What’s My Pastor’s Job – Part 2

My last post dealt with the Old Testament terminology involved in determining, exegetically, the pastor’s primary role and job description. Now, we look to the New Testament terminology as we dig deeper to gain a more accurate understanding of what my pastor’s job really is. When these New Testament terms are taken as a whole, in light of their Old Testament counterparts, they establish a sound footing upon which a truly biblical job description for the pastor can be built.

 

The Meaning of Overseer

The first term that must be addressed is commonly translated as bishop (KJV, NKJV) and, more accurately, overseer (NIV, ESV, NASB).The evpi,skopoj / overseer word group – whether used as a noun, verb – all refer in one way or another to the same office or function. Religiously, it is noted that the word group refers to one who holds an official position as a guardian, overseer, or bishop in a faith community. Secularly, it is noted that from Homer forward, the term, when used of men, referred to those who held positions of state, but was later extended to refer to leaders of religious communities of all stripes. Though the term was used variously to refer to civil and religious officials; almost no delineation of the exact responsibilities incumbent in the offices exists. The various official evpi,skopoi / overseers seem to have functions as unique as the realms in which they function, with one common denominator; oversight of individuals or groups set aside for a specific purpose (e.g. the sanctuary at Rhodes, the Vestal Virgins, the Attic League, and other minor state agencies).

So, let’s look at the term biblically. The Septuagint (LXX) uses evpi,skopoj / overseer to refer generally to any form of overseer, regardless of the particular office. Thus, evpi,skopoj / overseer  is used to refer to state officers, supervisors over funds, priestly and Levitical overseers, and overseers of different temple ministrations. Evpi,skopoj / overseer is used much less commonly in New Testament literature than it is in the LXX. The word-group appears relatively few times in the New Testament; being used only in later Pauline epistles (1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Tim. 4:22; Tit. 1:7; 3:15; Philm. 1), the books of Acts (Acts 1:20; 6:3; 7:23; 15:36; 20:28), the first of the Petrine epistles (1 Pet. 2:25; 5:2), in James 1:27, and in Hebrews 12:15.  Peter uses evpi,skopoj / overseer to refer to Christ as the “Overseer of your souls” (1 Pet. 2:25) in the sense of a “guardian or superintendent”. Acts 6:3 and Hebrews 12:15 use verbal forms of the word-group in the sense of “seeing to it” that as task is accomplished. The verbal is similarly used in James 1:27 where pure and undefiled religious worship is defined as “looking after” or “overseeing” the care of widows and orphans. Acts 7:23 uses it of Moses when it came into his mind to “visit” or “look after” his fellow Israelites. Furthermore, the verbal is used in Acts 15:36, of Paul and Barnabas, when they determined to return to “visit” or “look into” the affairs of their converts. The majority of the New Testament uses the word relate specifically to an office of oversight, whether apostolic or pastoral. The instance of choosing Matthias in Acts 1:20, as a replacement for Judas Iscariot among the Twelve, finds Peter using the term in relation to an official position of oversight, i.e., the apostolic office. By the time Paul uses the term for the first time in Acts 20:28, the term is being applied to a clearly defined group of leaders within the Church. This use is born out in all of the other Pauline occurrences, as well as its identical use by Peter when instructing Church leadership (1 Pet. 5:2). Much like the older LXX usage, the New Testament assigns a general function of oversight to evpi,skopoj /overseer rather than delineating specific expectations. What is clear about the term throughout its historical development is that it carries a foundational nuance of oversight or management. When it is used in relation to human objects, the term almost always refers to an official position of leadership within a group or community of people. As it relates to the Church, evpi,skopoj / overseer became associated with a position of oversight and leadership, particularly that of pastoral leadership, quite early.

The Meaning of Elder

Presbu,teroj / Elder has a foundational meaning which relates to age. Anyone who had a modicum of age and experience as compared to the preceding younger generations could be spoken of as a presbu,teroj / elder. The nuance of age is also used in relation to time in the sense of speaking of ancient times or traditions of the ancients or elders (cf. Matt. 15:2; Mark 7:3, 5) {50}.  Age is not the only, let alone dominant, nuance used in the New Testament.

Presbu,teroj / Elder was not used to designate one who held an official office. As such, the early usage of presbu,teroj  in the gospels is almost exclusively tied to its Jewish origins and the development and meaning of the Hebrew term with the same meaning addressed in my previous post. In the early apostolic period, the primary nuance associated with presbu,teroj / elder was leadership. However, the New Testament usage rapidly developed from a kind of joint senate into a recognized and established leadership office. Acts 11:30, 15:2ff, and 21:18 refer to the presbu,teroi, at times in association with the apostles, functioning a great deal like the Sanhedrin or synagogue leadership; a group of mixed men of age and experience giving counsel and direction to the group. It seems from Luke’s account that the early Church, being predominantly Jewish in makeup, chose a leadership style with which it was most comfortable; explaining the adoption of a council of elders system that closely resembled that of the synagogue and Sanhedrin.

