Scripture tells us to be aware of the times and seasons in which we live. Nearly every Christian has some sense that we are approaching the greatest harvest the world has ever seen. The current global prayer movement is unsurpassed in Church history; we are preparing the net to pull in the catch, so to speak. The Lord told us to pray for laborers for the harvest, for the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. (Matthew 9:37). Many are talking about raising up laborers, and writing articles and preaching from Ephesians 4:11, 12, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” But we may have fooled ourselves into thinking that because we know this passage, that we are applying it correctly. If we are witnessing the restoration of all the ministry gifts in verse 11, then we should be accomplishing the dictate given in verse 12. We should be equipping God’s people to do the works of ministry. We should be equipping everyone, not just those in full time ministry or among the clergy. When we do this we will see hidden and neglected gifts come back into use and strengthen the Church.

As we are beginning to understand the gifts of the apostle and prophet, we also are redefining the others. The gift of the pastor, the shepherd, is one to clearly understand and define from God’s perspective. In the New Testament, the word ‘pastor’ is not found at all. The plural form ‘pastors’ is found only once, in Ephesians 4:11. The Greek word from which this is translated is poimen which literally means one who feeds, or a feeder. Since the context lets us know that sheep are what are being fed, the translation into shepherd seems appropriate. Note that there is no one named in the New Testament who is identified as a shepherd, other than the Lord Jesus himself. This is not true of the other four ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4. Many people are identified by name and recognized as functioning in one or another of the other gifts. Yet the modern Church is dominated by the office which we call a ‘pastor.’ This is a subject which deserves more review in order to better understand all ministry gifts.

First of all, it is important to recognize that Ephesians 4:11 says these ministries are gifts. The Lord gave them after He ascended into the heavenlies and sat down at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 4:10). That is why these five gifts are often called “ascension gifts,” or the “five-fold gift ministries.” Being gifts, there is nothing that can be accomplished through human strength to earn them. We are either given a gift or we are not. If we are given a gift it is ours to use and steward in accordance with the wishes of the Giver. Since there are responsibilities which come with such gifts, called giftings, there is also always the potential for abuse, or misuse.

We have no difficulty understanding this in the gifts of apostle or prophet, for instance. We know someone cannot earn the gift of a prophet or an apostle. A person cannot go to school to become a prophet. If a person is called as a prophet, he or she may become a better one by learning and impartation, but no amount of study or desire will make a person a prophet who is not given by the Lord to be one. Yet when we come to the office called a pastor we are inconsistent. People who desire to serve the Lord in overseeing a church, will train for that job, and then be ordained as a pastor. We would never say a person earns the gift of a pastor, but, practically speaking, this is to a large extent what is occurring.

There is a logical reason for this inconsistency in the understanding of the ascension gifts. It is found in our misunderstanding of the passages we use to define the office we title pastor: 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9, and 1 Peter 5:1-5. These passages list requirements necessary before coming into leadership over the Church. However, these all come under the category of works and not giftings. As we see in 1 Timothy 3:1 (NAS), “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.” The New King James Version (NKJV) reads, “he desires a good work.” Now there is a world of difference between a fine or good work and a gift which is received. Whether a work is fine or good, it is still a work and not a gift. Clearly the office of an overseer, which we inaccurately call a pastor, is something we can desire and attain. No matter how noble this task may be it is still not a gift. This is not to say that giftings could not be used while working in this office, but they are not one and the same. A person’s gift is their purpose within the Church, and purpose must not be confused with position. Because we have made the Biblical office of an overseer synonymous with the gift of a shepherd, we have allowed inconsistencies into the practical application of Church government at the foundation. We need to go back to basics to re-define the terms elder, overseer, bishop, and pastor if we are going to unravel the cloud obscuring a true understanding of the shepherd’s gift.

There are two Greek words translated into the three English words bishop, elder, and overseer. The Greek word episkope, from which we derive the English word episcopal, is translated bishop or overseer in different bible translations. The Greek word presbuteros, from which we derive the English word presbyter, is translated into the English word elder. The first word was used in the Greek community in bible times and emphasizes honor to the position or name of the office. The second word was used in Jewish synagogues, and emphasizes the respectability and character of the person holding the position. The two Greek words are two different names for the same office; both are overseers, both are the same function or position. In various Greek manuscripts these two words are often used interchangeably. The Greek word poimen, from which we get our word shepherd was not used interchangeably with the other two, but biblically referred to a gift or an act rather than a position. Jesus made this distinction in the parable of the shepherd and the sheep in John 10 in which he separates the shepherd of the sheep and the gatekeeper.

