Professionalism, Specialization, and Their Impact on the Social Dynamics

¹The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ² Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷ Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

⁸ Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. ⁹ They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. ¹¹ Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. ¹³ For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 3:1-13

⁵ This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— ⁶ if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. ⁷ For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Titus 1:5-9

           

            “Leave it to the professionals” has become the punch words in the world today.  Ever since knowledge and skills are organized and specialized through formal education system, people have reaped the great benefits of formal education graduates being experts and professionals of their respective disciplines.  As knowledge and skills become more complex, they are then being broken down into smaller and narrower streams and categories for the purpose of mastery.  Combine it with the education model after industrial revolution, within a short period of time, students are expected to graduate and fill the needed posts in order to get the world machine functioning.  Technology has developed very rapidly through
the specialization of knowledge and skills.  Businesses have grown through the utilization of professionals and thus wealth has been accumulated and distributed like never before.  Each category in various areas of life has been occupied with specialization and professionalism.  With the world becoming extremely complex, it is no longer enough now to have a generic knowledge about things.  For example, it is no longer sufficient to have a medical doctor with merely generic knowledge about medicine.  The current world requires for medical professionals to obtain more specialized knowledge and skills in narrower categories, such as dental and even orthodontic, or ophthalmology, or oncology, and so forth.  Knowledge about certain diseases is proved valuable in order to figure out solution to growing problems in the world.  In the world of construction, plumbing is one area of specialization, electricity is another, and so roofing, foundation, interior design, acoustic, lighting, and so forth.  The more complex the building is, the more specials are needed.  The area of theology is no exemption.  We have with us systematic theology, historical theology, philosophical theology, practical theology, and so forth.  Even within each smaller category we still can break it down into yet smaller specialization.  For example, in systematic theology we can find theologians who specialize on the doctrine of the Trinity, or on the Soteriology, or on Ecclesiology, and so forth.  While through specialization and professionalism knowledge can greatly expanded in the most effective and efficient manner, there are some negative implications that slowly change the social dynamics of our world, including the leadership dynamics in the church.

            “Leave it to the professionals” has stifled a lot of people’s ability to work on things.  When there is a leak in our bathroom, we call a plumber.  When our electricity needs upgrading, we call an electrician.  When our front tooth chipped, we go to the dentist.  When we have problems with our skin we seek a dermatologist.  The era of the “Jack of All Trades” is long gone.  Gradually people tend to avoid touching areas where there are professionals.  We expect professionals to fix our problems properly and instantly.  As time goes by, more professionals are produced, we lose our abilities to handle even small problems, for professionals have taken charge of them.  Often during theological discussions, when there is a particular issue surfaces, we tend to toss it to whoever we think the issue is closest to their discipline.  Once we toss it, we do not wish to touch it anymore.  Our children are growing up with such habits, and thus the imagination is set for a new world, which is a world where each professional has its own domain.  The implication is that we think that if we are not a professional of that domain, then we can’t do anything in it.  The natural conclusion is then “Leave it to the professionals.”  As this new world is replacing the old world, formal education enhances the practice even more by going deeper into specialization.  Therefore, formal education grooms their professionals to champion in narrower specialization.  The way research is set up, it requires development of areas that are less and less general.  Doctoral research nowadays is expected to explore very narrow and specific area in order to get the deepest and highest level of understanding possible.  On the one hand this pathway leads to the acknowledgment of the limitation of human beings.  Humility is then necessary in order to be an expert of a very specific matter.  But on the other hand this route has created a huge gap between specific areas.  Integration becomes a big issue in this regard.  And in practicality we grow up into people who are only capable of handling very small and limited area.

            Time is extremely important.  The industrial revolution, with its context has brought the world into impatience.  Industrial revolution single handedly obliterates the era which people take time when studying.  Due to the market demand and the need to put food on the table, formal education changes their curriculum and sharply shortens the time needed to graduate.  The compromise is on the content.  Instead of focusing into creating a wise person, it then seeks to produce operators in the industry.  Specialization then becomes the logical choice, because through specialization study time is significantly reduced.  Soon, formal education institutions compete for who can offer a certain kind of curriculum that drastically reduces study time and yet produces excellent professionals.  Excellent professionalism is then determined by the industry that is using them.  Formal education conforms its curriculum into producing professionals that can fit in the industry.  Curriculum continues to expand as formal education faces more problems.  The number of jobs available versus the number of graduates is uneven.  There usually are more graduates, thus more professionals, than the available jobs.  And so, curriculum and courses are developed in order to enhance specialization in order to crate variety of professionals.  Industry then is influenced by the availability of professionals that they never think they need before.  Once this course is set, then there is no turning back.  Specialization and professionalism become the norm in life.  The more professionals become very specialized, the more we lose our courage to deal with things.  Coincidentally, our world grows very rapidly toward a more complex nature.  A matter of law for example is better left for lawyers to handle.  Depending on what segment of law to deal with a certain kind of lawyer will be needed.  Not every lawyer can handle every problem pertaining to law.  A business lawyer can’t handle immigration law issue and vice versa.  Procedures then are developed to accommodate the new world of professionalism and specialization.

