I am still seeking responses to the question of how many times the word "pastor" appears in the King James Version of the New Testament! In the meantime, I saw an interesting article here. What I find interesting about this article is that the author urges us to return to Biblical moral standards, but according to Christ's terms, not ours.
I am learning more and more how difficult it is to be a True Servant in the Kingdom of God. It certainly is not easy! We have become so accustomed to paying attention to the loudest, or the most flashy, or where we see a lot of people, that we pay little attention to the truth of the Word of God. We want Christianity the American way - having our cake and eating it, too. The truth is, we cannot have it all. Whatever it is that we desire, will cost us something. If we truly want to experience the Kingdom of God, it will cost us something here on this earth.
Post your response to the question of how many times the word "pastor" appears in the New Testament!
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11 comments:
There are many bloggers more qualified to answer this question than I (Steve Chastain at stupidchurchpeople.com has a powerful perspective on this topic).
The only time the word Pastor(s) is found in the KJV New Testament is Ephesians 4:11: "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;" (I encourage people to read the entire passage, since the sentence doesn't end until verse 16).
There are a couple other verses (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:1, 2) that some people claim refer to the pastoral role (oddly, those people are usually pastors). It's pretty clear to me that those verses refer to the team of leaders the bible calls elders. In fact, the Ephesians 4 passage suggests that pastor and teacher are interchangable.
It doesn't take much digging to see that the modern hierarchical system of "Pastor at the head" is supported nowhere in scripture. I have gone so far as to say that today's church cannot possibly be what Christ intended.
Dorsey,
You are very correct! So, what has allowed this system to persist in the earth? Why are we so insistent on retaining the hierarchy of Moses, where a man comes in between us and God? How do we begin to spread the message that there is only one church, and not many churches? I submit that it can only be done Christ's way, and that is through a loving revolt. There must be a radical revolution that must occur in order to allow Christ to manifest here in the earth.
Check out this article if you haven't already on the origins of the modern day pastor: The Pastor: Where Did He Come From?
It does a good job of explaining our current situation. But how to change it??? Geesh. Who knows? I had a suggestion but it was just a thought. The dialogue should continue.
Steve,
Thank you for your insight! I am still reading the article you referred to and checking the sources, but the spirit of it is so true. I would also like to offer two other resources. One is the book "The ministry of the Saints" by Mark Hanby, and the second is called "The Harlot Church System." I cannot recall the author of the latter at the moment, but I will obtain it and put it in a later post.
Steve, I believe you have the proper attitude. The objective is not to destroy those pastors who were raised in the system, the idea is to radically change the system. How do we do that? We must look at the Bible for guidance, and one of the keys lies in Paul's greeting to Philemon. He greeted the church that met in his home. Now, I have no idea how large Philemon's home was, but I do know that had at least one slave, Onesimus. So how many people met with him at his house? I do not know, but there was no reference of anyone but the believers.
I also deeply appreciate your commentary on becoming marketplace ministers, and going into the world to minister. This is what the Lord commissioned us to do. I am really looking forward to the dialogue on this subject, and if you and Dorsey do not mind, I would love to add you as links on this blog.
That's fine Ron to add a link to my site...appreciate it. And I appreciate you catching my attitude. Glad you "get it".
When you hold to this line of thought, it's easy to feel alone and overwhelmed. The "system" is so big, and I'm only one voice. One of the joys of blogging is meeting new friends of like mind. Suddenly, my voice is stronger. I'm happy to be part of this discussion. Link away!
Thanks for the link to The Pastor:Where Did He Come From? I'm still reading and processing it.
Being a Christian is Utah I have used the verse in 1 John 2:27 to point out there is no need for a prophet.
I don't think I've ever applied it to my pastor. Of course, I listen and take notes to make sure what he is teaching is sound biblically. If it were not then I would definitely leave.
Anyway, great food for thought. Thank you! Blessings to you today...
Chuck,
This is a great question. The answer is twofold. First, after Christ was crucified, the veil was rent. Why? It was symbolic of the fact that there was no longer a need for a mediator between God and man. Through Christ alone, we have access to the Father on an individual basis.
Next, the gift of pastor that is referred to is just that - a gift. It was never intended to be an office or a title. Now, this has nothing to do with the local fellowships, because the Word admonishes us to assemble with one another. But the purpose of that gathering is to edify one another, strengthen one another, and together give glory to God. We have perverted the purpose of the gatherings. Why do we do this? Because this is what we have been taught. And we were taught this by others who grew up in this system. There is only one church, and that being the believers who make up the Body of Christ; you and I and others who believe that Christ is the Son of God.
In the Old Testament, a mediator was necessary. This is no longer necessary in this dispensation of grace. This does not mean I quit my fellowship or anything of that sort. God sets us in the body and in fellowships as it pleases Him. However, we do need to understand the truth. Please read the dynamic essay that Steve refers to in his comment. I printed it out, and it was about 42 pages long. The essay itself is about 24 pages, but extremely insightful.
Look forward to exchanging with you much more, Chuck!
I think I understand your view on todays Church, in general, there are to many with an out of order condition, and there are many reasons for that. Do we give up on the traditional Church assembly? Through scripture we see how Paul addresses the out of order condition of the church in Corinth, several times. He doesn't scrap the only foundation that we should be building on. To often men are in leadership positions who have not been called.
Rom 10:14-15
14... And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15... And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
There could be trouble with a NEW WAY, NEW SYSTEM, people have itchy ears, remember Charles T. Russell didn't like the way things were, Joesph Smith had a revelation also. All I'm saying is we must be careful, those that He has chosen will respond to His Word, just as we have, and all those before us. God Bless
Anonymous,
Thank you for your insightful comments. I do not propose that we do nothing new; only that which God originally intended. For example, we have denominations, which were never in His plan. Should we continue in that man made system simply because we have grown up in it? Under the systems we have, too much pressure is put on the pastor to do the work that all of us should be doing. I encourage you to read "The Ministry of the Saints" by Mark Hanby. It truly is provocative reading. I look forward to hearing more from you.
I'm not entirely sure of what God's plan was. I mean, how can we be sure,
Ron, that she didn't want denominations. It seems to me that the very idea of denominations dates back to the early church being rooted deeply in the differing cultural traditions of their communities of origin.
I just don't know that we can so easily say, "God didn't intend for us to have Pastors, because they're only referred to once in the New Testament." Or, "God never intended Denominations to exist."
I think the only thing we can say with relative certainty (although not complete certainty) is that God probably didn't intend for sin to exist. Beyond that things get really fuzzy.
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