Pastor

Word family: Pastor, pastoring, pastoral. Synonyms: Overseer, bishop, shepherd, elder, presbyter Related ideas: church government, leadership, guardianship, submission Definition: In Latin, the word for shepherd is “pastor”. In English, “pastor” is generally used to mean a clergyman or preacher. However in the scriptures it refers exclusively to the shepherds (elders) of a congregation, not the preachers or evangelists. Greek References and Scripture:   There are four Greek words rendered by seven English words:-   GREEK ENGLISH STRONG EXAMPLES episkopos overseer (bishop) 1985 cf 1983-4 Tit 1:7, Php 1:1, Acts 20:28 poimeen shepherd (pastor) 4166 cf 4165-8 Eph 4:11, 1Pe 2:25, 1Pe 5:1-4, Acts 20:28 presbuteros elder (presbyter) 4245 cf 4243-7 1Pe 5:1, Tit 1:5, Acts 20:17, 1Tm 4:14 proisteemi VERB to rule 4291 1Th 5:12, 1Tm 5:17 A comparison of these passages will show that the terms overseer, bishop, shepherd, pastor, elder, presbyter, and ruler, are synonymous and interchangeable. They are simply different words for the same thing. Notice in particular the following points: Whom Paul calls elders in Titus 1:5, he calls overseers/bishops in 1:7. Acts 20:17,28 and 1Pe 5:1-4 call elders shepherds/pastors. According to 1Tm 5:17, elders are to rule. Both elders and apostles governed the first congregation (Acts 15:1-6). Comment: In the above table, the Greek/English equivalents are given. Some translators, instead of the simpler English, use the words in brackets. Personally, I think the bracketed words (bishop, pastor, presbyter) are less suitable for general use in the church, because they need too much explaining and can be misleading because of denominational usage. Print version: All the above presented as an A4 single-page Word document ready to print Lessons: Index to articles on elders and deacons List of lessons: “pastor” Glossary: Show word list

Home | Alpha Index | Topics | The Hub | Glossary index