This is a common question among Pentecostals. In fact, many Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians will gladly acclaim an inspired and gifted preacher who falls short on knowledge of the Word. This may sound somewhat patronizing, but it may be that Pentecostals would prefer to feel the Word, rather than think about the Word. I’m not opposed to feeling the Word. The preached Word of God should provoke a range of emotional responses from lamentation to rejoicing. But, the authenticity of the emotional responses should correspond to the veracity of the preached word.
There are many Pentecostal ministers who have successfully built a following through the power of charisma. They are gifted by the Holy Spirit with a variety of gifts. They are gifted at presenting the milk of the Word, but because they are limited in their theological training they cannot serve the meat of the Word and they are unable to develop mature disciples of Jesus Christ. The church at Corinth is an example. The Corinthians abounded in spiritual gifts, but were profoundly immature (1 Corinthians 3:1-4). Think about that for a minute… it’s possible for a church to be filled with the Spirit, but not growing in grace. How? Because they resist the meat of the Word, they oppose sound teaching.
Apollos was a successful leader of the church at Ephesus. He was “an eloquent man… mighty in the Scriptures… fervent in Spirit… teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus” (Acts 18:24-25). However, in spite of his gifts and success he was lacking in theological understanding. He had taught accurately about Jesus, but had failed to teach his disciples about the Spirit. When Paul preached in Ephesus, he asked, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). Because of his theological training, Paul was able to preach “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27 ESV). Because Apollos had never heard of Pentecost, he could not teach his church about the fullness of the Spirit. A pastor can’t teach what a pastor doesn’t know!
There are many Pentecostal pastors who are sincere, eloquent, and fervent in Spirit. But, like Apollos, they lack theological knowledge and they can’t preach what they don’t know. When Priscilla and Aquila came to Ephesus and heard Apollos preach they recognized his gifts and his lack of training. So, “they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26).
The church needs young men and women, like Apollos, with fire in their hearts and willing for their heads to be filled with the knowledge of the Word of God. The call to pastor is the call to teach the Word of God. The call to pastor is the call to life-long learning. Pastors should pursue theological education.
The Spirit has gifted the church with “apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists.” The Spirit teaches through Spirit-filled teachers. The church needs men and women like Priscilla and Aquila, learned elders of the church willing to discern the spiritual gifts in novice pastors and mentor them so that they may be equipped “for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).
Why do you need training? Because you’re filled with the Spirit. Pastors need to be filled with the Spirit and the Word!