(NLT) John 10:1 “I assure you, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!
2 For a shepherd enters through the gate.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

Throughout the Bible the doorkeepers or gatekeepers were the elders. The name referred to the position of authority held, and not to the gift exercised by the individual serving in the position.
There is not one example of a pastor in the bible. This provides an insight into the office of the pastor and how it must function. Biblically there are elders, bishops, overseers, always in the plural. And, along with that, there is not an example of what has come to be called the “local church,” however, there is the church in the city of Rome, or the church in the city of Thessalonica, or in Philippi, but never a church of this or that particular belief. So, in general, if the individuals labeled pastors today would apply these truths, then they should perceive themselves as each being the elder or overseer of a particular congregation and see all the individual churches in the area as The Church of that place. This is a different paradigm then is currently ascribed to by most pastors and/or churches today, but is clear to see when viewed through the lens of the bible.

But what is a biblical pastor and is it synonymous with the gift of a shepherd? It helps to look into why we currently title ‘elders’, ‘bishops’, and ‘overseers’ as synonymous with ‘pastors.’ In order to do this, we must again look at the passages used to define church leadership. In 1 Peter 5:1 and 2, Peter exhorts the “elders…shepherd (feed) the flock of God.” The question that we must answer then, is whether or not Peter is exhorting the elders to have the gift of a shepherd in operation, or simply to do the job. One might ask a similar question concerning that of a teacher. In 1 Timothy 3:2, we see that an overseer must be able to teach. These two attributes of the overseer-elder are often used to prove that the individual must be a shepherd and teacher, or a pastor-teacher. Some teachers on this subject do not even separate the two, but consider that only four gifts are listed in Ephesians 4:11, the pastor and teacher being described as one gift. The same verse requires that a leader be given to hospitality, but, if that verse were requiring the gift of hospitality, then it seems clear that a lot fewer individuals would be qualified for leadership. When Paul instructed Timothy to do the work of an evangelist in 2 Timothy 4:5 was he telling him to have the gift of an evangelist, or to do the works of an evangelist? It is not apparent from the scriptures whether or not Timothy was an evangelist but it is quite apparent that Paul was instructing him to do the works of one. Likewise, we all can evangelize, but not all are gifted as evangelists. Likewise, overseers find themselves needing to teach, and to feed the people of God, but all leaders need not be gifted as teachers or feeders of the flock in order to function as an overseer. Perhaps this is one reason why in the Bible the overseer, or elder, is never called a pastor. Make no mistake, there is a gift of shepherding, just as there is a gift of evangelist, and apostle, but it is not a requirement for the office of an elder or overseer. Since this is the case, then it is possible that the Biblical office of an elder or overseer can be filled by a person holding any one of the five ministry gifts. But because we have mistakenly named the office of overseeing a church with the title “pastor”, we confuse the good work of an overseer with the gift of a shepherd. We confuse a good work with a gift.

So what is a Biblical shepherd’s gift, and what are its attributes? We have come to perceive the gift as someone who stands behind a pulpit, preaches and teaches, and so “feeds the flock.” The pastor will organize and administer, and often need to handle physical jobs around the church. Since there are no New Testament descriptions of a shepherd, we must look to the Old Testament. In Isaiah chapter 40:11, the shepherd is instructed to “… will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.” Biblically, to feed the flock is to take the flock to be fed rather than to supply the food or hand feed them. Yet we sometimes see the shepherd as the only one who supplies the food rather than the one who also leads or carries to the pasture, which is more a description of the gift of a shepherd. In fact the word pastor comes from the word pasture, not leadership or oversight. We can see this connection in Jeremiah 23:1 KJV, “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.” While most other translations substitute the word shepherds for pastors, although either one is properly used here.

