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>>Interesting that in all of the NT, the very word “pastor” (singular) is never found except in reference to the Lord Jesus, and only occurs ONCE (Eph. 4:11) in all the NT when referring to leadership/ministry in the local assembly,<<

Catholics should really refrain from commenting on scripture. The word translated there as pastors is the Greek word that means Sheppard and is used 8 times in the New Testament. It refers to someone who "feeds the sheep" and cares for them. And guess what Arlis. Want to know where we get the word pastor from that? Why it's in the Catholic Churches own LATIN

4166 Greek - poimḗn – properly, a shepherd ("pastor" in Latin)

You see Arlis. Comments about scripture should be left to those who actually study scripture. So regardless of all your snarky remarks the word "pastor" was from YOUR CHURCH and it's Latin origins. Perhaps you should send them your snarky remarks?

I could almost have recited every verse in the NT with the word shepherd in it from memory, but didn’t want to go into that detail. You are correct that the original word is shepherd - of course I knew that. It’s a good thing all Latin-based languages such as Spanish and Portuguese (which I speak) only have the word shepherd as it should be and is in the Greek.

Now, my dear Catholic brother (BTW, I love Catholics and have nothing against them), I suggest you read every one of these verses and you will find by context that exactly what I said is true.

I had no intention of being snarky, but only of wanting to point out the truth.

I have been a serious student and teacher of scripture for almost 50 years - no I am not perfect and still see “through a glass darkly”, meaning there are surely areas where I am off, of which I am seeing every year as I age. I will not attain perfection in knowledge or doctrine in this life...only in the next.

The only church I am a part of is the one true church which includes all true believers in Jesus Christ and Him crucified, be they Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, whatever. Only God knows who is in it and who is not. No man does, no group does. You can’t join it. You are either born into it from above when you are saved, or you are not in it regardless of what religious group you are a part of.