1/31/13

I'M NOT THE PASTOR by Gary Womack


I'M NOT THE PASTOR

Paul's thankfulness for his role in the preaching of the gospel is evident in his words to young Timothy; "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." (1 Tim. 1:12) Paul had been a mentor to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:10-11) and was therefore qualified to warn this young man of the dangers of error and the assurance of suffering that awaited him as a preacher of the gospel. Therefore, in his last letter to Timothy, Paul urged him to "...be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." (2 Tim. 4:5) That ministry was to "preach (kerusso) the word" (vs. 2).
In calling Timothy an "evangelist," he was referring to his responsibility as a "messenger of good," which is actually the definition of the Greek word, euangelistes. This was not a title, but a description of the work that he was engaged in. This word, appears in only two other places in the New Testament. On Paul's return from his third missionary journey, he and his party had a layover for several days during which they stayed at "...the house of Philip the evangelist." The other occurrence of this word is found in Paul's letter to the Ephesians where he enumerated those offices that Christ had established within His church for the "...equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, [and] for the edifying of the body of Christ." (Eph. 4:12) Regarding these offices, he said that Christ "...Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers." (vs.11)
It should be noted that in listing these various offices that Christ placed within His church, there was a distinction between each one as being uniquely suited to a specific work that each one performed. Some of these, such as apostles and prophets, would be limited in their duration due to the nature of their qualifications. For example, the apostles were eyewitnesses of Christ and His resurrection (Acts 1:20-26, 2 Cor. 12:12, 1 Jn. 1:1-4), chosen by Christ for that purpose (Acts 10:39-42; 22:14-15). Once they all died there would be no one remaining who met their qualifications. The prophets would also eventually pass away as the gift of prophecy ended (1 Cor. 13:8-10). Paul included among those offices "evangelists, pastors and teachers." These too are each distinctive from each other in their design and purpose. An evangelist (euangelistes) is defined as "a messenger of good", pastors (poimen) are "shepherds" and teachers (didaskalos) are "instructors" or "educators."
There is much error being taught in the religious world today regarding the organization of the church. As a result, there is a great deal of misunderstanding about what a pastor is and what his work entails. I see this all the time. People, in an effort to be polite, often refer to me as pastor Womack. Quite honestly, it causes me to cringe for two reasons. First, I know that pastor has become a "title" that is used to elevate one above another. Jesus dealt with this problem in Matthew 23 when He rebuked the scribes and Pharisees who were using titles as a means of exalting themselves. The result of this kind of thinking is what has led to the unscriptural (albeit nonexistent) distinction of "clergy" and "laity." In Jesus' day, "father, teacher and rabbi" had become titles in the same way that "pastor" has become such in our day. Jesus said, "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi;' for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Mt. 23:8-12) According to 1 Cor. 12:12-31 we are all equals in God's kingdom, only with differing responsibilities.
The second reason for my concern in being referred to as pastor is the fact that I am not a pastor because I do not hold that office within the Lord's church. As already pointed out, a pastor is a "shepherd" by definition. In fact, every time you find the word "shepherd" as a noun in the New Testament, it is translated from the same Greek word (poimen) as is "pastor." The only time this word (poimen) is translated "pastor" in the bible is in Eph. 4:11, everywhere else it is translated "shepherd."
Paul gave the qualifications for this office in 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and also in Tit. 1:5-9. When he wrote to Titus regarding this he said, "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you." (Tit. 1:5) Referring to these same "elders" he said, "For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God..." (vs. 7) The word "elder" is translated from the Greek word presbuteros and has reference to the maturity of those who hold that responsibility. The word "bishop" is translated from the Greek word (episkopos), and emphasizes the oversight of one who is to be a "steward of God." A "steward" (oikonomos) by definition was "the manager of a household."
When Paul stopped at Miletus, "...he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders (presbuteros) of the church." (Acts 20:17) While there, he spoke to these men saying, "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopos), to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." (vs. 28) Notice that the word "overseers" is translated from the same Greek word as is "bishop" (See Tit 1:5) and that their responsibility as "overseers" required them to "shepherd" (poimaino), or "feed" (kjv) the church. Their work was that of "shepherds" (poimen) and it should be noted that in every example, there was never only one pastor but always a plurality of these overseers in each congregation. This all harmonizes with what Peter said; "The elders (episkopos) who are among you I exhort...Shepherd (poimaino) the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers (episkopos)..." (1 Pet. 5:1-2)
When all of these passages are taken into consideration it becomes clear that the terms elder, overseer, bishop, and pastor all refer to the same office which differs from that of an evangelist. While both of these offices differ in their purpose and design, they do have in common the fact that they are all servants of the Lord - an honor I do accept.
- Gary V. Womack - March 2005