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Old 07-23-2009, 09:04 AM
custer custer is offline
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbia KY
Posts: 74
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brother Tim View Post
And while we are being specific:
The I Peter 5 passage is speaking to "elders" (plural), which is the broadest, inclusive title given to church "leaders". There is no reference to individual pastors being over local churches. Within the church are "elder" believers who have been given to responsibility of leading by "ensample" those who are the "younger" (I Peter 5:5)

P.S. As prospective, I am a Baptist pastor. I am a leader, but not the boss, of the church in which God has placed me.
I have always thought of a "bishop" as a "pastor;" is that the concensus here?

So, in I Timothy 3:1-7, there is only ONE bishop over the church as evidenced by the fact that his job is likened to that of A man RULING over his own house (v.5.) [Being the "ruler" makes him the "boss!"] Of course, a husband/father in authority is not just one of a few different sheep in the house! And, the bishop is not necessarily an "elder;" Timothy was younger (I Tim. 4:12.)

Looking at this, I saw something else: the wording in I Peter 2:25 is interesting concerning this subject - "the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." We already know that there are lower-case "bishops," and it logically follows from this verse that there would be lower-case "shepherds." (This is related to - and supports - my post #30.)

As an aside, in my reading this morning, I came across Psalm 111:9 - "...holy and reverend is his name." I believe that's the only reference to "reverend" in the Bible, and it says God's name is reverend. So, I think it's a much more serious issue for Pastors to put "reverend" in their title than to compare themselves scripturally to a shepherd. I would go so far as to say that calling someone "Reverend so-and-so" would be downright blasphemous!

Pam
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