19 Bible Verses About Pastors, and Why the New Testament Barely Uses the Word



  • The noun “pastor” appears once in the New Testament, in a list of gifts, and it is the ordinary word for a shepherd.
  • Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 5:2 stack elder, overseer and shepherd onto the same people in a single sentence.
  • Of the fifteen or so items in 1 Timothy 3:2-3, only one — able to teach — is a skill; the rest are character and household.
  • Paul moves from honour to wages without changing subject, quoting a rule about not muzzling the ox that treads the grain.
  • Hebrews 13:17 puts the joy or the groaning of a pastor’s work in the congregation’s hands, not the pastor’s.

The New Testament almost never uses the word pastor, and when it does, it is not a job title. The noun appears once, in a list of gifts, and it is the ordinary word for a shepherd. Everywhere else the same people are called elders or overseers, and Luke and Peter both stack all three words onto one group in a single breath — elders who are to shepherd the flock as overseers. What the letters describe is a set…

Continue reading with a subscription

Get unlimited access to all our premium content and exclusive features.

Enjoy unlimited access, cancel anytime.



了解 Christian Pure 的更多信息

立即订阅以继续阅读并访问完整档案。

继续阅读

Share to...