I believe that every pastor should strive to become the best theologian they can possibly be. For some, this will involve formal education all the way to the level of a PhD. That has been my path, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to study theology in this way. It’s been a tremendously enriching experience. The value of such a degree, in my opinion, goes beyond the content of the knowledge acquired during the degree—pursuing a PhD shapes you as a person, and as a thinker. I love the vision of organizations like the Center for Pastor Theologians that seek to bridge the divide between the church and the academy, encouraging pastors to pursue academic excellence and intellectual rigor as much as possible.
At the same time, I believe we must be aware of some of the dangers that can attend the push for pastoral PhDs. Here are just two basic questions that are worth mulling over carefully before plunging into a program.
1) What is the purpose of a PhD, in contrast to other academic degrees?
A PhD is a research degree, typically designed to prepare someone for work as a professor, researcher, or in some other academic capacity. A person having completed a PhD will have demonstrated the ability to offer a unique scholarly contribution to a particular field. A DMin (Doctor of Ministry), by contrast, is a doctorate that is more focused on application of the knowledge required—sometimes called a “practitioner’s doctorate.” Then, of course, there are varieties of Master’s degrees that serve various purposes (consider the difference between a ThM and MA, for instance.)
So, in my mind, a pastor who pursues a PhD (rather than, say, a DMin, or some other kind of Master’s degree), should put a great deal of reflection into whether the specific skills that the PhD is designed to cultivate are most in line with their own particular calling and vision for ministry. If you are called to be a kind of “pastor-scholar” who serves the church while also engaging in academic writing, then a PhD is an obvious consideration. For pastors who don’t feel called to write monographs or contribute to scholarly journals, a PhD could still be an incredible blessing: it could strengthen your non-academic work by deepening you as a thinker, researcher, communicator, and so forth.
However, pastors need to give careful thought to the considerable non-alignment between academic research skills and the typical pastoral responsibilities on any given week. Are all those hours spent with German vocab cards (for example) the best deployment of your time and energy amidst the pressing demands within your congregation for counseling, shepherding, mentoring, and so forth? Quite possibly. But it could also be that you will be better served by a degree that is more focused on ministry skills, or by acquiring knowledge in some other way.
2) What is my motive for getting a PhD?
We must avoid thinking of the PhD as some kind of generic intellectual accomplishment. It is a particular degree that is designed for a particular purpose. I worry that many pastors see a PhD as a general criterion of intelligence or influence. We should avoid pursuing a PhD so that we don’t feel “less than,” or in order to prove ourselves in some way. This is a real temptation.
We must also give prayerful consideration to whether our families will flourish during a PhD, and whether it will be conducive to our long-term emotional and spiritual health. There is a cost to getting a PhD, emotionally and psychologically as well as financially, and your family will pay it with you (if you are married and/or have children). This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever pursue it, but it is a reason to be extra careful about your motives beforehand. It is good to get counsel from trusted friends, and to take time to consider how you can best deploy your life to be spent for God’s kingdom over the long haul.
Closing Thoughts
Let me close with a final concern that is bound up with the push for pastors to get PhDs: the way the degree itself is morphing. Traditionally, a PhD in the American model required 4-5 years of full-time, residential study (at least), focused on coursework, languages, comprehensive finals, and then a dissertation. Amidst the proliferation of online study, intensive/shortened courses, and lowering language requirements, it seems that these standards are often reduced. Take languages, for example. When I did my PhD at Fuller Seminary from 2012-2016, I had to demonstrate reading comprehension in five languages: Greek and Hebrew (as prerequisites), and then three research languages, two modern and one ancient (often German, French, and Latin). Reading comprehension does not mean dabbling around in the language for a semester. In my case, it meant sitting down before an untranslated piece of scholarship in the language in question with nothing but a dictionary, and being able to translate it. It requires an incredible amount of study, and it’s a necessary part of what makes for a solid PhD (because in order to conduct original research, you have to be able to read scholarship in other languages that has not been translated). Some institutions are awarding PhDs with far more minimal language requirements, and I worry that this depreciates the value of the degree for all of us.
For anyone reading this wondering what they should do, here is my final thought: how deep in your heart is the desire to do a PhD? For me, I simply couldn’t not do it. I thought about it all the time. I dreamed about it. I couldn’t rest until I pursued it. If you feel that deep existential pull for it, that may be an indication that you are called to it. Just be sure you count the cost beforehand!
Gavin Ortlund is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Ojai , CA. He completed his PhD in Historical Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals (Crossway, 2019), Retrieving Augustine’s Doctrine of Creation (IVP Acadmic, 2020), and Finding the Right Hills to Die On (Crossway, 2020). He is a member of the St. Basil Fellowship of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
