The Importance of Theological Education | Albert Mohler

In this episode of Logos Live, Kirk E. Miller speaks with Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. about the purpose, necessity, and enduring value of theological education.

Their conversation centers on a basic but increasingly important question: Why does the church still need seminaries? Along the way, Dr. Mohler reflects on the relationship between theological education and the local church, the dangers of neglecting doctrinal formation, the kind of pastors seminaries should aim to produce, and why faithful ministry requires lifelong study.

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Episode guest: Albert Mohler

Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. serves as president and Centennial Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. A theologian and ordained minister, he holds a master of divinity and a doctor of philosophy in systematic and historical theology from SBTS. He is the editor of WORLD Opinions and the author of several books, having contributed to over a hundred published works. He hosts two podcasts, The Briefing and Thinking in Public.

Episode synopsis

What is theological education?

In one sense, theological education goes back as far as the apostles’ teaching in the early church. More formally, though, it arose from the medieval university model. In that setting, theology, law, and medicine stood as the three central faculties. Theology was even regarded as the “queen of the sciences.” From that standpoint, a theological school can be understood as something like a medical school or law school, but for the training of ministers of the gospel.

At its core, then, theological education refers to the disciplined preparation of pastors, preachers, ministers, etc.

Who is theological education for?

As Dr. Mohler explains, theological education is for anyone who wants to pursue theological study for the cause of Christ. Theological education ought not be a mere academic exercise indulging religious curiosity. Rather, it should exist for the service of Christ and his church.

Thus, the primary purpose of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, for instance, is to train those who aspire to preach and teach God’s Word. That is the institution’s most important work.

At the same time, theological education is not limited to future pastors. Seminaries also serve those preparing for other forms of ministry in the church and on the mission field. They can even serve laypeople who long to grow in their understanding of the Bible and theology.

Are seminaries necessary?

If the local church bears the primary responsibility for raising up future ministers, are seminaries necessary?

Mohler agrees that the local church is the most important educator of future pastors. Yet it is unrealistic to forgo the seminary if we truly believe that such pastors benefit from the highest quality instruction from experts in their disciplines. No single local church is likely to have multiple experts in the original languages, Bible interpretation, apologetics, church history, systematic theology, and the many other disciplines needed for a deep and durable preparation for ministry.

Most people would feel uncomfortable receiving care from a medical doctor who lacked formal education. The same is true of pastors. If the church wants pastors trained by real scholars in the above disciplines, then it cannot simultaneously deny the need for formal theological education.

The seminary should never replace the church, but the seminary provides a vital service to the church.

Over the long run, if faithful seminaries were to disappear, faithful churches would become much harder to sustain. The seminary should never replace the church, but the seminary provides a vital service to the church.

For instance, even the books churches often use to train members, pastoral interns, and elder candidates are often written by seminary professors. So the seminary serves the church in more ways than one.

What is the role of theological education in the local church?

Mohler explains, “The most important theological education is called Christian worship, centered in the act of Christian preaching.” Beyond this, churches can offer serious theological instruction to its members, e.g., classes on doctrine, Bible interpretation, etc.

Every believer is called to maturity in Christ, not just pastors and elders. The church grows believers into maturity through faithful preaching, worship, and the ordinary means of grace within the life of the church. If a church is ordered by Scripture, faithfully preaches the gospel, addresses issues contextually through exposition, then the members of that church will grow in grace and doctrinal understanding.

How does the church benefit from the theological education of its pastors?

Pastors are central to this vision because they are responsible for the church’s teaching. If that pastoral work is not done skillfully, faithfully, and with conviction, the church suffers and the sheep will be underfed. So James 3:1 warns would-be teachers. Thus, a church benefits immensely from the theological education offered by seminaries, since the quality of pastors’ preaching ministries depends in large part on the quality of their preparation.

