If a man senses a call to the ministry and the church recognizes his call, how much training and edu­cation should he receive? If he possesses the scriptural qualifications for ministry (1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Tim. 2:24f; Ti­tus 1:9f.), is strong in faith and prayer, apt to teach and edify, and all other qualifications God demands of his character, home life and abilities, does he really need to go to college and seminary? Not only God’s Word, but church history and the church order as well, have much to offer when we seek to answer this question and relate it to our own time.

Church History⤒🔗

Early in the history of the church, in addition to per­sonal piety in doctrine and life, it required training at a good school of theology of those who desired to fill the office of pastor and teacher. Although later this prereq­uisite was relaxed, the Reformation of the 16^th Century reiterated the scriptural requirements. According to the Reformers, ministers needed a thorough knowledge of Holy Scripture, knowledge of the original languages of the Scriptures, knowledge of the history of the church, and much more.

Their successors followed in their footsteps and defend­ed the principle of academic training for men who would be ministers of the Word. By contrast, the Anabaptists held the view that everyone who felt driven by the Spirit should be allowed to present himself as minister. Accord­ing to them, the minister has to speak being “led by the Spirit” without academic study or preparation, which in practice often turned out to be ‘led by their own spirit’ – similar to the false prophets in Israel who spoke a message “of their own heart” (cf. Jer. 14:14; 23:16, 26; Ezek. 13:2, 17). Our fathers emphatically rejected these Ana­baptist views and practices.

When the Convent of Wesel (1568) made preparations for a well-ordered federation of Dutch churches, it posited as ideal, theological study for future ministers of the Word to know the original languages of the Scriptures and to be trained to expound the Scriptures. The Seces­sion churches also, as early as 1836, placed great empha­sis on the necessity for future ministers of the Word to receive a thorough, systematic and academic training by which they were to be immersed in the Hebrew and Greek languages and in church history. They did, how­ever, insist on the liberty to waive the requirements of Hebrew and Greek if an emergency in the church arose and exceptional gifts in a person warranted this. Fur­thermore, they determined that the candidate had to have a thorough knowledge of dogmatics, proper insight into pastoral work, and proper competence for preaching the Word.

From the start, the Secession churches followed the line of the fathers. Although initially they had to adapt theo­logical training somewhat, in 1854 they founded a theo­logical seminary. When they did not join the 1892 Union, they immediately (in 1894) took steps to establish a new academic theological seminary for training future minis­ters of the Word. We see that the insistence on proper theological training has not been a recent invention, neither was it an insis­tence on merely academic training. It was to include per­sonal piety and experiential knowledge of the Truth. The 1836 Synod stipulated that “no one was to be admitted to the ministry of the Word if he had not given evidence of the truth having been sanctified to his heart.” But throughout the centuries the church has also insisted on academic theological training so that its ministers would “be able to stand against the enemies and opponents of the church,” as the 1836 Synod put it, or as Psalm 127:5 states, that they might be able to “speak with the ene­mies in the gate.”

Article 8←⤒🔗

This rule has been maintained throughout history, although the churches have re­fused to bind themselves to this rule in an absolute sense. They sincerely confessed the freedom of the Holy Spirit to grant competence for the special office in a spe­cial way. Exceptions were and are possible, they said, though this ‘exception to the rule’ has also been misused. At times, incompetent men, sometimes by cunning moves, intruded themselves upon the office of the ministry of the Word resulting in great harm to ecclesiastical and spiritual life. That is why the churches felt obliged to set bounds to the ‘exception to the rule.’ Already the Provincial Synod of Dordrecht (1574) declared that persons without an academic-theological training should not be admitted to become candidates for the ministry of the Word until they had given evidence of godliness and humility, the gift of speaking well in public, intellectual ability, and discretion. The Synod of Dordrecht 1618/19 declared the following in connection with Article 8:

Schoolmasters, craftsmen, or others who have not pursued a course of study at a theological semi­nary or university in preparation for the Ministry, shall not be admitted to the Ministry, unless there is assurance of exceptional gifts: godliness, humil­ity, modesty, common sense and discretion, as also gifts of public address. When such a person pres­ents himself for the Ministry, the Classis, follow­ing approval of the Synod, shall first examine him. If the preliminary judgment is favourable, he shall be given the right to speak a word of edification in several congregations of the Classis for further re­view of his gifts and the Classis shall further deal with him as it shall deem edifying, according to the general regulations of the Churches.

