The Bible never presents the idea of one man or one pastor being the boss, running the show, or having the preeminence. Quite the contrary, the early congregation had multiple elders, not just one. Only Messiah has the preeminence. The pastor would have been counted among them, but was never over them. The Pastor simply played a role in the body and was not necessarily “the teacher.” All the elders would have taught, not just one. If we can get back to this model, I think the assemblies will be stronger in many ways. They will be less idiosyncratic, less dependent on one person.
But Yeshua called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones play the tyrant over them. It shall not be this way among you. But whoever wants to be great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:25-28 TLV
The Preeminence of Messiah
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created—in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen, whether thrones or angelic powers or rulers or authorities. All was created through Him and for Him. He exists before everything, and in Him all holds together. He is the head of the body, His community. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead—so that He might come to have first place in all things.
Colossians 1:15-18
The headship of the assembly from the earliest period always had elders, even if it did not have deacons.
Trustworthy is the saying: “If any man aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a good work.” An overseer, then, must be beyond criticism—the husband of one wife, clear-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money, managing his own household well, keeping his children under control with all respectfulness. (But if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s community?) He must not be a new believer, or he may become puffed up and fall into the same judgment as the devil. Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with those outside, so that he will not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.
1 Timothy 3:1-7 TLV
I’ve seen men who are new to Torah become pastors and the assembly was dysfunctional. In more than one case the assembly had men who had been Torah observant for decades but were not made pastor. This is a carnal, dysfunctional assembly.
So this I say, and witness in the Master, that you should no longer walk as the nations walk, in the futility of their mind, having been darkened in their understanding, having been estranged from the life of Elohim, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart,
Ephesians 4:17-18 TS2009