The Title, Office, and Function of “Pastor”

Places in the Bible where church leaders are called “pastors”:

Ephesians 4:11-13 (ESV). “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Ezekiel 34 also uses a form of the Hebrew verb ra’ah (“to shepherd”) to refer in a general sense to spiritual leaders in Israel.

Passages where the term “pastor/shepherd” is used as a verb:

1 Peter 5:1-4 (ESV). “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

John 21:16 (ESV). “He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’” 

Acts 20:28 (ESV). “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

Many Bible scholars have pointed out that in Acts 20:28 the terms “overseer” and “pastor/shepherd” (used as a verb) are used to refer to the same person, and that in 1 Peter 5:1-4 the terms “elder,” “overseer” (as a verb), and “pastor” (as a verb) are all used to refer to the same person. Strictly speaking, the title of the person in this passage is “elder,” and two of the functions of this person are “overseeing” and “pastoring” (or “shepherding”).

Based on these observations, many Bible students (and I among them) have concluded that the terms “elder,” “overseer,” and “pastor” may be used interchangeably to refer to the same person. Of the three terms, “elder,” “overseer,” and “pastor,” the one that is least common in the Bible to refer to a church leader is the term “pastor.” In modern-day church life (at least in many circles), however, the term that is most widely used is the term “pastor.” This anomaly has created a good deal of confusion. Different churches and traditions sometimes use different terminology to refer to the same thing, and the same terminology to refer to different things.

To make things even more confusing, Ephesians 4:11, the only passage that appears to refer to church leaders as “pastors/shepherds” as a noun also links “pastors/shepherds” to the noun “teachers,” thus implying that they are two aspects of the same role.

All of this leads us to ask a few pointed questions: 

Is it biblically permissible for a woman to teach? I would say that it depends on the context. First Timothy 2:11-12 informs us that, according to Paul, it is not permitted for a woman to “teach or to exercise authority over a man.” Yet Colossians 3:16 generally enjoins all Christians to “teach and admonish one another in all wisdom.” Acts 18:26 informs us that both Aquila and his wife Priscilla “took [Apollos] aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”

What is the function of an overseer? First Timothy 3:1–7 not only lays out for us the qualifications for someone who occupies the office of overseer; it also tells us something of the function of those who occupy this office:

“The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”

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A few observations: The masculine pronoun is used exclusively here to refer to those who occupy the office of overseer. Also, one of the qualifications listed is that he must be “the husband of one wife.” I believe this evidence is sufficient to demonstrate that for Paul the office of overseer was to be limited to qualified males. 

In addition, though the majority of the qualifications for overseers have to do with personal character, we also learn something here of the function of overseers. First, they are to be “able to teach.” And if they are required to be able to teach, it is a pretty safe assumption that at least part of their job description involved teaching. Next, they are to care for God’s church. The only other time the Greek word translated “take care of” here is used in the New Testament is in the parable of the Good Samaritan when the Samaritan took the beaten up man to the roadside inn/hospital and “took care of” him. The idea is that overseers have a special responsibility to look out for the welfare of the congregations in which they serve. Acts 20:28 (mentioned above) also says that overseers are to “care for the church of God,” though the Greek word in this case means “to shepherd” or “to pastor.”

This thought also calls to mind Hebrews 13:17a, which although not specifically using the terms “overseer,” “elder,” or “pastor,” appears to refer to those occupying that office: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.”

The parallel passage is Titus 1:5–9, in which Paul instructs his apostolic assistant Titus in Crete in much the same way he instructed his apostolic assistant Timothy with regard to his role in Ephesus: 

“This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

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One of the first things to notice here is that Paul appears to use the terms “elder” and “overseer” interchangeably. He does not, however, use the term “pastor,” either as a noun or as a verb. Also, just as in 1 Timothy 3, he uses the masculine pronoun to refer to elders and overseers, and he stipulates that an elder should be “the husband of one wife.” Once again, in addition to various matters of personal character he is to be qualified to “give instruction in sound doctrine.”

From all the above, I think we can safely infer that among the functions of those occupying the office of “overseer/elder/pastor” are teaching and caring for others in a pastoral sense, similar to the way a shepherd takes care of sheep. What is not quite so clear, however, is the idea that only overseers/elders/pastors are to teach or to care for church members. They may well have a special official responsibility to do so. But others who do not also occupy the office of “overseer/elder/pastor” also sometimes teach and sometimes care for members pastorally.

All this begs the question of whether it is ever appropriate to refer to someone who does not occupy the office of “overseer/elder/pastor” and who exercises the ministry of caring for others in the church by the title “pastor.” I agree that in our current 21st-century church milieu, using the term “pastor” in that sense may give rise to a certain degree of confusion and misunderstanding. It is probably, therefore, unwise to do so. But I do not believe it is technically unbiblical or heterodox to do so. Therefore, in order to determine if a church that refers to women by the title “pastor” is doctrinally aberrant, it will be necessary first of all to determine whether they are using that term to refer to someone who occupies the biblical office of “overseer/elder/pastor” or not.