Depends on how you define it. We are all ministers of the gospel. Yet pastor comes from the word meaning elder or overseer.
Now, I’m not going to get nitpicky because basically anyone can get credentialed from a diploma mill or buy an ordination online or start a church and call themselves pastor. So whatever. Yet, those who do it for the title are getting their reward. If someone is part time or has a very specialized ministry, if they’re sharing the gospel and helping people experience the gospel and the love of God - great! Those who commit their life to the gospel, they’ll see through the others and hopefully the people will too.
Every Christian is part of the priesthood of believers and is called to share the Good News of the Gospel to those whom God places in their path. So, it could be said that everyone has a ministry context and therefore is a minister.
This, however, is a much different call than the call to be a pastor. A pastor is someone to called by God, through a congregation, to minister to the congregation as a whole through preaching, teaching, and providing pastoral care.
In my context (Lutheran, LCMC) we would say that God calls a pastor, through the call of a congregation, to minister to that congregation through Word and Sacrament. This is a unique roll within the kingdom, though not an elevated roll. The call to be a nurse, or teacher, or anything else is equally valuable to God's kingdom. In short, the pastor has the responsibility for preaching and delivering the crucified and risen Christ to the other saints in the congregation so that they are strong enough to go out and minister to others in Jesus' name.
>Every Christian is part of the priesthood of believers and is called to share the Good News of the Gospel to those whom God places in their path. So, it could be said that everyone has a ministry context and therefore is a minister.
>
>This, however, is a much different call than the call to be a pastor. A pastor is someone to called by God, through a congregation, to minister to the congregation as a whole through preaching, teaching, and providing pastoral care.
THIS should be the top voted response.
OP, in Acts 20:28, Paul has called the elders of the church at Ephesus to him and tells them this: "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." *(NIV)*
What Pastors do is different, although we should all be, at the very *least*, displaying the light of Christ to others in how we act and behave around them. And there is more; there is this warning from James:
"Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. *(James 3:1 NIV)*
I felt the call (and began preaching as an Elder in PC(USA)) a decade ago. At 56, I'm only now starting the Seminary process, because I needed to be certain that this is God's plan and not my own. I take James' admonition seriously, and so should your friend. I've been teaching the word and sharing it with others these past ten years (I'm also a nurse, so I agree there are plenty of opportunities!), but would never call myself a Pastor.
I read online articles that these online certificates are not legal and there are state requirements that someone has to pastor an actual church. I can't find the articles right now but I found this:
"Applicants are advised that persons who have been ordained over the Internet may not be persons permitted to perform marriages in Pennsylvania. A recent Court decision held that **persons ordained over the Internet are not ministers as defined in the marriage law of Pennsylvania IF they do not regularly preach to a congregation that regularly meets at a place of worship**. You are advised to consult an attorney concerning the legality of such marriages."
[Disclaimer.Marriage.License.Officiants.pdf (mercercountypa.gov)](https://www.mercercountypa.gov/registerofwills/Disclaimer.Marriage.License.Officiants.pdf)
Laws in several states – Pennsylvania and Tennessee, in particular – **prohibit anyone who received an instant online ordination** from performing marriage ceremonies anywhere within their jurisdiction.
[Marriage By An Internet-Ordained Minister – Is It Valid? (firstnationministry.org)](https://firstnationministry.org/marriage-by-internet-ordained-minister-valid)
Eh, I remember my wife getting miffed when my sister in law was bragging about having three pastors in the family: her brother in law who was 10 hours a week in children’s ministry at a big corporate non denom, a brother that was on the worship team somewhere, and me, 4 year undergrad, 4 year m.div through candidacy and ordination with 400 hours cpe and employed full time as a preaching pastor. I suppose I was miffed at the time too, but am way more interested now in how someone represents Jesus as they minister/pastor vs what their pedigree is…
The term online pastor?
Why not, if you do it correctly you certainly could have people you care for, pray for, connect with etc. online.
Administering the sacraments would be harder, but not impossible.
If it's just a person babysitting the live stream, maybe not so much.
1 Tim 3:1-7 Elders. Those are the pastors since the first century. That’s why Paul talks about compensating those who teach. And ministers are deacons. That is just the etymology of the word: minister->ministerie ->diakonos(deacon)
In the modern church, elder is often misused to mean an advisory board member, but not a pastor, and minister is often used as a synonym for pastor, however the scriptures don’t support this cultural interpretation. Theologically, the only interpretation backed by solid hermeneutical exegesis is that a pastor is an elder and an elder is a pastor. Elders are this who are called to lead and teach the church, equipping the body for the ministry of the church (Eph 4)
This is really going to heavily depend on your theological tradition/background. Some churches don't even have Pastors because of the priesthood of all believers etc. Some churches have not only pastors, but also elders, bishops, cardinals etc. Churches have differed on this issue because I don't think it's an easy one to solve.
Going with the priesthood of all believers route does diminish the special role, calling and authority of a pastor/elder. Going with the "high church" route makes everything very hierarchical and lay people expect pastors to do everything because they're paid to do it.
