I am going to jump ahead in my review of the book Pagan Christianity? by Frank Viola and George Barna, to Chapter 5 which is entitled: The Pastor: Obstacle to Every-Member Functioning. The reasons for doing this are many. The church that I attend is in the midst of a search for a “senior pastor.” I am the son of a “pastor.” My wife is the daughter of a “pastor.” We both come from families with “pastors” in our heritage. Many of my friends and relatives are “pastors.” There are many “pastors” that I love and respect. I have even considered becoming a “pastor” at different times in my life. At other times I have decided NOT to pursue that!

But, I am reminding the reader that I am on a personal journey to discover – if I can – what about the modern “church” is truly biblical, and what is not. This means that I have to put everything on the table ask the question if the “pastor” or “senior pastor” as we have come to understand and practice it, is actually biblical.

Very few would disagree that the “pastor” leader concept is a fundamental, biblical “must have” in the minds of almost every Protestant Christian. And within the evangelical sub-culture of which I have most of my experience, the more specific idea of a “senior pastor” is also considered sacrosanct. It certainly has been for me at earlier times in my life.

But here is the profound irony. There is not a single verse in the entire New Testament that supports the existence of the modern-day pastor! He simply did not exist in the early church. – Pagan Christianity? Page 106

There is only one verse in the New Testament where the word “pastor” is used.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. — Ephesians 4:1

Gulp! Not a very solid foundation for such a closely held “must have” tradition! Evangelicals are not alone. Roman Catholics have made the same mistake with the word priest. The word appears in the NT only three times and in every case it refers to all believers in Christ.

So, what can we learn from the New Testament about a “pastor?”

Barna and Viola point out that the word pastor is plural – pastors. They existed as more than one. The Greek word translated as pastors is poimen, which means shepherds. I think that we can safely assume that this is a metaphor for how they functioned in the church. Surely no one believes they were literally shepherds! If this word is a metaphor, then it does not describe an office or a title. The Ephesians verse simply mentions them, and offers no definition. Let us be clear then that we have provided our own meaning of the word based upon our own culture, and not because we have read it in the Bible.

Viola and Barna go on in this chapter to address and answer Where Did The Pastor Come From?

• The Birth of One-Bishop Rule – Ignatius of Antioch
• From Presbyter to Priest – Clement of Rome and Cyprian of Carthage
• The Role of the Priest – Ambrose of Milan
• The Influence of Greco-Roman Culture
• Constantine and Roman Hierarchy
• Constantine and the Glorification of the Clergy
• A False Dichotomy – secular vs. sacred
• The Fallacy of Ordination – Roman civil customs: Gregory of Nazianzus and Chrysostom
• The Reformation – Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and the Anabaptists
• From Priest to Pastor
• The Cure of Souls
• The Pastor-Driven Church
• How the Pastoral Role Damages Body Life
• How the Pastor Damages Himself

In each section, an overwhelming number of footnoted historical evidences, statistics, scholarly opinions and references are provided. You must read this chapter… it is powerful.

Of personal interest was the section on “How the Pastor Damages Himself.” In this section Barna and Viola cite numerous statistics including:

• 94% of pastors feel pressured to have a perfect family
• 90% work more than 46 hours per week
• 81% say they ave insufficient time with their spouses
• 80% believe their pastoral ministry affects their family negatively
• 70% do not have someone they consider a close friend
• 80% are discouraged or deal with depression

I’ll stop on that one…

I agree with Barna and Viola that very few pastors have connected the dots to discover that it is their “office” that causes the underlying turbulence in their lives. “Jesus Christ never intended any person to sport all he hats the present-day pastor is expected to wear. He never intended any one person to bear such a load.”

The authors go on to describe the unique stress the church places upon pastors with the unrealistic expectations, and dictated standards we often place on them. Many factors like this come into play to produce serious pathologies for many such as: loneliness, corruption, artificiality, lack of accountability, political games, and much worse.

I know of one pastor who discovered some of these things fairly early in his “career” and thankfully recognized it and has moved on to a much better fit for his gifts and service. I know of another who has served in several churches over the years, all the while battling serious depression. It has been a few years now since he left his “pastorate” and took a break. Thankfully, God opened up a new door of service opportunity in the church that fits him and his gifts much better.

There are many more personal stories that I am unfortunately aware of that match what Viola and Barna describe. I agree with their conclusion that our modern single-pastor idea has its roots in pagan culture and has no foundation in scripture.

The church at the beginning of the 21st century needs to examine this “tradition” and see if it measures up to God’s Word. If it is found to be lacking and wanting, we need to be mature enough to abandon it and follow a more biblical pattern.

I offer one alternative for consideration… team leadership based upon spiritual gifts. I found a recent article on this topic in Leadership Journal to be very challenging and thought-provoking. Read Next & Level, an interview with Next Level Church leaders in Denver, Colorado, who after a bad experience with personality-based, top-down leadership, took a whole new approach to what is truly The Next Level Church.