastors need not aspire to this role. The bifurcation of theological formation from the womb of the church has been good for neither the church nor her theology. There’s been too much of an,  “Ah, let the academy take care of the theological needs of the church” sort of mindset today.

Thus the SAET is about trying to get (some) pastors to once again pick up the mantle of theological responsibility for the wider church – to step up and draw the wider circles. And it is those particular pastors the SAET is trying to serve and gather together. And it’s for this reason that I press so hard for a writing ministry as definitional to what the SAET pastor is about. Without a writing ministry, I don’t see how someone can effectively function as a wider theologian for the broader church. Transcribed sermons can serve this role in part, but I’m not sure that all the theological needs of the church (spanning epistemology, soteriology, eschatology, philosophy, church history, etc.) can or should be addressed in a sermon. Frankly, there are many subjects that theologians need to wrestle with, that lay people do not need to be burdened with.

So in sum, rather than co-opting the term pastor-theologian, perhaps we could drop the term pastor-theologian all together and say it like this:

1. All pastors are called to be local theologians to their own congregations.
2. Some pastors are called to be popular-theologians, writing “deep” theology down to the laity.
3. (Perhaps) some pastors are called to be academic-theologians, writing theology to the wider academic community.
4. And some pastors are called to be ecclesial theologians, writing theology for the wider ecclesial community.

Maybe it’s OK to call all four kinds of pastors “pastor-theologians”. But it needs to be pointed out that all four are doing something different. And I think that’s really what I’m trying to say with my Taxonomy series. Further, while all four models are in short supply, the fourth model – the pastor as ecclesial theologian – is the most important to resurrect, inasmuch as it serves as the foundation for the other three. I think a big part of the reason we see so few pastors functioning as local theologians is because theology is no longer being done by pastors, but by academicians. When we moved theological formation into the academy, we implicitly suggested that theology was an academic enterprise, thus demotivating  pastors from serving as local theologians.

If the theological gate-keepers of the church were once again pastors, this would not only leaven orthodox theology with ecclesial yeast, but would also bring back a level of theological credibility to the pastorate overall. This in turn would  increase the number of pastors who effectively serve as popular theologians and local theologians.

Categories: Pastor-theologian | SAET Fellowship