The Pastor
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- Last Updated on Friday, 15 March 2013 12:22
Most Christians take it for granted that the pastor of their church (sometimes called the "senior pastor") is fulfilling a biblical role. He is the man in authority above everyone else in the church. He gives the sermons. While he speaks, everyone else is expected to sit respectfully and listen. Except for the occasional "Amen!" everyone is expected to remain silent.
Such a position is not compatible with the commandments for church given in 1 Corinthians 14. We, as Christians, are commanded to do the following in our church meetings:
1 Corinthians 14:29-31: "Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted."
So rather than have one man be the only one who speaks, we are commanded to let two or three men speak. And while each one speaks the others are to judge what he says. And if something is revealed to someone else while one man is speaking, the first man is commanded to stop, and let the other man speak. That is the biblical way. There is no other way given. Nowhere in the New Testament is there even any hint that a church meeting is to be headed up by one man, and that he is the only one who speaks, and that everyone else has to sit quietly while he gives his sermon.
Did you know that the word "pastor" does not appear anywhere in the New Testament? The word "pastors" is used in Ephesians 4:11: "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;" but never once does the Bible use the singular, "pastor."
And everywhere it mentions the leaders in a local body of believers it refers to multiple people. The idea of a local assembly of Christians being led by one man is not from the Bible. If there were such a person as "the pastor" in the New Testament, surely one of the epistles would have included a greeting to such a person. But no, in every greeting, if leaders are mentioned they are always referred to in the plural.
For example, Paul wrote to the Philippians: "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons." How about "the pastor?" Why did Paul not address him in any of his greetings? Because there was no such person.
3 John 1:9 mentions a man named Diotrephes: "I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not." He seems to be a fellow who wanted to have more authority than the rest of the leaders. That's as close as you can get to finding the concept of "the pastor" anywhere in the New Testament. Check out the rest of 3 John, after verse 9. John didn't have much good to say about old Diotrephes.
A biblical church is led by multiple men, referred to in the Bible as elders, bishops, and pastors. They are leaders, but they are not the only ones allowed to speak in the church meetings. No, a biblical church meeting has at least two men prophesying (that is, speaking in order to edify, exhort and comfort, as it says in 1 Corinthians 14:3). And the two or three men are obviously not supposed to be the same ones every time, since it says in 1 Corinthians 14:31: "For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted." So every man gets his turn.
So where does the idea of "the pastor" come from? Where does the idea come from that one man should have more authority than anyone else? Where does the idea come from that only one man speaks while everyone else has to sit quietly and listen? It certainly does not come from the Bible. But it is consistent with Roman Catholicism. One man, the local priest, is in charge. He gives the message. He is the head of that church. Everyone answers to him. He has "the preeminence."
