Terms Used for Elders

-presbuteros (adj of presbuterion) - Acts 20:17, Titus 1:5, 7 (bishop), I Tim 5:17

-episkopos - lit. an overseer (see above) - Acts 20:28, I Tim 3:2 (bishop),

-poimen - a shepherd, one who tends or herds flocks

-Acts 20:17 & 28 actually contain all three of these -

1.  presbuteros - elders - vs 17

2.  episkopos - overseers - vs 28

3.  poimaino - the verb form of poimen - feed - vs 28

-A note on the word, “pastor”.

-The word pastor(s) occurs nine times in the scriptures.  Only one time is it singular (Jer 17:16).  It

  appears only once in the New Testament (Eph 4:11) and the other eight times are in Jeremiah.

-Each time it is used in the book of Jeremiah, it comes from the same Hebrew word - ra’ah.

-ra’ah - (Strongs) - (raw-aw’) - a primitive root word - to tend a flock, i.e. to pasture it,

intransitively, to graze (lit. or fig.); generally to rule; by extension, to associate with

-In Eph 4:11, the Greek word is poimen - (Vines) a shepherd , one who tends herds or flocks.

-This is a form of the word used in Acts 20:28 showing that this referse to elders, not the

  preacher. 

-Also, notice in Eph 4:11 that evangelists are listed separately.  The Greek word euangelistes

 (from eu, well and angelos, messenger)  means “a messenger of good”.

-Rom 10:17 uses the word “preacher”.  The Greek word used here, kerusso, means to be a herald,

  to proclaim.

-So, please don’t call a preacher/evangelist a pastor unless he is serving in the role of an elder as well.