Baptist Bishops

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gmcbroom

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I recently saw something on You tube called a Convocation. It seemed very interesting. It was an auditorium or stadium filled to capacity and had Many Bishops in the center on stage. They would seem to defer to one and take a seat and listen to what he would preach. The chairs were very nice looking extremely comfortable. The main speaker was extremely charismatic and had a great voice and a fantastic speech.
Personally, I enjoyed watching it yet I had one problem. How could these men be Bishops? They weren’t dressed like any i’d ever seen all expensive suits and ties. As a Maronite Catholic I was under the impression that Bishops dressed differently ie Roman collar and usually wore a large cross around their necks. So clearly these weren’t Bishops in the traditional way. So what made them Bishops? Do they have Apostolic succession? I liked the sermon yet it just didn’t seem right.
 
So these men were baptists? When titles are used by protestants they don’t necessarily have the meaning they have to Catholics. The title is probably a leftover from a time when Christian automatically meant Catholic, kind of like how in my old church the deacons were just people who handed out the collection plate. A deacon was a title given to anyone who helped around the church, so to them a bishop might just mean someone who has authority over a group of churches.
 
So, then its just a title? How do they get it? do they all just have theological Doctorate degrees? Is there no actual Apostolic connection?
 
I know the SBC doesn’t use the title Bishop for anyone: but from other churches I’ve been to, Bishop is just a title. Some preachers use Bishop: some Pastor: it seems to be interchangeable. Honestly, I doubt any would know what Apostolic Succession is.
 
The American Baptist Church doesn’t use the title Bishop either. They also do not have or claim Apostolic Succession.
 
Many Protestant Churches have Bishop’s, who are not just Pastors. It is a rank, and those Bishops are necessary within that denomination to ordain clergy.

They do not however generally have any form of apostolic succession. Nor do they follow any recognized form of ordination.

My own great-grandfather was a Free Methodist Bishop. (NOTE: There is NO connection between regular Methodists and the Free Methodist Church.) He ordained many clergy over the years, but he had no apostolic succession at all. Nor did anyone else in that church.

It was more than a title however, within that denomination. It was an actual rank, and there were very few Bishops.

Some churches allow anyone to become a Bishop, making that office, and title, meaningless.
 
Mormons have “bishops” too, and we all know a Mormon loves a good suit.

However I think their bishops might just be an honorary position, and a temporary one at that. Nevertheless it may be you saw some Mormon bishops.
 
I myself have seen protestant preachers on TV with the title of Bishop, and wondered how they got it. I assumed it was someone over a mega chuch, or the head of some conference affiliation. When I was Baptist we never had bishops nor did any of the other protestant groups where I was raised. Now I get a little irked when I see it happen b/c i’m thinkin’, “Where did they get the authority to call oneself Bishop?”

God Bless,

Jesse
 
Among many Protestants, instead of “bishop” they use “overseer” or “district superintendant”…“bishop” means “overseer” from what I remember.
 
Baptist Bishops are a relatively recent development. In 2007 St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church broke with Baptist tradition to consecrate the Rev. Curtis E. Edmonds Sr. as bishop, the first in the congregation’s 105-year history.

In a way it seems as if Full Gospel baptist and Missionary Baptist Pastors have started adopting the title to put themselves and their home churches on even grounds with Church Of God In Christ and African Methodist Episcopal Bishops. Since in an interdenominational meeting “Pastor” will find himself confronted with “Bishop” and the ground would not be even.
 
gmcbroom said:
I recently saw something on You tube called a Convocation. It seemed very interesting. It was an auditorium or stadium filled to capacity and had Many Bishops in the center on stage. They would seem to defer to one and take a seat and listen to what he would preach. The chairs were very nice looking extremely comfortable. The main speaker was extremely charismatic and had a great voice and a fantastic speech.
Personally, I enjoyed watching it yet I had one problem. How could these men be Bishops? They weren’t dressed like any i’d ever seen all expensive suits and ties. As a Maronite Catholic I was under the impression that Bishops dressed differently ie Roman collar and usually wore a large cross around their necks. So clearly these weren’t Bishops in the traditional way. So what made them Bishops? Do they have Apostolic succession? I liked the sermon yet it just didn’t seem right.
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Some Baptist groups refer to their delegates at conventions as Bishops or messengers. Because the New Testament identifies the office of Bishop, some Baptists felt it necessary to identify someone in their organization with that title so that they could maintain that they are the true New Testament church.
 
The denomination that I grew up in (Church of God, based in Cleveland, Tennessee) used to have three levels of ministry: Exhorter, Licensed Minister, and Ordained Minister. Not many years ago they changed Ordained Minister to Bishop. To them, it’s just a name; no apostolic succession is claimed.

DaveBj
 
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