The Role of the Pastor
I read this post this morning from Dan Edelen at Cerulean Sanctum and it really made me think. How do we treat our pastor? Do we think of him as the one-stop-shop of Christianity, or do we understand what his strengths and weaknesses are? You really need to read the linked post before going on, because you may not have the proper context of what I'm going to write about. I don't want to quote everything Dan said, just pick out a couple parts.
Dan wrote:
It’s popular today to speak of The Five-fold Ministry of Ephesians 4, and many churches adhere to the idea that the pastor should be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher, but I can’t read the Bible and find folks who fit that mold.
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Why are we not asking what the genuine biblical role of the pastor is? Perhaps it’s far more limited in scope than we’ve made it out to be.
If we consider the finer truth of the use of the word shepherd for pastor, what does a shepherd do?
- He protects the flock from harm.
- He tends to their wounds and diseases.
- He comforts them when they are afraid.
- He takes them out to a place where they can find the substantial food and water weaned sheep need to reproduce, tend their lambs, grow, and prosper.
Dan pointed out in an earlier passage that the New Testament word for pastor (poimēn) literally means shepherd. I want to take his word study of the five offices a little farther.
Apostle (apostolos) - a delegate, an ambassador of the Gospel, officially a commissioner of Christ
Prophet (prophētēs) - a foreteller, an inspired speaker
Evangelist (euaggelistēs) - a preacher of the gospel
Pastor (poimēn) - shepherd
Teacher (didaskalos) - an instructor
With these five definitions, where do you fall? Myself, I would think that I'm more in the mold of a teacher. There aren't many apostles or prophets out there, and I'm definitely not an evangelist. My hair isn't big enough and I don't get so worked up when speaking.
I don't think anyone can be all five of these things at once. I could venture an argument that based on the structure of the sentence in Ephesians 4:11 there are only four offices of the church. Apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor/teacher. However, I think that pastor and teacher are opposite sides of the same coin. The pastor just deals with people better.
When I compare what Dan said to our pastor, he seems to fit right into the definition of shepherd. He definitely protects us from harm by keeping people from speaking to the church who would not have our best interest in mind (there is a specific incident I'm thinking about that I'm sure many in our church will recall). He is one of the first on the scene when anyone is in the hospital or has an accident.
The best thing about our church is the freedom we have to grow in God. Our pastor and our church supports each of us starting new ministries. If we succeed, he's the first to congratulate us. If we fail, he's the first to encourage us to try something different. I've been on both sides of that and it's refreshing to know that we have unfettered support from our pastor. He's said many times in church that his goal is to equip each of us to minister in our own ways. Mine right now is through writing here and elsewhere, leading our home group, and being in the worship ministry. These are three things I really have a heart for and I've never felt a lack of support in any of them.
So, I guess I'll finish by giving our pastor a big "Thank You" from me. Thanks for the support and for the kind words.