Do You Believe In Pastors?
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesRecently a wonderful lady whom I have gotten to know in my work here at Berryville posed this question to me. I appreciate this question and thought that it would be a good subject of a bulletin article as there is great misunderstanding in the religious world today regarding pastors. When we look in the New Testament we find the sole occurrence of the English word “pastor” in Ephesians 4:11. This text reads, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” What are “pastors?” The word “pastor” comes from the Latin word of the same spelling which means “shepherd” according to Cassell’s Latin/English Dictionary. So at the heart of the word “pastor” is the idea of a shepherd. Let us now turn to the pages of the Bible and look into these matters further.
In Acts 20:17 the apostle Paul is in the town of Miletus. Verse 17 states, “And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.” First, we see that the group to whom Paul addresses his words in the following verses are described in this passage as “the elders of the church.” Verses 18-35 of this passage records Paul’s discussion with these “elders.” Within this context in verse 28 Paul said, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” Second, notice that “the elders” in this passage are also described as “overseers.” Third, we see that they are told “to feed the church of God.” Within some of the newer translations of the scriptures, the word “feed” in this passage is translated by the word “shepherd.” The NASV, NKJV, NIV, NLT, and CEV all use the word “shepherd” in their translation in this passage. As we know, the apostle Paul did not speak English, he spoke Greek. The English word “shepherd” is a more accurate translation of the Greek word that Paul originally used when speaking to these elders. As we noted above, the Latin word “pastor” is a synonym for the English word “shepherd.” The point is that Paul describes this group as “elders,” “overseers,” and “shepherds” in this passage. In other words, in scripture, a “pastor” should be considered the same as an “elder” or an “overseer.”
The apostle Peter also emphasizes the fact that “elders,” “overseers,” and “pastors” are referring to the same group of people. Peter writes,
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. (1 Peter 5:1-4 NKJV)
Consider that Peter is speaking to “elders” as verse 1 indicates. He tells them in verse 2 to “Shepherd” the flock. He says regarding the elders that they are to serve as “overseers.” Once again the word “shepherd” is used by many of the newer translations such as the ESV, NASV, NKJV, and etc. In addition, the context of this passage also shows that those to whom Peter was writing were the “shepherds” or “pastors” of the church. In verse 4, Peter refers to, “the Chief Shepherd.” Please note that if there is a “Chief Shepherd” then there must be some subordinate shepherds as well since a “chief” of no one is no chief at all. Jesus is that Chief Shepherd according to Hebrews 13:20. The implied subordinate shepherds are the “elders” of this context. So again we find in this passage a clear description of who the elders were in the early church. The elders were the “pastors” or “shepherds.” The elders were the “overseers.”
So what about that word “pastor” in Ephesians 4:11? Within the King James Version, every other single instance of the Greek word from which the word “pastor” is translated is translated with the word “Shepherd.” These passages are Matthew 9:36; 25:32; 26:31; Mark 6:34; 14:27; Luke 2:8, 15, 18, 20; John 10:2, 11, 12, 14, 16; Hebrews 13:20 and 1 Peter 2:25. In all of these passages the original Greek word “poimen” is used and is properly translated into English with the word “shepherd.” However when we get to Ephesians 4:11, the same Greek word is translated with the English word “pastor” and this is the ONLY time in the New Testament when the Greek word “poimen” is translated in this way. Why the inconsistency? The sad truth of the matter is that the translators have been dishonest with us in perpetuating this translation in this particular passage. It should be translated “shepherd” just as in all the other instances, but it has been translated “pastor” in an effort to justify the unscriptural practice of the “one-man-pastor-system” in the religious world today.
To answer the question that was posed to me, “Do you believe in pastors?” Yes, I do, but not in the sense that the majority of the religious world uses the term “pastor” today. The majority of the religious world today uses the term “pastor” to be identical with the term “preacher” and the Bible just does not teach that idea. The Bible teaches us that “pastors” are the same men who qualify to be “elders,” “overseers,” or “shepherds.” And when one considers that the qualifications for an overseer/elder/shepherd are set forth in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, and 1 Peter 5:1-4 it should be evident that there are many people who call themselves “pastors” today who are nothing more than hirelings (John 10:12). Let us reject the modern day concept of “pastor,” go back to the Bible and “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11).