Is Training Necessary for Christian Ministry? Part 1

The following is a write-up (first draft) for a video on this topic. Is training necessary. I argue YES. However, a more nuanced response would be:

A. YES, training is necessary… but non-formal and informal trainings are also forms of training.

B. NO, formal training is not absolutely necessary… but there is a cost for not being formally trained.

Anyway, here is my first draft. Note, I focused anecdotes/stories, not on a theological argument. There are a couple of reasons for this. The main one is that another video being done by another will, I believe, address the topic from a more theological/biblical perspective.

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Is training important to do ministry? I believe the answer is absolutely yes. Now, there are different forms of training. I am going to assume that our other presenter is speaking more on the importance of trainging for good theology— avoiding heresy, recognizing truth from lies. And that is important. Even good Christian leaders can say things that are false. Perhaps they truly believed that what they taught was true and from the Holy Spirit. The problems is that Satan is called the deceiver for a reason. He is a good liar. So being well-trained in Scriptural truth helps us to avoid this problem. However, I would like to speak more on the importance of training in doing ministry work.

A Christian minister is like a carpenter, or a builder. A builder’s ability to cut, dig, hammer, turn, bend, connect and all of the other tasks in building is limited by the tools he has and how skilled he is in using his tools. If someone comes to build a house and all he has is a shovel, or maybe a hammer, there is simply a lot of things he cannot do… or at least cannot do well. In the same way, a Christian minister needs to have tools to minister, and know how to use those tools.

I will use some examples from the Old Testament, from the New Testament and from my own experience.

First, Some training is informal, before going into ministry. Nehemiah was a cupbearer for the king of Persia. He was distressed because the people of Jerusalem were suffering. The Bible says that he mourned, fasted, and prayed for 4 months. But in that time of mourning, fasting, praying, he came up with a plan. He would get the king to fund him to go to Jerusalem and work to rebuild the walls of the city and replace the gates. He seemes like a bad choice. He was a servant of the king… not much different from a slave. He did not have money, he did not have time. He did not have authority. But he had God. And he had more than God… he had some tools. He was trusted by the king of Persia. But not only that but he had been trained in how things are done. As cup bearer he was certainly at many meetings where military generals, governors, officials would meet with the king and plan major projects. In the book of Nehemiah, the king and queen began asking Nehemiah questions like how long would it take, what resources would he need. Due to the training he had even before he became a minister of God, Nehemiah knew how to answer these questions.

Second, some training is formal, beforr going into ministry. St. Paul received training to minister… learning Hebrew Scripture He was trained by a great Jewish rabbi, Gamaliel, in Hebrew Scriptures. This training was a great help in his later ministry.

Third, once one becomes a minister, training doesn’t stop. Again, some training is formal while some is informal. Joshua served as an assistant to Moses, learning how to lead through watching Moses, and being trained by him, for many many years. Elisha was trained in how to be a prophet from Elijah. The Twelve apostles, were first known as the twelve disciples… the twelve trainees of Jesus. They traveled around with Jesus. They ministered with Jesus, learning as they went. However, the Gospels make it clear that Jesus would also set aside specific times where he trained the disciples separate from the crowds. Three years He did this. Therefore, when Jesus ascended into the heavens, the disciples were no longer called the disciples… the trainees. They were now called apostles… those sent out by Jesus to serve Him.

Even though Paul received training in Scripture before, he still needed training to do Christian ministry. He talks about how He spent time in the desert and it appears that he was trained by God during this time. But that wasn’t his only training. In fact, Barnabas, an older man who was a more mature Christian and a more experienced Christian minister… came alongside to train Paul. We see this in the work in the church of Antioch. We also see it in the first missionary trip. In that one, Barnabas was the leader of the mission trip. Paul was the preacher. Paul knew Scripture and so could preach, but he did not know how to be an apostle… a missionary, and so needed to learn from Barnabas. After Paul and Barnabas separated they each took on a new person to train. Paul took Silas, while Barnabas took John Mark.