Is Your Pastor Really a Pastor?

by Bryan Gibson

May 31, 2009

The words in the Bible—these are God’s words (1 Corinthians 2:13), and so we need to be careful to use them the same way He does. This would help clear up much of the religious confusion in the world today. That the word “pastor” has been frequently misused can be seen from the following study.

The word “pastor” is only found one time in the major translations of the New Testament—in its plural form: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11, NKJV). It is translated from the Greek word, poimen, which simply means shepherd. Not surprisingly, then, the other 17 times this Greek word appears in the New Testament, it is translated shepherd. Sometimes it refers to actual shepherds of sheep (e.g. Luke 2:8); other times it has a spiritual application, referring to Jesus Christ, who is the Shepherd of our souls (e.g. Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25).

The pastors or shepherds mentioned in Ephesians 4:11—these are men who serve a particular role in the church (the context of the passage makes that clear). These are the same men who are elsewhere called elders, and it is God’s will that every local church have them (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). When Paul called for the elders of the church at Ephesus (Acts 20:17), he gave them this instruction: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). When the apostle Peter addressed elders (1 Peter 5:1), he gave them similar instructions: “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers...” (1 Peter 5:2).

Notice, too, in the passages just cited that these men are also called “overseers,” which comes from a word that is sometimes translated bishop (compare Titus 1:7 among the different translations). So when you’re talking about pastors, shepherds, elders, overseers, and bishops, you’re talking about the same servants within the local church. These are not different offices, just different terms used to describe the same work or function in the local church.

Obviously, not everyone who preaches can accurately call himself a pastor. One has to be appointed to that role, and not before he has met the qualifications outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Interestingly enough, some women even call themselves pastors, despite the fact that one of the qualifications is that he must be “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6).

Can there be one pastor (shepherd, elder, overseer, bishop) over a local church? Not according to the New Testament. Check the references yourself and you’ll see that every time elders are mentioned in a local church, it is always in the plural (Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:2; 20:17; 21:18; Titus 1:5; James 5:14; 1 Peter 5:1). If we’re going to follow the New Testament pattern, we’ve got to have more than one.