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#6: Why Does My Theology Matter?
49 Plays3 months ago
Does My Theology Really Matter? If you get this wrong, you are not only damaging yourself, but those you are leading.
Episode Show Notes
In this episode, Rich Brown challenges ministry leaders to move beyond the external flash of programming and recenter their ministries on the core: theology. Using memorable metaphors, biblical teaching, and decades of ministry experience, Rich unpacks why theology matters for leaders and students, and how centering theological depth can transform ministry clarity, confidence, and consistency.
You will understand the distinction between theology and doctrine. illustrated with various metaphors that theology is the big framework while doctrine is the specific teaching that flows from it. Drawing from many Scriptural references, Rich shows how Jesus, the apostles, and the early church centered their ministry on teaching and doctrine, and why this remains essential today.
You’ll hear:
- How Jesus taught all ten major doctrines and rooted the Great Commission in teaching.
- Why the early church was born through a doctrinal sermon and devoted itself to the apostles’ teaching.
- Paul’s letters emphasize being rooted in the Word for growth, strength, and fruit.
- Based on 2 Timothy 3:16, the four-part purpose of Scripture, starting with doctrine as “what is right,” reproof as “what is not right,” correction as “how to get right,” and instruction in righteousness as “how to stay right.” Biblical living comes from biblical teaching.
- Why discernment requires filtering every teaching through Scripture.
By the end, you’ll see that theology isn’t ivory-tower theory—it’s the foundation that equips leaders, sustains discipleship, and anchors the next generation in truth.
Resources Mentioned
• Youth Pastor Theologian – https://www.youthpastortheologian.com/
• Be Series: Be Faithful (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon): It's Always Too Soon to Quit! (Warren Wiersbe)
• The Bible (Scripture references in order: John 7:16-17; Matthew 22, 28; Acts 2:14-41, 42; 5:27-28; 13:12; 17:19; Colossians 1:28-29; 2:6-7; 3:15-16; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 John 1:7)
Articles
• Article: "Why Youth Ministry Avoids Theology" by Mike McGarry – https://www.youthpastortheologian.com/blog
Timestamps
• 00:00 – Why ministry leaders must move beyond the exterior and return to the core
• 02:00 – The problem with focusing on tools, hype, and programming
• 03:30 – The three-circle metaphor: theology, philosophy, and programming
• 05:45 – Do our students truly know theology? The challenge of shallow belief
• 07:45 – Cultural issues, worldview, and why we must teach Scripture clearly
• 09:23 – Defining theology and the difference between theology and doctrine
• 13:00 – The “bowling alley” metaphor for the major doctrines
• 15:30 – Why youth pastors often avoid theology (Mike McGarry’s six reasons)
• 19:43 – What the Bible says about theology: 10 New Testament foundations
• 32:00 – Why theology matters personally for every ministry leader
• 35:43 – Why theology matters for shepherding students
• 36:33 – Students are hungry for depth: how doctrine shapes their hearts
• 37:01 – Ephesians 4 and four biblical aims for ministry
• 39:15 – Two action steps to strengthen theology in your ministry
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Next Gen Matters Podcast
00:00:00
NextGen Matters
Thank you. Hey friend, welcome to the Next Gen Matters podcast, a show for ministry leaders seeking to move beyond overwhelm and move into leading with clarity, confidence, and consistency.
External vs. Core Focus in Ministry
00:00:12
NextGen Matters
I'm Rich Brown, and this episode hits to the core of everything we do. Too many Next Gen ministry leaders, and I would say my lane of youth ministry leaders, seem to focus more on the exterior of ministry rather than the interior.
00:00:29
NextGen Matters
and And let me explain. I'm thinking of a word picture like a target, and I don't mean the store. I mean an actual bullseye-based target, right?
00:00:39
NextGen Matters
Back in the day, you know, the dartboard, you have the three concentric circles. I'm thinking the blue is the outside circle, the middle circle is the red, and then the core or the bullseye is the yellow circle.
Tools and Core Purpose in Ministry
00:00:55
NextGen Matters
The blue circle. i I have a hunch, and this is what I've seen. I'm just telling you what I've seen. The blue circle as seems like where many of us focus, especially in student ministry.
00:01:11
NextGen Matters
You know, like the flash, the hype, the shiny toys, the incredible LED d video wall, the graphics, the stage props, the band,
00:01:24
NextGen Matters
the killer sound system, the stage games, and I could go on and on. Now, please do not think I'm saying these things are of Satan.
00:01:35
NextGen Matters
all right They're just tools and they can be actually used for excellent means for intentionality and excellence in what we do.
