The Church, Part 7

There are no clear references to any particular individual as pastor/elder of any church in the New Testament. There are instructions on qualifications, duties, warnings, and so forth, but no one pastor/elder is specifically singled out for who he was or what he accomplished. Some have argued that the exception was James, the half-brother of Jesus and pastor of the church at Jerusalem. Was he? He is never called a pastor. He was a leader in that church and spoke with authority in the council of Acts 15. His authority was more likely due to his being an apostle (Galatians 1:19, possibly replacing James, the brother of John martyred by Herod in Acts 12).

Paul responded somewhat negatively to the hierarchy of authority in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:6, 9). He does so to show that his ministry is not subject to the Jewish apostles or to any order coming out of the Jewish church. On the contrary, Paul shows that these “leaders” recognized and celebrated the authority of Paul’s apostleship to the Gentiles by the grace of God (Galatians 2:7–10).

This information is given to show that the contemporary church has strayed from the New Testament standard, exalting the leadership of individuals. It is true that God calls certain to be leaders, gifting them for ministry to feed and shepherd His people. However, the emphasis is not on their personality but on their example of humble service to the body for Christ. The tendency in the culture is to glorify persons as per the Hollywood entertainment industry. Modern Christianity loves celebrating celebrity pastors, and this practice is wrong.

Jim Elliff gives the following reasons why he believes that no church in the New Testament is notable for its pastor:

1. There were multiple pastors in the local churches making up a team of elders.

2. Others within the body of believers shared in the verbal ministry that was designed to strengthen the believers, though elders were to be skilled in teaching with a main responsibility to shepherd the believers as exemplary designated leaders.

3. The churches were subdivided into homes or apartments (insula) so that no one elder became known for being the church’s primary teacher and leader for the whole.

Elliff followed up by commenting:

These patterns eventually changed, and the churches became more institutionalized so that single leaders became prominent above the others.

As far as I can tell, how the churches today structure their lives together is not mandated in the New Testament though the precedent is well-defined. God has used both. It is up to the churches to determine the way they will proceed. I am explaining the reasons why I believe early New Testament believers didn’t designate their churches by the name of a pastor as we do. (They attend ———’s Church.) *

God has used the pastor-led model for many years; however, that model is fraught with many dangers to both church and pastor. Would not the church be better served by returning to the early church practice of anonymous pastoral servanthood, glorifying Christ and not men?

*Jim Elliff, Christian Communicator’s Worldwide (https://www.ccwtoday.org), Facebook post, August 7, 2018.