The Jaw-dropping Truth About Ordaining Pastors and Elders

 This post forms a sequel to my earlier post, The Flabbergasting Reason Women Should Be Deacons and Ministers. Both that article and this one lay out some things that I learned only a few months ago, when I began to deep-dive into what God’s Word really says about church government.

As we saw in that first post, deacons, ministers, and servants are one and the same thing. There is no office or position of “deacon.” They hold no position of authority within the congregations, but are simply those who serve the congregation in some capacity. Both men and women may fill this role if they meet the qualifications and represent the congregation honorably.

For example, women who help out with the sound system or filming, or who bring snacks for everyone to enjoy, or who serve the brethren in any other capacity, may be considered “deacons,” “ministers,” or servants to the congregation. In fact, all of God’s people are to be servants, that is, “deacons,” to one another.

However, deacons, ministers, and servants aren’t the same thing as overseers, pastors, and elders. Make no mistake, overseers must also be servants to their fellow brethren, but not all servants are overseers.

What, then, is an overseer? A pastor? An elder?

What are their qualifications to hold those offices?

What are their responsibilities?

How are they chosen?

Let’s get started and find out what God’s Word has to say about these things!

What Are Pastors, Overseers, and Elders?

“Pastor,” first of all, is Strong’s # G4166, poimen, and means “shepherd.” The phrase applies most often to Jesus Christ, the good Shepherd (John 10:11) and the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4). In Eph. 4:11, though, we find that God also “gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as proclaimers of good news, and some as shepherds and teachers” (Young’s Literal Translation).

“Overseer,” or “bishop,” as many versions have it, is Strong’s # G1985, episkopos, and means, “an overseer, a man charged with the duty of seeing that things to be done by others are done rightly, any curator, guardian, or superintendent.” The Apostle Paul listed qualifications of overseers or bishops in 1 Tim. 3, which we’ll get to shortly.

Finally, “elder” is Strong’s # G4245, presbyteros, and means, “elder, advanced in life, an elder, a senior, forefather, those who presided over the assemblies.”

Armed with some basic definitions now, what does the Bible tell us about them?

The Apostle Peter wrote, “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away” (1 Pet. 5:1-4).

Peter started his address to the elders, but also described himself as one. Then, he urged them to shepherd the flock, “shepherd” being the same Greek word that’s elsewhere translated as “pastor.” He continued this thought by urging them to serve as overseers. This passage, then, seems to tell us that shepherds or pastors are the same as overseers, and that both are elders.

Since Peter was an apostle but also an elder, it may further be understood that all leaders of the congregation are elders. “Elder,” then, is not any specific office, but rather all leaders of God’s people are elders. To put it simply, a pastor is an elder, but an elder isn’t necessarily a pastor. Likewise, an apostle is also an elder, as was Peter, but an elder isn’t necessarily an apostle.

So pastors, shepherds, and overseers are one and the same thing. They are also elders.

We see this again in the Book of Acts. In Acts 28:17, Paul called for the elders of the congregation in Ephesus. After this, in v. 28, Paul instructed these elders, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

Finally, in 1 Pet. 2:25, we read that Jesus Christ is “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Yet again, God’s Word uses “overseer” and “pastor” interchangeably. It’s the same office, and the same responsibilities.

So, having seen that the leaders of God’s people are elders, and that the elders within the individual congregations are pastors or overseers, what qualifies them to be such? What qualifies someone to be a pastor?

What Are the Qualifications?

God’s Word establishes a number of qualifications for pastors, mostly related to their personal character. We’ll get to that shortly.

The first qualification, though, has nothing to do with personal character, but simply Divine instructions. God’s Word unmistakably tells us that, within the congregation, a woman is not “to teach or to have authority over a man” (1 Tim. 2:12). Therefore, an obvious qualification of a pastor is that he must be a man.

In 1 Tim. 3:2-7, Paul added some additional qualifications:

2 A bishop [overseer] then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;

3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;

4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence

5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);

6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.

7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

A pastor, then, must be a man of strong, well-established Godly character, who is able both to lead and to teach others.

One can immediately see that many pastors and church leaders of today are wholly unqualified! “Not greedy for money"? How many pastors and church leaders are disqualified on that basis alone? “Not given to wine?” That, too, disqualifies many! “Having his children in submission with all reverence?” Oh boy! “Preacher’s Kids” are notorious for being rebellious and wantonly sinful.

As God’s people, we must be diligent to abide by God’s Word. Elders and pastors must be held to an even stricter standard, for they set an example that others follow, whether good or bad.

Now, then, what are pastors’ responsibilities?

What Are the Responsibilities?

Since 1 Tim. 3:2, as we just read, tells us two of an overseer’s qualifications are that he must be able to teach and that he must not be a novice in the faith, it becomes obvious that one of the responsibilities of a pastor or overseer is to teach.

This doesn’t mean that only one man teaches the congregation or speaks during services. The traditional sermon format, in which one man speaks and no one else says a word, is wholly unscriptural, but that’s a topic for another time.

Remember, also, that the congregation in Ephesus had multiple elders, and that Paul instructed all of them to pastor the flock. Jam. 5:14, too, speaks of the elders, plural, of the congregation. God’s congregations aren’t dictatorships under the iron rule of one man.