00:01:48
NextGen Matters
but they're just DeWalt, all right? My favorite tool. They're just tools. These tools are not the reason why we gather students together.
00:02:00
NextGen Matters
I'm just concerned that the tools are what we're known for and even how we kind of market or sell ourselves to even our churches or the students themselves.
Central Theology in Ministry
00:02:10
NextGen Matters
Yeah, the blue zone. Or how about even the red zone? These are some pretty cool things. Small groups, ministry teams, internships.
00:02:23
NextGen Matters
We could have our students involved in all kinds of different ways of getting involved and engaged in our ministry. These are good things, but is it the core? That's what this topic today is about.
00:02:38
NextGen Matters
What I'm saying is, while we're doing all the exterior stuff, are we missing the bullseye? Are we missing the core? The core of why we exist.
00:02:51
NextGen Matters
Everything we do should be flowing out of the core. And that's what we're looking into this topic today. Why does my theology matter?
00:03:03
NextGen Matters
Now let me drop you back in the day for me. In my 20s and in my 30s, as a student pastor, I would teach our volunteer team the following. And I would use that example of the three concentric circles.
00:03:17
NextGen Matters
But I had a different take on it. Here we go. I said the inner circle, we'll say the yellow color, the inner circle is theology. I said, everything we do comes out of our theology.
00:03:30
NextGen Matters
The next zone out, the next circle out, the red zone, that's our philosophy. That's why we do what we do. The structural side, the program side is the blue zone.
00:03:43
NextGen Matters
And unfortunately, that's many times what we're known for because that's the exterior. That's what people first
Theological Understanding Among Church Members
00:03:49
NextGen Matters
see. It's kind of like the outside of a house. That's the first thing people see. In my 40s and in my 50s, teaching youth ministry at the university level, I brought that same basic metaphor into the classroom.
00:04:03
NextGen Matters
Told the students from my intro youth class for the freshmen to the exit youth class with our seniors, the same thing. Everything we do needs to be centered on the core, which is our theology.
00:04:17
NextGen Matters
Our programs come out of our philosophy. Our philosophy comes out of our theology. But here's what I've seen. i think to be honest, so many of today's teenagers in the church do not have a basic framework of biblical theology.
00:04:37
NextGen Matters
And I'd go even deeper to say many of our adults don't even have a same that that same like or that same commitment of wanting to have deep theology.
00:04:51
NextGen Matters
Both students and adults alike just seem to be kind of shallow in what they believe and can they even defend what they believe. I mean, scriptural beliefs, not my feelings, my thoughts, and my opinions that I share on social media.
The Role of Theology in Ministry
00:05:05
NextGen Matters
You know, I would almost challenge you like this. All right, so here's the deal. Here's the deal. I'm gonna challenge you like this. Don't believe me. Just everything I just said, throw it out. Don't leave yet.
00:05:15
NextGen Matters
don't don't Don't turn off the podcast quite yet. Let me finish. i'm I'm kind of like in a fun way taunting you. Don't believe what I said. Just go to the students themselves.
00:05:28
NextGen Matters
Ask your students some basic biblically-based doctrinal questions and see what you come up with. Now, some of you My buddy, the Kyle Hoffsmiths of the world, teach theology to your students.
00:05:46
NextGen Matters
The Mike McGarrys of the world, teach theology to your students. And I know there are many that do. So maybe you guys would be like, gotcha, Rich. My students know what theology. Well, I hope they do.
00:05:58
NextGen Matters
I want them to. I want everyone listening to have their students know good, solid theology. But I'm concerned that we may think they know theology.
00:06:09
NextGen Matters
what we think they know, but they don't really know what we think they know. And the only way we're going to find out is by asking them. Ask some basic, simple doctrinal questions. Things, for example, like, what is your view of creation?
00:06:27
NextGen Matters
What is your view of Jesus Christ? Is the virgin birth really that necessary? How did we get the Bible? Is the Bible in your lap right now?
00:06:39
NextGen Matters
Is that accurate? Is that the same thing we had 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 years ago?
00:06:46
NextGen Matters
I would even go so far as to say today's cultural issues
00:06:52
NextGen Matters
are mostly addressed in the Scripture. Yet, our students may not even know what the Bible says about certain, air quotes, hot topics, because not just at our student ministry level, but the adult ministry level, we're afraid to go there.
00:07:10
NextGen Matters
Because now it's seen as political. You may have heard many Christian influencers say the following, and I believe it. The culture has embraced a sense of morality that is anti-scripture.
