Many house churches attempt a return to Biblical primitivism. They meet in homes instead of steeple houses. There is an attempt to have Christian community built on and centered around Christ. Holy Communion is celebrated as a part of an actual meal- the Love Feast- as the early believers celebrated it. The ministry of the word is carried out by believers in the church rather than assigned to a professional clergyman.Since a return to Biblical notions of mutual ministry rather than reliance on professional clergy is a key 'distinctive feature' of the House Church Bible Primitivism Movement, (-a term I just coined, modifying Frank Viola's terminology a bit-) let us discuss what a pastor really is.
In many modern Protestant churches, There is one man at the front who brings the sermon called the pastor. I would like to present my own understanding of scripture on the matter.
The Greek word for 'pastor' is 'poimen.' In passages other than Ephesians 4:11, the word is simply translated 'shepherds.' In Ephesians 4:11, it is translated in the KJV as 'pastors.' Many modern wrongfully Protestants read the notion of clergy into this word.
A study of the Greek verb for 'pastor' which comes from 'poimen' shows that elders were to pastor the flock of god. In fact, the Bible does not say that Paul and Barnabas appointed 'pastors' in every church, but rather elders. The Greek and Hebrew words for 'elder' both have implication of age. Some would translate the word as 'older men' or 'senior men.' I Peter 5 gives instructions to elders, and then says for the younger to submit themselves unto the elder, indicating the elders may have been older. Paul instructs Timothy not to rebuke an elder, but to entreat him as a father, (I Timothy 5:1) which may indicate that he elders were older. (The KJV introduction to the book calls Timothy the bishop of Ephesus at this time, but scripture does not refer to him as a bishop. Rather, he Silas, and Paul, are said to have ministered as 'apostles of Christ.' I Thes. 2:6-7.)
Scripture uses the terms 'elders' and 'bishops' to refer to the same people. Paul tells the Ephesian elders to pastor the church of God over whom the Holy Ghost has made them bishops (overseers.) We see that a plurality of elders is mentioned in scripture. The Jerusalem church had a group of elders, not just one man. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders, plural, in every church. Traditionally, one man among a group of elders was made leader and called the 'bishop' but the scriptures do not show this as the pattern of church government. Rather, the elders in Ephesus were bishops. Paul salutes the bishops-plural- in Philip rather than one bishop in Philipi occupying an ecclesiastical see.
We see in I Peter 5 and Acts 20 that elders are told to PASTOR the church of God. In addition to this, Paul compares his own ministry to PASTORING sheep (I Corinthians 9.) Ephesians 4:11 mentions some 'pastors' and teachers. Pastor means shepherd. It means one who tends sheep.
Many Protestants read the following ideas into the word 'pastors' in Ephesians 4:11.
1. That 'pastor' means head of a local church. 2. That the 'pastor' is the person who does the main teaching in sermon format. 3. That 'pastor' is a religious professional.
These are modern assumptions read into scripture based on our experience with the modern church system. They are not part and parcel of the Greek word for 'shepherd.' From the New Testament we see the following people pastoring.
1. Jesus the Good Pastor, and the Chief Pastor of the elders. 2. Apostles pastoring. (Paul- I Cor. 9. Jesus also told Peter to pastor his sheep.) 3. Elders pastoring. Paul and Peter both instruct elders to pastor the flock. 4. Some pastors and teachers. (There is no indication in this verse that one gifted to care for sheep will necessarily be a religious professional or even an elder.)
One of the main roles of the professional pastor is to preach a sermon on Sunday morning. However, the New Testament instructions for church meetings show that the ministry of the word is to be carried out by members of the church, mutually exhorting one another, rather than one man preaching a sermon every week. Paul did teach all night in Acts 20 the night before he left one city, but if we look up the Greek word for teach in Acts 20:7, we see that he held a discussion with the people, rather than giving an uninterrupted sermon.
The instructions for church meetings in I Corinthians 14 give approval for every member bringing a psalm, doctrine, tongue, revelation, interpretation, as long as all things are done unto edifying. This chapter instructs prophets to take turns, to yield the floor to another who receives a revelation. 'For ye may all prophesy one by one...'
