“Let me not, I pray you, respect any man’s person; neither will I give flattering titles unto any man.” (Job 32:21, JPS)
The ninth myth that maintains the spirit of perversion in the contemporary church will probably shock you: The reverend or pastor is the one around which the entire church community revolves, and without him/her the church cannot function optimally. This statement is a deeply rooted myth and carries no Biblical truth.
It almost sounds like blasphemy if one suggests that the reverend or pastor’s position is not Biblically founded, but merely a human institution. All who function in ministries that exist outside the formal structures of official denominations will know that the lack of legitimacy in their position is closely aligned with the fact that they do not adhere to the prerequisite of “formal” theological training, and are thus considered lay preachers, belonging to sects.
Almost the entire Protestant, Pentecostal and Charismatic traditions have based their ministry model on this non-Biblical myth. One cannot imagine church gatherings devoid of a traditional spiritual leader as the centre of attention. This despite the fact that there is not a single verse in any of the books of the New Testament that refers to his/her pivotal position. One verse in Eph. 4:11 does however present the “shepherd” or “pastor” of the congregation as an integral part of the five-fold ministry, but not in the perverted manner we are familiar with the term. When a derivative of the word ‘pastor’ is thus used in Acts 20:28 and in 1 Pet. 5:2-3, it is not used as reverends/pastors in the the local church, as it is often understand, but as a function of the fivefold ministry, a “multiplicity of ministry”, a term used by Mike Hanby in his book on the subject, The Equipping of the Saints.
Robert Banks, in his book Paul’s Idea of Community, succinctly points out how the concept of pastor in all of Paul’s letters points to function, and not to person or title. In various respected books on the subject, like John Zens’ The Pastor and Christian Smith’s Going to the Root, it is very clearly shown that our understanding and use of the title pastor has no Biblical grounding. Adding theological equipment to this position has perverted the original use of the functional concept. Its origin is found largely during the period influenced by Constantine’s conversion, and his officiating of heathen, Roman positions of authority, as MA Smith clearly points out in his From Christ to Constantine.
Job 32:21 (JPS) is still very valid today: “Let me not, I pray you, respect any man’s person; neither will I give flattering titles unto any man.“
- Selah: Why do churches still uphold this un-Biblical system?
- Read: 1 Chr. 6
- Memorise: 1 Chr. 6:32
- For a more in-depth understanding: Read any of the books mentioned in the teaching.
