What Does the Bible Actually Say About Pastors?

Here's What Makes Someone a Faithful Shepherd, According to Scripture.

It may surprise you to know that the leadership structure of almost all modern churches is far from anything we read about in the New Testament. In most churches today, the lead pastor is the head of the church. He or she is responsible for preaching and teaching every Sunday, ensuring the church grows and is healthy, leading Bible study, counseling, and visiting the sick.

To put it succinctly, “pastor” has become the catch-all phrase for anyone who is paid to preach and teach within the local church or to serve in a paid leadership capacity.

This is not what a pastor is in the Bible.

If you had to guess, how many times would you suspect the New Testament uses the term “pastor” in reference to an official role within the local church? Ten? Five? Twenty-five times?

The answer is one. You can only find one place in the New Testament where the term “pastor” is used in reference to a specific role within the local church.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, it’s important to note that the term “pastor” comes from the Greek word poimēn. The word poimēn in its original context was the word for shepherd. That’s what poimēn meant, and still means today, in the Greek language: a shepherd.

So how did we get to translate the word “shepherd” as “pastor”? The first occurrence was in the 16th century with the Geneva Bible, the first major English translation that was commissioned for public use. Instead of translating poimēn as “shepherd” in Ephesians 4, the translators chose to go with the transliterated version of the Latin word for shepherd, pāstores. Pāstores became “pastor,” and ever since then, in the minds of English-speaking Bible readers everywhere, there is a difference between a “shepherd” and a “pastor,” even if most couldn’t tell you what that difference is.

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God gifts individuals with the ability to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds or teachers so that they can build up the Body of Christ, equipping us to do the work of ministry and causing us to attain unity in the faith. The end goal is that the church becomes a near-perfect representation of Christ on earth.

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What, exactly, is a poimēn in the New Testament? What is meant in Ephesians 4 when it discusses “shepherds” being given to the church?

Ephesians 4:11-13 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood.”

For starters, the role of a shepherd is never described or categorized as an office in the local church. According to the New Testament, the only two offices that exist in the local church are “overseer” and “deacon.”[1] On the other hand, “shepherd” is identified in Ephesians 4:8 as a gift ministry, a gift given to an individual on behalf of the local church.

God gifts individuals with the ability to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds or teachers so that they can build up the Body of Christ, equipping us to do the work of ministry and causing us to attain unity in the faith. The end goal is that the church becomes a near-perfect representation of Christ on earth.

Beyond that, all we’re ever told about pastors in the New Testament is that they are people who have been given the special ability to shepherd God’s people. The Bible never says that pastors are people who run mega-churches, become celebrities, give TED talks, or host leadership podcasts. It never says that they must hold a special office or title in the church or be the ones who represent the community of faith to the rest of the world. It doesn't even say that they must be the ones who preach or teach at every church gathering. It’s not that a pastor can’t do those things. It's just that the Bible never describes pastors as doing those things.

In fact, the idea of a pastor having a platform at all is one that is foreign to the New Testament. When you think of the type of people who possess massive platforms today, do lowly shepherds come to mind?

The truth is that if you want to understand what it truly means to be a pastor based only on the Bible, you must think of a shepherd. After all, that is the only example we’re given to go by.

It should come as no surprise that Jesus talked a lot about shepherds in his time. He seemed to think that shepherds made a perfect template for how God’s people should care for one another. As the Good Shepherd, he didn’t just talk about shepherding; he modeled it.

A shepherd’s primary role is to ensure that his or her sheep are safe and protected. When deadly predators attack the flock, attempting to peel off individual members, the shepherd must risk his or her life to ensure that every member is safe and sound.

Shepherding has never been considered a glamorous job, regardless of what society or historical time period you refer to. It includes hot days under the sun, cold nights under the stars, and is a 24/7, 365-day-per-year responsibility to care for the well-being of others.  

Are you following?

If you desire to work in full-time Christian ministry, especially as a pastor, you must ask yourself the question, “What am I really after?” If it’s fame or riches, speaking engagements or book deals, celebrity, a platform, or notoriety, you have chosen the wrong profession.

Most true shepherds who live and serve in the Kingdom of God go largely unnoticed. They spend their days caring for the broken-hearted, lifting up the lowly, discipling the hungry, and dividing truth from error for everyone. They often receive no thanks and gain zero notoriety. In fact, in contrast to popularity, disdain and contempt from the world are what most shepherds should expect to receive in return for their service.

But that is okay. Anyone who serves as a true shepherd in God’s church isn’t in it for fame, riches, or pats on the back. Rather, they serve out of a love for God, a genuine care for his people, and a passion for the truth.

The issue of women being pastors is almost always misrepresented in the church today because of our lack of prudence in searching the Scriptures. Asking the question, “Can women be pastors?” is entirely different from asking the question, “Should women lead the local church?” Sadly, those two questions are almost always conflated.

According to 1 Timothy 2-3 and Titus 1, leadership in the church should ideally be reserved for mature men in the Lord—not an individual man but a group of men in any given congregation. Are there times and situations when this may not be possible? Sure. I’ve experienced them myself.

Can a woman have the gift of a shepherd? Absolutely. God is clear that he is not a respecter of persons when it comes to the gifts he gives to members of his church. Women with the gift ministry of a shepherd have as much right to exercise that gift as the next person does. And if not being on an elder board or a leadership team means that one wishes not to serve in alignment with their gift or serve the church at all, I would say that they were never fit to serve in the first place.

The life of a true shepherd is a life of self-sacrifice. It’s a life of long days and hard labor, all done in service to God and his people. True pastors may never get rewarded in this life for the work they do, but you can rest assured that they will be rewarded openly when the Good Shepherd comes to take us home.

The question every young pastor must ask themselves is this: What am I in it for? What am I after? If notoriety or a platform is what you seek, I ask that you kindly reconsider your choice to enter the ministry. There is plenty of that to be gained in the world. If a life of hardship, service, and anonymous self-sacrifice laid down in service to our Lord is what you seek, you may just be ready to start your training.

[1] The word “overseer” comes from the Greek word “episkopos,” and is often translated in English Bibles as “bishop.” The word “deacon” comes from the Greek word “diakonos,” and is often translated “servant” and “minister” as well as “deacon,” which is technically a transliteration of the original Greek word “diakonos.”

What Does the Bible Actually Say About Pastors?

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