00:07:26
NextGen Matters
The culture has embraced certain, let's say, worldviews, and they've made them political. And now we're afraid to talk about them. So can our students actually defend, biblically speaking, gender issues?
00:07:41
NextGen Matters
What does God's word say? This is the stuff I want you to think about. We may think they have it all figured out biblically, but remember,
00:07:52
NextGen Matters
You have them maybe an hour, an hour and a half a week. The parents have them, I heard it again this last week, maybe 30 minutes a day, technically speaking, to actually have conversations.
00:08:03
NextGen Matters
Their schools, especially public school, has got them eight hours a day. Their iPhone's got them all day long. tikstok TikTok has got them all the time. We're in a battle.
00:08:16
NextGen Matters
We're in a battle for their minds. We want them, don't you? We want them to have a biblically mind, a biblical minded framework of what the word of God says. So the question I'm asking is this, does my theology really matter?
00:08:30
NextGen Matters
Does what I believe really matter? Theologically, does it matter to me? And then if so, does it matter to my students?
Understanding Theology and Doctrine
00:08:40
NextGen Matters
In this episode, i promise you, we are going to show you why theology isn't just for the intellects.
00:08:48
NextGen Matters
It isn't just for the book nerds. It's not just for the seminary professors. It must be the heartbeat of your ministry. By the end of this episode, you're going to see how centering theology in your ministry gives you clarity in your purpose and gives you confidence in your direction, and gives you consistency in your teaching.
00:09:17
NextGen Matters
Before we talk about, is theology that important? I think we really have to define theology, making sure we're on the same page. So let mean I'm going to take the word theology and break this down.
00:09:29
NextGen Matters
Simply put, theology. You ready? The study of God. The study of God, who he is, what he has done, and how he has called us to live.
00:09:41
NextGen Matters
Who he is, what he has done, and how he's called us to live. To go a little deeper with it, the word theology comes from, it's a compound word from two Greek words.
00:09:53
NextGen Matters
Theos, meaning God, Lagos, meaning, of course, you know that word. So therefore, theos and lagos means the study, the words, the study of God.
00:10:05
NextGen Matters
It's more of an expansive and involving expansive term involving you know deep reflection and interpretation and the analysis of the divine nature and the analysis of scripture and our even our relationship with God. And yes, and sometimes we think that's for those people in an ivory tower.
00:10:22
NextGen Matters
no, no, no, no. no Theology is for all of us. And I'm going to unpack quickly how it is at the core of New Testament teaching.
00:10:35
NextGen Matters
Now, is there a difference between the word theology and the word doctrine? Is there a difference between theology and doctrine? I'm going to say, yeah, no, yeah.
00:10:47
NextGen Matters
So let me explain. Technically, yes. Theology means the big picture. It means the framework of God's revelation. Whereas doctrine is this is the specific truths that we teach and we defend.
00:11:04
NextGen Matters
The catechesis, the creeds. In other words, Kind of like this, ready? Doctrine comes from the Latin word doctrina, which means teaching. Now, this is important. I'm not i'm not trying to go Greek speak on you here.
00:11:20
NextGen Matters
But doctrine, the root word doctrina, actually in Latin means teaching. And that refers to the concrete instructions or the principles of a church or a denomination that we would hold as authoritative.
00:11:36
NextGen Matters
And again, doctrines are often, let's say, codified in creeds and statements of faith and guiding practices and beliefs. Every church should have, at least, should have on their website what they believe.
00:11:50
NextGen Matters
All right. Now, here's the difference. For example, theology tells us that God is holy. Doctrine explains how holiness shapes our worship ethics and daily lives.
00:12:03
NextGen Matters
Doctrine,
Engaging with Theology
00:12:03
NextGen Matters
again, the specific teachings that flow out of theology. Doctrine, the specific teachings that flow out of our theology. It's kind of like this.
00:12:16
NextGen Matters
Theology is kind of like, this is philosophical, all right? Theology is kind of like the river. Let's say the Mississippi, a very large, massive river. and the And doctrines, basically the 10 main doctrines that the evangelical church holds to.
00:12:34
NextGen Matters
So doctrines are kind of like those rivers that shoot off of the Mississippi or the streams that shoot off of the Mississippi. That's kind of philosophical take. It's like a large river's theology. And then the smaller rivers coming across or coming outside of that river is is the doctrine. I got a more common common dude, blue-collar way of looking at it.
00:12:56
NextGen Matters
Here's my is Rich Brown's take. It's kind of like bowling alley and bowling lanes. Are you with me now? Okay. This is where I live. I'm that guy. I'm kind like, you know this is just average Joe. All right. So bowling alley, bowling lanes. Theology is like the bowling alley.
