Baptist's have bishops and archbishops?

No, baptists simply use other terms to mean the same thing.

Pastor for Priest
Area Representative for Bishop
President for Pope

Don't let it bother you, positional relationship is positional relationship.

The big difference is that the Pastors of Baptist churches are responsible to the local congregation and not to the President of the denomination. The local congregation through prayer and deliberation calls the pastor of their choice, though in a pastor's absence, an Area Rep or the President can send an interim pastor to assist the local congregation as a means to keep them together as a "flock".

The local congregation contributes an amount toward the maintenance of the Denomination in accordance with what the leadership of the local congregation determines they can contribute. There are no assigned apportionments.

The local congregation is normally an autonomous, self sufficient group that chooses to align with a denomination by their own choice.

 

I've been Baptist for 52 years and I've never heard those terms referring to Baptists.

Diane

 

The archbishop is the one standing in the arch watching all the other bishops bishopping!

These definitions are archaic, and only mark relative position in the organizational structure. Those in the Baptist organization holding those positions have essentially the same relative measure of responsibility to God as those occupying similar positions in other church denominations or factions. However, they do not have authority over those of lesser position except in the role of "judge" when charges are brought against one of a lower position. For example if a bishop has charges brought against him, the Archbishop would be the one to hear and decide the "case". A bishop would have the same role if a pastor within his area of responsibility had charges brought against him. A local pastor has that role when a member of his congregation has charges brought against him.

Now what if the Archbishop has charges brought against him? A council of Bishops would determine who would act in the Archbishop role among them for the purpose of administering the proceedings, then if the charges are substantiated, the council would remove the charged Archbishop and by vote of all bishops would elect a replacement archbishop.

Hierarchy is hierarchy!

 

A websearch off the SBC brought up nothing but a websearch under Bishop brought up a number of African American churches who call their pastor's bishop. However, I didn't find a Baptist affiliation with bishop listed.

There were some Baptist NEWS links to protests over Bishop Tutu speaking at schools.

Diane

 

I've *never* understood why KJV-only Baptist churches don't have "bishops".

 

Well, I've never understood why KJV-onlyists are Baptist to begin with, since it was the Anglicans that gave us the KJV Bible.

 

No, archaic in their application to Baptist denominations, since the Baptists have protested longer and harder than other protestant groups, and have gotten further away from the use of those terms to describe offices within the organization.

There may be hold-outs, as mentioned by dianetavegia, in the African oriented churches that still use the term Bishop, but I don't know of any that use the terms 'priest' or 'archbishop'.

The Baptists have simply used another language to describe themselves, but the organization remains quite similar to that of the Roman church, though all authority in a Baptist Church is that of Jesus Christ, and not of a person in a position within the organization structure. That is, "stuff don't roll down hill" nearly as easily in the Baptist organization as it does in the Catholic organization as there is no "parental authority" in the Baptist organization like that of Rome. The Baptist denominational organization can ex-communicate a congregation that goes astray of biblical teaching, but seldom, if ever, gets involved in the workings of the local congregation that does not illicit their assistance.

 

The point is that in the Baptist denominational churchs there is no "parental authority" exerted on the local "child" congregation by the next higher level in the hierarchy as there is in the Roman church. That is, the president of the denomination does not "create scripture or tradition" and impose it on the denomination as the Roman Pope does to the Catholic organization. The president may express his learned opinion regarding the written word of God and its application but it does not become "organizational doctrine" until and unless all who hear it accept it and apply it! The Roman church however is caused to have allegience to the Pope and all the Pope says because they see the Pope as being the living representation of "The Christ".

All church organizations that have such a "Parental authority" basis, are subject to falling under the "authority" of the False Prophet of Revelation, who forms a one world "church" which he, the false prophet, hands over to the man of perdition who is controlled by the "dragon" (satan for those of you who don't get the symbology). Church organizations that do not have such Parental controls are not as willing to follow a false prophet.

 

Can you document this claim? I've never heard of a SBC Church with a woman pastor. It amazes me how a catholic is so aware of these oddities in the SBC and those of us who have been SBC for over 50 years are unaware.

Diane

 

Well please give me the link so I can report those churches and get them kicked right out of the SBC! Didn't your mother tell you not to believe everything you read on the internet?

This statement itself deems these churches to NOT be SBC. They might be Baptist churches in the southern states tho. I will take the link you provide and write the SBC and verify that information.

Diane

 

There have been many attempts over the many years that Baptists have existed to allow women to be the pastor of local congregations. To the best of my knowledge there has never been a doctrinal declaration given by a presiding president of any of the Baptist denominations that has excommunicated even one church because it had by its own will elected a woman as its pastor.

I have known several formerly SBC congregations that disavowed the denomination and become independents.

I have also known of two churches that, while aligned with the SBC, were excommunicated because they failed to remain biblical churches, but not over the issue of Women pastors. One of them openly practiced Wicca! And the second was involved in sexual immorality! Both were relatively small congregations that could easily be "swept up" into non-biblical practices.

Yes the SBC Denomination does have the power to say whether or not a church can become, and or remain SBC, but so does the local congregation have the power to disavow the denomination.

Unlike the Roman, the Wesleyan, and other denominations, the Baptist denominations do not own the real-estate of the local church nor does it have a say as to how it is used, but it does establish the standard for becoming and remaining SBC. This is kind of like becoming "a Christian", there is a standard established for the conduct of the one who would be "Christian", but the one can behave as one chooses. If the behavior does not meet the standard, then one is not looked upon as being "Christian". Churches that do not meet the SBC standard cannot be SBC.