Editor’s note: We asked a few pastors and theologians a simple question, “Do pastors need to pursue a PhD? If so, why? if not, why not?” Below are a range of answers!
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Jim Hamilton
Why should a pastor do a PhD?
The first and most important reason is that a pastor must know the Bible, and if the Lord gives time and opportunity to study, knowing the Bible means learning Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic to access the Bible in its original languages. We want to be as competent as possible in those languages so that we can go as deep as possible into the Scripture, and the amount of time given to language and exegesis courses in master’s degree programs is simply not enough. No one learns a language in a semester (or six). Languages take years to learn, and pursuing a PhD affords an opportunity to keep studying the text in the original language with a community of scholars devoted to the task.
PhDs are more about endurance than intelligence. This is not hard: the Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is the tool God uses to change lives by the power of
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