By Thomas Scott Caulley
The other day I met a Japanese Christian who is a Protestant pastor in that country. He had heard of the Christian church. “Yes,” he said, “I know your group: baptism by immersion, Lord”s Supper every week, and no alcohol!” The stereotype made me smile, but it also reminded me of the need to move beyond outward forms.
“Bible names for Bible things” is a good guide, but we must also move beyond outward forms in the area of church leadership. What about the title “pastor” for our preachers? Given the New Testament”s general lack of concern over titles and church offices, it seems more important that we stress the biblical function of a pastor (shepherd)1 than that we use titles in a certain way.
We all know stories of leaders who have abused their position. It is inappropriate for leaders to flaunt titles, as if they are better than others. No congregation can tolerate the “Tyrant Pastor” who places himself above accountability and runs the church with an iron fist. Nor should we abide the “CEO Pastor” who treats the church like a business instead of the body of Christ, who values budgets and bottom lines over people.
But most church leaders are not like that, and it hardly seems worthwhile to argue over titles. After all, if your minister is like one just described, changing his title won”t solve your problem! I argue neither for nor against calling our ministers pastors. I only suggest that we stress function over titles.
The better question is, are your leaders””paid ministers as well as elders””really fulfilling the role of pastor?
Shepherding in New Testament Perspective
Some say New Testament use of the word pastor is describing the elder and therefore cannot apply to today”s paid preacher. But this avoids the issue, even where the preacher is considered an elder. Clearly, every elder should be a shepherd, but in the New Testament, “pastor” was not always connected to elders.
We are reminded to “think function, not title” when, even within Paul”s own sphere, the lists of spiritual gifts are different, apparently ad hoc, statements (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11). These lists contain functional designations for specialized leadership, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”2 None of the three passages mentions elders or deacons, but Ephesians 4:11 lists pastors.
The New Testament does not explain the connection between pastoring as spiritual gift and pastoring as a feature of the elder”s role. The Ephesian church had elders (Acts 20:17, 28), but Luke makes no explicit reference to spiritual gifts (Ephesians 4:11).3 He portrays those elders as pastors who were to care for and oversee the flock, but omits details of how that was to be done. While we might infer that elders were chosen from among those spiritually gifted in pastoring””something like the choosing of Stephen and the others as deacons (Acts 6:1-6)””on this the text is silent.
Shepherding Is a Matter of Function
What were the duties of a pastor in the New Testament? As part of Peter”s reinstatement, the risen Jesus told him to pastor (“feed my lambs”/”tend my sheep”; John 21:15-17).
In the Synoptic Gospels, Peter is portrayed as the de facto leader of the twelve, but it is not clear what his pastor role came to mean in specifics, or how this played out in light of Peter”s relationship to the other apostles. Peter styles himself as “fellow elder,” and admonishes those elders to “tend the flock of God” (1 Peter 5:1-4). Even though we find few specifics about what pastoring entailed, we still see that the New Testament is oriented to function, not titles.
Shepherding Is the Product of a Relationship with God
The most important clues about pastoring are found in the theme of Jesus as shepherd, on which shepherding by church leaders is modeled (see Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; and Revelation 7:17). Two examples offer important insights into the meaning of “pastor” and “pastoring.” These are Jesus as Good Shepherd in John, and Jesus as shepherd in Matthew.
In John 10:11, Jesus is the Good Shepherd. This is one of Jesus” “I am” statements in John”””I am the bread of life” (6:35); “I am the light of the world” (8:12), etc. These statements accentuate Jesus” unity with the Father, specifically as Jesus does the Father”s work on our behalf. Jesus” invitation in these sayings (“Whoever comes,” “Whoever enters,” “Whoever abides,” etc.) is God”s invitation to enter into relationship with him through Jesus Christ.
Jesus” “I am” statements are associated with the “I AM” name of God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14, see also 6:2-8). Beyond a mere statement of existence, God”s name demonstrated his powerful presence for Israel in their time of crisis.4 “I AM” is strong affirmation that God is God of the “here and now.” Jesus” remarkable statement, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), confirms God”s continuing work through his Son, the incarnate Word.
Jesus is not just God-made flesh in a mere display of divine power, however. He is God in person for us; in the here and now Jesus the Good Shepherd is the embodiment of the Lord (“I AM”), who is my shepherd (Psalm 23). Jesus” shepherd role led him to the ultimate sacrifice in laying down his life for his sheep. What Jesus knew through his relationship to the Father he passed on to his disciples, and through them, to the church: namely, shepherding grows out of a relationship with God the Lord, our Shepherd.
