The early church did not have it. None of the apostles ever held the job. In fact, it appears nowhere in the New Testament.
Now, author Jon Zens states what undoubtedly has occurred to many Christians: The role of the “pastor” needs to be reconsidered.
In his new book, “The Pastor Has No Clothes! Moving from Clergy-Centered Church to Christ Centered Ekklesia, Zens asserts that the unbiblical office of pastor has grown via tradition into a hindrance both to church congregations and the pastors themselves.
It surely is not what our Lord had in mind, he contends.
Most church-goers are well aware that only a minority of members are active beyond attending weekly services. Almost universally, the modern institution is a “spectator church.”
But when Jesus said he would build his “church” he used the secular word ekklesia to refer to the body of believers, which Zens explains was similar to our concept of a town meeting.
“Ekklesia was used about 100 times in the Greek translation of the New Testament to translate the Hebrew word qualal, which referred to the Israelite ‘assembly.'”
The body of Christ, he says, “is to be a Spirit-led setting where kingdom business can be acted upon.”
“In light of what ekklesia really entails, popular conceptions of ‘church’ are dangerously limited to coming to a building, singing, putting some money in a plate, hearing a sermon, and going home.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2011/08/332965/#p7fT4gyMUwYzoY4D.99
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