What Are Exceptional Gifts?←⤒🔗

Which exceptional gifts are important? The Church Or­der mentions: “godliness, humility, modesty, common sense and discretion, as also gifts of pub­lic address.” Let us focus on each one of these in turn:

1. Godliness: This refers to the fear of the Lord, proper reverence and devotion to God, as it is manifested in Jesus Christ. It refers to the attitude of the heart that looks to God to live a life that is well pleas­ing to Him. “Godliness” must be accom­panied with “humility,” which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It refers to humbleness of heart. A person who is exceptionally gifted is in danger of yielding to pride of heart. Lack of humility would disqualify him from the ministry, though he might be exceptionally gifted.
    
2. Modesty: This refers to an attitude or pattern of behaviour that is characterized by unassuming con­duct, self-depreciation,¹ and inconspicuousness. It in­volves restraint, modesty, caution, tact, and reserve. Modesty by controlling excess is to be exercised in the interest of love for God and the neighbour.
    
3. Common Sense: The original Latin text has excellens ingenium, which refers to intellectual or superior intellectual ability. It refers to keenness of intellect, which one needs to properly understand and ex­pound the Word of God.
    
4. Discretion: This refers to prudent, balanced judg­ment and insight. It refers to spiritual discernment that ascertains what God requires and then acts upon it. It is acquired by the illumination of the Holy Spirit and studying and knowing the Scriptures. It allows thoughts and feelings to be influenced by the Word of God. In this way responses to emerging situations will increasingly be molded by the mind and the will of God. Living in His presence, a ministerial candidate will become more like Him. He will think in a biblical way about God and His Word, His people and circumstances that arise. He will have a heart for peo­ple that expresses the attitude of God’s own heart.
    
5. Gifts of Public Address: Such a person must be able to speak, that is, he should have an above aver­age ability to speak in public. This refers to the ability to express his thoughts in a structured, serious, clear, and compelling way. Therefore, to ascertain that the required qualifications are present, the Synod that examines the candidate requires him to deliver a short sermon on a selected text,² to be delivered af­ter a brief time of preparation using only the Bible with marginal notes. Candidates who request to be accepted according to Article 8 must also have some experience of life and be able to competently judge human character. When these things are present it will become clear to an ecclesiastical assembly that the candidate has exceptional gifts for the Ministry of the Word.

Precedents in History←⤒🔗

Reviewing the history of ministers accepted into the church according to Article 8, a professor of church order (J. Hovius), expresses great appreciation and thankful­ness for such ministers, who have been of great blessing and edification for the churches. On the other hand, he states that upon occasion the door was opened too easily for the ministry according to Article 8, whereby men were admitted who did not edify but harmed the churches.

At the Synod of 1895, lecturer F. P. L. C. van Lingen warned against a spirit in the churches that viewed the necessity of an academic training for the ministry negatively and that ignored the fact that the Lord in Scripture refers to Himself as the God who gives knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom (cf. Dan. 1:17). Scripture not only requires the ability to speak an edifying word but also the ability to oppose science falsely so called (cf. 1 Tim. 6:2) and the ability to teach others also (cf. 2 Tim. 2:2). Van Lingen continues:

No doubt, the first qualification for the minister of the Word is that he himself knows and experi­ences grace. The primary requisite of a minister of the Word is that he has spiritual life in him. But not every godly person is called to be a minister of the Word. We also need God-fearing elders and dea­cons. Martin Luther rightly said that we also need godly shoemakers and tailors. It’s clear that a min­ister needs more than experience and eloquence. He needs training, especially in the knowledge of the Word of God, for he is not a minister of experiences.