{"id":41662,"date":"2014-01-23T08:06:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-23T14:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=41662"},"modified":"2022-01-09T08:09:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-09T14:09:00","slug":"why-do-some-use-titles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-some-use-titles\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do some use titles?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\nHello brother Hamilton.\nHope you’re doing well. I have a question that pertains to “titles” given to those in position in the church and mainly I’m speaking on preachers and the title that some give themselves such as reverend, pastor, evangelist, etc. Now, I read some of your articles which has helped me, but I think I need a more direct answer like a “yes” or “no” if possible.\nI don’t understand why some ministers give themselves these titles. Reverend only refers to God Himself. Psalm 111:9 in the King James version, says: “He [God] sent redemption unto His people: He hath commanded His covenant for ever: holy and reverend is His name.” God alone has a name worthy of reverence. No man, including any minister, has a name worthy of such respect or worship\nMatthew 23:8-11: “But you [Christ’s disciples], do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.” Our Savior commands that those He calls to serve the brethren of the church should not take upon themselves titles that arrogate God and Christ’s own titles and positions, such as “Teacher” and “Father.” Instead, as servants and brothers, ministers should live and work in humility as servants of God.\nOn one website, the author talks about people who think reverend is wrong are silly-minded. I read what he said and it doesn’t make sense.\nI don’t see where in the Bible it gives you the title pastor or for man to have any title like that. Pastor means Shephard which is our Lord. I understand the concept of leading the flock. But again that title doesn’t seem like it should be given and me personally growing up in the Church of Christ, “minister” has been the only title but even we still say brother other than addressing them as a “minister” even though that’s what the preacher is doing, ministering.\nWhy do the ministers who have this title do this? Do they feel their position gives them this right to have a title? It seems they are going against what the Bible says. What is your intake on it?\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

You didn’t ask a “yes \/ no” question, so it is hard to reply in such a form.<\/p>\n

Why do people want titles? Most likely because of pride. At least that is what Jesus ascribed it to. But “why” doesn’t matter. The point is that Jesus clearly taught against the use of titles in Matthew 23:5-12. We don’t use titles to elevate one Christian above another.<\/p>\n

Jobs have titles, thus a man who is spreading the gospel is a preacher, evangelist, or minister. A man watching over the church is an elder, an overseer, or a pastor. A person teaching the Bible is a teacher. “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:11-12). However, these are the names of the duty being done, not titles for a person.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Hello brother Hamilton. Hope you’re doing well. I have a question that pertains to “titles” given to those in position in the church and mainly I’m speaking on preachers and the title that some give themselves such as reverend, pastor, evangelist, etc. Now, I read some of your articles which has helped me, but…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[126,125],"class_list":["post-41662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-pride","tag-titles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":87534,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/no-titles-please\/","url_meta":{"origin":41662,"position":0},"title":"No Titles, Please","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joe Slater One of the minor annoyances of being a preacher is that well-meaning people frequently put some title before your name. It may be Reverend, Pastor, Father, or some other title. They are trying to be respectful, which I appreciate even though I repudiate the titles. I tell\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3981,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-preacher-be-referred-to-as-reverend\/","url_meta":{"origin":41662,"position":1},"title":"Should a preacher be referred to as “reverend?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Very often here preachers are referred to as reverend.\u00a0 Is it correct to refer to a preacher, minister or elder as reverend? Answer: The word reverend indicates that a person is worthy of adoration or reverence, entitled to respect mingled with fear and affection. Such a description would apply\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49118,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dont-reverend-me-its-forbidden\/","url_meta":{"origin":41662,"position":2},"title":"Don’t “Reverend” Me \u2014 It’s Forbidden!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hayse Reneau The English word 'Reverend' is used but once in our Bible; and it references, The Creator, Jehovah God (Psalms 111:9.) \"He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.\" Anyone who accepts this title is filled with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60888,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-proper-way-to-refer-to-a-preacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":41662,"position":3},"title":"What Is the Proper Way to Refer to a Preacher?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Adapted from an article by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 34, Aug. 21, 2009. Question: My denominational friends refer to their preacher as \"Pastor\" or \"Reverend.\" What is the proper way to address the preacher, or how do you refer to him as you speak of him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59334,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/reverend-is-his-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":41662,"position":4},"title":"Reverend Is His Name","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kent Heaton The book of Psalms is a powerful testimony to the majesty, praise, glory, and awesome power of Jehovah God. Isaiah wrote the words of the Lord, \"To whom would you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me, that we would be alike . Remember the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18232,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fellowship\/","url_meta":{"origin":41662,"position":5},"title":"Fellowship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As hard as we try to keep terms pure and free from the influence of denominations, we still sometimes find things creeping into our language. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People wanting to call the minister, \u201cpastor\u201d even though it properly belongs to those who oversee the congregation - the elders. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Similarly, the desire to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41662\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}