The One-Man “Pastor” System

Some religious misconceptions are fairly new, while others are very old. Some of the oldest ones actually stemmed from ones that were even older. Such is the case with the “one-man-pastor” system of church governance. No New Testament church had just one pastor. This practice developed in an apostasy that soon followed the first century. Local churches began to exalt one pastor above the others, labeling him as the “chief bishop” [“pastor,” as we shall see later]. This eventually led to regional or diocesan pastors, then ultimately to the pope.

While denominational churches have not gone completely to this extreme, they have gone in its direction. By identifying certain preachers as “pastors,” these churches, along with Catholic churches, have left the New Testament pattern of church governance. The Bible teaches that “pastors” are “elders” and “bishops” (see Acts 20:17 & 28; 1 Peter 5:1 & 2). While these three terms emphasize different aspects of the men and their work, all three terms refer to the same body of men. Paul had sent for the “elders” of the Ephesian church (Acts 20:17). When they arrived he addressed them as “pastors” [shepherds] and “bishops” [overseers] (verse 28). Peter made precisely the same connection in 1 Peter 5:1, 2. Combined with passages like Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5, we learn that there was always a multiplicity of elders in each church, thus a multiplicity of “pastors” or “bishops.”

NOTE: Contrary to popular belief, “pastors” are not necessarily “preachers.” Rigid qualifications are given for elders/pastors/bishops in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Only some of these qualifications are so general that apply to all Christians or even preachers. A preacher might qualify to be a pastor, and he might not! The preacher’s job is to “preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2), not to rule the flock (Heb. 13:17)!