Why is making a doctorate the sole criterion for preaching and teaching wrong?
Making a doctorate the sole qualification for preaching and teaching is wrong because God historically used unlearned, uneducated men—such as Peter, John, Amos, and David—to do His work. When congregations required a doctorate for the pulpit, Christianity lost its power, since God never limited Himself to credentialed men.
Les explains that Peter and John were perceived as unlearned and ignorant men, yet God used them. He notes that he himself does not stand with a long list of degrees and does not apologize for it. He points to Amos and David, men who came off the ranch, as examples whom God used. He says he is not against education and admires people who have it, but when a doctorate becomes the sole criterion for being qualified to preach and teach the Word, that position is out in left field. He maintains Christianity lost its power when congregations would not even consider a man for the pulpit unless he had a doctorate, because God never used those kind of men in the past.