Posted on 05/22/2018 3:37:22 PM PDT by pastorbillrandles
The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. ( I Peter 5:1-4)
I am a Pastor. By that I mean, my life’s calling has been to ‘feed the flock of God’, by disseminating the Word of God. I am constantly amazed at my good fortune in being able to do so, I would never have been able to imagine my life.
From the time of my conversion, I knew to prepare myself for ministry, and submerged myself in the Word of God. My wife and I particularly baptized ourself in the teachings of 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus in the early years of our marriage. We didn’t know what the LORD had for us, we just followed our interest and for the first two years of our marriage, our interest was the biblical make-up of the Church.
We had always had Bible Studies, which were blessed and successful. One day our Pastor asked us to go and serve in a country church 30 miles away, until they found a full time Pastor. We did so with joy, holding Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon services at the little church on the edge of Anamosa, Iowa.
When the idea came to us to start a church in our home, we consulted our Pastor who verified the calling, he only asked us to be careful not to be a schismatic, avoiding splitting the church he pastored, to which we carefully agreed.
I believe that the Bible teaches various principles of church Government, such as “Presbyterian” (elder ruled), “Episcopalian”, (rule by Overseers) and an argument can even be made for ‘congregational style’ rule, of which the title makes obvious the meaning. The Scriptures do not spell it out, as to which one is the proper form, they give only general principles to apply.*
Peter tells us that He was an Elder, among Elders, to whom He addresses in his Epistle.
Our local church, Believers In Grace Fellowship, has always functioned on a combination of Episcopalian and Presbyterian leadership.** By that I mean we have a group of Elders, tested men who meet the qualifications and share the burden for the flock of God, and the protection of that flock from wolves without and schismatics or heretics within.
I am an Elder within the circle of Elders, however I am also an overseer, or ‘Bishop’ as described in scripture. I have certain executive powers. There are very few times where such powers are ever exercised, and my inspiration in the use of such power is Paul who said that He used his Powers for the use of edifying and not tearing down.
For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed: (2 Corinthians 10:8)
All true Authority is just the flip side of responsibility. I was used to pioneer the church,,(A lot of people helped of course, and prayed and sweated), I will one day answer for the church. If there is anything that comes along to hurt the church, or to disrupt the peace and fellowship of the church, or to distort the teaching of the church, I have never hesitated to use my authority as a Shepherd of God’s flock to guard it.
The reason I have been thinking about these subjects is because Schismatics have launched an attack on the legitimacy of our church’s polity (Government), and particularly my leadership . For more than thirty years there was no problem with our Presbyterian/Episcopalian oversight.
Virtually everything we do , we have done in counsel with the board of Elders, but it has always been understood, that we work best with an Executive function. For example I don’t want to hold a vote on whether we buy office supplies. On some occasions there was a need for an instant action, rebuking a heretic, stopping someone we didnt know ‘t a service from praying for people, asking someone to step down from a position for excessive anger and unforgiveness.
When Jesus addressed the seven churches in Revelation, He addressed them via one person. To the Angel of the church in Ephesus, Laodicea etc… . He made on man responsible and answerable for what was going on in each church. The man represented the church, but He was addressed singularly and called out or commended for what was happening there. I have no doubt each church had Elders and deacons, but it was to the Angel of the church, that Jesus made his remarks.
We believe we are all accountable to the Word of God, myself, the Elders and the whole congregation.
I am not autocratic, I have accountability to elders, I answer to the Word of God, and have to explain myself and my actions as anyone else does.
One good thing about schismatics is that they force you to examine things you normally take for granted, such as church government. I am open to any thoughts on the subject…
* Francis Schaeffer helped me much in His book, THE CHURCH AT THE END OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, When he outlined what He thought to be the 7 essential norms of church, the form so to speak. 1)Local congregations are to exist and should be made up of Christians. .
2) Congregations ought to meet in a special way on the first day of the week.
3) The church should have elders who have a responsibility to shepherd the flock of God.
4) There should be deacons responsible for the community of the church in the area of material things.
5) These elders and deacons should be qualified in accordance with the Pauline standards set forth in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9.
6) The church must engage in church discipline.
7) a vital mark of the church is the administration of two ordinances: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
** Not to be confused with the denominations of the same name. Presbyterian comes from the Greek Word, “Presbuteros” which means “Elder”.
** Episcopaliam comes from the Greek Compound Word, Epi- Scopas, “Over- Seer”.
A good article pointing out the three words used of the leaders of a local church: elders (older men), overseers, and shepherds.
The three words presbuteros, episkopos, and poimena are all used of the same office or job, and there was always a plurality of them in the NT, never the elder, the bishop, nor the shepherd of the congregation.
I’m curious why the word for shepherd, which occurs in the NT 18 times, is translated by the Latin word “pastor” only once. Do you know why that is? Why not a Hungarian word? Wouldn’t that have made as much sense?
Since you use pastor of yourself, do you know why that is? Aren’t the elders who you serve with also shepherds?
Thanks for reading, and considering
For my beloved brother Bill - whom I love and respect - a few simple points that I hope to elaborate on more tomorrow or Thur, since it is late here.
Nowhere in all the NT is any man referred to as “Pastor” as a title or position, and as used for men - other than the Lord Jesus, its use is only found once in all the NT, Eph. 4:11 - where it is plural - and only one of the gifts God gives to the church.
Jesus specifically condemned men using titles or positions in His kingdom, stating it was a way of the world that should not exist among His own.
The singular use of the word Pastor in all the NT is only used to refer to our Lord Jesus.
In Romance languages (Latin-based), there are not two separate words for “Poimen” - only the word ‘shepherd’ is used in translation of the Greek. English translations err to make a difference between the words because the Greek does not do this. I have ministered in Brazil and Nicaragua, El Salvador, speak both Spanish and Portuguese......
