ONE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISED

I was reading a booklet that set out what a particular denomination believes. It said that “According to the New Testament there are only two offices in the church – that of pastors and deacons.”

Statements like this show the paucity of scriptural knowledge in the church today and how easy it is for tradition to become scripture.

First, there are NO offices in the New Testament Church, only ministries. Anyone who was involved in a ministry was anointed by God for that ministry long before there was any recognition of their ministry. Please note that the original apostles served a three year apprenticeship.

Second, once they were recognised as having a given ministry, they were publicly acknowledged. They were not ‘ordained’ by any man made committee as it was not necessary. If God had set his seal on a person, a committee cannot do anything to improve on God’s choice and his anointing. All the church can do is recognise the persons calling and anointing.

As has been said “a man’s ministry makes way for him” and if it doesn’t, they don’t have one and going to Bible College and climbing the denominational ladder of success won’t give them one. I hasten to add that some churches actively discourage a person’s ministry if they are not ‘credentialed’ by man, especially if the person has an anointing that uncovers the spiritual nakedness of the official leader.

The ministry recognised for oversight of the local congregation in the New Testament Church was that of an Elder. This word in Greek means “older more senior men chronologically.” This is a difficult concept for us to grasp because we do not place the same emphasis on seniority and maturity like they did in the New Testament Church and New Testament society.

Today in society you are over the hill when you are 50 years old. The church is no different as it seems that the crown jewels are to have a vibrant youth ministry.

It is quite ridiculous to have a 30 year old ‘pastor’ having authority over a body of elders who are all retired. It just would not happen in the New Testament Church. We are told that the young men should submit to the older men, not to a 30 year old pastor.

Supporting the elders were the Deacons who looked after the distribution of the welfare dollar (shekel) and goods to the poor and needy. Because there were no building to build or maintain and no salaries to pay there was heaps of money available for this purpose. They weren’t there to see that the lawn out the front of the church building was mown.

Nowhere in the New Testament Church will you find a stand alone pastor who was called from outside the church, given a house and paid a salary. The whole idea is quite foreign to the New Testament Church.

What you will find is the priesthood of all believers which included every child of God who were all expected to minister according to their gifting for the building up and edifying of the body of Christ.

So, what about ‘pastors?’ the only time that the word ‘pastor’ or in the Greek ‘poimen’ is used is in Ephesians 4 where it is listed along with the apostle, prophet, evangelist and teacher. All these ministries and please note they are ministries not positions were for the body of Christ at large not to a specific local fellowship. They were what you might call the ministers to the elders and deacons as they ‘ministered alongside” them, not over them. They never replaced them.

One of the responsibilities of the ministry of oversight carried out by the elders was that of ‘shepherding’ which is what pastoring is. They were responsible for the day to day shepherding of the local congregation, not the ‘poimen’.

Until we understand the necessity of five ministries (not one pastor doing all five ministries) and the oversight of the local congregation by elders and deacons, we will never ever become the church that the New Testament Church was or become the church that God wants us to be.