00:13:12
NextGen Matters
There is something about going into a bowling alley. The smell, dude, I can't explain it, but you know right away, bro, if somebody blind blindfolded you and took you into a room, you could be like...
00:13:24
NextGen Matters
All right. This is the bowling alley. What's up? Why am I here? What's going on? They take you over to the counter. You can smell the shoes. Oh, in more ways than one. Yeah, the leather, but the reality of how many people have worn that same pair of shoes. Okay, nevermind. So when you're bowling, all right, when you're bowling, you're in the bowling alley. That's theology. That's the big picture, the big umbrella, the big tent.
00:13:46
NextGen Matters
At lane number one, that's, let me have a little little play with this, okay? Lane number one is of the 10 lanes you're tracking with me. So lane number one is God, theology proper.
00:13:57
NextGen Matters
God, the father, also the Trinity, God, theology proper. Lane number two is Christ, Christology. Lane number three, Holy Spirit, pneumatology. Lane number four, Bible, Bibliology.
00:14:09
NextGen Matters
Lane number five, man, anthropology. Doctrine of sin is taught there. Lane number six, salvation, soteriology. Ecclesiology is lane number seven, study of the church.
00:14:21
NextGen Matters
Lane number eight is sanctification or spiritual growth. Lane number nine is angelology, sometimes even referred to as angelology angelology and demonology. And then lane number 10, eschatology, the study of future things, things to come. If you're watching on YouTube, you're like, dude, you're not at your office desk. Where are you at?
00:14:44
NextGen Matters
This is the room next to my office. This is the man cave. This is the library behind me. I wanted to show you right here. Yeah, I do dig books, y'all. I do dig books. I've had people come in, bro, have you read all these books?
00:14:57
NextGen Matters
No, but I'm planning on it. All right. If the Lord lets me live to be 200 and some years old, I'll get to them all.
Challenges in Teaching Theology
00:15:03
NextGen Matters
I actually have read most of them though. Love to read, love to learn.
00:15:08
NextGen Matters
So yeah, I love my library. I love learning. I love to teach and learn about theology. all right, my buddy Mike McGarry, youthpastortheologian.com. Check the man out.
00:15:22
NextGen Matters
Youth pastor, theologian. Mike's passion and heartbeat is every youth pastor needs to see himself as a theologian. Check out Mike's stuff. Get on his email list. Come on.
00:15:35
NextGen Matters
Some great, great stuff. One of his articles, which I'm linking in this episode, one of his articles is entitled, Why Youth Ministry avoids theology.
00:15:47
NextGen Matters
And reached out to Mike and said, hey, you got some things that I could share? He goes, yep, here's one. Send me the link. I'm going read to you. He gives six reasons why he believes youth ministers and youth ministry avoid theology.
00:15:59
NextGen Matters
See if you recognize some of these. These are his words. We prioritize evangelism. The idea is we're not into theology. We're just into reaching kids. You ever heard that one before? Because I have.
00:16:11
NextGen Matters
Or here's a second one. Theology divides. We just need to kind of keep it, you know, cookies on the bottom shelf where everybody can feel a part of the team. We feel that theology divides. Well, theology does divide, but we are to really divide the word of truth. Okay, I'll stop preaching. Okay.
00:16:28
NextGen Matters
Third, prioritizing application. I've totally heard this one. Good job, Mike. I've totally heard this one. We're focused on the application but we don't teach the front end, which is the doctrine.
00:16:43
NextGen Matters
Or we don't think our students will enjoy it. It's not that much fun. It's boring. Theology and doctrine is boring. I'd push that back really quick.
00:16:55
NextGen Matters
But that's what many think, so they don't go there. Mike gives a fifth reason. Lack of theologically trained youth pastors. I agree with that.
00:17:08
NextGen Matters
I continue to hear it now that I'm out of the university setting doing next gen matters. I am now weekly engaging with youth ministers, senior pastors, and this is what I keep hearing.
00:17:20
NextGen Matters
Hey, we're finding uh,
00:17:24
NextGen Matters
the the The circle of whom to hire from is small right now. Senior pastor is telling me they're having a hard time. They said, where are all the good youth pastors? And I laughed at a couple of said, because y'all made them campus pastors. Wait, did I get in trouble by saying that just now?
00:17:39
NextGen Matters
I said, let them develop and go deep in the game. stay Stay in the game as student pastors. Don't keep moving them off to something else. I'm smiling right now.