No letter in all the NT is addressed to a pastor. One address includes the elders - again, as you noted, always plural in relation to the church.
Not only is no man ever found leading a church as “pastor” in the NT, there is a remarkable absence of such - if the position of pastor were as most propose, the NT would be full of examples, and men with such titles. The absence of such speaks volumes, in in no other truth do so many leaders take a strong stand with no supporting scripture. And they would scream loudly to declare any other truth with such absence of scriptural support.
No where in the NT is any man given “executive” position or power over any church, or other leaders. No where. To try to use James as an example is a case of poor exigesis that one would never use elsewhere.
Timothy was trained not as a pastor, but as a co-worker of Paul’s - i.e., as an apostle. Only apostles could appoint and ordain elders, which both Timothy and Titus were charged to do. Both traveled and ministered extensively with Paul, trained to serve as he did.
The “angel” (Gr: “messenger”) in no way can be proven to have been a pastor or “the” pastor.
Elders are charged “to shepherd” (verb form of ‘poimen’, ‘pastor’), so “pastoring”, “shepherding” is the responsibility of all elders - not with one singled out. This does not mean all are gifted as pastors, but all are to function pastoring. Some are gifted as pastors. As elders are always plural in the NT, so are pastors, functioning in their gift as pastor.
Nowhere in the NT is the the concept or example of “Senior Pastor”, or “Executive Pastor”, placing him above all other pastors. All serve just as elders do, in plurality, in submission first to the headship of the Lord Jesus, and in submission to one another.
The headship of the Lord Jesus in the church is totally practical and real, and no man is a mini-pope, or local pope. (someone joked, ‘All Baptists are Papists. They just believe the Pope is local.’ I love my Baptist brethren.....)
For men to function in oneness under the sole headship of the Lord Jesus is impossible. Apart from the power and reality of the Holy Spirit. But such functioning of Christ’s invisible headship is a great miracle, that testifies of His reality as Head of the church, King of kings, and Lord of Lords.
I have witnessed and experienced the reality of no single man leading/heading/”pastoring” in many churches around the world - to where visitors asked, “who is in charge here? who are the leaders?” because no human leader was seen, and where they were told, “the Holy Spirit is the leader, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the HEAD of the church.”, and the reality of it both blew the minds of visitors, caused many to return and commit, and declare that only Jesus was glorified. But then, that is subjective experience and proves nothing. Experiences vary.
Only God’s word does not vary.
Your fellow servant in Christ, and in His love,
Arlis
Good points, which I have not given enough thought to. I just use “Pastor” because I was raised in Christ with that use.Yes all of the elders are Shepherds, as are all mature Christians,in a sense of the word. Jesus said, “If you love me,feed my sheep”
Thanks Arlis. I have always regarded the portion in Ephesians as a description of the fivefold ministry,but am interested in more of your insights. To be clear,I am not the sole leader of our congregation, I am not regarded as such and do not consider myself as such.I used the expression “executive” in the sense that I have been authorized by my fellow Elders to enact mutually agreed decisions, or to carry out agreed upon functions at times within the body.I await with interest your further thoughts and hope this discussion will be found helpful. Who do you think Jesus was referring to in Revelation two and three?
Of course Pastor is plural in Ephesians 4 ,all of the gift ministries are plural in that passage because it tells us of the many people God would be gifting for the edification of the church. Furthermore “pastor” may be being used synomenously with the Word”elder” these days.Timothy was instructed in his leadership of the churches by Paul...he seemed to have been told to take actions such as to rebuke Elders which sin in the presence of all of the elders...how could he do so if all Eldership is co equal?
Thanks for the candid admission Bill.
I admit that all mature Christians who are able are obligated to be teachers (Heb. 5.12), but all shouldn’t be shepherds, bishops, or elders in the sense of I Tim. 3.1ff, where among their qualifications are being the husband of one wife, having believing children....which would eliminate female shepherds or elders, or single “pastors”.
My opinion is that “pastor” got into the KJV from Roman Catholicism. The 48 men who translated the KJV were ALL prominent men and scholars of the Anglican Church, that portion of the RCC Henry VIII stole from the pope, who wouldn’t let him divorce his wife and marry Anne Boleyn. If they wanted to preserve the use of the latin word “pastor” for elders, bishops, and shepherds in their translation, they had to insert it somewhere, and Eph. 4.11 became the spot.
They weren’t above that sort of thing in other respects. Pascha occurs 29 times in the Greek NT, is translated Passover every time except Ac. 4.12, where it’s translated Easter, of all things. RCC translations routinely translate presbuteros (elder) as priest. All these are examples of denominational bias outweighing scholarship of the translators, to preserve some denominational tradition or practice.
The use of the “divine pronouns” thee, thou, and thine is an example of this. There is no such distinction between you and yours in the text. It’s a human tradition, not scholarship, and those pronouns don’t show respect, as we think. Was God showing respect for Satan when he asked him concerning Job, “Hast thou considered my servant Job?” Was Paul showing respect for the sorcerer Elymas in Ac. 13.11
when he struck him blind saying, “Thou shalt be blind for a season.” Do we address sorcerers that way? Hardly.
Again, thanks for reading and considering.
Bill, are you thinking that Timothy was an elder, bishop, or shepherd (”pastor”) that fulfilled the qualifications for these offices in I Tim. 3? If so, what is the evidence for it?
Thanks again.
I do not believe in singular leadership of the local church I am pointing out that Timothy was delegated singular authority to set things in order in the church.Someone had to initiate, and lead in that case.
Absolutely. Timothy got his charge directly from Paul. Just making sure I wasn’t reading that you thought Timothy was an elder in Ephesus into your words.
Thanks for the clarification.
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