            This new world has also been adopted into the church life.  “Leave it to the professionals” become the unspoken norm of the church leadership dynamics.  Pastors then are produced by seminaries following desirable traits demanded by churches.  Certain knowledge and skills are infused into the seminary curriculum in order to produce professional clergies that may lead the church.  As seminary grows following the growth of the complex world, their curriculum becomes more complex.  Their professors too become more specialized.  Courses are developed, but time is still the issue.  So seminary curriculum becomes selective as well.  It focuses only on the areas that can be learned in limited time.  However, seminary boasts producing professional clergies that are capable of handling matters of heaven and earth.  Thus if they can handle matters of life and death, all other matters become smaller and thus expected to be within the capacity of each professional clergy.  Church members then expect a lot out of professional clergies.  In line with the world around them, they too then withdraw from touching areas assigned to the professional features of clergies.  When there is discussion on the area of theology, professional clergies are the only people that may handle.  When there is issue on the area of pastoral matters, professional clergies are the only people that have the capacities to deal with it.  Soon all issues related to theology become the domain of professional clergies.  Church members feel convenient with “Leave it to the professionals” norm and assign all church duties to professional clergies.  This attitude informs the seminary and thus it responds by intensifying its curriculum with the idea to prepare professional clergies to be the kind of professionals the church demands.  Church activists then only touch areas that professional clergies do not wish or do not feel capable to touch.  Soon, church develops its habits which shifts its dynamics into professional clergy’s presumed features.  No wonder that many churches no longer have capable elders.

            The instruction that Paul gives to Timothy and Titus in the bible passages above is so far remote than the current trend of the modern church.  However, to unlearn the current habits is not an easy thing to do.  A lot of elders in today’s church fear the world of theology.  Theology is seen as something foreign.  It is understood only as the domain of the professional clergies.  In every council meeting, in every issue of theology, all eyes always look at the pastors for answers.  Elders do not feel necessary to immerse themselves in the world of theology.  Very seldom elders desire to dig deep into the bible and meditate on the matter of theology.  The professionalism and specialization tendency of the world returns the mood of the church to the era before reformation when clergy and lay people distinction was overemphasized.  And many churches succumb to such mood, and thus elders do not follow the instructions that Paul gives in the Scripture.  According to Paul in Titus 1:9, elders “must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”  The ability of elders to give instruction in the sound doctrine and to defend the faith is almost fading in today’s church.  To hear that elders are expected to study theology would scare them even to the point of unwillingness to be nominated as elders.  The fact is that what Paul instructs in the above passage as the desirable traits of elders are not the exclusive domain of professional clergies.  The list of desirable traits includes the knowledge and skills in the area of theology.  In reference to James 5:14, elders’ duty includes pastoral care.  James says: “Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”  In these two biggest areas commonly assigned to professional clergies’ domain, theology and pastoral care, the Scripture includes them into the traits and duties of elders.  So it should not be too much to conclude that elders too are expected to be expert in matters of theology and pastoral care.  These two are summed up by Peter in 1 Peter 5:2 & 3 when he says to elders to “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”  Therefore there is no excuse actually for the leadership of the church.  They ought not to relinquish their privilege to professional clergies.

            This is a difficult matter to deal with.  The impact of professionalism and specialization has gone deep into the fabric of human social dynamics.  The habit and culture of the world somehow has shaped the way God’s church do things as well.  What is being discussed above is only a fraction of the things that actually happen in the world and in the church.  This calls for clear mind, pure heart, and willingness to obey the word of God.  The current practice is never easy to unlearn.  That’s the first step toward relearning the instruction as given in the Scripture by God through his apostles.  After unlearning the wrong practice, only then can we relearn what ought to be.  Hope this short article may stimulate the mind and imagination of church leadership in understanding what is right and what is wrong, and following the instruction of God’s word.  Hope this short article may also stir discussion among educators on how to provide a better educational system that would encourage integration rather than disintegration.
-The Business of Christian Education LXXXVI -