Pastor, Elder, Bishop
The previous post explored the general biblical preference for plurality of leadership. We function better when we work together. The old phrase “it’s lonely at the top,” does not have to be the case. Perhaps the model that puts one at the top, alone, is the problem. You can go back and look at that post here for a refresher. Here we will continue to press forward toward an answer. Before we finally make the case for a plurality of leadership in each local church in the New Testament, we need to make sure that we are all on the same page. The modern church context causes confusion. We need to know what the New Testament says about pastors. We also need to understand what it has to say about elders and bishops. Upon close inspection, we find that the New Testament terms “pastor,” “elder,” and “bishop” speak to the same role in the local church.
Basic Definitions of the 3 Primary Terms
- Pastor. The Greek term is rightly translated “shepherd.” The terms “pastor” and “shepherd” are synonymous. In Spanish, for instance, two separate terms do not even exist. One may be a pastor of sheep or a pastor of a church. The idea behind this term comes from Jesus’s own teaching in John 10 and similar passages where He compares His followers to a flock of sheep. Those charged with the care of a flock of sheep are pastors or shepherds. Thus, those charged with care of Jesus’s followers are like shepherds.
The rich metaphor draws our attention. It is strongly reinforced in Jesus’s exchange with Peter in John 21. Jesus charges Peter with care for His (Jesus’s) sheep. Those who pastor or shepherd the church are caring for Jesus’s sheep. The shepherd metaphor is also used in the Old Testament to refer to the spiritual leaders of Israel (see Ezekiel 34 for a stern reproach of unfaithful pastors/shepherds).[1]
In reference to church leaders, the noun “pastor” or “shepherd” (poimēn) appears only once, in Ephesians 4:11. There is some debate about if the verse should be interpreted as showcasing four offices, ending with “pastor-teachers,” or as containing five offices, making “pastors” and “teachers” two distinct functions or offices. I lean toward the former, but for recommend reading up on the subject. I’ll include some references below. Either way, it remains the only verse to mention church leadership with the noun “pastors.”
The pastoral metaphor is seen in two other New Testament passages. In Acts 20:28, the church leaders are called to “pastor” the church. The verb used is poimainō. It refers to the action of tending a flock. Language here points back to the watchman idea in Ezekiel 33 and the shepherding idea in Ezekiel 34. The church leadership is charged with faithfully warning the church about dangerous teachers, termed “wolves.” Similarly, in 1 Peter 5:2 includes the same verb as an imperative. Peter’s instruction seems to pass the baton of the charge he had received from Jesus Himself (John 21:15-17). If you are reading certain versions of the Bible, like the NIV, you may be thinking of another passage that speaks to pastors of the church. I’ll get back to it in a minute, bear with me just a while. - Elder. The word “elder” translates the Greek, presbuteros.[2] Some Christian groups have chosen to transliterate (rather than translate), resulting in the word “presbyter.” The idea of eldership as leaders has a deep history in the Bible. In the previous post, we saw how elders of Israel were chosen as leaders of smaller groups. Later, we saw that seventy elders were chosen by God as assistants to Moses. Elders exercised leadership in towns and villages in ancient Israel (see Ruth 4:10, for instance). Although the word literally just refers to old age, it became associated with the leadership office that the elderly generally exercised in their communities. This is similar to the etymology of the term “senator.” The term “elder” is much more frequently used of church leadership than the pastoral idea, which was seen in three passages.
The word “elders” is used in various contexts in the New Testament. The first use of the term “elders” in the New Testament in reference to church leadership is Acts 11:30 where an offering is sent to the church of Jerusalem. The offering is given to the elders, the leaders of that church. The same elders are with the apostles in Acts 15 when the church comes together to debate the issue of gentile converts and the mosaic law and throughout the rest of Acts. In Acts 14:23, Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in the towns they had previously visited on their evangelistic missionary journey. In Acts 20:17, when Paul summons the leaders of the church of Ephesus, he calls for the elders to come.
Elsewhere in the New Testament, Paul addresses proper respect for elders in 1 Timothy 5:17. Here, Paul distinguishes elders who hold an office of authority from other elderly folks in the church. At least some of those elders engage in preaching and teaching. In Titus 1:5, Paul tasks Titus with installing elders in all the cities on Crete. The elders of the church are the ones to be called on to visit the sick in James 5:14. Finally, 1 Peter 5:1-5 is addressed to elders who are called to lead in a specifically Christ-honoring way. - Bishop. This word transliterates the Greek word episkopos.[3] A church with episcopal rule, has rule by bishops. The basic meaning of the word is “overseer.” Because of the baggage attached to the idea of bishops, many prefer the idea of the overseer or superintendent. Church leadership is somewhat frequently referenced with this word.
The first New Testament use of the word “overseer” is in Acts 20:28. The overseers had not taken the role for themselves but had been placed in that role by the Holy Spirit, tasked with being alert to protect the church members from false teachers. Philippians 1 addresses the letter to the church, including its overseers and deacons. We have not discussed deacons here because they do not seem to have a role of spiritual leadership or teaching in the New Testament. The lists of requirements in 1 Timothy 3:2ff and Titus 1:7ff are given for the overseers. Finally, 1 Peter 5:2 uses a closely related verb, episkopeō, as a participle describing the work of the leader.[4]
Three Terms, One Office
If you were keeping track, you may have noticed that combinations of the three terms are used in two passages. Acts 20:17 has Paul calling the elders of the church of Ephesus. When they arrive and he addresses them, he tells these elders that the Holy Spirit has made them overseers of the flock. Their work is described as pastoring (shepherding) the flock. So, in Acts 20, the elders are bishops, and they pastor the church.
