3 Reasons Your Pastors Are a Gift - by Camryn Zamora

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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We have come to disdain the adulation of pastors. We're not talking about those who adore mega-church celebrity pastors, we're talking about people like the author who want to admonish us for not appreciating the thankless work of the noble and sacrificial pastor of the local church. 

Now, we in no way want to disparage these hard-working servants of the Lord. Our problem is with those who want to perpetuate the unbiblical church structure of having a top-of-the-pyramid CEO pastor.

The Bible tells us the church is to be led by elders: 

1Pe. 5:1-2 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow-elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers...

So the below article inadvertently encourages the perpetuation of pastors in a role that is not biblical.

But the author does not stop there. She wants the pastor to be the combination of all five of the offices named in Ephesians 4:11, plus be like the ministry of Paul, plus the pastor is actually Jesus speaking to the congregation.

This is absolutely awful presentation. Terrible. We must deem it Bad Bible Teaching. Perhaps even in the running for the worst teaching we've ever considered here on our blog.

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Stop and Consider

When was the last time you thanked God for your pastors? If it’s been awhile, perhaps you underestimate their value. Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (This verse does not mention pastors.)

We tend to be grateful for those who better our lives: doctors who detect illnesses, caregivers who alleviate our sufferings, and emergency personnel who rescue us. Your pastors guard something far more valuable than your physical health. God has entrusted them with the precious task of caring for your soul. (The author changes the word "watch" to "guard" and then to "care." They do not mean the same thing. The Greek word is agrupneó, to be awake. So we are to obey and submit to our leaders so that their work of keeping watch over us would be joyful. 

Guarding is not pastoring.)

This profound mandate belongs to your pastors and only to them. (??? What? Where in the Bible do we find this astonishing idea?

This is completely false.)

Consider how they fulfill that mandate.

1. Your Pastors Grow You in Maturity

In Ephesians 4:11–14, Paul tells us that the risen Christ gave his church the gift of shepherd-teachers “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” so that the whole church grows into Christlike maturity. (Let's quote the previous part of the verse: 

Ep. 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers...

Why does the author omit the other offices, and also, why does she combine pastors with teachers? They are two different things. Some will claim that the construction of the Greek places the two together as one office, but this is false, considering Ephesians 2:20 connects “apostles” and “prophets” without them being the same man. Therefore, pastors and teachers are two separate things. 

So we already have a hint of where she's going with this article, which will explain why she omitted the first part of the verse.)

Your pastors are Christ’s gift to his church, given to mature your knowledge of Christ, ensure your stability against false doctrines, and enable your unity with fellow believers to promote the gospel. Your spiritual welfare relies on their guidance. By their teaching and through their example, you become more like Christ. Not only is that a weighty responsibility for them, but it’s an incredible gift for you. Pastors who take that mandate seriously are priceless. (This is what happens when the other offices are omitted and Peter's instruction about elders is ignored. For the author, one man must do it all. 

And because he labors alone, he will probably get weary, he might stumble, or he even give up and leave. Thus this unbiblical leadership model sets people up to fail.)

2. Your Pastors Preach God’s Word Faithfully

In Jeremiah 3:15 God promised his people: “And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” Faithful pastors are a fulfillment of that promise. (No, they are not. One must begin with the assumption that pastors are both teachers and preachers in order to arrive at this conclusion, because there's nothing in the Bible that indicates that pastors are supposed to give sermons.)

Salvation comes through the verbal proclamation of the gospel (1 Cor. 1:21). (The author previously stated that pastor-teachers equip the church. Now she has them proclaiming the Gospel. Would this happen in church? Do Christians need to hear the Gospel? Or is the pastor supposed to teach the flock in church and then preach the Gospel on a street corner as well? 

So it seems the office of evangelist has now been negated by combining it with pastor. All that is left from the Ephesians 4:11 list is apostle and prophet. What will become of them?)

