The Pastorate

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What or who is a “pastor?” Where did he come from? What does the Bible say? Where is

"the pastor" found in the New Testament?

Many questions are springing up today in regards to the issue of “the pastor.” No doubt, this is largely due to God’s Spirit moving and working in many people’s minds and hearts.

(All to the annoyance of many “pastors” I might add!)

It has gotten to the point where many local institutional churches have even created a plethora of pastor levels or posts. There’s the “senior pastor;” “assistant pastor;" the “counseling pastor;" a “youth pastor;" "singles pastor;" “pastor of visitation;” “outreach pastor;” all of these of course report back to the “head pastor”, or the “chairman.”

What is wrong with this picture? How did the "pastor" become such a powerful position?

Can you find anybody……anybody at all in the New Testament who was always the speaker; who delivered funeral orations; presided over marriages; who went to a school for pastors (seminary)?

Can you find anyone in the New Testament who always was officiating over so-called “worship services;” who was on the “payroll;” who patted old ladies on the hand; who was always dressed up in fine clothes and who prayed in a funny voice?

Can you find anyone in the New Testament who was hired by the congregation?

Did you find anyone? I didn’t think so.

The concept that “the pastor” is the premier member and leader of some local institutional church is essentially a Protestant brainchild and is quite striking at that, especially when the singular term

"pastor" cannot be found in the King James New Testament…..not even once!

The plural term "pastors" is found in the King James New Testament only once in Ephesians 4:11. This is the only verse in the entire New Testament with the word "pastors", and the world of Christendom has become totally and fanatically obsessed with this term.

One verse on which to hang an entire local institutional church doctrine and practice!

In Ephesians 4, “pastors” means shepherds, a metaphor describing a particular function in the assembly or community. It is NOT an office or a title. A first-century shepherd did not organize official church meetings; officiate “worship services”; set up programs and seminars, and neither was he invested with some kind of unquestionable official authority or position of mediation between the saints and their Lord, like we have today.

When we look at the letters that were written in the NT Scriptures, we find that none of them were addressed to "the pastor"; important travelers coming to town were not greeted by "the pastor," and collections of money were not given to "the pastor."

You would think that today’s "pastors" ought to seem somewhat aware that their job is strangely unbiblical, but no, exactly the opposite! How could something so obviously true be turned around into a great falsehood and then imbibed and embraced as “sound bible teaching” in our day? Such is the astonishing power of deception.

As was said once before, with only the rarest of exceptions, none of these so-called “pastors” who would come across an article like this can ever be objective in reading it because it exposes their role as the unbiblical figures in an unbiblical church institution that the people look up to, and in many cases, who pay their salary, fringe benefits, and other perks!

Many, if not ALL of them literally earn their living as those who think that they have been “called by God” into their “pastoral role”! It is very easy for them to be self-deceived. They have read the modern idea of the modern pastor back into the New Testament.

Never would any first-century Christian conceive of the modern day pastor! Haven’t Catholics made the same mistake with the word “priest?” The word “priest” is used in the NT, yet a priest back then certainly bears no connection or likeness whatsoever to the Roman Catholic “priest” of today.

It was right around the time of the Protestant Reformation that this gross aberration of Scripture was invented by men without any thought of trying to justify his existence Scripturally. “The Pastorate” is a man-made tradition.

Your “pastor” has NOT been called of God, nor ordained thru Biblical means. He has taken it upon his own initiative to label himself “The Pastor” and if these were Old Testament times, fire should swoop down from heaven and consume these imposters for their arrogance.

In Revelation Chapter 2, there were some professing Christians in Ephesus and Pergamos who did not listen to and follow Jesus' teaching and example. Jesus’ command to His disciples in Matthew 20:25-28; Mark 10:42-44; Luke 22:24-27 in regards to exercising authority is, “It shall not be so among you.”

Jesus went on to say, “But whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”

In the system that Jesus describes, the chief, the ruler, the head, the leader, the one who is great among a group of Christians, shall be the servant of all; not someone who “calls the shots” and rules over the others.

But those at Ephesus and Pergamos in Revelation 2 did just the opposite. They created a hierarchal, ruling class of "Nicolaitans" who set themselves above the people in the assemblies. But Jesus directly rebuked them saying, He "hates" (Revelation 2:6) the sin of the Nicolaitans and anyone who holds to that doctrine and/or practices that doctrine should "Repent therefore or else I am coming to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth." Revelation 2:15-16

(See the article, “The False Teaching of Delegated Authority” for more detailed explanation.)

Can anything be more frightening than those words that Jesus uttered? And yet.....AND YET, do “the pastors” today even care? The very idea of people actually voting on, and then actually electing, and then actually installing a man into the office and position of “THE PASTOR” in which he supposedly now can rule over and officiate over the people is completely incompatible with the words and example of Jesus!

Any so-called "pastor" who occupies this man-made, false position and teaches others to recognize him in contradiction to the Scriptures, cannot be considered a true leader guided by the Holy Spirit.

They are the wolves that Jesus earnestly warned us to flee from.

Anyone can be fooled by frauds, charlatans, fakes and imposters. When sheep are enamored and follow anyone other than Jesus Christ, they are following the wrong voice (John 10:27 states, "My sheep hear MY VOICE, and I know them, and THEY FOLLOW ME.").

There is ONLY ONE MASTER, JESUS CHRIST (Matthew 23:8-10), and any human leader who proclaims that they are “your pastor" is a liar and a wolf.

1 Corinthians 11:3 "But I would have you know, that THE HEAD OF EVERY MAN IS CHRIST."

Ken Cascio

Webmaster