M
markomalley
Guest
It’s true that anybody can call himself Catholic; anybody can call himself the Pope, as well (just ask Pope Pius XIII or Pope Michael).Most Baptist churches autonomously partake in local/regional/state/national assemblies, the largest (I believe) being the Southern Baptist Convention. These assemblies have seminaries (like the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth Texas where my own grandfather his PhD in Ministry), Ordain ministers, and (to some extent) censure their members.
That said, any Church can choose to call itself 'Baptist" and ignore the existing Conventions/hierarchy. But then, same is true of any congregation that wants to call itself Catholic.