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.
…
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)
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