By Mike Riley
Years ago, a well-known comedian made the following statement in determining one’s financial position: “When you go to work, if your name is on the outside of the building, you are rich. If your name is on your desk, you are middle-class. If your name is on your shirt, you are poor.
Living In a Class-Conscious Society: We live in a class-conscious society, even though we like to pretend we do not. We concern ourselves with the material trappings that display our status: the homes in which we live; the vehicles we drive; the clothes and accessories we wear. Even the way we refer to ourselves is at times calculated to elevate us in the eyes of others. Why else would the garbage collector need to be known as a “sanitation engineer,” or the person who bags our groceries called a “courtesy clerk,” or the janitor at the public school, a “custodian”?
Class Distinctions in The Church: Because we are accustomed to class distinctions in everyday life, some have come to expect them in the church. Denominational bodies foster this notion. Certain individuals are designated “clergy” and assigned special titles such as, “reverend,” “father,” “monsignor,” or “pope”. People without these titles are given to understand that they are somehow lesser mortals. The clergy are special (so “religious” men say) — they know what God’s word says, and as far as you need to know any of it, they will interpret it for you. After all, an unordained, untitled person such as yourself can’t be expected to comprehend the deep mysteries of faith.
What Do the Scriptures Say? The New Testament, however, clearly reveals the fallacy of the “clergy” concept. Among the people of God, “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:11; Galatians 3:28). No distinctions of class exist in the body of Christ. All Christians belong to the same holy, royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5,9; Revelation 1:6). The church has no head except Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18). The word “reverend,” is only used one time in the Bible (Psalm 111:9), the term being descriptive of God – “Holy and reverend is His name.” We ask, “Can any man rightly be addressed by an adjective God’s word only applies to the Almighty Himself?” Similarly, Jesus taught, “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ” (Matthew 23:8-10 – NKJV). If God alone is “Father” by the testimony of His only begotten Son, what would inspire anyone to assume such a title for himself, or to bestow it on any other man? Names like “pope,” “cardinal,” and “monsignor” are foreign to the holy Scriptures.
The Use of The Word “Pastor”: In Scripture, many sincere religious people incorrectly believe the Bible uses “pastor” to designate a single individual overseeing a congregation (usually the local preacher) and “bishop” to indicate one who oversees multiple churches. In fact, in the New Testament, the terms pastor (literally, shepherd), bishop, elder, and overseer are used interchangeably as descriptive nouns (not formal titles) for the same office: the plurality of men appointed to the oversight of a single local congregation (Acts 14:23; Acts 20:17-38; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5). In no instance in the New Testament do we find a record of any one individual having oversight either of a single church or of several. The Scriptures make a clear distinction between elders or pastors and men whose primary work is preaching and teaching. These latter men are variously called evangelists (Ephesians 4:11), ministers (1 Timothy 4:6), or preachers (Romans 10:14). Again, these terms are not official titles, but simply words that describe the work being done. And nowhere does the Bible assign the evangelist or preacher the task of governing or shepherding the local church (see Biblical Definitions article).
Conclusion: People enjoy having fancy titles. They like the feeling of “class” such titles afford. But the church of God is not an exercise in class warfare between its members — it is God’s instrument of spiritual warfare against His adversary in the world (Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:10-18). In Christ, there is no upper-class, middle-class, or lower-class citizens. There is only one “class” of citizen in the Lord’s church — those obedient souls whom the Lord has added (Acts 2:47)