Does The Bible Endorse Pastors Leading The Church?

Most churches today are led by a pastor. And this person is the defining influence on that church. Their leadership will shape what that church believes and what it does. The very personality of the church will reflect the pastor who leads it. This person will also be the face of that church, being the most visible representation of that church to the community.

If we’re doing this right, if the preeminence of pastors is the biblical way for churches to be governed, then pastors should be as prominent in the Bible as they are in today’s church. But instead of having a pronounced presence in the New Testament revelation of the church, pastors are only mentioned once in the Bible, and some translations don’t mention them at all. Instead of having a strong presence in the scriptures, pastors are strangely absent. It’s as if they don’t exist.

The lone verse where some Bible translations mention pastors is Ephesians 4:11. Below is the ESV translation, which uses the word shepherds rather than pastors.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers (Ephesians 4:11 ESV)

In this verse, the Greek word for shepherds is poimen. It means someone who takes care of sheep. The word poimen appears 17 times in the New Testament. Sometimes it indicates someone who takes care of animals, and sometimes, through implication, it indicates someone who takes care of people. Every time poimen appears in scripture, it’s translated as shepherd, except Ephesians 4:11, where some translations choose to use the word pastor. Shepherd is an English word, and makes the most sense to represent the Greek word poimen. However, pastor is a Latin word, and this raises the question of why someone would choose a Latin word over an English word when essentially they are creating an English translation of the Bible. So how did the Latin word pastor find its way into some Bibles?

The office of the pastor is grounded in history and tradition rather than having its roots in the scriptures. Ignatius of Antioch was instrumental in establishing a single leader to govern the church. He advocated a type of organization where the bishop was distinguished from the elders and ranked above them. He was emphatic that the bishop held the ultimate power in the church.

At the time of Ignatius, the one-bishop rule was not widely followed, but his writings became influential, and by the mid-second century, this model was firmly established in most churches, and by the end of the third century, it prevailed everywhere. In time, most churches exchanged the title of bishop for the title of pastor, but the function has remained the same. This is the origin of the preeminence of the contemporary pastor ¹.

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I want to be clear that it’s not my intention to discredit any individual who functions in the traditional role of a pastor. I realize that most pastors love God, love God’s people, and endeavor to serve within the traditions they were raised up in. However, it is my intention to challenge the traditional leadership style of the institutional church, which more closely resembles a business run by a CEO than the body of Christ with Jesus as its head. Such a radical deviation from God’s word, in such a critical area, invariably comes with adverse effects. This style of leadership is a hindrance to the church realizing its potential as the body of Christ and functioning the way God designed it to function.

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Going back to Ephesians 4:11, notice the structure of the sentence. It says the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers. The phrase shepherds and teachers implies that the two are linked together. So, if this isn’t talking about the traditional role of the pastor, who is it talking about?

While pastors are absent from the scriptures, elders are very prevalent throughout the New Testament revelation of the church. There are several passages that go into detail about the qualifications of an elder as well as the vital role God has entrusted to them in caring for His church.

The following verses present a strong case that elders are who God is referring to as shepherds and teachers.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder… shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; (1 Peter 5:1-2 ESV)

This scripture recognizes elders as those responsible for shepherding the flock of God. In this verse, the Greek word for shepherd is poimaino, a verb. This is the ministry of the shepherds (poimen, a noun) mentioned in Ephesians 4:11.

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you (Titus 1:5 ESV)

Things were put in order in the church at Crete by appointing elders. There’s no mention of pastors. There’s no mention of a “senior” or “lead” man being appointed as the primary authority. Titus simply appointed a plurality of elders, and according to God’s way of doing things, this put things in order. It’s significant that this is taking place approximately 34 years after the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two, which is commonly considered the birth of the church. If pastors are God’s choice to lead His church, surely they would have shown up by this time.

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. (Acts 14:23 ESV)

Again, there’s no mention of pastors or a “senior” or “lead” man; just a plurality of elders.

