Five Ministerial Titles in Order of Preference

There are so many things to call the leader of a local congregation and all of them are heavy with associations and connotations. And even though I have my preferences I have very little control over which ones people use or how they refer to me in my absence. But for what it's worth these are the ones I prefer.

1.  Pastor*
     It's awfully bland, I know, but it works across all sorts of contexts and requires no explanation. The word comes from the Latin word for shepherd, which makes it rich with all sorts of Biblical references. And "shepherd" is, while metaphorical, perhaps the most comprehensive description of what it is I do. And one of the things that I like about it is that when referring to me in Latin, "Pastor Tate," I am just a simple leader of a congregation. Whereas, if you switched from Latin to English, "Shepherd Tate," I would suddenly be a cult leader overseeing the construction of a compound.

Can you imagine calling this fellow
"Pastor John?"

2.  Preacher
     I have a dear woman in my church who calls me "Preacher." Just "Preacher," whether referring to me or addressing me. And I kind of love it. It makes me feel frontier, if you know what I mean. It's what John Wayne would call me. Straightforward and unpretentious.
     I've noticed that when people in the community meet me and figure out who I am they'll usually say "You're the preacher, right?" It's interesting that unchurched people immediately use that designation to identify me. It is the most public aspect of my role.

3.  Vicar
     Another of my parishioners has affectionately dubbed me "the Vicar." Again with the Latin! The root meaning of the word here is "substitute," and it shows up in "vicarious." I am, in a very real sense I hope, Christ's stand-in, where he'd like to be, doing the things he'd like to be doing. And he's pleased to accomplish those things through me, vicariously.
     That's lovely and all, but the reason "Vicar" is number three on the list is because it requires a lot of explanation. That, and it makes me sound like I should have my own sitcom on the BBC.

4.  Minister
     I do minister, but it's just so vanilla. And it's a term that gets shared with political office holders.
     And you can refer to me as "the minister," but it wouldn't work to call me "Minister Tate."

5. Reverend
    This is, sadly, a title that sinks under the weight of all of its negative associations. It sounds, to most ears, like a horribly pretentious and stuffy title. It could be redeemed, but it's probably not worth the effort. I sign my name "Reverend Tate" for official business and I make no objection when, in a public capacity, I am introduced as such, but I do nothing to promote the use of the title.


My least favorite title, by the way, is "Team Leader," or any other such modern foofoo-ism. Any pastor who elects to change his title to "team leader" ought to be forced to preach out of the Book of Numbers for a year as penance. The Book of Ecclesiastes if he thought he was being particularly clever.
The effort to come up with less churchy sounding names for church offices and activities is misguided folly. It does not succeed in making church more relevant or accessible. It removes no obstacles. And it has a very short shelf life. No one calling himself a "team leader" today will be doing so ten years from now, or will be willing to admit that he ever had.

*I'm kind of a stickler for "Pastor Tate," because "Pastor Joel" gives me the heebie-jeebies. I just don't like it. And there are number of other reasons why I'm opposed to the practice - but that's a post for another time.