Is Seminary Really Necessary Before Assuming Leadership in a Local Church?

D. Min lecture with Dr. MacArthur at TMS

Why Seminary? Is formal bible training really necessary before becoming a Lead Pastor at a local church?  Though there are a select few exceptionally gifted and uniquely committed, self-taught, Preacher-Pastor/theologians... such as the brilliant Spurgeon and D.M. Lloyd-Jones. In general, those called to preach (see 2 Tim 2:15; Titus 1:5f) should receive the highest level of seminary training available to them. Would you undergo surgery from a surgeon who hasn’t been to medical school? Why not?

James Montgomery Boice said if he knew Christ were returning in 4 years he’d instruct young men to spend 3 years in intense pastoral training (seminary) and only then preach!  Too much is at stake and church history has too many examples of well intentioned (unprepared) pastors, teachers, and evangelists who failed the Colossians 1:28-29 mandate because of sloppy exegesis and faulty interpretations. Good communication skill alone is not enough. Clint Archer makes some helpful points in his article posted below.

Here's a snippet of Archer's blog post, "The question of whether seminary is necessary is one that perennially resurfaces among those who sense the urgency of the need to preach and feel compelled to dive right in, but also understand the benefit of thorough training, and want guidance about the balance.