Elder, Overseer, or Pastor?

If you were to pick up Thabiti Anyabwile's book, Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons (Crossway, 2012), you would discover interchangeability between the words elder, overseer, and pastor. He writes, "Yet, as a gift to his flock, the Chief Shepherd appoints godly men as under-shepherds to tend the flock that he purchased with his blood (Acts 20:28). We know these under-shepherds by various titles used interchangeably, including: pastors, overseers, bishops, and elders" (49). Do we know? Does the typical Christian see the argument for the interchangeability of pastor, overseer, bishop, and elder? Do we understand the relationship between the Greek words, poumen, episkpos, and presbuteros?  (Transliterated and used in the nominative for ease to the reader. Follow this link for a detailed study of these words in the Bible.)  

Most books on the pastorate or eldership start with the assumption that these words are interchangeable. They may be correct, but it will prove helpful not to assume. Also, if we are convinced that the terms are alike, we must be consistent with that interchangeability.  

How often do we hear arguments about the qualifications for elders and expectations for pastors that do not align? If these terms are interchangeable, we should not see churches with specific requirements for the pastor and a separate set of requirements for an elected "elder board." We should not see churches with pastors who are also elders and other pastors who are not elders. Neither should we see a "lay elder" who is not functioning as a pastor to the church, paid or unpaid. 

If we are convinced that the words are not interchangeable, then we must stop setting expectations and qualifications on elders, overseers, and pastors where the Bible does not mandate. If elder, overseer, and pastor are not the same, then the qualifications for an elder (Titus 1) and the qualifications for an overseer (1 Timothy 3) do not apply to the pastor. Furthermore, if these words are not interchangeable, we should see different and distinct roles and responsibilities for overseers (or bishops), elders (or presbytery), and pastors (shepherds).  

The question for this post is this: Are elder, overseer, and pastor interchangeable terms in the Bible?   

A previous post covered the detailed ground of a word study for the Greek words from which we generally derive the terms elder, overseer, and pastor. Based on that study, this post will use "elder" for the group of words related to presbuteros, "overseer" for the words related to episkpos, and "pastor" for the words related to poimen.  

Before the New Testament, shepherd was one of the words used to identify how God related to his people. In Genesis 48:15, Jacob said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day" (CSB). In 49:24, Jacob calls God the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel (CSB). And maybe the most well-known example is the 23rd Psalm. 

Shepherd was also used to identify human leaders, especially those God ordained or instructed to lead his people. While numerous examples are available, Ezekiel 34 provides the best example. This chapter of Ezekiel is a severe pronouncement of judgement against the "shepherds of Israel," who were the spiritual leaders, not Israelites who tended to animals. Ezekiel 34 uses shepherds and a flock to illustrate what God expected the spiritual leaders to do for his people. Furthermore, Jesus pointed to this chapter when he confronted the spiritual leaders of his day (John 10). Jesus identified himself as the Shepherd who will do the right thing for his flock, thus also identifying himself as the same God speaking in Ezekiel 34.  

As recorded in John 21:15-19, Jesus gave Peter a charge through a 3-fold instruction: "Feed my lambs," "Shepherd my sheep," and "Feed my sheep" (CSB). The Chief Shepherd has given a charge to Peter to serve as a shepherd. Pastor is the shepherd word.       

The term "pastor" originated from the Latin word for shepherd. With no knowledge of Latin, one can look at Ezekiel 34:5 and pick out the word "pastor" because it is precisely the same as the English word, "pastor."   

Keep in mind that the more appropriate English translation is not "pastor" but "shepherd." The English words "pastor" and "shepherd" are not perfectly correlated, and technically, they hold different meanings. However, many translators seek words that convey the sense and therefore choose English words that communicate to the English reader. Sometimes they'll choose the word pastor rather than shepherd. Others will keep to the strictest of translations. (See the conclusion of "What's in a Word?" for examples.)    

Therefore, at the points in the Bible where "shepherd" is being used illustratively, it is interchangeable with the word "pastor." Most English speakers affirm this understanding when they say something about a pastor and his flock rather than a shepherd and his flock.   

When reading the various Scriptures that use the shepherd illustration for church leadership or use shepherding as a verb directed at the church leader, it is safe to say the Bible communicates the shepherd or pastor as a church leader (understanding that the flock is talking about the church).  

Now we must ask if the pastor in the church is also the elder or overseer. Are these words interchangeable, or are they uniquely distinct?  

Acts 20:28 is helpful. In Acts 20:17, Paul summoned the elders of the church in Ephesus. Knowing he would never again see these elders, he gave them a charge. He said, "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood" (CSB). Note that Paul was speaking to people who the book of Acts identifies as elders. To these elders, Paul said God appointed them as overseers, thus making them both elders and overseers. He also told them they had a flock and used the shepherd verb, making them pastors. In this single section of Scripture, we see that these leaders in the church in Ephesus were elders, overseers, and pastors.   

While it would be easy to say this Scripture is conclusive, we must ask if one can be a pastor and not an overseer or elder. Can one be an elder but not an overseer or pastor? Can one be an overseer and not an elder or pastor? Or could it be that these roles are stackable? Maybe the pastor is level one, the entry-level? Level two is the elder plus all the responsibilities and authority of the pastor. Level three is the overseer plus the elder and the pastor. Or maybe these roles are a progressive line of promotion. One starts as a pastor. Graduating beyond pastor, one becomes an elder. Finally, the elder is promoted to an overseer.    