00:17:50
NextGen Matters
The reality is senior pastors like, where'd all the good youth pastors go? And what they'll then do is they hire somebody that quite honestly, maybe doesn't even have a calling to ministry or doesn't have training and doesn't even know theology. But the whole thing is, oh, you love God. You like kids you're in like off the bench. You're in the game.
00:18:13
NextGen Matters
it We have got to have theologically trained youth pastors, whether that means, and i so I'm still teaching online, even doctoral classes, so I absolutely believe in higher education.
00:18:26
NextGen Matters
But even if you don't get a higher education degree, at least read, listen to good podcasts, do what you can to learn theology yourself. Come on. Last reason that Mike gives of why people just avoid theology is he says, well, there's not that many good resources.
00:18:43
NextGen Matters
And that's where youth pastor theologian comes in. He sends out two, if not three emails a week where he has links to multiple different sources of where you can go you can find excellent, theologically solid, youth ministry-minded resources, let alone his own curriculum, which is phenomenal.
00:19:06
NextGen Matters
Mike, hey, bro, I'm going to add one more. All right, here's one more. I think a lot of youth leaders, here's my words. We just want to play it safe. We don't want to ruffle anything. We just want the kids to like us.
00:19:19
NextGen Matters
That's the thinking. So we're just kind of playing it safe. Well, I'm I'm going to pivot. I'm turning a corner. Next question I'm asking is this.
00:19:31
NextGen Matters
What does the Bible say about theology? What does the Bible say about theology?
00:19:39
NextGen Matters
Technically, is the word theology in the Word of God? There is no English-speaking Bible that has the word theology in it.
Biblical Basis for Theology
00:19:50
NextGen Matters
The word theology, the the Word, is not in the Word. But the word doctrine and the word teaching, remember teaching and doctrine were simultaneous simultaneous words.
00:20:06
NextGen Matters
Yes, the word doctrine, the word teaching, didactic, didactic, teaching is throughout. Yes, the Old Testament, and i'm going to focus on the fast in the New Testament.
00:20:21
NextGen Matters
By the way, If you're driving or you're running or you're working outside, which is what I do when I'm listening to podcasts and you're like, dude, I can't write all this down. No problem.
00:20:32
NextGen Matters
That's why there's show notes. All the show notes are here. So just go to the... Apple or or Spotify, and there's your show notes. I have 10 reasons why I say the Bible does speak of theology, specifically in the New Testament. Number one, Jesus taught theology.
00:20:50
NextGen Matters
Absolutely. The source of Jesus' doctrine was that God, the Father, sent him. This is John 7, verses 16 and 17.
00:21:01
NextGen Matters
I don't speak on my own. I only speak the words that my father's given me. He'll say that I am the light sent from the father. I am the bread of life sent from the father. He constantly talked about theology, proper, meaning his father.
00:21:15
NextGen Matters
This is my father's world. Number two, Jesus taught doctrine. Jesus taught, you ready? You ready? Jesus taught all of the 10 major doctrines.
00:21:27
NextGen Matters
The 10 I just listed a few moments ago. Jesus hit all of them. All of them. He talked about creation. He talked about marriage. Matthew 19. In the beginning, my father said he made man and woman.
00:21:43
NextGen Matters
And he said, let them you know leave and cleave and they shall become one flesh. That's marriage. When he was asked about marriage, he also even talked about the inspiration of scripture, even in Matthew 22, when he says how that David, as he was inspired by the spirit, and then he quotes what David said.
00:22:02
NextGen Matters
There is an inference there, definite inference of inspiration of scripture. All of the 10 major doctrines Jesus taught. We could end right now, y'all.
00:22:14
NextGen Matters
Jesus taught the 10 major doctrines. But I ain't done, okay? The third of the 10, the Great Commission focuses on doctrine. All authority has been given unto me by my Father.
00:22:26
NextGen Matters
Therefore, you go. Go. Make disciples. There's the command. Go make disciples. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And then what?
00:22:36
NextGen Matters
Teaching them to obey everything I taught you. the Great Commission focuses on teaching, didache, didactic, doctrine.
