Subject: What are the duties of a pastor? |
Bible Note: I'm thinking maybe you're a little confused as Paul's guidance here to the Ephesians was given for all christians throughout all time, yes I agree. Eph 4:11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, Eph 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; Eph 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. But since we don't have anyone who can meet the qualifications of an Apostle as cited in Acts 1, we don't have any potential Apostles. All the other positions are certainly valid in today's world. Of course, like I mentioned the word prophet in Bible language meant "mouthpiece of God" as in the case of a preacher, minister from the pulpit or TV either one. He could also be a evangelist like our missionaries we send to other parts of the country or across the ocean. Notice that Paul left out deacons and those with miraculous abilities to heal. Apparently, Paul didn't cover the whole entire subject, listing all the different positions, titles or their qualifications as he did with Timothy and Titus. But I still must emphasize my previous point about the synonyms for the office of elder or pastor. They're both referring to the same person or function within the local church at the congregational level. At least this is what I've experienced all my life and the Lord's pattern works just fine when it's done in accordance with God's Word. This is further endorsed since like you mentioned pastors CANNOT be seen properly to run the Lord's Chruch by themselves. We all know what abuse that leads to, as shown by the Catholic organization over the centuries. Hope this is clear and blessings to you. Thanks for your response. Country Girl |