If I am just as much a pastor as the leader of my church, then why should I submit to their correction? Maybe the "fellowship" I have with my other Christian friends satisfies me such that I don't need to attend church. In fact, I might know what I need more than my pastor does, so I"ll find a church that fits my "needs" better. Why should I go along with the changes the senior pastor is making when I know that other people in the church disagree with his leadership? While I do strongly support full participation of all believers in the work of the ministry, I think the office of "pastor" needs to be reclaimed, and guarded carefully.
I suspect that the reason the church has disregarded the Biblical s for pastoral ministry is that they have been deceived in believing that these s will be ineffective today and that better ods have been discovered. I speak not in judgment over such individuals, for how many times have I doubted the word of God and considered my own plans to be superior? Sadly, I confess that I am lured by the persuasion of popular wisdom and ods at times as well. But let us all seek repentance and confess that, "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty" (I Cor. 1:27). Let us carry out pastoral ministry in such a way that the faith of the people would be not in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (I Cor. 2:5).
A Scriptural Foundation.
The word "pastor" comes from the Greek poimena which means shepherd. I find this to be the most prominent and comprehensive metaphor for pastoral ministry found in Scripture. "The shepherd image is one of the few applied exclusively to leaders, and not to members of the community as a whole. Therefore it becomes a very important image for understanding what is distinctive about the role of leadership.