And So..... What About Those Pastors?

When I find myself getting asked the same questions in different ways from different sources, time and experience have proven that it's something God wants us to have a conversation about. Lately it's been the subject of "Pastors" and the "offices" of the church. Are they really what we think they are - or something much different? And, what about all those other offices? Who and what are "Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers"? What's their purpose? How do you know you're supposed to be one of these? Are they supposed to get paid for their service? What does the "church" really look like? Is the structure in the denominational congregations the biblical model? If not, why? This has, after all, been the model we've believed to be correct for centuries. This is going to be a long study explaining these offices and what their intended purpose is, then and now, so let's approach it one office at a time. Let's call this one - About Pastors.

Have quite a few friends - past and present - that have been labeled "Pastor". Some even rose to the position that they received the title "Senior Pastor". About 12 years ago a long time friend of ours (we'll call him David) had been privileged with this title at a large mainline denomination where he had made his career. David had become our friend in 1976 when we attended his congregation in the town where we lived. His children and our children were very close in age and so we became fast friends. In 1979, after a death in the family, we moved away but kept in touch with David. As we moved "up" in the non-denominational charismatic world, David moved "up" in the mainline denominations. Though we kept in touch, we didn't see each other again for several years. In 1993 we called on him to perform our daughter's wedding and we had a chance to sit down and talk with him again; get re-acquainted and share our experiences. By this time we had left the denominations and the charismatic movement altogether and had begun our lonely walk out of the doctrines of men - and devils. We talked about our views of the roll of Pastor and what we had come to believe it should be in the body of Christ. We didn't agree, but we prayed together and remained friends. David continued to climb up the ladder. We didn't see each other again until 1999. As we sat at the table in his kitchen over coffee, his head down and shoulders sagged, his hair having gotten so much gray and signs of extreme stress showing in his face he quietly spoke and said, "I should have listened to you. I knew you were right, but I really believed this was the path God wanted me to take. I arrived to be the Senior Pastor of one of the largest congregations but I'm nothing more than a CEO of a corporation. Instead of doing what I thought a pastor should do, I find myself instead in board meetings, committee meetings, budget meetings, planning meetings and staff meetings. I haven't prayed or counseled anyone in a long time." Within 2 years, David retired and moved to North Carolina to be near their daughter. Three years later, his wife died from a very aggressive form of cancer and 3 years later, David died from Parkinson's Disease. This is not the end to all those who make a career that David did. There are a lot of good men out there working hard believing they are in the ultimate service to God. Many of them have been given the gift of pastor, as it was intended, but have lived it out in the fashion that has become familiar for this office - to shepherd a "church". But David's case does speak loudly to the real internal condition of the insitution that the world calls church. This is not the way of God. So what is?

Ephesian 4 is Paul's call for unity in the body of Christ. He begs for the believers to live lives worthy of the calling of Christ; humility, gentleness, patience with each other; bearing with one another in love and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of peace. Beginning in verse 7 he reveals to these gentile believers the grace that abounds toward us through Jesus. I think that all scripture must be taken in it's full context in order to fully understand the message. With that as the basis point let's start with verse 8 thru 16: "This is why it says, 'After he went up into the heights he led captivity captive and he gave gifts to mankind.' Now this phrase, 'he went up', what can it mean if not that he first went down into the lower parts, that is, the earth. The one who went down is himself the one who also went up, far above all of the heaven, in order to fill all things. Furthermore, he gave some people as emissaries (apostles), some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the Good News (evangelists), and some as shepherds (translated as pastor in KJV) and teachers. Their task is to equip God's people for the work of service that builds the body of Messiah (Christ), until we all arrive at the unity implied by trusting and knowing the Son of God, at full manhood, at the standard of maturity set by the Messiah's perfection. We will then no longer be infants tossed about by the waves and blown along by every wind of teaching, at the mercy of people clever in devising ways to deceive. Instead, speaking truth in love, we will in every respect grow up into him who is the head, the Messiah. Under his control, the whole body is being fitted and held together by the support of every joint, with each part working to fulfill its function; this is how the body grows and builds itself up in love."


