Subject: What are the duties of a pastor? |
Bible Note: I'm confused. You said Pastor means the same as shepherd. Elder means the same as bishop. Elders are overseers and shepherds. Pastors are not mentioned as being elders. There are always multiple elders in a church. My response: 1) Pastor equals shepherd 2) Elders equals overseers and shepherds but 3) Pastors cannot equal elders I seem to recall in algebra, trigonometry or one of those mathematical courses so long ago in school that if 1 and 2 above are true, then the end product of both are equal to each other. I don't want to be a dumb blonde about this but it seems that God's Word is fairly clear on this, His Apostles were talking about the same office when any of these words were mentioned or derivatives therefrom. The one thing I agree with you most emphatically is that of multiple elders per congregation. The Lord NEVER meant for a single man to run, lead or govern a congregation of the Lord's church. Elders are always spoken in the plural in a congregational setting throughout the Bible. Most organizations using Pastor in some other office or title are referring to the one that does the preaching, proclaiming God's Word from a pulpit in Sunday morning worship assemblies. This function sounds like the NT word for preacher or prophet which throughout most of the Bible means "mouthpiece of God." There are separate passages/verses describing duties and ideal qualifications for this office. I also agree this is a good topic for discussion thus good "food for thought." I do appreciate your response and blessings to you. Country Girl |