He [an elder] must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (Titus 1:9 ESV)

This verse describes an elder’s ministry as being focused on teaching the word of God and holding people accountable to it. The ministry of elders is at the heart of fulfilling Jesus’ command to make disciples. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matt 28:19-20)

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17 ESV)

It is elders who rule in God’s church. It is elders who carry out preaching and teaching.

He [an elder] must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? (1 Timothy 3:4-5 ESV)

This gives important insight into how elders lead in God’s church. It draws a comparison between caring for the church and managing their own household. Elders are to lead in the church in the same way a husband and father should lead in their home. Leading in the home involves authority but is carried out through lots of patient teaching and consistent personal interaction.

Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. (Acts 20:17 ESV)

The apostle Paul is on his way to Jerusalem and knows that he will soon be imprisoned. He has serious concerns that he wants to address with the leadership of the church at Ephesus, so he calls for the elders. There’s no mention of pastors, and no individual is identified as having the chief responsibility among the elders. When the elders arrive, Paul tells them the following:

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. (Acts 20:28 ESV)

Paul addresses his concerns for the church to the plurality of elders because it’s these men who the Holy Spirit has made overseers of the flock. It’s these men who are responsible for the care of God’s church. This is taking place approximately 36 years after Acts chapter two.

In sharp contrast to the absence of pastors, elders are prevalent throughout the scriptures, and their responsibility and ministry are clearly defined.

According to scripture, elders are called to:

• Shepherd the flock of God.
• Exercise oversight.
• Give instruction in sound doctrine.
• Rebuke those who contradict sound doctrine.
• Rule well.
• Carry out preaching and teaching.
• Pay careful attention to all the flock.
• Care for the church of God.

Most Christians consider all these things to be the domain of the pastor, who is seen as distinct from elders and having authority over them. Yet nothing in scripture supports this view.

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So, how do church leaders justify the traditional role of pastors? Since pastors aren’t present in the Bible, it’s a reach, but I’ll share a couple of the texts that are commonly used.

John Chapter Ten

A popular passage used to justify the role of pastors is found in chapter ten of the gospel of John. Pastors will take the first five verses of this chapter and apply them to themselves. These verses say “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. He goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice”. Pastors will teach that these verses are describing their position as the pastor of the church.

But understanding verse 6 is crucial to properly interpreting and applying the first 5 verses.

This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. (John 10:6 ESV)

When Jesus was speaking in the first 5 verses, they didn’t understand what he was saying because he spoke in the third person, referring to himself as “he”. So, because they hadn’t understood what he just told them, Jesus switched to first person, and verse 7 says he told them “again”, saying “I am”. This makes it clear that in the earlier verses, Jesus was talking about himself when he said, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out”. He goes on to reiterate these truths several more times with particular emphasis on his ownership of the sheep.

Verse 14 – I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.

Verse 27 – My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

To utilize John chapter 10 to teach that a man has sheep that are his own, and he leads them out, and they listen to his voice and follow him, is a serious corruption of God’s word. It takes the position of ownership and authority that belongs exclusively to Jesus and ascribes it to a man. It teaches people to esteem a man and relate to a man in a way that is reserved exclusively for Jesus.

The Moses Model

Since pastors aren’t present in the New Testament scriptures, people will go back into the Old Testament looking for material to uphold the traditional role of the pastor. It’s popular to cite the following verse as a biblical endorsement for a pastor to be appointed over a congregation.

“Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” (Numbers 27:16-17 ESV)

This passage is not a prophetic statement about pastors, and it’s never quoted in the New Testament. This is a request from Moses that addresses the immediate need for Israel to have a leader to replace him after he dies. God answered Moses’ request by installing Joshua to lead Israel.

However, there is a prophetic statement by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 that is quoted multiple times in the New Testament. It first appears in the book of Acts.

Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people. (Acts 3:22-23 ESV)

Deuteronomy 18:15 is also quoted in Acts 7:37 and referenced in John 6:14, “After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Now that Jesus has taken His place as head of the church ², he is the man God has appointed over the congregation; it’s his voice that every believer is accountable to listen to, and God’s people will never be without a shepherd.

People also like to use Moses himself to represent a pastor’s leadership, but this seriously conflicts with fundamental teachings of the New Testament. Scripture tells us that when Moses would enter the tent of meeting, the pillar of cloud would descend and the Lord would speak with him. While this was happening, the people waited and watched from a distance ³. Moses communed with God, and the people depended on Moses to tell them what God said. Moses had access to God in a way that wasn’t available to everyone else. Scripture is emphatic that this is no longer the way of the New Covenant.

No longer [as in the Old Testament] will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord’, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. (Hebrews 8:11 NIV)

But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. (1 John 2:20 ESV)

But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything… (1 John 2:27)

Jesus himself said, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ ⁴

The New Testament also declares that all believers have full access into the presence of God.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (Hebrews 10:19-20 ESV)

Moses was an amazing and inspirational man of God. But choosing a Moses-style of leadership fails to embrace the amazing change the New Covenant has brought to God’s people, where every believer has the Spirit of God abiding in them.

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The Bible provides us with an abundance of information about elders. There are multiple instances of elders being appointed in churches. Multiple passages list the qualifications of elders and expound on the various ministries they are to carry out in God’s church. Several scriptures clearly establish their position of authority and responsibility, and that God has entrusted the care of His church to them. And there are examples of elders in action, where we get to see them operating as those who are called to lead God’s church.

On the other hand, we don’t see any of this kind of information to support the existence of pastors. They are conspicuously absent from New Testament scriptures. This makes it strange that we have opted for pastors to govern the church, and that they operate from a position that is distinct from elders and over them in authority. We fully embrace people leading the church from a singular position of authority that doesn’t exist anywhere in New Testament scripture.

This is a major deviation from what the Bible reveals about church leadership. But as serious as this error is, it’s actually a symptom of a deeper problem. The underlying problem is how fiercely dedicated we are to traditions, how enamored we are with worldly wisdom ⁵, and how casually we take the word of God. Every church I know of claims to love the word of God and follow the Bible. But this often comes across as mere lip service when Biblical truth conflicts with our traditions.

Years ago, I was sharing a meal with several pastors, and during the conversation, someone mentioned that the word pastor only appeared in the Bible once. Looking back, I find the response of the group, including myself, rather disturbing, because the response was total indifference. No one expressed any concern or even any interest in discussing if this might be significant. This insight from the Bible had no impact on what we believed or how we operated.

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Throughout the Old Testament, over thousands of years, God made many prophetic promises of a coming savior. And the prophet Isaiah declared that just before the appearing of the Messiah, God would call His people to prepare themselves for his coming. This is reemphasized in the gospels and was fulfilled through the ministry of John the Baptist.

and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. (Luke 1:17 ESV)

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” (Matthew 3:1-3 ESV)

Notice, they weren’t told, it’s right here, so just believe. They were told, It’s right here, so repent.

Today, I hear people calling out for and even predicting a revival from God. While it’s always good to call out to God with hope and expectation, it’s also vital that we humbly and prayerfully consider how God wants us to change so that we are a people prepared for God to visit. I question the wisdom of expecting God to come and do great things among us, while we continue to disregard His word and hold fast to our traditions. We desperately need a renewed hunger for God’s ways and a humble submission to His word. In a spirit of true repentance, we must earnestly test everything against the truth of God’s word ⁶. I’m convinced these things will make us “a people prepared” for whatever God desires to do.

All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2 ESV)

Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (Psalms 25:4-5 ESV)

You have exalted above all things your name and your word. (Psalms 138:2 ESV)

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Footnotes:

1. Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices – Viola & Barna
2. Ephesians 1:22 ESV  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.
3. Exodus 33:8-9 ESV Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses.
4. John 6:45 ESV  It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—
5. 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 ESV Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
6. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 NAS But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.