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the pastor as scholar

"If I am scholarly, it is not in any sense because I try to stay on the cutting edge in the discipline of biblical and theological studies. I am far too limited for that. What 'scholarly' would mean for me is that the greatest object of knowledge is God and that he has revealed himself authoritatively in a book; and that I should work with all my might and all my heart and all my soul and all my mind to know and enjoy him and to make him known for the joy of others. Surely this is the goal of every pastor." 

-- John Piper, The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor: Reflections on Life and Ministry (Crossway Books, 2011)

And here's Martin Lloyd-Jones with a similar viewpoint: 





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