From Anstey’s Doctrinal Definitions:
This is one of the gifts that Christ, the ascended Head of the Church, has given to the Church. “Pastor” could be translated “shepherd” (Eph. 4:11). It refers to men who have been endowed with spiritual powers to guide and counsel the saints in practical matters, and are thus able to care for the spiritual state of the flock. One of the special powers that a pastor/shepherd has is “the word of wisdom” (1 Cor. 12:8). This is the God-given capacity to express divine wisdom in words in which the saints are helped in their walk with the Lord. This is why these powers are called the “word” of wisdom.
Sad to say, men have invented a position in the Church (a clergyman) which does not exist in the Word of God, and have “hijacked” the term “pastor” and have attached it to this man-made position. This position is filled by either a man or a woman, who has been formally trained in a seminary and ordained by men for the purpose of preaching and teaching in a Christian congregation. This unscriptural position has been accepted by the masses in the Christian profession for centuries. It has been around for so long, and is so widespread, that it goes unchallenged as being God’s ideal. It can be seen in St. Peter's in Rome all the way down to the smallest evangelical chapel in the countryside.
The brethren in the 1800s who were involved in recovering much truth to the Church that had been lost for centuries, searched the Scriptures to see whether the position of a clergyman was Scriptural and found it not to be so. W. T. P. Wolston summarized it succinctly. He said, “There is a notion in Christendom that a pastor is a man set over a congregation. The idea is in people's heads, but not in Scripture!” (The Church: What Is It," p. 173) These men (in the 1800s) saw from the Scriptures that Christ promised to be "in the midst" of those whom the Spirit of God gathered to His name (Matt. 18:20). And, with Someone as great and as competent as Him present among the saints gathered together, it is not necessary to appoint a man to lead and guide the congregation—regardless of how gifted that person might be. C. H. Mackintosh said, “If Jesus is in our midst, why on earth should we even think to set up a human president? Why not unanimously and heartily allow Him to take the president's seat, and bow to Him in all things? Why set up human authority in any shape or form in the house of God?” (The Assembly of God, p. 23).
To set up a man in the assembly to conduct the meetings and administer the Lord’s Supper is a serious ecclesiological mistake. There is no such thing even hinted at in the Word of God, as a man, even an apostle, being set apart for such a thing. Scripture simply says, “The disciples came together to break bread” (Acts 20:7). Regardless of the fact that Scripture teaches that believers ought to be assembled together for worship and ministry in the Lord’s name alone, waiting on the leading of the Spirit for guidance, one can scarcely find a prayer meeting without someone (a prayer-leader) appointed to conduct it. This is nothing but man usurping the place of Christ and the Holy Spirit in the assembly!
All church groups will say that they own the Spirit's presence in their midst, but the proof of whether we really believe in the Spirit’s power and presence in the Church will be seen in our allowing the Lord to direct things in the meetings of the Church by the Spirit. What Scripture begs of us is faith in the Spirit’s power, proved by leaving Him His due right to employ whom He pleases to speak in the meetings. If it was by the Spirit’s power that God made the world and all in it (Job 26:13; 33:4; Gen. 1:2), surely the Spirit is able to lead a few Christians who are gathered together for worship and ministry! In fact, Scripture says that this is one of the very reasons why the Spirit was sent to reside in the Church (1 Cor. 12:4-11). Hence, from the moment the Spirit of God was sent into the world at Pentecost, we look in vain in the New Testament for any kind of a position in the Church that remotely resembles that of a clergyman.
Scripture does not teach that there should be one man in the congregation who has the official right to the ministering. In fact, it teaches that every member of the body of Christ has been given a gift (1 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 4:7; 1 Peter 4:10; Rom. 12:6-8), and all who have a gift for ministering from the Word of God ought to have liberty to exercise their gift in the assembly, as led by the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:7-10). However, the position of a clergyman pre-empts this manifestation of the Spirit in Christian congregations (1 Cor. 12:1 – J. N. Darby Trans.).
The whole training process and ordination of a Pastor/Minister is also a man-made invention. There is not one person in the Bible who was ordained by men to preach the Word to the Church! W. Kelly said, "In fact, as far as the New Testament speaks—and it speaks fully and precisely—no one was ever ordained by man to preach the gospel" (Lectures on the Church of God, p. 183). People often reply, “But men were ordained in the Bible.” Yes, the Bible tells us that Paul and Barnabas ordained elders in every city on one of their missionary journeys (Acts 14:23). But there is not a single instance in Scripture where Paul, Barnabas, Titus, etc., ever ordained a pastor, teacher, or evangelist for the purpose of preaching and teaching!
Professing to have the power to ordain is equally an empty thing. The whole value of a person’s appointment to an office hangs on the validity of the power that does the appointing. Scripture allows no appointing power except that of an apostle, or an envoy, who had from an apostle a commission for that purpose. But where is such a delegate today that can produce adequate evidence of having an apostolic commission for the work of appointing? The Word of God does not even hint at the continuance of these ordaining powers. W. Kelly concluded, "My assertion is, that in this very matter of ordination Christendom has missed God's mind and will, and is ignorantly but not without sin, fighting for an order of its own, which is mere disorder before God" (Lectures on the Church of God, p. 192). It is clear that those who are professing to ordain today have no authority from God for it.
The church organizations in Christendom have not only created a position that does not exist in the Word of God, but they have also attached various titles to that position that also don’t have the sanction of God. It is true that the words “minister” and “pastor” are mentioned in the Bible, but they are never used as titles. A “pastor” is a man who been endowed with spiritual powers to guide, counsel, and shepherd the saints in practical matters of Christian living—not the title of a clergyman. The Word of God teaches that pastors are just one of many gifts that Christ has given (Eph. 4:11). Why set up this one gift in the church with an official title, and give that person preeminence over the others? Scripture denounces the giving of flattering titles to men (Job 32:21-22). One denomination calls their clergyman “Father,” even though the Lord said not to do that (Matt. 23:9). Other church organizations use the title “Doctor.” (The word “doctor” comes from the Latin docere, which means to teach—i.e. a teacher.) Other denominations use the title, “Reverend.” This is outrageous; the Bible tells us that “Reverend” is one of the Lord’s names! (Psa. 111:9)