The Major Difference Between a Pastor and a Reverend: For the majority of people, religion is a very important part of life. In between different religious circles, the names attached to spiritual leaders are important and of great significance. And religious titles like ‘Pastor’ and ‘reverend’ have been used correspondingly.
Majority of people within the Christian community very frequently interchange these two religious titles, as they seem to be equivalent. This article is aimed at highlighting the distinctions between the two religious titles. Hence we will show you the major difference between a Pastor and a Reverend.
Who is a Pastor or Reverend?
Pastors and Reverends are different terms for religious leaders just as elders, deacons, evangelists, prophets, teachers, priests, popes, etc. However, each religious position displays the roles handled by these church leaders. Sometimes, the pastor can also be addressed as a reverend. The main title used for the position is different from church to church and denomination to denomination.
However, the title of the pastor comes from the word itself meaning ‘shepherd.’ This is a metaphor that is found in the Bible when it is said that God leads a flock of sheep, he was referring to his Christian followers. The word ‘pastor’ is also used correspondingly here as it means that the pastor is shepherding his flock of churchgoers.
But, both a pastor and a reverend may be powerful to the church. As leaders, they may also act as teachers, and they may be given the opportunities to deliver Sunday sermons and give studies to children and adults on the different teachings of the Bible.
Also, these church leaders are expected to make themselves as presentable as possible as a role model to the community and they are expected to set examples on how to live a life based on what is taught in the Bible. But, they are also responsible for doing deeds with the intention for the achievement and growth of the Church’s goals, views, and principles.
The difference between a pastor and a reverend, however, can be seen by looking at the function of these labels when they are attached to a specific name. The name ‘Pastor’ is addressed to a noun, or particularly a person, it could be the leader or minister of a church.
On the contrary, ‘reverend,’ according to the dictionary, is an adjective which is used to address an honorable person who is worthy of being revered. Reverend is also used as a title of respect applied or affixed to the name of a member of clergy or religious order.
A pastor is also a spiritual leader of the church while a ‘reverend’ is a title given to a pastor, like the army rank of a captain or colonel, which shows the level of knowledge and experience in their service. However, a person with a Reverend title can execute more services within his church, such as a commemorated wedding, direct Eucharist, funeral, baptism, preaching.
However, a pastor without a Reverend title has limited areas of ministry duties. For instance, he may not be permitted to direct the Eucharist or formalize a wedding.
The Major Difference Between Pastor and Reverend
1. The word ‘pastor’ is a noun. A pastor is addressed as a minister or priest in charge of a church. He is also a person that provides spiritual care to a number of people.
2. The word ‘reverend’ is an adjective. A reverend is a title prefixed to a member of a religious order. It also refers to the features of a clergy.
3. A pastor is mainly a clergyman , priest or minister who is in charge of a particular congregation.
4. Reverend refers to being worthy of reverence, a description that is attributed to elevated status.
5. Using the word ‘reverend’ as a stand-alone noun is not proper, however, it is accepted in some informal language uses.