I Am Not Against Your Pastor!
Due to most of Christendom referring to the head of their local congregation as being their “Pastor” as a “position” or “job description” or “title of some kind of leadership”, I will refrain from using the term “pastor” in preference to “shepherd” when referring to the person in the Five Fold who “nurtures”. Since most of us personally know nothing about sheep or how to raise them, but do know that a shepherd, by trade, at least in Bible times, lived with their sheep, led the sheep to good feeding grounds, help heal the sheep when ill, watched over their flock, and prevented and protected them from harm. In that spirit, I will refer to this passion or point of view as “shepherding”.
So do not take my comments, thoughts, ideas, blogs, etc. as being anti-pastor, aiming at them men who lead churches. Some of the most nurturing men in Jesus I know are in the “profession”. I highly respect them, for they are men of God, reacting to the calling of God in their lives. Unfortunately, I do not agree that the title or office of “pastor” as “a professional” is Biblically accurate. It is something the church has created in its hierarchy of professionalism. I will discuss this later.
I believe a “pastor/shepherd” is any believer, paid or not, in leadership or not, who has a passion, a desire to nurture a babe in Christ toward maturity in Jesus. Their point of view is “nurturing”; that is the focal point of how they see ministry. They want to make the Christian walk as practical as in Jesus day when he walked with the twelve that he was personally “nurturing”.