The situation in Acts 20:28 helps us take a stab at these questions. Remember that Paul called together the elders, not the overseers. It does not seem that he promoted every elder to be an overseer in the church in Ephesus. And he told them to pastor the flock.  

Furthermore, Paul told Titus to appoint elders in every town. Giving the guidelines for who Titus was to look for, Paul says, "And elder" in verse 6 and then says, "As an overseer of God's household" in verse 7. While Paul did not mention pastors, the task of these elder-overseers sounds nearly precisely like the pastoral instructions for feeding and guarding the flock--i.e., teaching the Word of God and modeling the Christian life.   

Likewise, when Paul instructed Timothy about overseers (1 Timothy 3), he provided similar instructions as Titus received about elders (Titus 1). Paul even asked, "If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God's church?" (1 Timothy 3:5, CSB). And just like the letter to Titus, Paul did not mention pastors. Were there no instructions or qualifications for pastors in these churches, or were the words for elder, overseer, and pastor used interchangeably?  

Writing to the church in Ephesus, where Paul left Timothy and gave instructions about overseers, Paul told the Ephesians that God had given gifts to the church. Are the gifts elders, overseers, and pastors? In Ephesians 4:11, Paul writes, "And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers" (CSB). What are these gifts for, and why is there no mention of overseers or elders? Verses 12-16 show that the purpose of the gifts is to grow and equip the church. Are all of these individuals para-church, working with the elder-overseers, or is the elder-overseer listed among the gifts but called a pastor?  

Only two or three generations after our Lord's charge to Peter to Shepherd Jesus' sheep, Church History shows us that some in the Church may have created a distinction between elder and overseer. It is seen in the writings of Church Fathers like Clement, Polycarp, and Tertullian.  Episkopos (overseer) became bishop, while both presbuteros (elder) and poimen (shepherd/pastor) were interchangeable with elder or pastor. Why might this have happened? 

Two streams of thought may have led to the installation of a bishop over a group of pastors or elders in a given area.  

First, imagine the situation in which Titus found himself. He was on Paul's church planting team in Crete. They got a good work started, but then Paul moved on, leaving Titus to put right what was left undone (Titus 1:5). Let's speculate the possibilities for a moment. Titus knew God's Word and had training from Paul. The elders he was looking for were going to need some theological training. Titus might have shifted into a super-elder position over these new elders. Is it so much of a stretch to imagine? This same line of thinking happens today in some house-church planting models and some campus-model churches. What should we call this super-elder? How about overseer? How about the bishop? But what happens over time when we have a super-bishop over lower bishops? Archbishop? Give it enough time, and eventually, we have a pope. 

The reformers with baptistic theology sought the Scriptures and grew convicted of the local autonomy and governance of the church. They determined that pastor, overseer, and elder were interchangeable terms, not different roles or different levels of authority.  The local church is the flock and the pastor or pastors are also the elders and overseers.  

The second stream of thought had to do with the Apostles. When a dispute regarding circumcision arose (Acts 15), the Church took the matter to the Apostles and elders (Acts 15:6). The Apostles had a role of leadership in the church. Some grew concerned that there was a vacuum of leadership when the ministry of the Apostles ended. Bishops served to fill this void, allowing overseers and elders to operate in distinctly different roles. Eventually, bishops weren't enough, and additional leadership roles were created for the Church.  

But is the Church lacking the ministry of the Apostles? No. The inspired Word of God--written down by the Apostles as Scripture--still serves as a final authority over the elders and the Church. In a sense, pastors in the First Century submitted to the same Apostles as do the pastors of this century when we remember that the Apostles' ministry is the Cannon of New Testament Scripture and continues to serve us today. 

In much the same way as the early Church, the some modern local churches are creating a distinction between pastors and the elders or overseers. Pragmatism is leading the charge. Seeing a need for a lower-level shepherd type leader in the church, a two-tear system separates some pastors from other pastors who are also elders. (This author is guilty of making this mistake in the past.) Rather than looking to the role and meaning of leitourgos and diakonos, these churches separate pastor from elder and overseer. This is dangerous territory.

In the most obvious reading of Scripture, elder, overseer, and pastor appear to be interchangeable.  

It becomes a stretch to suggest a pastor doesn't have to meet the qualification of an elder (Titus 1) or the qualifications of an overseer (1 Timothy 3) when there is no clear qualification list for a pastor. It is concerning to think that the instructions for a pastor wouldn't be the same for an elder or overseer when the health, maturity, and wellbeing of the flock are at stake--especially in light of God's statements in Ezekiel 34. Suppose the bare reading of God's Word sees pastor, elder, and overseer as synonymous. What would be the reason or motivation to look beyond the most straightforward reading to see these roles as separate and distinct? Does that view provide for a lesser standard of a pastor, the one who cares for God's flock? Does Scripture seem to suggest that approach when it comes to the flock Jesus purchased with his blood? (There are words for these other kinds of leaders. Words like leitourgos and diakonos are worth studying, but those words are clearly not interchangeable with pastor, elder, and overseer.)    

Authors like Anyabwile seem correct to assume that the pastor, elder, and overseer are interchangeable terms. And if indeed this is true, then may our actions and titles within our local churches reflect this belief.