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J.W. McGarvey On The Term “Pastor”

Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles

Brother J.W. McGarvey, a key figure in The Restoration Movement (see article) was one of the stalwarts of the faith and a very prolific writer. For more than 40 years, articles flowed from his pen to such periodicals as the Millennial Harbinger, American Christian Review, and Lard’s Quarterly.

He produced commentaries on Matthew, Mark, Acts, the Gospels (in conjunction with P.Y. Pendleton), and six of the epistles. In his books,  McGarvey dealt with criticism against Jonah, the eldership, the authorship of Deuteronomy, Christian evidences, and other topics.

In one of his many publications, Brother McGarvey writes regarding the term “pastor” [overseer]:

The term pastor furnishes a striking example of the power with which sectarian usage forces itself upon us. We now have all the facts before us necessary to a proper estimate of the term pastor.

To apply it to a preacher who is not a regularly appointed elder of the church is a misnomer; as much as to call the Lord’s day Sabbath, or to call sprinkling baptism. It is a violation of the law that we must speak as the oracles of God; it is letting go of the form of sound words which we have heard from the apostles.

Again: to style a preacher the pastor is still more unscriptural, for it robs the eldership entirely of this title, and makes it appear that there is but one pastor [elder] to the congregation, whereas the apostolic churches all had a plurality of them (Titus 1:5). If we use the term at all, we must apply it to the eldership and may speak of “the pastors of a church,” and of a “pastor,” but never of “the Pastor,” unless, indeed, a church is so ill organized as to have but one elder.

Even though Brother McGarvey has been dead for 99 years, he still speaks to us God’s infallible truth through his writings (cf. Hebrews 11:4; 1 Peter 4:11).