Theology and biblical scholarship are ministries of the church, which means that scholars are servants of pastors, preachers and people. Theology doesn’t come to its climax in a plenary lecture at the Society of Biblical Literature or a paper published in Modern Theology or in a widely-reviewed book that wins a Christianity Today award. Theology and biblical scholarship come to their climax in the liturgical assembly of the people of God, where a pastor delivers the word of the Lord to the people of God at the Lord’s table.

To you theologians and scholars, remember that you serve the church, its pastors and its people. And to those who are pastors, theologians exist for your sake, to assist you as you do the really big work of theology. Don’t let them belittle you.

And to those in the pews: The whole apparatus of Bible study and teaching is for you so that you can be shattered and reborn by the hammer of God’s Word. The Word of God is the light of God, and everything that comes into light is light (Eph 5:13). If you receive the light of the Word, you’re being made over into a light source. As you obey the word, your good works shine before the nations.

- Peter Leithart, On Earth as in Heaven: Theopolis Fundamentals