The church learned to stack titles like every other institution, rung above rung. In one of the few places He spoke about them, Jesus told His followers to set them down.

Of all the church titles, the evangelist starts the fewest arguments. That very calm makes it the clearest place to see what a New Testament role was actually shaped to be.

For some people "I have a word for you" is precious. For others it is the sentence that controlled them. The New Testament makes room for both, but not in the way most of us were taught.

Some churches place a living apostle at the top, holding final authority. The New Testament describes the office in a way that quietly settles whether it was ever meant to continue.

In many churches today the deacon board is the group that governs. The word behind the office, though, means something humbler and far more surprising: a servant who waits on tables.

The word "bishop" sounds like a rank above the local church, complete with robes and a region to oversee. In the New Testament it means something far more ordinary, and far closer to the ground.

The word "pastor" barely appears in the New Testament, yet the office it points to is clearly defined. It simply goes by another name, and in Scripture that name is almost always plural.

The word "pastor" appears exactly once in the New Testament, and it lands there as a gift, not a job title. Placed back in context, the role grows richer and the weight one shepherd carries grows lighter.