Joe, I'm not sure where this apparent dislike for, even hostility toward, trained pastors comes from. Good seminaries spend a lot more time teaching the Word than they do "men's opinions of the scriptures". Between classes studying different books of the Bible, biblical Hebrew & Greek, classes on Bible history; on how to preach & teach the Word effectively, classes on how to counsel in a biblical fashion, & the time students spend worshiping together & hearing the Bible preached at chapel & at church on Sundays, being involved in local church Bible studies and the like, they spend a lot of time in the Word. I doubt you dislike your doctor having been to med. school. your insurance agent for knowing a lot about insurance, or think your plumber's over-educated because he knows a plunger from a monkey wrench. Yet pastors are somehow more spiritual if they're less educated than the plumber, electrician & doctor. It puzzles me when we want people who take care of our health and homes to be experts in their fields, but not those the Lord asks to help us care for our souls and teach us His Word. When a pastor preaches & tells me, "The Bible says...", offers to counsel me, teaches a Bible study, etc., I want to have some assurance the guy knows what he's doing! And that, for most people, means studying for ministry.
It's not about how much you know, but about Who you know. John 17:3 There is no hostility towards pastors, just a reminder to all of Our Fathers children that IITmothy 2:15 was written for all of us not just pastors. "Study to show yourselves approved unto God(not to impress men)a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly(in a straight manner, corectly,plainly) dividing(dissecting) the word of truth... What does it mean to dissect something? How do we apply this to our lives? What does it really mean to call God Our Father, but deep down inside most Christians do no not understand the depth of what Jesus taught. If He is your Father, then you are His son or daughter...Just a little dissecting...Meditate on who He is and you discover who you really are...