Are You Really a Pastor?

Richard Hollerman

If you are like me, you have often heard typical questions: Are you a pastor? Do you have a pastor? Who is your pastor? But do you think that those who ask such questions are really accurate in what they ask? Whether these sorts of questions are really seeking information or whether they reflect a misunderstanding of Biblical truth, you can be the judge.

A “pastor” is a man who is one of several different positions found in a fully-developed assembly of saints. I say this for, like many other positions, the term is often (usually) misunderstood and used in a way different from the inspired writers of Scripture.

What do popular sources say? Wikipedia defines the term in this way: “A pastor is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Protestantism, a pastor may be ordained or not while in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches, the pastor is always an ordained priest” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastor). The Random House Webster’s College Dictionary defines the term as “a minister or priest in charge of a church,” and, “a person having spiritual care of a number of persons” (p. 954). And the American Heritage College Dictionary says that such a person is a “Christian minister or priest having spiritual charge over a congregation or other group.” Further along, it says that such a person is “a shepherd.”

But the question for us—if we are Bible believing persons—is what does God say about this? As Paul the apostle would ask, “What does the Scripture say” (Romans 4:3a). W. E. Vine says that the term (poimen in the Greek) means “a shepherd, one who tends herds or flocks” Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words). William D. Mounce also says that a pastor is a shepherd, “a person who tends a flock” (Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words). And we also read that poimen refers a “shepherd, sheep herder” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Arndt and Gingrich, Danker).

This seems quite clear. Yet we realize that the New Testament writers do not have a literal significance in mind but a metaphorical one. Thus, this term refers to a man who cares for, leads, and feeds a “flock” of people who are Christians and who look to the “shepherd” for their help and spiritual food. It should probably be pointed out that a New Testament “shepherd” is always depicted as a man, a male, and never as a woman. Obviously, a Christian woman may be highly-talented, intelligent, and knowledgeable, but she is not to be placed in a position that God reserves for the man. This is not surprising since God forbids the woman to be an overseer or elder and reserves these positions only for the man.

Notice the several times that “pastor” is found in the English New Testament. Paul the apostle says, “He [Christ] gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). It is interesting that an apostle is always a man, a prophet could be a woman (Acts 2), an evangelist was always a man, a public teacher was always a man (1 Timothy 2:11-12), and a “pastor” was always a man. Perhaps one reason for this is that a woman was not permitted to teach publicly over the man (1 Timothy 2:11-12; 1 Corinthians 14:33-37) and was not to have authority over the man (1 Timothy 2:11-15; 1 Corinthians 11:3). A woman definitely has many works in the assembly of the Lord, but taking a public role was not one of them.

Paul points out that the Holy Spirit made overseers in the assembly or body of Christ (Acts 20:28) and they were to “shepherd the church of God.” The term “shepherd” here means that these ones who were to shepherd were filling the position of shepherd! We receive further insight through Peter’s words spoken to the “elders” in 1 Peter 5:1-3. These [men/males] were the ones who received the command: “Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight).” These elders or overseers were to be the ones who “shepherded” God’s flock.

When you hear someone say, “My pastor says,” do you wonder whether the person really knows anything about what this position entails? We hear people say, “Your pastor says” or “I must ask my pastor about this.” Or “the pastor of the church says to do this” or “his pastor’s name is John [or Tom or William).” When you hear someone say that in his church, there are “three elders” and “one pastor,” what do you think?

Our impression is that “pastor” is another one of those terms that are part of an unscriptural churchianity. Let’s be content to be merely what Scripture calls us. Even more important perhaps is that we need to do what the Bible says regarding feeding the flock of God. The Bible doesn’t say that a “pastor” must go to a professional school for one to four years. It doesn’t say that the “pastor” must take the lead over the other male members. Further, it is interesting that the “pastor” is actually the same as the “elder” or “overseer” in the assembly (Acts 20:17, 20; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-3). There were not three “offices” but only one position in the early body of Christ.

Let’s be content with God’s ways. Let’s be satisfied with the way the Lord wants His assembly or body to act in this fallen world. God knows best and we would be wise to follow the Biblical directives.  We know that professional “pastors” who have read this may react to it and not like it at all. But it is better to take God’s way regardless of how unpalatable some may find this truth (cf. Galatians 4:16).  Again, we must say that God knows what He is going and let us be content with this.