Role of a Pastor

[Garry Sorrell]

I would like to know (Biblically) how much authority a pastor has? Does the congregation have a role in governing the church?

 

[av1611jim]

You can find your answer demonstrated in the life of Paul.
A pastor should assume no more than nor less than the same authority Paul had over his churches. Whereas he delegated that authority to the elders of a church before moving on to establish another church, those leaders then assume the same authority Paul had.
Read the book of Acts, 1&2 Timothy, Titus. Here you will find your biblical mandates.
In His service;
Jim

 

[MTA]

I mostly agree with av1611jim, but I make a distinction between apostolic authority and that of elder leadership. Apostolic authority extended beyond the local church to all the churches, while elder leadership did not extend beyond the local church.

Paul maintained an authoritative position even after he turned over leadership to the elders of the churches planted during his missionary journeys.

 

[Dr. Bob]

The NT teaches congregational rule. Decisions were made (for the most part, there were still apostles for a while) by the body.

Elders lead the congregation in the work of the ministry, but the idea of "dictatorial rule" (one pastor kept saying "my way or the highway" in business meetings) is foreign to the Bible.

We have a thread somewhere (check on the pastor forum) that gives lots of verses to show congregational rule.

 

[Logos1560]

Originally posted by av1611jim:

A pastor should assume no more than nor less than the same authority Paul had over his churches. Whereas he delegated that authority to the elders of a church before moving on to establish another church, those leaders then assume the same authority Paul had.

Jim

Do the Scriptures actually teach that any believers including pastors/elders/bishops since the death of the apostle John have had the office and power of an apostle? Apostles had to have seen Christ and have been eye witnesses of what they testified (John 15:27, Acts 1:21-22, 1 Cor. 9:1, 1 John 1:1, Gal. 1:11-12, Acts 10:39-43, 2 Peter 1:16-19). God bore witness to the inspiration of the words revealed to and recorded by the apostles and prophets by signs, wonders, and miracles (Heb. 2:3-4, 2 Cor. 12:12).

I think that a wrong view of pastoral authority comes from trying to suggest that a pastor has the same authority that an apostle had.

 

[gb93433]

Originally posted by Garry Sorrell:
I would like to know (Biblically) how much authority a pastor has? Does the congregation have a role in governing the church?

He only has as much as the people give him. That may be little to none or a lot.

Some churches are so weak that they should not have a role in governing the church and others are great.