In 1 Peter 5:1-5, Peter addresses leaders of the church who he calls elders. The must pastor the church by overseeing it. Once again, we have all three terms. They are not used to distinguish between roles. Rather, they are used in ways that blend the roles.
Notice this. In the only two passages that use all three terms, the same people are elders, overseers, and pastors. There is not a regional bishop with elders under him. There is not a pastor accompanied by a board of elders. The three terms appear interchangeable. They refer to the same group of people. There is some flexibility in whether a given term is used as a noun or a verb. Nonetheless, the ideas are present and refer to the same leadership.
Notice too that in Titus 1, Titus is told to appoint elders in 1:5, but given requirements for overseers in 1:7. Most likely, Paul uses the term elder and overseer interchangeably as he did Acts 20. It would make little sense for Paul to give requirements for a different office.
Philippians 1:1 may be surprisingly informative for being a short introduction. Paul addresses the local church and its two offices. The office of bishop is the spiritual leadership office. The office of deacon is most likely an office dedicated to physical needs of the church (see Acts 6). Where are the elders? Was this an oversight (pun intended)? No. When Paul spoke to the overseers, he was not excluding the elders. In both Acts 20 and Titus 1, Paul reveals that elders are bishops. Or, one could just as validly say, bishops are elders. What about the pastor? If Acts 20 is a good indicator, it is the overseers who did the pastoring.
There is no New Testament text that mentions bishops and elders where they are not the same. Considering the three terms, there is no New Testament passage that mentions any combination where they are not the same office or group of people. Not once is there a pastor and elders. Never do we see a pastor and his bishop. Every time two or more of these words appear together, they are swappable.
There seems to be just one office, most often termed “elders.” “Overseer” is a slightly less frequent word for the same office. The least frequent term, “pastor,” makes just three appearances, only once as a noun. We’re seeing one office with three terms.
A Fourth Term in Hebrews 13
Now, we come back to Hebrews. Depending on your preferred Bible, you may see the word “pastor” in Hebrews 13:7, 17, 24 (in English, the Message has the pastoral concept here; in Spanish, the very popular Reina Valera 1960 has “pastors” here). The Greek word in these three instances is hēgeomai. The idea here is a guide or leader, someone who exercises authority in directing others. The English word hegemony is derived from this Greek root. The translation of “pastor” here is not a straight translation of the Greek term, but an interpretation that the context of this passage speaks to those who guide or lead the church, who, for many reading today, would be their pastors. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you (Heb 13:17, ESV). “Leader” is a legitimate translation of the Greek.
Conclusions About Church Leadership
Much miscommunication occurs when people do not share the same definitions of the terms they are using. Some terms are notoriously ambiguous. We add modifiers to clarify leadership, for instance. We might speak of servant-leadership or shepherding leadership to try to clarify which leadership model is in mind. We might be accustomed to using “bishop” to speak of a regional leader, “pastor” to refer to the primary leader in the local church, and “elder” to refer to a board that assists the pastor. This three-tier model was popularized long ago. Terms that were interchangeable in the New Testament no longer are.
Does it matter? The point here is not to get too hung up on terminology. However, there is some wisdom to the old refrain in the churches of Christ, “Do Bible things in Bible ways, and call Bible things by Bible names.” Why cede the richness of the Bible’s terminology? When we misunderstand the terms, we are much more likely to misconstrue the argument. When we miscomprehend the overseers, elders, and pastors, we are less likely to arrive at the New Testament pattern for church leadership.
The term episcopos, overseer, is used as the equivalent of elder in its official sense. This is clear from the use of the two terms in the 20th chapter of Acts. Luke says, that from Miletus Paul sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church. Here, according to a rule already established, the elders of the church must mean, not the older men, but those called elders officially. But Paul says to these elders, “Take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” The elders, then, and the overseers in the church at Ephesus were the same persons, and overseers is but another title by which they were known. Moreover, [15] they had been made overseers by the Holy Spirit, which implies that by some process dictated by the Holy Spirit, they had been formally placed in that position. This corresponds to the appointment by which we have seen that persons entered the eldership, and is sufficient to establish the presumption that they were made overseers by the same appointment which made them elders. We have further proof of this use of the term in the epistle to Titus. Paul says, “I left thee in Crete than thou shouldst ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee; if any be blameless,” &c.; and then adds, “For an overseer must be blameless.” Now, the fact that an overseer should be blameless, could be no reason why a blameless person must be ordained elder, unless an elder is the same as an overseer. It is the same as if I should say to a literary society of students, ‘Appoint a President of your society, if any be found acquainted with parliamentary rules; for the chairman of such a society should be acquainted with these rules.’ Now, in this example, if a person knew nothing more of the word chairman than its etymology would indicate, “the man of the chair,” he could not fail to see that I used the term as another title for the President of the society. It is equally clear in the case before us, that Paul uses the term overseer as another title for him who is called elder. – J.W. McGarvey, A Treatise on the Eldership, section 3.
[1] Verlyn D. Verbrugge, “4478 Ποιμήω,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2004).
[2] Frederick W. Danker and Kathryn Krug, “Πρεσβύτερος,” in The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2009).
[3] Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, ed., “Bishop,” in The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006).
[4] BDAG, s.v ἐπισκοπέω.
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