The early Church presbu,teroi / elders seem to have developed quite quickly into a recognized office held by qualified individuals. James 5:14 states that it is the elders who are to pray for and anoint the sick within the Church. These men do not seem to be merely gifted older believers, but specific office-bearers. The fact that Paul and Barnabas ordained elders as leaders in the local Gentile churches (Acts 14:23) suggests that by the time of the first missionary journey the term had come to refer to individuals who held a recognized office of leadership within the Christian community. This assertion is further supported by Paul’s address to the Ephesian presbu,teroi / elders in Acts 20:18ff. Here, Paul refers to the presbu,teroi / elders as having been made overseers, evpi,skopoi, of the church. The association of presbu,teroj / elder with a clearly understood term of leadership and oversight, evpi,skopoj, lends credence to the idea that presbu,teroj / elder had become a term associated with a designated office that bore a leadership emphasis {54}. When one examines the epistolary literature, it becomes evident that the term was used to delineate a leadership office within the church.  The fact that Peter addresses the presbu,teroi / elders as a group of leaders with a pastoral function (1 Pet. 5:1-3), that Paul gives qualifications and specific instructions in the pastoral epistles (1 Tim. 3:1-7; 4:14; 5:17, 19; Tit. 1:5-9), and that John defends his position of authority against detraction (2 John 1; 3 John 1) lends credence to the position that presbu,teroj was a term used by the apostolic Church to refer to one who held an official position, and that it was a position of leadership. This ascription of leadership to presbu,teroj  continued through the post-apostolic period of the early Church.

The author of Hebrews alludes to the association between overseers and elders by coalescing their functions into one office without specifically employing either term. Hebrews 13:7, 17, and 24 contain five imperatives to the local church delineating the expected responses of the parishioners to church leadership; each imperative being associated with a verb that means “to lead, be chief, preside over, govern, or rule”. Parishioner responses to these leaders expected them to be mindful of, to imitate, to obey, to submit to, and to give greetings to. Remembrance and imitation go hand in hand. The readers of the epistle were to call to mind their leaders in such a way that they considered their godly lives and imitated them in Christian conduct. Obedience and submission also work in construct; both demanding a recognition of and action in response to the leadership’s authority on the part of the parishioner {62}. The author of Hebrews makes a distinction between leaders and the other recipients of the epistle; calling on them to give salutations to those who rule them. The greeting commanded in 13:24 necessitates a good relationship between leader and parishioner. In order to greet their leaders properly and sincerely, parishioners must be on good terms with those who lead them {64}. The nature of the term and the expected responses clearly establishes that a leadership office is in view in Hebrews. The New Testament conclusively establishes the office of  evpi,skopoj-presbu,teroj / overseer-elder, that is the pastoral office, as the preeminent leadership office of the local church.

The Meaning of Pastor

The most common biblical term associated with the pastoral office is term commonly translated pastor; the Greek word poimh,n. The New Testament word-group typified by poimh,n / pastor is related to the Old Testament term h['r' / shepherd, which was previously examined. Fundamentally, poimh,n / pastor refers to the act of shepherding, being a shepherd. However, a figurative nuance is commonly employed in the New Testament which relates to activity that protects, rules, and governs in the sense of leading, guiding, and ruling. The term can be used literally to refer to one who shepherds a flock, that is, one who is engaged in animal husbandry, particularly with sheep. Metaphorically, the term came to be applied to rulers, and even gods, in the Ancient Near Eastern literature. The phenomena can be witnessed in the Sumerian king lists, the ancient Babylonian courtly styles, and the Egyptian books of the dead. Pastoral terminology was also quite popular throughout the Hellenistic world. Extra-biblical writers such as Homer and Plato used the metaphorical nuance; applying the term to governors, law-makers, military commanders, kings, and religious leaders.

Israel never directly applied pastoral terminology in a titular way to its kings, though such terminology was used to describe their leaders’ functions in relation to the people. The Church seemed to follow in this vein with regard to using poimh,n / pastor for its leaders. Only in Ephesians 4:11 are church leaders specifically called poimh,n / pastors. Paul’s use in Ephesians 4:11 does not seem to be titular, but descriptive of the function of the one who exercised the role of pastor.  Paul uses a variant of the term in Acts 20:28 to refer to the church as God’s flock. The address is given to the Ephesian elders, presbu,teroi, whom Paul says God has placed as overseers, evpi,skopoi, over God’s flock. From this combination of terms, it is evident that poimh,n / pastor is not being used titularly, and that this combination emphasizes the leadership nuance inherent in the functionality of the term.

Summary of the Biblical Terminology

The meanings and uses of the Old and New Testament terms examined are valuable to ascertaining the primary role of the pastoral office. The Old Testament terms !qez" / elder and h['r' / shepherd have direct bearing on their New Testament counterparts, presbu,teroj / elder and poimh,n / pastor. The elder word-groups clearly advocate the primacy of a leadership orientation and are commonly used titularly to refer to those holding a leadership role within the community. This same clear leadership usage is also witnessed in the New Testament term evpi,skopoj / overseer. Elder and overseer may describe different variations on exercise of the same office, but it is clear that both emphasize leadership in relation to the pastoral office. As these terms relate to the pastoral office, they import a clearly defined leadership emphasis and develop into titles commonly used for the office among the early church. The shepherd/pastor word-groups possess a leadership nuance that is less distinct than the other terms examined, as this group is commonly used to describe the function, or relationship, the leader has to those whom he leads and are never used titularly for the pastoral office.

All that to say that the terms used, whether Old or New Testament, clearly delineate that a leadership primacy be ascribed to the pastoral office. However, due to the commonality in ascribing a more literal pastoral / shepherding emphasis to the modern pastoral office, a wider examination of the shepherd motif in the biblical literature is required before a clear judgment can be made in relation to the pastoral office.