The first century church as described in the Bible had no prescribed rituals, no one man pastor systems, no buildings to spend money on and no government involvement. The government involvement has to do with owning property, I get that, but it was never meant to be. Some believers met in synagogues that were already built, but Christ never commanded any more buildings to be built for the purpose of meeting together.
All of these things were man concocted. I will not call them sin but rather a deviation from the model God gave us. There were to be elders appointed, a plurality of leadership never just one man.
No where in the word of God do we see anyone being assigned a title such as "Pastor". There were several pastors who served it was their calling but it was not a title or a particular position, it was a gift and several men in the group had the gift, these were those who were appointed to be elders.
Titus 1:5-6 " 5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.…"
Elders were not young men, they were those who had already raised a family and were proven to have instilled in their children the principles of God.
There is no mention of a man titled "Pastor" who ruled over anyone. The pastors who were gifted led by example and through teaching.
1 Peter 5:1-4 "5 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,
2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;
3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Young men who are still raising children and still learning themselves should not be in a leadership position. Also it is sheer silliness to place young leaders over teenagers who follow their "leader" simply because he is young like them. We see what has happened in the gatherings because of this foolishness. We see the young leaders acting more like the peers under them than godly men with wisdom to impart.
Any teenager who attends a gathering just because their leader is a "cool dude", is not seeking Christ and will likely remain immature as long as the young leader seeks to entice the youngsters by being more like them than he is like a mature serious believer.
Its sad to me that we have more goats in the pulpit leading the lambs to slaughter than we have serious minded godly men who care deeply about the souls of those they lead.
James 3:1 "1 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly."
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