00:22:51
NextGen Matters
The church was born. i thought about this earlier today, and it's like, this is this this is amazing. The church was born with a theological sermon in Acts chapter 2,
00:23:03
NextGen Matters
Peter did not, i mean, let me back up. you know it's It's Pentecost. It's 50 days after the Passover. It's the second of the three major festivals or feasts that every Jewish person would seek to come home to Jerusalem to be part of, including those from the northern nations of the African continent, all over the the Greek and Roman world. They would come pouring into the city of Jerusalem. Thousands upon thousands of, they would say, pilgrims,
00:23:31
NextGen Matters
for the pentecost the week of pentecost and there's peter 50 days after the crucifixion of our lord jesus christ 50 days after the crucifixion of jesus 50 days after he had denied Jesus Christ, 50 days after he and the others were hiding out in the upper room, not trying to get caught, now because the Spirit of God had fallen chapter one, now they had the boldness of the Holy Spirit.
00:23:59
NextGen Matters
And the dude, I love this y'all, and the dude that never in the Gospels is quoting the Old Testament, Peter, I never once see him quoting the Old Testament. I see Peter talking a lot about Peter, but I don't see him talking about or read about him talking about the scripture.
00:24:16
NextGen Matters
until Acts chapter two. He is like a kid who has gone through the Iwana program. He's like an Iwana, you know, scripture memorizing machine. He is just pumping out the Old Testament in that sermon.
00:24:32
NextGen Matters
He is talking about, his theology is talking about the doctrine of Christology. He is talking about the promise coming of the Messiah and the fulfilled promise of the coming Messiah. This Jesus of Nazareth is the fulfillment of the promise of Messiah.
00:24:55
NextGen Matters
And he takes the Old Testament and backs it up. The church was born in a doctrinal sermon. It wasn't bait and switch youth ministry. Come get the pizza. Come have a blast. We're having a concert. Okay, everybody sit down for five minutes.
00:25:11
NextGen Matters
I'm guilty. I'm raising my hand. We've done it. All right. I'm just saying it wasn't, it wasn't the, uh, the flash. It wasn't the, like I said, the bait and the switch. He just started talking doctrine.
00:25:23
NextGen Matters
These people were flooding in to hear his message to the point they were so pricked in their heart by the Holy spirit. They stopped his sermon by saying, what must we do to be saved? Wow. That chapter two isn't done.
00:25:36
NextGen Matters
Number four, the early church. There were four pillars, if you will, of that early church, Acts chapter 2 and verse 42. You probably know where going with this, right? The church, it said devoted.
00:25:48
NextGen Matters
The church devoted themselves to, first one was the apostles' teaching, which is a direct reflection of two weeks earlier, the Great Commission. Amazing, isn't it?
00:25:59
NextGen Matters
They were committed to, they were devoted to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, meaning the local church, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. couple chapters later, chapter five, three chapters later in chapter five, the Sanhedrin pulls in the 12, already had told them in she chapter four, shut this down about talking about this Jesus, and they didn't.
00:26:20
NextGen Matters
They kept talking about Jesus right in the temple steps again. The Sanhedrin then orders them to not teach Jesus, The teachings, meaning the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
00:26:33
NextGen Matters
And they said, we can't. We can't. There's no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. We must speak the name of Jesus. Salvation is only in him.
Doctrine's Role in Faith and Growth
00:26:45
NextGen Matters
That's doctrine.
00:26:47
NextGen Matters
That was number six. Number seven and eight, doctrine or teaching was what brought people to faith in Christ. That's Acts 13, verse 12, and Acts 17, verse 19. This is now the man, Paul.
00:27:00
NextGen Matters
Doctrine or teaching of doctrine was what brought people to faith in Christ. Number eight, doctrine and teaching was the core of Christian growth. Colossians 1, my favorite book, Colossians 1, 28 and 29, Colossians and and Colossians and we are,
00:27:21
NextGen Matters
all speak of the need for the word of god to be in who we are and to be coming out of us Let me read chapter 2, verses 6 and 7.
00:27:34
NextGen Matters
Paul writes, So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, overflowing with thankfulness.
00:27:53
NextGen Matters
When I share this in youth talks, I'll tell students, I go, do you see the big oak tree? I have a huge oak tree behind my house. It's well over 250 years old for real. I've had a harvester, if you will, come out and do some trimming out. And he looked at, goes, yeah, brother. i live in Virginia. because yeah, brother, that that tree there is over 250 years old.
00:28:11
NextGen Matters
I'll tell you what, you know, the kind of thing. He's right. It's a beautiful oak tree. It's a hickory oak. And I use, I take a picture of it share when I go on the road and speak. I go, that's what I see in this verse.
00:28:25
NextGen Matters
Just as I've received Christ Jesus said, Lord, my justification, my position. So now I must continue to live in him. That's my sanctification. Listen to the tree rooted and then built up, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing as the branches overflowing with thankfulness.
00:28:46
NextGen Matters
Chapter three speaks of we must be dwelling in the word, to be dwelling in the word. number nine.
