When you hear the word “theologian,” what comes to mind? Dusty libraries? Ancient texts? Men in robes debating complex doctrines? That’s how I used to think of the word. Theologians were pastors and seminary students and people who wrote books and spoke at conferences. And while that is true – those people are theologians…they aren’t the only people who are theologians. And the fact that for most of my life I would never have included myself in that category, was in part due to this very core idea of what, or rather who, IS a theologian?
I’ve spent the better part of the last 30 years devoted to study of the Word in one way or another. I have both read and listened straight through the entire Bible multiple times, have written and published articles and devotions, have led dozens of in-depth Bible studies on various books of the Bible, spoken at events, and even begun writing my own materials. And yet I still did not really consider myself a theologian. It has only really been within my recent history that how I thought of myself, and my insatiable appetite for real truth, started to shift. I was hungry to know God more. To study His Word more deeply. To understand deeper meanings and wrestle with the “hard stuff” I had spent most of my life ignoring. I wanted to know God well so that I could speak of God rightly. So that I could live before Him in a way that was pleasing to Him. So that I could teach others the wonders of His love and faithfulness too.
It wasn’t until one day, after having posted on Facebook about a new Systematic Theology book I had been reading, that the reality of this lingering image of pipe-smoking professors with elbow patches as theologians came crashing into my path. I’ll never forget receiving that private message from a quiet, gentle woman whom I had only known a short while, that said “It had never occurred to me to pick up one of my husband’s Systematic Theology books from off the shelf. But after seeing you reading it and posting about how much it is opening your eyes and seeing how excited you are – I decided that maybe I could do it too…”
A truth that I have always known in my heart, but couldn’t quite capture the words for, is this: if you’ve ever had a thought about God, any thought at all, you’re already a theologian. This simple understanding was incredibly freeing for me. I AM A THEOLOGIAN!
I recently began leading a study through the book You Are A Theologian, by Jen Wilkin & JT English. In the opening words of the book the authors explain that theology most literally means “words about God”.
So if you’ve ever had words about God (spoken or unspoken thoughts in your head) then yes – you too are a practicing theologian!
So the real question we need to ask ourselves then becomes not whether we are theologians but whether or not we’re good ones.
One of the remarkable ways Christianity stands unique among world religions is that it is fundamentally a thinking religion. While other faiths may emphasize transcendence, mystical experiences, or reaching spiritual planes accessible only to the enlightened few, Christianity invites every believer into an intimate, knowable relationship with God through the mind.
Romans 12:2 captures this thought beautifully:
“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
Notice what transforms us? Not mystical experiences. Not secret knowledge. The renewing of our minds.
The more we know about God, the more we can live in ways that please Him. The more we understand His will, the more we can follow it. The more we know what He has done in the past, the more we can trust what He will do in the future. So our “right thinking” about God inevitably leads to “right living” before Him.
Have you ever thought, “But I’m not educated enough. I didn’t go to seminary. I don’t have any degrees. Sometimes I can barely remember where different books of the Bible are even located. Theology is surely not for me…” I know I have.
Psalm 119:130 offers this hope:
“The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”
The unfolding of God’s word brings wisdom to the simple. We don’t need a doctorate to call ourselves a theologian. We don’t need any formal training before we wrestle with our thoughts about God. We simply need more of the Word, and a heart willing to do the work. The wisdom of the world says we must have special instruction so that we can earn special credentials before we can be considered wise, but the wisdom of God says it is His Word that will make the simple wise. I praise God for the faithful theologians that have committed themselves to the deep study and teaching of the Bible These are the very same people who have written the books I have been devouring or that teach the seminary classes my husband is taking, or who have given sermons from behind the pulpit of the churches in whose pews I have sat. Their hard work and training is most certainly a gift for the equipping of God’s people. But I also praise God for the theologians who have sat next to me in a Sunday School classroom and shared the deep truths that have been revealed through their study of the Word. For the mentors who sat on a couch and held my hand and using the Word of God encouraged me in my hours of desperation. They were theologians too. Even if at the time neither of us fully appreciated it.
I like to think of theology like an onion with many layers. At the core are basic truths – the foundational principles every believer needs to know. And then layer after layer wraps around for all eternity because God is that immense, that unknowable in His fullness. There will always be more to discover.
It’s okay if you can only handle the core right now. In a year, you might be ready for the next layer. And other. And then another. The Word itself matures us and grows us and through the work of the Spirit living in us we are drawn in deeper in our understanding. As I continue in my personal reading of the Word, I find myself often drawn to something I didn’t see or fully appreciate before about the awesome God we serve, and the surprise of still not knowing everything after all this time, excites me to press on and discover even more.
So, why do our thoughts about God (i.e. theology) matter so much? Because our understanding of God shapes everything else. If we get God wrong – His character, His nature, how He reveals Himself to His people, His love, His divinity, His sovereignty – we’ll likely get every other doctrine wrong. Every Christian belief finds its beginning in who God is.
Our theology matters because it shapes us – not merely at an intellectual level, but emotionally and practically. It changes how we think, how we feel, and how we act. It becomes the tool God uses to sanctify us, to make us more like Christ.
So I say, embrace your identity as a theologian. Wear that title proudly. You have thoughts about God, and those thoughts matter immensely. Don’t be intimidated by the study of His word, embrace it. Start where you are. Open your Bible. Ask questions. Join a study. Find community. Add on one more layer of the onion at a time.
The God of the universe has made Himself knowable. He invites us into a real relationship – one of understanding – that brings transformation through the renewing of our minds as we meditate on His word and allow it to change us from the inside out.
What an incredible privilege.
What an awesome responsibility.
I am a theologian.
And you are too.
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