Most Christians today accept without question the idea that every church should have a pastor who is the "head" of their church.  However, they would be surprised to learn that there is no Scriptural or historical evidence to support our modern-day church system of a sole pastor or senior pastor who is the head of the church.  In the New Testament, the term "elder" is always used interchangeably with the terms "pastor" and "overseer."  All three of these words refer to the same person.  The elders of the church are the overseers who shepherd the local church together. It was not until the second and third century that church leaders began to wrongly divide the elders' role of oversight and shepherding into three separate hierarchal religious offices.  Many Christians in our day have recognized that this man-made hierarchy in the institutional church is not only carnal and often prone to abuse; it severely stifles the Holy Spirit's leadership and life in the church; it robs the church from having an actively functioning priesthood of spiritually-gifted believers; and it causes many sincere pastors to suffer "burn-out" and leave the ministry.