00:28:55
NextGen Matters
Theology is what equips us for ministry. What equips us for ministry is to be our doctrine. The famous and the classic Paul to Timothy verse chapter three, verses 16 and 17 of second Timothy, all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for what?
00:29:15
NextGen Matters
Doctrine, correction, instruction in righteousness, doctrine reproof, are my bad, doctrine in reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.
00:29:27
NextGen Matters
One of these books behind me is, he's with the Lord, and with Dr. Warren Wearsby when he was the pastor of Moody Church there in Chicago years ago. He wrote a classic series, i highly recommend it, It's the B series.
00:29:40
NextGen Matters
And I remember in my early 20s, I would read that New Testament passage every morning as well as the Old Testament. And when I'd read the New Testament, would take the B series out and I'd follow along with Dr. Wearsby's commentaries. This is one of those I call Wearsby-isms that he said that stuck in my brain.
00:29:55
NextGen Matters
still have it. I like this. He goes, we teach doctrine. That's that's what is right. is reproof is what is not right. Correction is how to get right.
00:30:06
NextGen Matters
Instruction of righteousness is how to stay right. I'll say it one more time, right? Right, here we I'll say it one more time. Doctrine, what is right. Reproof, what is not right. Correction, how to get right.
00:30:18
NextGen Matters
Instruction of righteousness, how to stay right. That's for sixteen verse 16. Verse 17, that the man, person of God, is then thoroughly equipped to do every good work.
00:30:30
NextGen Matters
I'm concerned that we have people running into doing ministry, but they're not being first. Being is verse 16. Then we do verse 17. And the last of my 10 is discernment on teaching is to be filtered through the word of God.
Personal Importance of Theology
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NextGen Matters
That's 1 Thessalonians 5, 19 through 22. going to read it. Do not quench the spirit. do not treat Do not treat prophecies, preaching, with contempt, but test them all.
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NextGen Matters
Test the preaching, test the prophecies, hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. We're to have a filter system, filter what we're hearing.
00:31:09
NextGen Matters
We should be teaching our students to have the filter. I would, in a good way, taunt if you will, tell my students, don't believe me. See what the scripture says. If I'm wrong, call me out. I need to know if I'm wrong, call me out. The word of God is higher than me. I am just the messenger. It is not about me.
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I will not stand between the glory of God and you.
00:31:28
NextGen Matters
and close this up soon. Here we go. So here we are. This is the core now, right? Pun intended. This is the core of this episode. Why does my theology matter?
00:31:40
NextGen Matters
Why does my theology matter? Number one, and by the way, have eight, seven. The first seven are to do with me. Number eight is myself to my ministry. But the first seven are for me, Rich Brown, me.
00:31:55
NextGen Matters
i want these first seven to be for you. First of all, theology matters to me because it keeps me having the correct view of God. It keeps me having the correct view of God. When I don't have a correct view of God, I can distrust him.
00:32:11
NextGen Matters
I can disengage from him. I could even be like Peter of old and disown him. think of I'm thinking of my wife as I thought through this. If I am not having a correct view of my wife and her love and her... her her here just the way she she loves me and just takes care of me and provides me to her. you know If I have a wrong view of my wife, I start to distrust her.
00:32:35
NextGen Matters
I start to disengage from her. I could even disown her. So good theology keeps me having the correct view of God. Number two, it keeps me honoring God.
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NextGen Matters
I'm to honor God by having the right view of God. Number three, it keeps me close to Him. both relationally close with Him, but even, let's say, behaviorally close with Him.
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Galatians 5.1, imitate God as dearly loved children. I want to imitate my Father God because He dearly loves me.
00:33:14
NextGen Matters
i don't want to dearly love Him back. So it affects both my relationship and even how I behave. Number four, speaking of behaving, it keeps me from falling away. When I have good theology, it keeps me from falling away. Have you noticed those, you've got friends that are, air quotes, deconstructing, and they're questioning a lot, and questioning's fine. I'm being hesitant when I say it, fine, as long as you're searching for the biblical truth.
00:33:41
NextGen Matters
But when you're just jaded toward this and that, you got burned by a church, and you're like, dude, I'm out, and all of a sudden, you know this stinks, and I don't like this anymore, and And then they get so jaded, they begin to fall away.
00:33:53
NextGen Matters
They begin having a wrong view of God. I would say in that case, listen to the podcast I did on when you go through difficult times, your struggle, why my struggle matters.
