Why don't you want to be called pastor?

Question: I have noticed that you do not refer to yourself as “pastor.” Why don’t you call yourself “pastor”? Isn’t that your job as the preacher at your church?

Answer Part 1: I am often asked this question. There is a great misconception about this word in Christendom today. The Greek word that we translate as “pastor” in the New Testament is poimhn (pronounced poy-mane), which literally translated means “shepherd.” So wherever you see the word “Pastor” in your Bible you could put the word “shepherd” and vise versa. Jesus refers to himself as the “good shepherd” in John 10:14. So Jesus is the “good pastor.”

There are two reasons that I do not refer to myself as pastor. The first reason is that in the Bible, the term pastor is used exclusively for the elders of the church and I am not an Elder. For example, in Acts 20:17 Paul calls together the Elders of the church in Ephesus and gives an emotion farewell speech to them. In the midst of this speech to Elders, he says in Acts 20:28, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”

There are two terms used for Elders in this passage. One is that of “overseer” and the other is that of “shepherds”. The word there in verse 28 could be translated as “pastors.” The Elders are the “pastors” of the local church according to Paul. The Apostle Peter agrees.

1 Peter 5:1-4 says, “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.”

Here the Apostle Peter calls elders to be the “shepherds” of the flock and “overseers.” Peter calls Jesus the “chief shepherd.” So we see the term “shepherd” or “pastor” being used exclusively for the elders of the church as far as titles for church leadership. This is why I do not call myself pastor. I am not one. It would be Biblically incorrect to refer to myself as a pastor. Not only am I not an elder, I do not fit the qualifications of an elder, which are listed in 1 Timothy and Titus. I also notice that there are always multiple pastors and never just one in a church.

What is my role then? In 2 Timothy 4:5 Paul instructs the young preacher Timothy saying, “do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” There are two terms here Paul uses for Timothy’s role in the church. One is “minister.” Timothy had a particular ministry in the church so he was a minister. However, many people, including deacons have ministries and may be called ministers. Ephesians 4:12 tells us all Christians are to be equipped for “service” or “ministry.” The second term Paul uses for Timothy’s role is “evangelist.” This word in Greek literally means, “to preach the good news.” That was Timothy’s role in Ephesus and that is my role at the church which I serve. I am a “preacher of the good news” or an “evangelist” as the NIV translates it.

If we are going to follow God’s plan of the church we need to restore Biblical leadership roles and use the Biblical terms. Paul was often encouraging Christians to follow the pattern laid out for the Church by the Apostles. Paul said in Philippians 3:17, “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” And again in Paul instructs in 2 Timothy 1:13, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.” We need to follow the Bibles pattern for how to organize our churches and structure our leadership.

There are qualifications listed for elders in the Bible. Imagine the confusion if we change the meaning of “Shepherd” or “pastor” from the elders to the preacher. We will be applying verses about qualifications to the wrong leaders. We could avoid a lot of the problems many churches face if we would just follow the Biblical pattern for Church leadership. We need to do Bible things Bible ways and call Bible things by Bible names. This will promote unity, love, and peace in the brotherhood of believers. I will cover the second reason why I do not call myself “pastor” in my next post.