A gift is not contingent upon a position in order to be manifested, whereas eldership over a church is a position in which the person is set in to use their gift. A teacher will teach regardless of position, an evangelist will evangelize regardless of position, likewise a person with the shepherd’s gift will guide and carry regardless of position. This is the individual within a group who will have a direct influence on others to lead, steer and encourage them to pursue God. This person has the ability to guide and gather people without a title or position with the board because they operate in the gifting that the Lord has bestowed. The shepherd will function within the gift of being able to direct Christians to the place where they will be fed. He has the ability to guide and gather. This is the gift of a shepherd and it is not in the least contingent upon a person’s position in the church, but as with any gift, it will belong to the person everywhere the Lord sends him to serve.

In bible times, the flocks of sheep were usually tended by more than one shepherd, and these shepherds were not usually the owners of the flock. Most usually these shepherds were shepherding the flocks belonging to their father, or their father-in-law. Often shepherds within our churches become too possessive because they forget they are to guide the Father’s sheep and not lord it over them as if they owned them. God’s flock is entrusted to the shepherd but is not owned by the shepherd. When there are many shepherds working together this is much easier to remember. But there are other benefits for plurality among shepherds. As has been mentioned earlier, with the exception of the Lord Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd, there is no example of a person named in the New Testament as being a shepherd, singular. At a recent early morning prayer meeting a prophetic word was spoken which said: “The Lord is doing a new thing in our days, and greater than in days of old. Even on the day of Pentecost was the great work of birthing a church performed. But in these days He will do a greater work and birth one Church out of many.” Two hours later at the prayer time for city pastors, one of the pastors made an announcement that three pastors of separate denominational churches in the city felt called to merge together to make one new congregation. This was quite remarkable, and all were able to rejoice in the Lord as the prophetic word which had so recently been spoken was seen coming to pass. There are named examples of Apostles such as Paul and Barnabas, and the twelve; there is Apollos the great teacher; and Philip the evangelist; Agabus, Silas, and Judas are identified as New Testament Prophets; but no one person is identified as a shepherd because, unlike the other gifts, the Lord will never fully energize this gift to a person who chooses to work alone. Implied within this message is the understanding that the Lord would also anoint a person to do the work of a shepherd even if they had a different gifting, so long as they were working as part of a team for the good of the flock of God. Therefore, when elders or overseers of congregations come together for the good of the Church, they may be energized as shepherds regardless of their individual gifts.

Distinguishing the gifts from the positions is actually more difficult in application than it might seem, due to strongholds which exist in culture. It is difficult, in our current culture, to explain which person is the overseer of a church, without using the title of pastor, or senior pastor. Presently a number of apostolic churches use the title “set man” to signify the person who God has set over the church. These churches are more likely to understand that the person overseeing a church will lead using whichever gifting he may have, and allow others in the flock with the gift of shepherd to be used. 1 Corinthians 12:28 states that God “hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers…” The individual who is set to lead the church will lead using whichever gifting the Lord has granted him. Ephesians 4 shows that there are five main ministries and it is necessary to understand that God may set any one of them over a church according to His will. Due to misunderstanding on this important point it must be clearly explained what is meant when using the terms pastor, the overseer of a church, or shepherd, the ascension gift as given by the Lord. By separating the gift from the government or position within a church, the Church will discover that gifts have been given to all kinds of people, and some of these people are out in the congregation. Unfortunately there exists a tendency within the church to assume that only people with official positions have these ascension gifts and this has caused a belief that head leadership positions can go to only one of the five gifts. The gift is further limited when we attempt to function independently of other leaders. With these assumptions we allow two weaknesses within our congregations. First, we overlook the gifted people who do not hold or aspire to hold positions, and second, we limit our chief positions to only one of the five gifts the Lord has supplied us. We have left untapped the power to release the saints of God to do works of service within the Church.

It is a simple statement that any elders may be five-fold, but not all five-fold will be elders, and not all elders or five-fold will be shepherds. There are examples around the world of people ordained and working in their gifts, yet not serving in the government of the church. There are women ordained as shepherds who are serving as cell leaders, yet not participating in the oversight of the church. It will become a great revolution in the Church as a whole when we are able to release all of the people of God into their God given gifts to the Church, and not necessarily require a governmental position. A true understanding of the shepherd’s gift, and its need within the Church will have a major positive impact by not only releasing the saints to their service within the Church, but also by allowing those of us who do function as overseers to be more effective, and allow the Lord to more effectively put to use all the gifts in our churches.

Lloyd Phillips