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NextGen Matters
Number five, it keeps me connected with my brothers and my sisters. Yes, good theology, biblically sound theology keeps me connected with my brothers and sisters. 1 John 1 and verse 7, but if we walk in the light,
00:34:20
NextGen Matters
as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. The closer I get to the core, which is God and the view of God theology, the closer i get to the core, and the closer my brothers and my sisters get to the core, God and the right view of God theology, the closer we automatically become.
00:34:40
NextGen Matters
Number six, it keeps me focused and effective as i minister to others, both believers and sharing the gospel with unbelievers. It keeps me focused and effective in ministering to others.
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NextGen Matters
Number seven, it keeps me doing what I'm supposed to do as a shepherd, build up the body of Jesus to build up his church.
Embracing Theology in Ministry
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NextGen Matters
When I have the right theology, it keeps me focused on building up his church.
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NextGen Matters
And the last one is now what we we need to do for those we serve. As a ministry leader, Keeping the correct theology keeps me, keeps you, keeps us shepherding well the flock of Jesus Christ.
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NextGen Matters
Because these students don't belong to you, they don't belong to me, they belong to him. Like the apostle Paul said, which he purchased with his blood, Acts chapter 20.
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These students belong to him. we need to keep them, we need to keep our students on the path of righteousness, help them become godly adults. Here's my encouragement to you.
00:35:47
NextGen Matters
Don't shy away from theology. Students are hungry for depth. They're hungry for reality. The best conversations I ever had, like on missions trips late at night, is just the dudes, these high school juniors and seniors and I, we're hanging out, we're scarfing down cereal. It's late night. We're all gathered around. And they're like, hey, Rich, what about... And they started going into these deep doctrinal questions because they're hungry to know.
00:36:13
NextGen Matters
Students are hungry for depth, even if they don't necessarily say to you out loud. They want to know the truth. When you teach theology, you're just not filling their minds with knowledge.
00:36:26
NextGen Matters
You're just not filling the heads with input, with knowledge. You're shaping their hearts to love Jesus and to live a life that will stand firm in Him.
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NextGen Matters
want to wrap this up with Ephesians 4, verses 12 through 15.
00:36:47
NextGen Matters
We are called as ministry leaders to equip God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up. And unfortunately, when reading that passage, that's typically where people stop.
00:37:00
NextGen Matters
That is only one of the four areas that Paul lays out. I'm going to lay out all four. We are to equip his people for works of service. That's number one. Number two is verse 13.
00:37:12
NextGen Matters
Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and we become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
00:37:23
NextGen Matters
Fully mature. Number two. Then we'll no longer be infants being tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. That's number three.
00:37:42
NextGen Matters
And number four, instead, how do we combat that? Instead, we speak the truth and we do it with grace. We do it love. Doctrine is not to hammer somebody, it's to help them.
00:37:57
NextGen Matters
Doctrine is not meant to hammer somebody, it's to help them. Speaking the truth in love, we will then grow up to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is Christ.
00:38:14
NextGen Matters
Love it.
00:38:15
NextGen Matters
So what does my theology matter? Theology matters because it anchors everything we do. It anchors everything else in our ministry and our lives. Without it, ministries drift into either one extreme of moral therapeutic deism, you know, legalism, or cultural relativism.
00:38:36
NextGen Matters
With correct theology, ministry becomes a place of transformation, a place of discipleship. and a place of building faith that will sustain our students through the storms of life for generations to come.
00:38:53
NextGen Matters
have two quick action steps. One, look over your last month of your teaching schedule. And if you don't have a teaching schedule, it's time to build a teaching schedule. Come on. Look over your last month of your teaching.
00:39:06
NextGen Matters
Ask yourself, look through it. What theology and what doctrines did you cover? Just take a look. Do a little analysis there. Second call action. Second CIA.
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NextGen Matters
C2A. Not CIA. Duh. Second C2A. Put together a basic 10-question doctrinal survey. Gamify it.
00:39:28
NextGen Matters
Play with your students. It may be a personal online survey. Just 10 basic doctrinal questions. Not stump them questions, but just some good, healthy, to see a broad view of of basic theology.
00:39:39
NextGen Matters
Make a game show out of it. Do it on a Wednesday night. Or even have your small groups and small group time ask these questions. Get the doctrinal pulse of where your students are at.
00:39:50
NextGen Matters
And then from there, move forward.
00:39:53
NextGen Matters
My friend, doctrine matters. theology matters, and your leadership matters. Your leadership matters because your ministry matters, and your ministry matters because the gospel matters.
00:40:06
NextGen Matters
Take these truths and run hard. Run the race. All right. God bless, and have a great day.