Baptist church question

maybe his name is Robert Robert, Rachel Rachel. Just kidding. God bless, have a great day!

Rachel Rachel said:

I've been going to a Baptist church in my neighborhood for the past couple of months. I'm a Sabbatarian but there's no Sabbath keeping church within a reasonable distance of my home.

Anyway....I've noticed that nobody uses last names. I still don't know the pastor's last name! He introduced himself to me as Robert....just Robert. I went on the church's website to make my offering and his full name is not anywhere on the website. I find this extremely odd. I grew up calling my pastor Brother Cambers...not Bill. Is this the norm in the Baptist church?

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There is a current movement towards more intimacy in the church, as opposed to formality.

It's just a practice. I wouldn't let it push me out of an, otherwise, good church.

Hang in there, ... and you'll learn everybody's last names ...

I know a church where the pastor is called "Pastor" or "Pastor . . ." using his last name only. And this is a baptist church. And ones claim they must honor him by doing this.

But I know our Apostle Paul is called "Paul". And our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is called "Jesus".

So, if I am with people who insist they honor a leader by using only a title or title with last name to talk to or about him or her, I am concerned that they expect some sort of honor which is not considered essential honor with . . . Jesus Himself, and certainly not with Paul and Peter and James and John and Titus and Jude and Timothy and Barnabas and Silvanus who are among our examples.

Our examples do not try to make themselves superior to us. We are all equal, as God's family. A Biblical example ministers all which is for all of us, so we too become examples > like happened when Paul and Silvanus and Timothy ministered to the Thessalonians > they became "examples" > see 1 Thessalonians chapter one.

But, of course, true intimacy is not only in what we call each other.

Rachel Rachel said:

I've been going to a Baptist church in my neighborhood for the past couple of months. I'm a Sabbatarian but there's no Sabbath keeping church within a reasonable distance of my home.

Anyway....I've noticed that nobody uses last names. I still don't know the pastor's last name! He introduced himself to me as Robert....just Robert. I went on the church's website to make my offering and his full name is not anywhere on the website. I find this extremely odd. I grew up calling my pastor Brother Cambers...not Bill. Is this the norm in the Baptist church?

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No, it's definitely not a "Baptist" thing. I find it odd as well!

The pastors in my church (which is Baptist) do use their first names freely, but always with the respect of the "Pastor" title as well. So they're "Pastor Alan" and "Pastor Tim", etc. We all know their last names, they aren't hidden anywhere. That's the weird part to me in your description. There's nothing "formal" about a last name, it's part of your name!

If it's not there on the website either, I'm tending towards privacy being the reason.

Seems like more and more, as time goes on, people are less likely to show their full name, or wear name tags and such.

Rachel Rachel said:

Anyway....I've noticed that nobody uses last names. I still don't know the pastor's last name! He introduced himself to me as Robert....just Robert. I went on the church's website to make my offering and his full name is not anywhere on the website.

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I find this extremely odd. I grew up calling my pastor Brother Cambers...not Bill. Is this the norm in the Baptist church?

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Hi, Rachel. No, this seems to be just the style of that particular congregation. Baptists in general are less formal than, say, Catholics or Lutherans, and they are inclined to use first names for the sake of fellowship and not showing pride, but what you describe is beyond that. But if you like the church or have no choice of another, I'd suggest just going with the flow.

Rachel Rachel said:

This was my first thought. It's a shame that we have to be this way now.

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Yes, it really is, and unfortunately it will likely only get worse. FWIW, though there is good reason for some concern, I think a lot of it is unnecessary, and too much TV, internet and such make people unnecessarily paranoid.

In the contact I've had with Baptists, their pastor's last names were not a secret.

I always called my pastor by his first name but every day at church he would give his full name and welcome the congregation. I don’t know maybe you just got to get to know him personally.

Growing up conservative Lutheran, I thought "Pastor" was their first name

I can't speak for all Baptist churches, but growing up in a Baptist church, we usually did refer to our pastors as "Pastor *First Name.*"

I go to a Baptist church & have attended them in the past. I always refer to Pastors as just Pastor, even at non-Baptist churches I've attended. I have no idea what they prefer, that's just how I do it.

It sounds like a local congregational method. Honestly, I have never much thought about it. In most of the churches I have come up in, I remember using first names, but it has always been 'Brother ...' and never have I used the Pastor title.

It might just be the environment of Baptist churches. I think we tend to be more informal compared to other denominations, and since Baptist churches are highly decentralized and independent, there isn't really a consistent title for the pastor.

Sometimes it's just "Pastor," but they might also be called "Preacher," "Brother." Purportedly, some African-American Baptists have "bishops," but it's just a synonym for pastor in that context.

Newsgurl said:

I always called my pastor by his first name but every day at church he would give his full name and welcome the congregation. I don’t know maybe you just got to get to know him personally.

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I was dating the Pastor's Daughter, so we were on a first name basis. But, with other people in church I used his title and last name.

Rachel Rachel said:

I've been going to a Baptist church in my neighborhood for the past couple of months. I'm a Sabbatarian but there's no Sabbath keeping church within a reasonable distance of my home.

Anyway....I've noticed that nobody uses last names. I still don't know the pastor's last name! He introduced himself to me as Robert....just Robert. I went on the church's website to make my offering and his full name is not anywhere on the website. I find this extremely odd. I grew up calling my pastor Brother Cambers...not Bill. Is this the norm in the Baptist church?

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If you prefer a 'sabbath' keeping religion, as you mentioned ---which was Israel's instruction, you might look to such a more formal type religious group that embraces the OT religion. Most Christian churches keep the 'Son day' (first day of the week as His resurrection) for worship time. Well, keep searching for there is every kind of religious group one might want. I prefer Bible-only New Testament gatherings to just any group.

Daniel Marsh said:

I was dating the Pastor's Daughter, so we were on a first name basis. But, with other people in church I used his title and last name.

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If I do not know the name or cannot remember it, of a brother or sister in the Lord (providing they are not just a visitor there), I might say: 'Hello brother, or Hello sister' We do not have A PASTOR, but many Pastors, Evangelists, Teachers, etc. among us, as those brothers who as a "holy and royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:5 and 9) all are free to minister. They are all on the same level as saints of God.