Daily Devotions
What Should You Call a Preacher?
Reading for May 27th: Nehemiah 8-9
Weekly reading for May 24-30: 1 Corinthians 1-6
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.
1 Corinthians 3:5
What should you call a preacher? I appreciate the fact that people want to give me a respectful title. (Sometimes people will even ask me, "What should I call you?") However, I would like to share some titles I'm sometimes given and why I don't like them:
"Reverend" This is the most troublesome title to me. This title belongs to God, and God alone, who is the only One worthy of reverence and worship (Psa 111:9).
"Pastor" This description is the same as shepherd or overseer or elder (all synonymous terms in scripture), and I am not an elder (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Tim 3:1-7; Tit 1:5-9).
"Minister" This is better than the previous ones, because I truly am a minister. However, I fear that people don't know what the term means. It means "servant," and this description should not be limited to those who preach. All Christians are servants (Col 3:23-24; Eph 6:5-8).
"Brother" This one is also accurate, but also misapplied. It seems that it is used almost exclusively as a title for those who preach or for those who are older. We are all brothers and sisters in the Lord. And I like for people to call me simply "brother," as a description of who I am, instead of "brother Maxson," as a title denoting some kind of special respect I am due (Mt 23:8 - and note what Jesus says about titles in the context, v 5-12).
So if you want to know what to call me, I'll tell you..
Just call me David.
Father, help us to see each other as coworkers and fellow-slaves and not exalt some who may have more visible roles in the body.
