“It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, …And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil ” (1 Timothy 3:1-2, 7).
I have been involved in various aspects of denominational ministerial development for twenty years. During that time I have been honored to be a part of many great advancements, each advancement hard fought because of resistance from denominational leadership and credentialed clergy. The culture of our church from pulpit to pew is anti-intellectual, anti-education. It is this culture that will send our church spiraling downward towards irrelevance as we seek to engage the 21st century with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As I have previously stated, Pentecostals have a very high view of Scripture. The first article of the Church of God Declaration of Faith states that we believe “In the verbal inspiration of the Bible.” However, that commitment is not reciprocated in our educational commitments, especially in regards to training credentialed clergy. But Pentecostals love titles! Within the church we respectfully refer to each other as Reverend, Bishop, Apostle, Prophet, and Doctor. Even though we have resisted formal education we crave respectability and feign credibility. As it relates to ministerial development we have become the very thing we protest. In the words of Paul, we are “holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these” (2 Ti 3:5). In other words we hold to the form – the title; but we have resisted the very discipline of serious study that forms and sanctifies.
Integrity in ministerial development and education is a missional concern. It is not an issue of competence, although it can become so. It is an issue of credibility. In writing about the “fine work” of the episkopos (bishop, overseer), among other qualifications Paul insists that a leader in the church “must have a good reputation with those outside the church.” The Greek word translated as reputation is marturia, that is, witness and/or testimony. In other words, the Christian leader must be a credible witness in the public square; the Christian leader must bear a credible testimony in the court of public opinion. If Christian leaders are to offer a credible presentation of the gospel to an unbelieving and cynical world, then we must have credible credentials.
Throughout the nations of the world religious educational institutions are being challenged by national governments to embrace higher accreditation standards. Those institutions that resist are being relegated to insignificance, or they are being closed. In the USA, the church needs to send missionaries into the prisons, military, public schools, universities, hospitals, business, and government. In each one of these spheres the proper academic credential means credibility. Most Pentecostal churches have little or no presence among universities, a great field of harvest for reaching the young men and women of the world, because our ministers cannot function in that environment. If Pentecostal churches are serious about going into all the world, then Pentecostal churches (and ministers) must have a credible testimony and credible credentials that are acknowledged and respected by those in the world.
The General Council of the Assemblies of God has taken a bold step in requiring the integrity of their ministry (see link). If we are to take seriously the words of Paul, the Church of God should follow their lead. Our ministers should avoid meaningless titles and fraudulent degrees. We should embrace disciplined study of the inspired Word of God for the sake of doing mission in the 21st century.
