Christ is the head of every local church. There is no human head of the church

pas·tor 'past?r/ noun noun: pastor; plural noun: pastors

1. The church we read about in the Bible was organized in a very simple way. A general pattern was to have 2 or more qualified men overseeing each local congregation or church. These men could be referred to as the "eldership". Each man must meet several high qualifications which the Bible lists in two passages. Elders are the spiritual leaders of a congregation. They also watch out for the souls of the members like a shepherd.

1. Christ is the head of every local church. There is no human head of the church.
2. The Bible is the only written creed for each local church, rather than a man-made written creed.
3. Each local church is autonomous and self-governing. No outside interference from others.
4. No organizational tie between local churches.
5. No organization larger than local churches.
6. The Bible uses Elder, Presbyter, Overseer, Bishop, Shepherd, Pastor interchangeably and they all refer to a single office in the church.
7. Local churches appoint their own plurality of elders using 1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1 as guidelines for the qualifications.
8. Elders have authority only over the members of the local church, not members from outside congregations.

a minister in charge of a Christian church or congregation.

synonyms:minister, clergyman, priest, parson, cleric, chaplain, padre, ecclesiastic, man of the cloth, churchman, vicar, rector, curate, preacher, imam;

informalreverend