Now, the purpose of teaching the congregation isn’t only for the members’ benefit, but also so that they can in turn teach others, if only their own children. Paul wrote to Timothy, “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth…” (2 Tim. 2:24). Remember, all of God’s people are His servants!

So one of a pastor’s primary responsibilities is to teach God’s Word. This dovetails with another primary responsibility: guarding the flock. A pastor is to watch over the congregation as a shepherd watches over his flock. It’s his responsibility to keep the wolves at bay, just as Jesus Christ gave Himself as the example (John 10:11-14).

In 1 Pet. 5:2, when Peter exhorted the elders of the congregation to serve as overseers, he used the Greek word episkopeo (Strong’s # G1983), which means in part, “to look carefully, beware.” The same word is used in Heb. 12:15: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully [episkopeo] lest anyone fall short of the grace of God” (Heb. 12:14-15).

Pastors must look carefully and beware of sins, Satanic doctrines, or wicked men creeping into the congregation. As the Apostle Paul twice reminded us, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:6; Gal. 5:9). Therefore, pastors must do their best to prevent wickedness from getting even a toehold within the congregation. If they see it coming, they must warn the flock.

A pastor may be likened not only to a shepherd, but to a watchman, as well. A watchman’s responsibility is to alert the people when he sees danger approaching, as we read in Ezek. 33:1-6:

1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman,

3 ‘when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people,

4 ‘then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.

5 ‘He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.

6 ‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’

A pastor is on guard duty. It’s his job to look out for threats to the flock, and to warn his congregation when he sees them. Under no circumstances can he fall asleep on the job.

Of course, a pastor must also be diligent that he himself doesn’t become a threat to the flock. He must always remember that he is an example to others, and he must never seek to take advantage of them.

This leads us to the next primary responsibility of a pastor, which is two-fold. We read it earlier in 1 Pet. 5. Here it is again: “nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Pet. 5:3).

A pastor must never exalt himself over those entrusted to his care or think himself superior, but must set an example for others to follow — an example of humility, self-control, and Godly behavior. God’s Word even prohibited the kings of Israel from exalting themselves over their brethren (Deut. 17:20)! How much more, then, the shepherds of God’s flock.

Finally, as we saw earlier, the word overseer, episkopos, means, “a man charged with the duty of seeing that things to be done by others are done rightly.” We can conclude, then, that another pastoral responsibility is to ensure that “all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40).

Having now seen what pastors and overseers are, what their qualifications are, and what their responsibilities are, one question remains: How are they chosen?

How Should Pastors Be Chosen?

Since pastors hold an enormous responsibility, one would think that they must be chosen carefully. Does the Bible give us a standard or a process for this?

Let’s turn to Acts 14:23. Here we read, “So when they [Paul and Barnabas] had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” That’s from the New King James Version.

Young’s Literal Translation, however, gives us a much different look: “And having appointed to them by vote elders in every assembly, having prayed with fastings, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” This literal rendering shocked me when I first saw it!

The concept of Paul and Barnabas “ordaining” men of their own choosing doesn’t exist here. The word that Young’s translates as “appointed to them by vote” is cheirtoneo, Strong’s # G5500, and means “to vote by stretching out the hand, to create or appoint by vote, to elect, appoint, create.” In other words, the people elected elders by raising hands! The apostles then presented these chosen men before God, and fasted and prayed over them.

The same phrase, cheirtoneo, is used in 2 Cor. 8, where we read, “And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, and not only that, but who was also chosen [cheirtoneo; #5500] by the churches to travel with us with this gift” (2 Cor. 8:18-19). The congregations chose, by vote, a man to travel with Paul and his other companions, just as they also elected their elders.

Indeed, in Acts 6, when the twelve apostles appointed seven deputies to help them, we see the same thing. In Acts 6:3, the apostles addressed the congregation, saying, “Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.”

Following this, we read, “And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch” (Acts 6:5).

Notice that once again, the apostles did not choose these men, but the people of the congregation did! How did they do so? Likely by a show of hands, just as we read already in Acts 14:23. Having made their selections, the people presented these men “before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them” (Acts 6:6).

We see this same process in the Old Testament as well. In Deut. 1:13, Moses reminded the people about how, early in their wanderings, he had told them, “Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”

Moses did not choose the leaders of Israel; the people chose them! Once the people had made their choice, Moses presented the men before God. It’s the exact same pattern we saw in the New Testament.

Finally, 3 John 1:9-12 draws a contrast between an apostate “who loves to have the preeminence” (v. 9), Diotrephes, and a faithful man, Demetrius, who “has a good testimony from all” (v. 12), that is, from all the people of the congregation.

In condemning Diotrephes’ actions, however, John claimed no authority to remove Diotrephes or to fire him, but instead said, “Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words” (3 John 1:10). In other words, he would make his case to the congregation that they ought to remove the wicked Diotrephes and replace him with Demetrius.

Again, God did not establish dictatorships among His people. Not at any time. Such a system is wholly contrary to His character: “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many’” (Mat. 20:25-28).

That wraps things up for today. Hopefully this study has been as fascinating and thought-provoking for you as it has been for me.

Do you have any thoughts to add?