Have you ever had the experience of talking to someone without being able to communicate? Neither of you used any esoteric words or complex sentences yet, somehow, you seemed to be talking right past each other. There was no mutual understanding.
Sometimes when this occurs, it turns out that you are defining the meaning of words differently. What I mean by a particular word is very different that what you understand it to mean, and vice versa. It’s like that old saw about the British and Americans: “Two peoples divided by a common language.”
The vocabulary we use and the meaning we ascribe to words can cause a great deal of confusion not only in interpersonal relations, but also in the church and in regard to the faith. There is a particular word which is in common use in our church culture that, I believe, is the source of untold confusion. Rather, it’s the misuse and wrong definition of the word which is causing the confusion. People mean something very different by it than the Scriptures do. It’s that word, “Pastor.”
Now, I happen to be one of those critters and it jars me when I hear people – even though they do it in good faith – misuse the term. Let me give you an illustration of what I’m driving at. The other day I received an invitation to a conference for church leaders. One of the lines in the brochure reads, “…we’ll look at how to strengthen the relationships between Elders and Pastors.” My guess is that most church people would contemplate that phrase without batting an eye. They would see nothing amiss with it and would laud the intent of the conference sponsors.
To me, however, that use of the words “Elders” and “Pastors” shrieks of biblical illiteracy. Further, it is a symptom of a far deeper problem – that of a church polity which is far removed from what the Lord intended. Please do not misunderstand. I do not question the motives or the intent of people who mangle the terms in this way. But I can’t help wonder if even church leaders are so ignorant about what the Bible says in this area, how many other things are being misrepresented or twisted into something unrecognizable to the early church. No wonder our churches are struggling!
“What’s the big deal?” you ask. “Aren’t the terms as used in that brochure perfectly clear? The Pastor is the man who leads the church while the Elders are the elected officials who help oversee the implementation of the Pastor’s vision for the congregation. What’s so difficult to understand about that?”
The problem is that Biblically speaking, the division of church leaders into the two classes of Pastors and Elders is totally artificial and arbitrary. According to the New Testament, the terms Pastor and Elder refer to exactly the same person. They merely express different aspects of the role. For example, the Apostle Peter writes, “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” (1 Peter 5:1-4 NIV)
In this passage, Peter is speaking to Elders and he tells them to be shepherds. ‘Shepherd’ is simply another word for ‘Pastor.’ In other words, Peter regards Elders and Pastors as one and the same people. We see exactly the same thing when the Apostle Paul addresses the Elders from Ephesus in Acts 20:17, 28.
The word ‘Elder’ refers to the leader’s spiritual maturity and/or his age, while the term ‘Pastor’ refers to the leader’s responsibility to tend to the ‘flock,’ that is a local congregation of the church. Both Peter and Paul also say that the Elders are to ‘oversee’ the ‘flock.’ That is, Elders/Pastors are to give direction to the congregation and to protect it. Along with directing the church, preaching and teaching also are among the responsibilities of Elders (1 Timothy 5:17). It’s also worth noting that according to the examples we have in the New Testament, each congregation should have more than one Pastor. Christ did not intend the churches to become “one-man-bands” but, rather, be led, governed, administered and fed by several co-equal Elders/Pastors.
How the mighty have fallen! In the church of today there are many congregations which are led by one man who claims the title of ‘Pastor’ yet does not meet the qualifications of Pastors in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:6-9 and 1 Peter 5:1-5. If the congregations have Elders at all, they are all too often little more than business managers who sort of fall in line with the head honcho’s vision. Many of them could not teach or preach if their lives depended on it. Is it any wonder that churches are weak and ineffective? The very people whom Christ intended to guide, nurture and protect the church have abdicated their responsibilities.
It is my conviction that we will never become the church Christ wants us to be until we start using the terminology as the New Testament does and, even more importantly, organizing our congregations as Christ intended. Let’s start appointing men to leadership who truly meet the qualifications of Elder/Pastors. Let’s recognize that each congregation needs several Pastors. Let’s end the division between Pastors and Elders!