church titles?

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another perspective by David Alan Black posted at a commenter's blog,

This is a long article but here is the teaser. Black writes, "...The array of ecclesiastical titles accompanying the names of Christian leaders today is completely missing from the New Testament, and would have appalled the apostles and early believers.

In light of what we have said above, there is a great need for reformation within local churches in the way we view leadership. Traditional pastoral ministry promotes an unbiblical one-man model of leadership under the self-styled “pastor.” In contrast, the New Testament teaches oversight by a plurality of men called elders. Some elders might be gifted differently and may even excel in specific pastoral tasks, but there is no biblical warrant for dividing church leaders into separate “offices” with honorific titles.

Traditional concepts of “pastor” are clearly unscriptural. The New Testament does not speak of two classes of Christians, as we do today. According to the Bible, all Christians are the people of God who through the exercise of spiritual gifts do the work of the ministry. Such is the teaching of Paul in Philippians 1:1."

Comments

J. Guy Muse said…
I would tend to agree more with the David Alan Black post than the previous article. I am not saying churches are WRONG for having titles and Senior pastors, its just that it seems the Biblical pattern is more in line with the present article.
June 11, 2006
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