Shepherding Is an Extension of Jesus” Ministry
Jesus is also shepherd in Matthew (see Matthew 26:31). In Matthew, Jesus ministers to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6 and 15:24). When Jesus saw the crowds, he was moved because they were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
The image of Israel as lost sheep, taken from the Old Testament (Numbers 27:17; Jeremiah 50:6; Ezekiel 34:2-6; Zechariah 10:2), includes a comment on the spiritual void caused by inadequate leadership. In the spirit of his father David, the shepherd king, Jesus fills that void. He does that not just by becoming a better leader, but by revolutionizing humankind”s relationship to God.
Seeing the crowds, Jesus was moved to action. He instructed his disciples to “pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers,” and then he sent them out to proclaim God”s kingdom to the lost sheep (Matthew 9:37; 10:1ff.). The disciples preached the good news of the kingdom and they healed; their work was an extension of two primary aspects of Jesus” own ministry.
The risen Lord then sent the disciples to the rest of the world (Matthew 28:18-20), and the church has carried on Jesus” ministry ever since. “Making disciples” and “shepherding the sheep” turn out to be closely related.
Shepherding Is an Expression of God”s Grace
Finally, Matthew records the parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14). In that parable, Jesus portrayed God as a foolish farmer who risks 99 sheep to save one. In the real world, that farmer would soon lose his investment and means of livelihood. Yet Jesus used this picture of foolhardy extravagance to describe God”s grace. What God does is anything but “business as usual”!
Shepherding is a lifestyle, not a methodology or a job description. Ideally, all believers are “pastors,” living out God”s extravagant grace, risking everything to save one. As a product of their own relationship to God, true shepherds become the grace of God to their people. As an analogy to Christ”s unique saving act, the church becomes the grace of God to those who need it. And the church can work only through her individual members. That work is the practice of extravagant grace.
Biblical Shepherding Corrects Human Models of Leadership.
To the “Pastor Tyrant” model of leadership, we must say: “Pastoring is not about ego and demagoguery””it is service.” The appropriate examples are God”s risk on behalf of Israel, and Jesus” own self sacrificial attitude: “For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45; see also Philippians 2:1-11).
To the “Pastor CEO” model we respond, extravagant grace is the antithesis of “business as usual.” To be sure, the problem is one of attitude and not specific methods, but it remains true that using business models to “do church” risks falling victim to business”s ethical deficiencies.
Abuses in the name of business models once included manipulative, high-pressure sales tactics passed off as evangelism. More recently, it has become popular to base spiritual decisions on marketing trends, as if the church were selling a product to consumers. In some cases this has resulted in curtailing observance of the Lord”s Supper, and removing older leaders to avoid offending young seekers. Underlying such decisions seem to be the adages, “The customer is always right!” and “The end justifies the means.” But these attitudes fly in the face of biblical principles.
News headlines remind us that business practices do not always reflect Christian values, but too often are corporate expressions of society”s spiritual ills. The body of Christ must rise above culturally compromised attitudes and practices if it is to provide spiritual guidance to corrupt society. But if our leaders have succumbed to cultural values, how can the church offer a prophetic critique of culture, or a credible solution to society”s problems?
Ultimately, the “what” and “how” of pastoring come back to the “Who.” The source is God the Father, who errs on the side of extravagant grace. “Shepherding the flock” includes teaching the faithful to know God by understanding what he has done for us, and what that means for our daily lives (no more “business as usual” ethics). Regardless of title, pastors teach extravagant grace””they teach by example.
Shepherding flows from a relationship to the Father through the Son, the Great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20).
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1“Pastor” and “pastoring” are used interchangeably throughout with “shepherd” and “shepherding.”
2Ephesians 4:12. Bible quotes are from the Revised Standard Version.
3Even if Ephesians was originally an encyclical sent to several churches, as many scholars believe, its readers included the church at Ephesus.
4By convention, the English Old Testament represents God”s revealed name “Yahweh,” translated “I AM” in Exodus 3:14, with the word “LORD,” whose letters are typeset in small caps following the capital “L.”
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Thomas Scott Caulley is director at the Institute for the Study of Christian Origins in Tubingen, Germany.
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