“Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22).

The other day, a friend of mine shared with me his struggle about whether or not he should pursue doctoral studies in Bible and theology. He had been told time and again that advanced biblical studies would only alienate him from regular people and make him completely ineffective for ministry. And truth be told, arrogance is a real danger… but not just for people who have a formal theological education. All of us have the potential of becoming arrogant and irrelevant with or without an education; and perhaps the person who mocks theological studies yet proudly clings to ideas that cause damage to the Body of Messiah is far more dangerous. The issue is not an education or lack thereof, but what one does with an education. Moses received an ivy-league education in Egypt, and was renowned for his humility (Num 12:3). His education proved to be vital for God’s unique calling on his life. God can and does do great things through people who follow in the footsteps of Peter and John (who were not theologically trained – Acts 4:13) as well as those who follow in the footsteps of Paul (who was theologically trained – Acts 22:3). May he grant each of us the wisdom to know whose footsteps he is calling us to follow.

“Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God” (2 Cor 3:5).