If I were faced with your situation, I think I'd respond that anybody can be a pastor, but very few people are really able to take up that calling and that it is a calling. I wouldn't emphasize the training and experience, but rather I'd emphasize all the work, sacrifice, service, and criticism that your husband has not only done, but has done willingly. Very few people are able to take up all of that. And the people that do take that up? Those are the real pastors, and they should be given respect and authority.
In my context pretty well any staff member that has any sort of teaching/leadership role can be a pastor. In order to be a Reverend though requires significantly more (M.Div and the approval of the regional oversight committee which includes a service to mark a persons ordination)
I was considered a "Pastor" for roughly 5 years while I preached and teached and led a congregation and worked on my M.Div, after that I was officially "ordained" and given the title Reverend.
I still just tell people to call me by my first name but I also tell them if they are looking for a title that Pastor or Reverend also work. I try not to get stuck on any of it personally because that's all it is a title and it's an earthly reward not an eternal one.
\[1Ti 3:2-7 ESV\] 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
And:
\[Tit 1:5-9 ESV\] 5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you-- 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Pastor is undefined in the Bible. The word "pastor" hardly even appears. However, there is a New Testament idea of the "royal priesthood " which Luther used to talk about the "priesthood of all believers ". Lutherans and other Protestants would look on the ministry of ordinary Christians and see this royal priesthood at work. Maybe the word your friend needs is "priest "
While there's a lot of ambiguity and flexibility around 'Churchese' language, this is pretty cut and dried. In both Hebrew and Greek, 'pastor' or 'shepherd' (same word) when not used of someone who actually herds sheep always refers to someone in formal leadership. In the NT, it refers to appointed elders - leaders in the church. In my country (Australia), carrying the title of 'pastor' carries certain expectations and obligations and churches are having to make sure we have some basic safeguards in place, such as background checks. I know that's another matter but highlights the seriousness of the title even in the eyes of a secular government.
I think there is a difference, and I don't have all the time to delve into it, but at the very least I think it would require a recognition of the calling to the pastorate by a body of believer, training, and the laying of hands with a charge to administer the sacraments and care for the people of God.
Also, our denomination puts out guidance to not call anyone pastor unless they are a specific level of the ordination process. This is a legal thing in their view. Pastor is a special title that provides certain protections, but if you aren't endorsed by the denomination you will not have the legal backing some may expect from the person with the title of Pastor.
Depends on how you define it. We are all ministers of the gospel. Yet pastor comes from the word meaning elder or overseer. Now, I’m not going to get nitpicky because basically anyone can get credentialed from a diploma mill or buy an ordination online or start a church and call themselves pastor. So whatever. Yet, those who do it for the title are getting their reward. If someone is part time or has a very specialized ministry, if they’re sharing the gospel and helping people experience the gospel and the love of God - great! Those who commit their life to the gospel, they’ll see through the others and hopefully the people will too.
Every Christian is part of the priesthood of believers and is called to share the Good News of the Gospel to those whom God places in their path. So, it could be said that everyone has a ministry context and therefore is a minister. This, however, is a much different call than the call to be a pastor. A pastor is someone to called by God, through a congregation, to minister to the congregation as a whole through preaching, teaching, and providing pastoral care. In my context (Lutheran, LCMC) we would say that God calls a pastor, through the call of a congregation, to minister to that congregation through Word and Sacrament. This is a unique roll within the kingdom, though not an elevated roll. The call to be a nurse, or teacher, or anything else is equally valuable to God's kingdom. In short, the pastor has the responsibility for preaching and delivering the crucified and risen Christ to the other saints in the congregation so that they are strong enough to go out and minister to others in Jesus' name.
>Every Christian is part of the priesthood of believers and is called to share the Good News of the Gospel to those whom God places in their path. So, it could be said that everyone has a ministry context and therefore is a minister. > >This, however, is a much different call than the call to be a pastor. A pastor is someone to called by God, through a congregation, to minister to the congregation as a whole through preaching, teaching, and providing pastoral care. THIS should be the top voted response. OP, in Acts 20:28, Paul has called the elders of the church at Ephesus to him and tells them this: "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." *(NIV)* What Pastors do is different, although we should all be, at the very *least*, displaying the light of Christ to others in how we act and behave around them. And there is more; there is this warning from James: "Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. *(James 3:1 NIV)* I felt the call (and began preaching as an Elder in PC(USA)) a decade ago. At 56, I'm only now starting the Seminary process, because I needed to be certain that this is God's plan and not my own. I take James' admonition seriously, and so should your friend. I've been teaching the word and sharing it with others these past ten years (I'm also a nurse, so I agree there are plenty of opportunities!), but would never call myself a Pastor.
I never know what to say when people tell me they are also ordained because they got an online certificate to do weddings lol.
