Subscribe to Every Post:The false elevation of “Pastor”
There are two official offices in the church: overseer and deacon. God also gives the church the use of many different spiritual gifts by those in the body. Several passages list examples of those kinds of gifts (e.g. gift of helps, administration, healing, faith, mercy, encouragement, etc.).
Ephesians 4:11 gives a list of equipping gifts: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Maybe you know someone who has one of these or another gift.
I Corinthians 12 emphasizes the importance of all the gifts working together and the need for them all to contribute to the whole (i.e. one is not more important than another). ”Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.” (I Cor. 12:22-23)
However, when you look at the contemporary church today, this doesn’t seem to be the way we operate. There is one gift in the church that seems to be elevated above all the others. It is the pastoral gift. We do this in various ways:
- We point across the room and say, “there is THE pastor.” We never say, “there is the encourager, the apostle, the evangelist, the mercy leader, etc.”
- We talk about a “pastoral staff.” We never talk about a “faith staff, healing staff, prophetic staff, etc.”
- We say, “I would like you to meet Pastor Tom.” We never say, “I would like you to meet Giver John, Faith Frank, or Diligent governor Tim.”
- We pay “the pastor” but we don’t pay the encourager, the mercy person, the evangelist, etc.
- A newcomer today asks, “who is the pastor of the church?” Would this question even compute during NT times? Pastor isn’t a position of authority in the church, it is a gift that some in the body have.
- How many times do we listen to leaders on Sunday morning who are called “pastors’ but clearly do not have the pastoral gift? Why would they be called by a gift they don’t have?
Why has the contemporary church falsely elevated the pastoral gift above all other gifts (particularly when Scripture says not to do this)? Why has the church made the pastoral gift an official position/office of authority?
I am not suggesting that some will not exercise their gifts in more public ways than others or that all gifts will have the same level of influence in the church. Clearly this is not the case. However, somehow we have taken one of many gifts in Scripture, and over the years, we have made it into something bigger than all the rest.
Personally, my primary gifts are probably leadership, apostolic, and teaching. However, I am called to practice all the other gifts (evangelism, pastoring, serving, giving, mercy, faith, etc.) While I understand culturally when people occasionally call me “Pastor Chris” or someone introduces me as “the pastor” or even “one of the pastors,” I think it is so ingrained in our culture, I don’t know if we can really change it.
My preference, however, is that the word “pastor” would not precede my name or describe my role in the church because in my mind it is not a position in the church, nor is it even my gift. All the gifts, including the pastoral gift, are so amazing when people in the body all work together and serve one another with the gifts God has given them.
If nothing else, perhaps the best and truest title one could give to me would be to refer to me as “Triathlete Chris.” (now there is something I can live up to!)
February 9th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
I’m glad you took the risk of saying all of this. We are so woven into a certain standard in the church and our beleif system. I guess I have always wanted to use this term pastor as due respect to the person in leadership of a church. Although being apart of a certain assembly many years ago the leader ( who went by pastor so & so ) did not have a pastor’s heart but was a good teacher. Because of him being a teacher, the church had really no one to look to as far a counsel, or just a listening ear. I know he tryed to do his best but the pastorial gift was just not there. Because of that the body really suffered. As I have gotten to know you , yes the gift’s are different than being a pastor, and I think it was well said what you beleive they are. Keep up the good work that God has given you, and excel and continue to cultivate those gifts.