Conversely, when pastors lack theological education, the church is made vulnerable to error. For instance, theological education exposes ministers to the theological challenges the church has already faced, the ways Christians have learned to read Scripture over two millennia, and both faithful and unfaithful models of ministry to be emulated and avoided respectively.

How does theology relate to discipleship?

As Mohler explains, discipleship, missions, ethics, preaching, etc., are inherently theological. There is no church without theology. There is no preaching without theology. Whenever a pastor preaches, he is functioning as a theological educator. Whenever he teaches moral truth, he is engaging in theology. Theology saturates the whole of a church’s life. Without an increasing knowledge of God and the doctrines revealed in Scripture, “the congregation cannot move into faithfulness.”

Likewise, although seminaries often include a separate theology department alongside New Testament, ethics, homiletics, etc., theology actually infuses them all. Theology in “theological education” is shorthand for a whole range of disciplines and responsibilities that all ultimately serve the church’s knowledge of God and faithfulness to his Word.

What kind of seminarians should seminaries aim to produce?

Mohler envisions young men called to gospel ministry—not merely through an inward sense of calling but through the external affirmation of the church. He hopes to equip the best of such men for lifetimes of faithfulness in the pulpit, in the church, in ministry, and on the mission field.

Mohler insists that pastoral ministry is not a mere occupation. It is a holy calling. Seminaries, therefore, should not produce religious professionals. They should prepare theologically-serious, biblically-grounded, gospel-motivated men for a life of faithful service.

Is seminary training sufficient?

However, the seminary is not sufficient for this task. Mohler insists that the church and its faithful application of the ordinary means of grace is vital for raising up pastors and ministers.

Nonetheless, there are certain things future pastors must know, and seminary training meets this need. You want your doctor to know far more than the basics they learned in medical school. But you certainly don’t want your doctor to know less than what they learned in medical school. So too pastors and the seminary.

As Mohler explains, a seminary cannot offer a full lifetime of ministerial education within a normal degree program, but it can provide students a grasp of that knowledge which is indispensable for rightly interpreting and expositing Scripture. From here, though, pastors must continue to learn and grow.

Graduation from seminary is not a finish line. It’s not the end of a pastor’s formation. It is merely the end of its beginning.

Mohler admits: Seminaries do not teach enough theology, enough Greek, enough Hebrew, enough Old Testament, or enough New Testament. This is not a criticism of the curriculum so much as an acknowledgment of the vastness of the task: There’s always more to learn.

Thus, Mohler wants graduates to leave seminary with a ravenous appetite to keep learning. Yet the normal work of faithful pastoral ministry will make this ongoing education inevitable. In fact, pastoral ministry makes the burden to study all the more urgent. Every sermon is a test of faithfulness. Cultural issues and pastoral counseling situations raise the need for theological precision.

Graduation from seminary is not a finish line. It’s not the end of a pastor’s formation. It is merely the end of its beginning. And the rewards of that growth are not merely personal. They are for the sake of the flock. Pastors study to feed the church.

How Logos serves The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Logos has a partnership with The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, providing Logos to its students.

Mohler observes how valuable this partnership has been, especially for students spread around the world who may not have easy access to physical libraries. Having a robust digital theological library available at all times has strengthened the educational experience of Southern’s students.

Additionally, Logos aids ongoing formation after seminary, since students take Logos with them after graduation. As Mohler comments, students maintain access to a wealth of resources.

Finally, Mohler comments that in the specific task of preparing sermons, Logos seamlessly brings together all the necessary tools: original languages, commentaries, and more.

Conclusion

In summary, Mohler sees theological education as indispensable because the church needs pastors who can preach the Word faithfully, understand doctrine clearly, and shepherd God’s people wisely. Seminaries cannot replace the local church, and they must never imagine themselves as independent from it. The seminary on its own is insufficient to raise up pastors. But neither can the church casually dismiss the value of structured, confessional, academically serious theological training of its ministers.

God’s people need capable shepherds, and those shepherds do not arise by accident.

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Resources for further reflection

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