Todd Wilson

Pastoral ministry, as they say, it's complicated. We're supposed to handle interpersonal conflicts, please the parishioners, grow the church, and write entertaining sermons. But Todd Wilson argues that in our current confusion about pastoral expectations it's easy to neglect (or maybe even be oblivious to) one key aspect of our calling—the role of the pastor as theologian. That doesn't mean we all need to run out and get a Ph.D. As Wilson argues, "First of all, and most importantly, a pastor theologian feeds God's people on the riches of God's Word." But the pastor-theologian also helps Christians think thoughtfully and theologically about everything—from immigration to sexuality to evolution. I was challenged by Wilson's article. Let his argument stretch your mind as well.

Gerald Hiestand

Then for our weekly sermon we get to watch Pastor Gerald Hiestand (a great example of a pastoral theologian) in action. Hiestand carefully walks us through 1 Corinthians 6, bringing solid exegesis and biblical theology to bear on our contemporary confusion about issues related to human sexuality. For example, Hiestand based on the text, explores questions like: What does it mean to be an embodied creature? What difference does it make that we have bodies? (After all, that's behind the Apostle Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 6.) These questions lead him to explore our culture's confusion about transgenderism and sexual reassignment surgery. Pretty heady stuff? Kind of, but if we don't help our people think through these issues, the culture will.

Also, check out these new resources:

• Featured Illustration: Lawyer Learns that We're All Broken
• Featured Video: Justice: Use this motivational and inspiring mini-movie to challenge your community to open their eyes to the need around them and take action, whatever those needs are.
• Featured Sermon: "Glorify God in Your Body" by Gerald Hiestand
• Featured Skills Article: "The Pastor Theologian for Today's Culture" by Todd Wilson

Matt Woodley
Editor, PreachingToday.com
mwoodley@christianitytoday.com

P.S. Our friends at Christian Bible Studies and Small Groups came out with some awesome resources in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day: "Racism: How Should Christians Respond" and "Radical Racial Reconciliation Through Small Groups." Make sure you check them out!

Matt Woodley is the pastor of compassion ministries at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Illinois.