Hebrews 10:24-25 contain the one famous commandment of scripture which tells us not to miss church. "Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, but exhort one another..." This passage does not command us to gather together and sit still and be exhorted by the preacher, but rather to exhort one another.
Historically, we see that, in the early church, regular believers took on responsibility for the work of the ministry. Some of these were given the responsibility of being elders. Paul did write of 'honoring' elders who ruled well, but he also exhorted elders to follow his example of self-support. Ministry was not a profession in the same sense that it is today. Elders were to be apt to teach. But they were not the only teachers. Elders were to be examples to the flock, modeling ministry, rather than doing all of the important ministries themselves. Today churches are known by their clergyman. The clergyman's face is the face people associate with the congregation. But in a church like we see in the New Testament, who is the central focus, except for Jesus Christ Himself?
The apostles appointed elders from within the churches that had been established. They did not import religious professionals from the outside to be elders. Churches were churches before elders were appointed. Many think a church cannot be a church unless it has a building and a clergyman. In Acts, we see that churches were planted without elders. Elders were raised up and appointed in those churches. In areas where scattered saints settled, they would meet together, forming new churches. A new church can be formed by existing saints in the area, whether or not elders are present. The apostolic pattern for church planting involves planting churches and appointing elders from within congregations after these saints mature.
So how did the notion of 'pastor' evolve to what we have today? How did the word come to take on the notion of clergy? How did clergy develop? We see in church history that originally, elders were appointed. The Greek word for elder is presbuteros, and it is the word from which we get the English word priest.
In the early centuries of Christianity, a system of church government developed where one elder was seen as the leader, and was seen to have certain authority that other elders did not have. This man was called the bishop (-i.e. overseer- I title originally used to refer to all the elders.) The early church had a lot of giftings active. There were traveling prophets and teachers. A problem arose in that there were false prophets and teachers traveling around as well. The church had to overcome the heresies of Gnostics and other false teachers.
The New Testament commands 'Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.' and 'Prove all things. Hold to that which is good.' Elders were supposed to silence the gain sayers. Instead of just continually confronting false teaching whenever it showed up, churches evolved a form of church worship which effectively silenced regular believers from teaching and certain other speaking ministries. The bishops and elders took on more speaking roles for themselves.
Over time, bishops began to see themselves as analogous to the Jewish High Priests, with priest-elders as equivalent to priests in the temple. Deacons were seen to be similar to Levites. The priests came to be seen as intermediaries between God and man. Of course, in Hebrew and Greek, the word for Jewish priest was very different from the Greek word for elder, we can see the extent of the influence of this doctrine. The English word 'priest,' which comes from the Greek word for elder is actually used to refer to the Old Testament priesthood!
When Martin Luther came along and saw priests acting as intermediaries between Goad and man, and many other excesses- he began to speak of the 'priesthood of all believers.' No doubt he was saying all believers are like Old Testament priests, rather than saying that all believers are elders.
While Protestantism did do away with the idea that one has to have a priest declare his sins forgiven in order to be forgiven, various other aspects of the concept of an intermediary priesthood carried on. The Protestant pastor is seen as a religious professional- as someone with a special right to speak in church, and handle holy things. The concept of clergy is strongly rooted in Protestantism.
But the word 'priest' really fell out of favor in some circles. So the term' pastor' became popular in it's place. But the word 'pastor' has been redefined! Instead of referring to anyone who has a gift to care for the sheep of God's flock, it is used to refer to a professional religious man who is the head of a local church!
Even more strange is the fact that some churches have a professional 'pastor' as an office of leadership set up over the church elders. While a man put in this traditional church office may have a gift of tending to sheep, that does not mean they are the exclusive pastor in the church. Many churches have a number of people who are gifted to tend sheep. We should expect the elders to have such a ministry.
In conclusion, 'pastor' means 'shepherd' and refers to one who tends sheep. There is nothing inherent in the word that implies that it refers to one man who does all the talking on Sunday morning, who takes the main responsibility for a local church organization. Many have the gift of pastor. The apostles appointed a plurality elders in the local churches from among the saints present there. Elders do not do all the work of the ministry. As mature saints, they are to model the work of the ministry, and help lead and guide the flock as shepherds.
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