When we sit under faithful teaching and preaching, we behold Christ and hear his voice and so become more like him (2 Cor. 4:5–6). (Oh. So there it is. The pastor is also the prophet. His teaching is God's voice, and his appearance is the same thing a Jesus standing there.  The author has now crossed into heresy.)

In an age of “TED Talk” sermons and celebrity pastors, it’s easy to forget the purpose of our preaching pastor’s sermons. (We are not sure about what this sentence fragment means.)

He’s not giving a performance—he’s feeding us God’s word. (Well, no. He's expounding on what God's word means. He might quote some verses in his sermon, but he's not "feeding us God's word."

Oh, sorry. We forgot. The Pastor is Christ's voice when he preaches. EVERYTHING the pastor says is God's word...)

Speaking of his own ministry, Paul wrote, “This grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things” (Eph. 3:8–9). Your pastors, especially the main teaching pastor in your church, are charged with proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ in order to bring to light God’s eternal plan of salvation. (Paul proclaimed the "unsearchable riches," the "mystery." That is, the secret that had never before been explained was revealed. This was solely a first century phenomena. The mystery was revealed. It's no longer a mystery, it's now the gospel, plainly seen.

And so the author has made the pastor an apostle... The last of the Ephesians 4:11 list is gone. Thus all five offices are to be found in one man. This one man also sits atop the local church, presiding over church meetings, shoveling the snow off the sidewalk, and manning the barbeque at church potlucks.

No wonder pastors fail.)

Preaching the eternal truth of God’s word is not part of his job, it’s the crux of it, and our lives are dependent upon it. (Not content with investing the pastor with the five offices, she now goes hyperbolic.)

Your pastors’ commitment to sound preaching is one of the most important factors in your spiritual growth. (Well, apparently we aren't responsible for our own spiritual growth. It seems we don't even need to read the Bible or pray. The pastor is going to do that for us too.)

Feasting on the immeasurable riches of Christ each week is an invaluable gift, made possible by pastors who faithfully respond to this calling. (Pastors are even better than Paul.)

God has entrusted pastors with the precious task of caring for your soul. (From one misrepresented phrase in a single verse, Hebrews 13:17 [keeping watch], comes an entire string of bad teaching.) 

3. Your Pastors Pray for You

Your pastors ardently pray for you. (Perhaps they do, but hopefully every Christian is praying, because prayer is not a uniquely pastoral duty.)

They intercede persistently before the Lord, imploring God to grant you spiritual wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him (Eph. 1:17); (Perhaps they do, but hopefully every Christian is praying, because prayer is not a uniquely pastoral duty.)

they pray that your love would flourish, and that you would grow in knowledge leading to purity and blamelessness (Phil. 1:9–10). (Perhaps they do, but hopefully every Christian is praying, because prayer is not a uniquely pastoral duty.)

Additionally, they desire that you “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, . . . bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10). (More apostolic nonsense.)

Consider the example of Paul. (The author thinks that the role of pastor is modeled by Paul's ministry. There is no biblical evidence for such a supposition.

Now certainly church leaders ought to understand Paul's ministry, but they should not think their duty is to replicate it or think it's a description of the pastor's job.)

He yearned for the Philippian church with Christlike affection. If you have faithful pastors then they share this same yearning: “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel” (Phil 1:7). Are you partakers of grace during your pastors’ trials and gospel proclamation? If so, you can be confident that they yearn for you with the affection of Christ.

Evangelicals sometimes gravitate toward celebrity speakers, authors, and influencers while simultaneously devaluing the humble job of a local church pastor. And yet, celebrity preachers don’t pray for you by name, nor do they address your particular struggles in their sermons. But your pastor does both.

Christian, your closest mentor, your best friend, your Bible professor, and even your spouse have not been charged with keeping watch over your soul. That charge belongs to your pastors. So esteem them highly. “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess. 5:12–13).

Camryn Zamora is a member of the Evangelical Community Church of Abu Dhabi, where her husband serves as an associate pastor and she oversees the women’s ministry. She and her husband have four children.