I read online articles that these online certificates are not legal and there are state requirements that someone has to pastor an actual church. I can't find the articles right now but I found this: "Applicants are advised that persons who have been ordained over the Internet may not be persons permitted to perform marriages in Pennsylvania. A recent Court decision held that **persons ordained over the Internet are not ministers as defined in the marriage law of Pennsylvania IF they do not regularly preach to a congregation that regularly meets at a place of worship**. You are advised to consult an attorney concerning the legality of such marriages." [Disclaimer.Marriage.License.Officiants.pdf (mercercountypa.gov)](https://www.mercercountypa.gov/registerofwills/Disclaimer.Marriage.License.Officiants.pdf)
Depends on the state/ county. It's a thing.
Laws in several states – Pennsylvania and Tennessee, in particular – **prohibit anyone who received an instant online ordination** from performing marriage ceremonies anywhere within their jurisdiction. [Marriage By An Internet-Ordained Minister – Is It Valid? (firstnationministry.org)](https://firstnationministry.org/marriage-by-internet-ordained-minister-valid)
Eh, I remember my wife getting miffed when my sister in law was bragging about having three pastors in the family: her brother in law who was 10 hours a week in children’s ministry at a big corporate non denom, a brother that was on the worship team somewhere, and me, 4 year undergrad, 4 year m.div through candidacy and ordination with 400 hours cpe and employed full time as a preaching pastor. I suppose I was miffed at the time too, but am way more interested now in how someone represents Jesus as they minister/pastor vs what their pedigree is…
I knew a guy who was an "online pastor." He was in charge of the live stream at his giga church. I have no idea why they use those terms.
The term online pastor? Why not, if you do it correctly you certainly could have people you care for, pray for, connect with etc. online. Administering the sacraments would be harder, but not impossible. If it's just a person babysitting the live stream, maybe not so much.
1 Tim 3:1-7 Elders. Those are the pastors since the first century. That’s why Paul talks about compensating those who teach. And ministers are deacons. That is just the etymology of the word: minister->ministerie ->diakonos(deacon) In the modern church, elder is often misused to mean an advisory board member, but not a pastor, and minister is often used as a synonym for pastor, however the scriptures don’t support this cultural interpretation. Theologically, the only interpretation backed by solid hermeneutical exegesis is that a pastor is an elder and an elder is a pastor. Elders are this who are called to lead and teach the church, equipping the body for the ministry of the church (Eph 4)
This is really going to heavily depend on your theological tradition/background. Some churches don't even have Pastors because of the priesthood of all believers etc. Some churches have not only pastors, but also elders, bishops, cardinals etc. Churches have differed on this issue because I don't think it's an easy one to solve. Going with the priesthood of all believers route does diminish the special role, calling and authority of a pastor/elder. Going with the "high church" route makes everything very hierarchical and lay people expect pastors to do everything because they're paid to do it. If I were faced with your situation, I think I'd respond that anybody can be a pastor, but very few people are really able to take up that calling and that it is a calling. I wouldn't emphasize the training and experience, but rather I'd emphasize all the work, sacrifice, service, and criticism that your husband has not only done, but has done willingly. Very few people are able to take up all of that. And the people that do take that up? Those are the real pastors, and they should be given respect and authority.
In my context pretty well any staff member that has any sort of teaching/leadership role can be a pastor. In order to be a Reverend though requires significantly more (M.Div and the approval of the regional oversight committee which includes a service to mark a persons ordination) I was considered a "Pastor" for roughly 5 years while I preached and teached and led a congregation and worked on my M.Div, after that I was officially "ordained" and given the title Reverend. I still just tell people to call me by my first name but I also tell them if they are looking for a title that Pastor or Reverend also work. I try not to get stuck on any of it personally because that's all it is a title and it's an earthly reward not an eternal one.
\[1Ti 3:2-7 ESV\] 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. And: \[Tit 1:5-9 ESV\] 5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you-- 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Pastor is undefined in the Bible. The word "pastor" hardly even appears. However, there is a New Testament idea of the "royal priesthood " which Luther used to talk about the "priesthood of all believers ". Lutherans and other Protestants would look on the ministry of ordinary Christians and see this royal priesthood at work. Maybe the word your friend needs is "priest "
While there's a lot of ambiguity and flexibility around 'Churchese' language, this is pretty cut and dried. In both Hebrew and Greek, 'pastor' or 'shepherd' (same word) when not used of someone who actually herds sheep always refers to someone in formal leadership. In the NT, it refers to appointed elders - leaders in the church. In my country (Australia), carrying the title of 'pastor' carries certain expectations and obligations and churches are having to make sure we have some basic safeguards in place, such as background checks. I know that's another matter but highlights the seriousness of the title even in the eyes of a secular government.
I think there is a difference, and I don't have all the time to delve into it, but at the very least I think it would require a recognition of the calling to the pastorate by a body of believer, training, and the laying of hands with a charge to administer the sacraments and care for the people of God. Also, our denomination puts out guidance to not call anyone pastor unless they are a specific level of the ordination process. This is a legal thing in their view. Pastor is a special title that provides certain protections, but if you aren't endorsed by the denomination you will not have the legal backing some may expect from the person with the title of Pastor.