There is no scriptural support for the concept of Pastoral Authority

I, in advance, appreciate the time will be taking to research my points and reply with answers that are worthy of a rebutal. On to the debate. .. The initial set of scriptures provide than enough subject matter to get this debate started. However, upon deeper investigation, the list seems like a list of very vague references to shephering, most of which have nothing to do with the subject at hand. I will devide the list into several sections. SCRIPTURES THAT REFER TO CHRIST NOT PASTORS (Matthew 2:6) And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. (Revelation 7:17) For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 12:5) And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. (Revelation 19:15) And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (Matthew 25:32) And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: (Matthew 26:31) Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. (Mark 14:27) And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. (John 10:2) But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. (John 10:11) I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (John 10:14) I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. (John 10:16) And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. (Hebrews 13:20) Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, (1 Peter 2:25) For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. REBUTTAL: These scriptures all refer to Christ Himself, substantiating the very point of the debate. Jesus, our ONE shepherd (Jn 10:16) is Biblically the only one over the sheep. He is referred to as the chief shepherd, alone responsible for the direction of the sheep. He steps aside from this role only to allow the Holy Spirit to work on His behalf: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. "—John 14:26. He keeps his role as sole shepherd, teacher, and leader, relinquishing his active role in helping the followers decifer these teachings to the Holy Spirit. SCRIPTURES THAT DO NOT RELATE AT ALL (Luke 17:7),(Jude 1:12),(Luke 2:8),(Luke 2:15),(Luke 2:18),(Luke 2:20) REBUTTAL: These are not in any way relating our subject. They are stray references to shepherding that don't make any sense in our debate. VALID SCRIPTURES FOR THIS DEBATE (John 21:16) He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. REBUTTAL: The order to feed the sheep belonging to a shepherd does not assign authority to the feeder. A farm helper can not claim that the animals in the farm are his just because the farmer tells him to feed the animals. Jesus was telling Paul that if he REALLY loved Him, he would teach others the things that Jesus had spent His time teaching him. This is very plain and simple. (Acts 20:28) Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. REBUTTAL: Here, Paul is addressing the Elders of the Church at Ephesus. The collection of Elders, defined as older men who were respected in their community of faith, was charged with caring for their local "flock". The manner of doing so is simple: for the younger to respect the older as you would a father, but the older to entreat the younger as a brother. There IS a Biblical order to things, but it is not through SINGLE PASTOR rule. (1 Corinthians 9:7) Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? REBUTTAL: This is a very interesting reference. It actually refers to the fact that Paul believed in the local Churches supporting the expenses of the apostle's food, travel, and arrangements while they were with them. His point here is simply that if he was taking the time to "work" for them, leaving his home and traveling there, it was right for them to pay his expenses. This is an echo of Jesus' teaching. But, this in no way demonstrates pastoral authority, only supporting one who you are asking to come and teach you. (1 Peter 5:2) Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; REBUTTAL: This, again, is to elders. It speaks of them in the plural, and encourages them to continue to "feed the flock" - which is to continue teaching and guiding them diligently. No authority is assigned here - simply responsibility. And, again, no mention of the pastor role. (Revelation 2:27) And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. REBUTTAL: This speaks of "everyone who wins the victory and keeps on obeying me until the end" as detailed in the previous scripture. This does not speak of pastors. (Matthew 9:36) But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. (Mark 6:34) And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. REBUTTAL: Jesus saw the people coming to him as a scattered people. The national of Israel was a mess. Jesus took the role as shepherd. This was never assigned to another. (Ephesians 4:11) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; REBUTTAL: Ah - the ONE verse that mentions the actual TITLE of a pastor. Notice his position on the list. Also, notice the way this is stated - "and he gave SOME. .. " There are times where people need a pastor, or counselor, in one's life. Sometimes marriages need someone to help "pastor" them through the hard times. Children need their parents to "pastor" them into adulthood. Sometimes, we even need our own friends to "pastor" us through our situations and problems. But, that is not always needed. Here we see a clear declaration of the need being situation, as only SOME are given pastors. This does not even state that those people will always need the same thing. In addition, this passage in context demonstrates that the pastor role is a SUBORDINATE one to the Church. It is a support role, but not the star of the movie. The star is the ACTUAL CHURCH, a Body of followers of Christ, not a man supposedly representing Him.