page_title: Pastor
section_title: Baptist
hierarchical_section_title: Pastor / Current usage / Baptist
caption_attribution_description: Martin Luther King, Jr.
context_page_description: A pastor is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Protestantism, a pastor may be ordained or not while in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches, the pastor is always an ordained priest. Pastors are to act like shepherds by caring for the flock, and this care includes teaching. The New Testament typically uses the words "bishops" and "presbyter" to indicate the ordained leadership in early Christianity. Likewise, Peter instructs these particular servants to "act like shepherds" as they "oversee" the flock of God. The words "bishop" and "presbyter" were sometimes used in an interchangeable way, such as in Titus 1:5-6. However, there is ongoing dispute between branches of Christianity over whether there are two ordained classes or three. In the Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodox Church bishops, priests, and deacons are recognised who have been ordained with apostolic lineage. In most Protestant denominations and non-denominational churches, in contrast, bishops are rejected, as well as the doctrine of apostolic succession.
context_section_description: The term "pastor", in the majority of Baptist churches, is one of two offices within the church, deacon being the other, and is considered synonymous with "elder" or "bishop" (though in Reformed Baptist churches, elders are a separate office).
  In larger churches with many staff members, "Senior Pastor" commonly refers to the person who gives the sermons the majority of the time, with other persons having titles relating to their duties, for example "Worship Pastor" for the person leading singing.
caption: Baptist pastor Martin Luther King Jr.
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