Is “Pastor” supposed to be a title?
I got to thinking over the last week or so about this thing called “Pastor”…. why is it capitalized? What is a “senior” pastor? What is a “lay” pastor? What is an “executive” pastor? Where in the word of God are these titles… and why are people who serve as such demand to be called (titled) as such (example.. : Pastor Darren, Pastor Laura, ad nauseum)
Paul who served as an apostle never referred to himself as Apostle Paul… but rather as a ‘bond servant called to be an apostle’. Jesus, during his earthly time with his disciples warned about titles… call no man your father for you have but one Father, etc etc. (Matthew 23: 1-12)
But here we are, being trained (some as a condition of church membership) to refer to men who are pastors… as Pastor so and so.
In Matthew 23, Jesus talks about titles for those in the service of God.
From Matthew 23:8, do not call anyone your teacher, for One is your teacher. Want to guess who that one teacher is? John 14:26, Isaiah 54:13.
The word “Rabbi” in Hebrew is translated to the Greek in the New Testament to mean “My Master”. Is your master a man or is it the Lord? There is one thing to teach, which hopefully we all do at some manner.. but then there is being referred to as a teacher, or master. Here Jesus is saying that we have but One Teacher. Him!
If you get a chance, read Ezekiel 34:1-10. It speaks about false shephards and how they fleece the sheep that are under their care. Instead of feeding the sheep, they fed themselves and allowed the sheep to become open prey. In John 10:11-13, Jesus warned about hirelings who, when danger comes, will abandon the sheep. Many of todays professional clergy/pastors would rather live than lay down their life for the sheep under their care. Shooting the wounded and delivering them to the wolf all for the sake of a paycheck.
How much do you think the Lord is going to grieve on the day of judgment for these men, who loved the praise of men and have followed after the error of Balaam, for money. The Lord did not lay down his life in order to provide an income stream for these hirelings. Paul who served as an apostle worked hard with his own hands so as not to burden the church for support. His cause was that to NOT preach the good news was a “woe” to him. His example is mocked in the modern ministry. It should make a person, who is studying God’s word, line the Bible up against the things being taught and practiced in the body of Christ. Let’s get back to the things that the first century lived, breathed and was taught.
We need to return to the basics of the faith.
Just to be a Christian, again. Is all that I ask you to consider.