Even though the New Testament mentions the word pastor only once, pastors have long played an important role in the Christian Church. And no wonder! The root word for pastor means shepherd. Jesus called himself the shepherd of his flock, and in his final instructions to Peter, he said repeatedly, "Feed my sheep." See John 21:15–17.
Over the nearly two thousand years since those words were spoken, Christian churches have been served by a wide range of pastors earnestly seeking to feed the followers of Christ Jesus with the Word of God.
The Founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, Mary Baker Eddy, also sought to provide her Church with a pastor, one that could and would endure time and fashion and maintain the purity of her discovery, Christian Science. After some years of having a more traditional approach to pastors in her Church, she was eventually led to announce, "Humbly, and, as I believe, divinely directed, I hereby ordain the Bible, and 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,' to be hereafter the only pastor of The Church of Christ, Scientist, throughout our land and in other lands." Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 313–314.
