Expert: Bruce Gourley - 7/28/2009

Question
I belong to a Baptist Church and have been with the same church for over 25 years.  Our pastor of four years recently made an annoncement that he had been called as an Apostle.  He said this calling went against all that he had been taught as a Baptist.  What does "this calling" mean for our church.  What are the doctrines in the Baptist church in regards to Apostle.  Please help!

Answer
Because the Baptist faith is based on local church autonomy, there is no such thing as "the Baptist church" outside of a given local Baptist church. Thus, Baptists as a faith group (actually, there are about 250 different groups of Baptists all told!) have no one official teaching or stance on the issue you bring up: a pastor's claim to have been called as an Apostle.

But, it is fair to say that your pastor's claim would be viewed as odd by most Baptists worldwide. Generally speaking, Baptist congregations limit church "offices" to pastor and deacons, and sometimes elders (not including trustees, Sunday School teachers, etc.). I cannot personally name one Baptist church which believes in the office of Apostle, although obviously there is at least one - yours (or more correctly, one church in which some members believe in the office of Apostle). As to what this means for your church, well, it comes down to this: each local Baptist church decides (democratically in most congregations, although some churches allow the pastor to in effect dictate church policy) what is and what is not acceptable within their own congregation. It is up to you and your fellow church members to decide whether or not to support your pastor in his (unusual) claims. If a majority of your congregation disagree with him, they can choose how to disagree with him, even to the point of removing him from the pulpit.

Bruce Gourley
www.baptistlife.com
www.brucegourley.com