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Recently, the topic came up about the way titles are being thrown around in church and religious circles. For most of our ministry life we have been called “pastors” Chris and Carol Green, and we have accepted that because we have understood the cultural and societal perceptions of those roles in a local church or faith community. That title reflects a responsibility, but we don't wear it as badge to set ourselves above others.
Sometimes you will hear us refer to our work and assignments in our community as apostolic or prophetic, but we have absolutely refused to refer to ourselves as Apostles Chris and Carol, or Prophet Chris and Prophetess Carol.
Just to set the record straight, the only title we see for ourselves is Community Servants. Beyond that, we’re totally fine with being
referred to as brother or sister, uncle or aunt, grand pa or grand ma, dad or mom, Mr. or Mrs., or just simply calling us by our given names.
Of course, in some settings, people may feel obliged to refer to us according to our life, educational, ministerial or professional roles, accomplishments, job titles, or other forms of distinction. It's their way of showing respect and honor. We get that. However, for the most part, we echo the words of Paul when he wrote:
“So look at Apollos
and me as mere servants of
Christ who have been put in charge of
explaining God’s mysteries. Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager
must be faithful. As for me, it matters
very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t
even trust my own judgment on this point. My conscience is clear, but that
doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.”
---1 Corinthians 4: 1-4
No matter what we accomplish or attain in this life, we want
to be known by one description. Chris and Carol are mere Servants of Christ, ministering to their community. We pray the same for you.
