baptist religion - a few questions

Pastor. Pastor lastname, usually, in formal situations.

I think it might really depend upon your setting, denomination of Baptist and whether or not the pastor attended seminary. In a small rural town, the pastor might be referred to as "Brother (insert first name here)". If they attended seminary school they might be addressed as Pastor (first or last name) depending upon the level of formality at that particular church. And if they received their doctorate in theology, they might be Dr. (last name).

ETA: If they are referred to anything other than Pastor it might be Reverend in formal correspondence, but never priest. Priests are Catholic and Episcopalian.

It's typically Pastor [First Name] or Pastor [Last Name]. Usually the youth group pastor is the one that goes by the Pastor+First Name. Sometimes they have nicknames, like PT, for Pastor Tom.

I never heard Reverend; it was always Pastor. Pastor Lastname for me, or sometimes just Mr. Lastname, because I was a kid and using first names for adults was disrespectful. Other adults used his first name, sometimes with "Pastor" in front, sometimes not, depending on what sort of relationship they had. This was reflective of most evangelical churches (liturgical protestant branches might be different, but baptists are in the evangelical group) in the northwestern states; I can't speak to other geographical areas.

Whether anyone says "sir" would have been more cultural-- how they were brought up (are they from the south, or just old-fashioned?)-- and would apply to everyone. It'd be "yes, sir" and "yes, ma'am" to everyone, and wouldn't have much to do with being Baptist.

elinor said:

Would someone outside of the church call them Pastor [lastname]?

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It's not unreasonable. Depends on the circumstances and the individual, but people will refer to a Catholic priest as Father lastname, even if they aren't Catholic. It probably depends mostly on how they were introduced in the first place.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

People outside the church usually say Rev. First or Last Name or RFLN in formal circumstances. The deal is Rev. is the title; pastor is what they do. If they're YOUR pastor, that's what your call them; if not, Rev. is more accurate. Adults working together usually just use first names. The formal title is used when you're introducing them. (As I have done during interfaith programs.)

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

southern baptist clergy are "pastors" but are often referred to as "brother" so-and-so.

elinor said:

I have a few questions about Baptist practices and things, I am hoping someone can answer.

1) Is the priest a Reverend or a Pastor? (Or would they be called something else?)

2) What would a member of the church call them verbally?

3) What would they ask someone to call them? Their first name, or a title? (Pastor/Reverend/Sir/etc)

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Look at some Web sites. There are four broad divisions of Baptists in the U.S.

Southern Baptists ordained by the Southern Baptist Convention

American Baptists ordained by the American Baptist Convention

African American Baptists have three main ordaining organizations:

The National Baptist Convention of America
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
The Progressive National Baptist Association


There are also other groups of "unafilliated Baptists" to the extent that someone can declare themselves Baptist and clergy at will.

Individual churches will have various ways of referring to clergy; Pastor is most common; Reverend used to be reserved specifically for ordained clergy with a seminary conferred degree; this is no longer the case. You'll also see "Minister" used, especially in the North.

So google churches; You can look at the organization sites for lists of affiliated churches and see what they use.

"First Baptist Church" oughtta get you a lot of church sites; check Facebook too, which may well have church members posting using the language they're comfortable with.

William Haskins said:

southern baptist clergy are "pastors" but are often referred to as "brother" so-and-so.

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Or, not uncommonly, "Dr.", if they happen to hold a Doctor of Divinity degree.

caw