One reason I like to read Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz and other books) is that he takes the time to think and has the courage to write ideas that I’ve played with for years. Or at least ask the questions.
In a blog post this week, he asks if the church should be led by teachers and scholars. As he puts it, the early leaders were fishermen, tax collectors, at least one political activist (Simon the Zealot–that being a radical political party).
I do not subscribe to the popular theory perpetuated by scholars that these were uneducated, illiterate peasants. But I think they were students, not scholars The teachers and scholars of the day were the Pharisees and scribes (as identified in the New Testament).
Think about today. You pretty much have to have a Master’s degree to be a church leader. That is a symbol of scholarly achievement. But Miller points out that much of the division of the church is a result of scholarly disagreement or “academic divisions.” He says, “The reason I don’t understand my Lutheran neighbor is because a couple of academics got into a fight hundreds of years ago. And the rest of the church followed them because, well, they were our leaders. So now we are divided under divisions caused by arguments a laboring leadership might never have noticed or cared about.”
Miller says that we think Christian growth comes from studying more. But Jesus pushed his disciples out and said something like, “you know enough, you have a guide, go out and teach the world to obey my commands.” It’s actually the doing that leads to the growing.
I teach. But I’d rather be a guide than a scholar. I gave up that life path many years ago.
You can’t witness to theory. You can witness to what you’ve experienced and then reflected upon. This Lent, perhaps you should become less reliant on Scholars and Teachers for your growth and go out and do what Jesus wanted. After all, that’s one reason he died.
Faith Venture 
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