There is a lot to say about this scripture, so to maintain the integrity of the understanding of this let's start with the part about Jesus going up into the heights and if he went up he FIRST went down. Down where? The grave? Death? Hell? No - to the earth. He was born as a human in the earth. Why and what is Paul telling us? That he had to FIRST come to earth to establish his kingdom and train people how to equip his body and grow them up. He started out with 12, then he chose 70. Outside of those were many others who followed him and his teachings. When he went up, then he gave gifts to men - some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be shepherds, and some to be teachers ----- and he assigned them the task of equipping the body. Fitting it together, seeing that it holds together at every joint and that each part is working properly. Not a single one of these gifts are offices as we have known them to be. None is greater than the other.


They are like the five fingers of a hand. Can you grasp and hold something correctly without all 5 fingers? No. We depend on the five fingers of each hand to eat, dress, groom, grasp, write, and so on. With our hands we touch and feel; we can touch another person; we can offer help; we can carry; we hold and feed a baby; we cook, we clean. When any one finger is missing then we're disabled. For the last many centuries we have been functioning in the body with 1, 2 or 3 fingers - only. Most of the time only 1 finger - the pastor. This role has become dominant and the position of ultimate authority and leadership. Some denominations give people these titles, but because they don't understand the function - they still have disabled the body. No wonder the body of Christ is full of infancy - it has only 1 finger! When he went up, he trusted the functions of the body to those whom he had trained. It was their task to train others - make disciples. It didn't take even a century after they were gone for the deception to begin. Which is exactly what Paul said would happen. He said the infants are tossed around by waves and blown by every wind of doctrine / teaching at the mercy of people clever to devise ways to deceive. I think that pretty well describes the condition of the church today.

None of these gifts were ever intended to be paid positions. Money collected in the body was and still is to be used to meet the material needs of the members of the body, especially widows and orphans. There were no needs in the early church, but today there have been all kinds of programs and committees formed for the purpose of deciding who should get help from the body and with it comes judgment. This is not how it should be. Not a single one who had been appointed as overseers of the body in the early church got paid. They were tradesmen and earned their own living so that they weren't burdensome on the body. It was not unusual for them to receive hospitality and offerings of gratitude, but they did not get a salary for their gifts. They accepted and understood the task that had been assigned to them. An apostle's task is to found the congregation - to see that it's properly established in the teachings of Jesus; I see him as the thumb, the finger that helps us actually grasp and hold. The prophet's place is to reveal the will of God to point to sin and bring repentance - I'll call him the first finger - the pointer. The evangelist's task is to bring the Good News to the perishing and lost and bring them in. He is the one who "reaches out", so I'll call him the middle finger - the longest one. The pastor, or shepherd's job is to look after the flock; to keep the wolves out, to see that they are properly fed and watered so they can grow healthy and happy and bind them, keep them for the Lord. So I'll call him the "ring finger' because he's the one who sees to it that we become purified and sanctified as the bride. Finally, the teacher's job is to ensure there is not error in understanding - to properly convey the meaning of scripture and that people are walking the narrow way. He's the little finger because not only is it an intimate and seemingly small task, without it we can't maintain our grasp - it works with the thumb and together we get the whole man, growing in the Lord.

These were gifts given to the body - they were identified by the character, actions, lifestyles and personalities of the ones the Lord himself has chosen. They were not, and still are not, offices that one just up and says "when I grow up I want to be a pastor". They are not positions filled by ambition - they are filled by those chosen by the Lord. How far we have strayed from the intent of the Lord and the body of Christ is crippled.



Many leaving the institution are like little children who have taken a long nap; when they wake up the house is empty and lonely and they don't know where their parents have gone. They search and search and when they don't find them, because they have been crippled and need help feeding themselves they go in search of those who will fill the role. More often than not, they are finding some pretty bad substitutes and their condition becomes worse than it was alone. Some find they simply can't survive and go back in for safety, and without someone to show them the way, they die there never have grown into their full potential.

I see this so evident in the body of Christ, both in and out of the institution. We must pray that Father reveals to us who those are in our congregations that have been given these gifts. We must pray that the Holy Spirit speaks to them and shows them their gift(s) and how they should use them. We must pray that the body is filled with wisdom and understanding to know the heart of God.