Pastor Appreciation Month: 3 reasons not to drop the title ‘reverend'

October is Pastor Appreciation Month — a fitting time to reflect not only on our gratitude for ministers but also on the sacred office they hold.

On several occasions during my ministry, I have been encouraged to drop the title “reverend.” Among Baptists, which is my background, the title has been considered inappropriate, even presumptuous. The objection usually rests on Psalm 111:9, where the King James Version declares of God, “holy and reverend is his name.”

I understood the concern. No minister should claim the reverence due to God alone. Yet I came to believe this objection conflated divine worship with the honor due to those called to sacred service. I accepted the title, and after decades in ministry, I have never seen reason to apologize for it. My reasons are threefold.

1. The title honors the office, not the man

First, “reverend” does not mean a minister is inherently holier or spiritually superior to others. He is a sinner saved by grace, with weaknesses like every believer. Nevertheless, his office is no ordinary position. He is entrusted with preaching God's Word, shepherding His people, and caring for immortal souls.

Paul admonished the Ephesian elders to care for the flock “over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

The Church belongs to God. Its people were purchased with Christ's blood, and the Holy Spirit appoints overseers to care for them. Surely, such an office deserves extraordinary respect. The title does not magnify the man; it acknowledges the dignity of his calling.

2. The title reminds the minister of his accountability

Second, the title reminds the minister of his solemn responsibility. If his office is worthy of honor, he must strive to conduct himself honorably. The designation should never inflate his pride but only deepen his humility.

Paul admonished Christians to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4:1). The demanding pastoral qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 reinforce this responsibility.

I have never regarded “reverend” as an invitation for others to think more highly of me, but as a reminder that I must take my calling entrusted to me more seriously. It is not a crown to be worn in pride, but a reminder of the account I must one day give to God.

3. The title reminds the Church that pastoral leadership deserves respect

Third, I believe the pastoral office is too often diminished today. Equality before God does not erase distinctions of responsibility and authority within His church. The pastor is a fellow believer and an overseer; a servant and a leader.

Paul instructed Christians to esteem their spiritual leaders “very highly in love for their work's sake” (1 Thessalonians 5:13). Yet some congregations treat pastors primarily as employees hired to accommodate personal preferences. A faithful shepherd, however, must sometimes tell people not what they want to hear but what they need to hear.

Scripture repeatedly shows that God takes the mistreatment of His appointed servants seriously. Jesus condemned those who persecuted God's prophets (Matthew 23:29–37). Although these offices differ from that of a New Testament pastor, the principle remains: God does not take malicious treatment of His servants lightly.

Hebrews 13:17 instructs believers to respect those who watch over their souls, warning that making their ministry a source of grief rather than a source of joy is “unprofitable for you.”

An old illustration in Knight's Master Book of New Illustrations, attributed to the Young People's Standard, tells of a man whose spiritual vitality gradually disappeared. He first disliked his preacher's style, then the preacher himself. His growing irreverence toward the minister eventually extended to the message and the Church. What began as personal irritation became contempt for sacred things. Irreverence toward a faithful minister can eventually undermine one's reverence for God.

Honor the calling, remember the man

The Hebrew expression translated as “reverend” in Psalm 111:9 describes God's awe-inspiring majesty, not a prohibition against an English title of respect. Jesus' warnings in Matthew 23 against religious titles condemn pride and self-exaltation. Scripture neither requires ministers to use “reverend” nor forbids its respectful use.

Moreover, the honor of the pastoral office entails extraordinary accountability. James warned, “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (James 3:1). By “masters,” he meant teachers, who face stricter judgment. Every preacher should tremble at that responsibility.

The congregation must answer to God for its treatment of faithful spiritual leaders, and ministers must answer for how they exercise their authority. If “reverend” makes a man feel superior, he has misunderstood its meaning. But if it reminds him of his sacred accountability and the church of its obligation to honor faithful leadership, I see no reason to apologize.

Yet the man who holds this honored office is still human. He grows weary, knows disappointment, and bears burdens others rarely see.

While the pastoral calling deserves our honor, the man who bears it also needs our love and support.