Want to be called "Dr." with a Doctor of Ministry Degree?

[Crucified in Christ]

That would be funny; unfortunately, the ones who "doctor" scripture, are usually laymen and untrained pastors who "doctor" the scripture to fit their traditions..

Unfortunately, I think that "doctoring" the Scriptures is an equal opportunity offense. Many laymen are guilty as are many untrained pastors; so too are under-trained pastors, pastors with excellent educations, Pastors with D.Min./Ph.D./D.Th. etc. It is sad, but an education does not prevent those who would wish to corrupt the Scriptures; in fact, as we have seen from many of the great liberal scholars, it simply gave them many more tools.

 

[Crucified in Christ]

Do you think this is found in the US military too?

Anytime someone has authority over another person, it can lead to instances of rebellion. Often times there can be a great deal of aggravation over orders and authority. Certainly, this is no different in the military.

 

[TomVols]

A quite appropriate title for those who have learned to doctor Scripture:thumbs:

Then I have plenty of doctorates to hand out on here. You don't really want a list :laugh:

 

[Greektim]

Why can't those with a masters degree be called "Master So&so"??? That is the same logic right? :wavey:

 

[gb93433]

Why can't those with a masters degree be called "Master So&so"??? That is the same logic right? :wavey:

How about a married woman who earned a bachelors degree?

 

[Jerome]

Bachelorette:laugh:

 

[Dr. Bob]

To my friends and adults in the congregation I am "Bob" or "Hey you, the big guy".

But to children and teens, an honorific is appropriate to teach respect, etc.

I went by Master Bob as youth, since the use of that title is for pre-adult males before reaching the formal Mister.

I went by Mister from 18-24 through college, seminary until ordination.

I opted never to use the title Reverend, since holy/reverend is the name of God and I am godlike in so many ways, but not quite God yet.

I went by Pastor Bob (formal title, informal diminutive name) in the first years of ministry.

After completing my first doctorate and returning home from commencement, the church folks were so proud and had painted "Doctor Bob" Griffin over the old "Pastor Bob" Griffin on the sign!!

I still go by "Dr Bob" after 40 years. Since I was one of the very first people on the BB, I opted for my formal name to avoid confusion with the multitude of "Bob's" on forum like this.

 

[Dr. Bob]

Three quick stories:

(1) I call my MD "Drew" (short for Andrew) and he calls me "Bob". But when any children are around, respectful titles are used.

(2) My wife and I are a paradox. We still enjoy playing "doctor" at home . . .

(3) When my first child was to be married, they sent formal wedding announcements. He was marrying a pastor's daughter. Talk about SHOCK when I opened mine and it read

The Reverend Theodore and Mrs Mary Ann Pestor
and
The Reverend Doctor Robert E. and Mrs. Doctor Teresa I. Griffin
proudly announce the wedding of their children
blah blah blah​

Because my wife is a doctor they went to the official site as to how to correctly word it. What a bunch of gobblety-gook.

A year later my daughter got married and her beautiful announcements simply said

The parents of . . .​

 

[TomVols]

After thinking about this even more, and rereading the blog post, Dr. Burleson couldn't be more wrong if that were his life's purpose since he was in short pants.

Doctor of Ministry degrees are terminal doctorates. They are not "PhD lite" degrees as David Baer opines http://canterbridge.org/2008/09/04/dmin-or-phd-that-is-the-question/ As I said before, D.Mins are like DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) PsyDs (Doctor of Psychology), EdD (Doctor of Education), etc. And, they're like the M.D. degree (Doctor of Medicine), as opposed to those who get a PhD in medicine to do medical research/teaching.

I still have my problems with the way in particular the Big Six do the D.Min projects (some are just so narrow that I hardly see the usefulness). That said, those programs with flexibility can be just as scholarly and yet practical as a PhD dissertation (Gordon Conwell and Beeson come to mind).

Surely Dr. Burelson has better arguments to make than this.

 

[TCassidy]

My friends, including the members of our congregation, call me either "Tom" or "Pastor Tom." Our youth call me "Pastor." The highest calling in this life, and the title most sacred, is "Pastor." Everything else is second best. The more education I received the more I came to understand this simple truth. And, the more education I received the more I came to understand how little I really knew.

 

[TomVols]

Amen to that. I still get chills when someone calls me "Pastor." One of the most humbling yet honoring moments of my life was when someone introduced me to the nurse as their pastor while visiting them in the hospital.

The work is, as Lloyd Jones said, the highest most noble calling on earth. To steal from Spurgeon, why stoop to be a King

 

[Jim1999]

At one time, in England, it was an insult to call a medical doctor "doctor". The usual term was "mr." They worked hard for a lordship so they could be called "Sir".

Originally, doctor was reserved for academics, not medicine.

Again it was The Reverend Mister so and so...it was a title reserved for bulletin boards and such. We called ministers "pastor" or "vicar" or "bishop" etc.

I always preferred the Plymouth Brethren title, Jim.

Cheers,

Jim

PS, "Doctor! Shucks, I'm not even a nurse yet!

 

[titus3:5]

To be called Dr, in the med field is one thing, to have a title Dr as a pastor is another
[snipped - off topic]

 

[Salty]

call me what you want, just dont call me late for supper.

Salty

PS that excludes kids, but thats another topic

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

To whom it may concern:

There is a blog out there in the "blog-o-sphere." They are discussing whether/if one with the DMin degree should be called "Dr." or not?

Here is the web blog page:

http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/2010/05/pastor-with-d-min-degree-should-not-be.html

What think ye? Let me hear from you!! :laugh:

"That is all!"

I believe it to be a personal decision, as for me no.

 

[Jim1999]

Back in the 50's and 60's many men were getting honourary doctorates so they could circumvent the use of Reverend by so many people. DD's were coming out our ears.

Does a man have the right to be called doctor? Certainly he does. That is in the law, at least in Canada.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[ktn4eg]

I'm reminded of a seminar I attended back in the early 1980's at Tennessee Temple University that was conducted by Dr. Lexie Wiggins.

We had some free time and one of the participants asked Dr. Wiggins what an "honorary" doctor's degree was. Dr. Wiggins explained the difference between it and an "earned" degree, but then he asked this participant what prompted him to ask about an "honorary" degree in the first place. I still remember his reply:

"Well, you see, I was at this Bible conference one time. The speakers were "Doctor This," and "Doctor That." There were more doctors there than in a hospital. To be honest with you, I'm not sure I'd trust most of them to put a bandage on my finger!!" :smilewinkgrin:

 

[TomVols]

In a rather mind-bending moment about 13 years ago, an IFB church near me who had a Christian school asked if I had an extra robe or some dark choir robes, or if I could call up some Bible college or seminary professors and borrow their caps, gowns, and stoles. Why? The school was awarding honorary doctorates to some people who donated money.

You read me right: A school that awarded a HS diploma, unrecognized by the state, was awarding doctorates to the highest bidders.

 

[Jim1999]

There are some bible schools doing the same thing with diplomas....And he doesn't have to tell me about his degrees,just open his mouth and I have an idea.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[gb93433]

In a rather mind-bending moment about 13 years ago, an IFB church near me who had a Christian school asked if I had an extra robe or some dark choir robes, or if I could call up some Bible college or seminary professors and borrow their caps, gowns, and stoles. Why? The school was awarding honorary doctorates to some people who donated money.

You read me right: A school that awarded a HS diploma, unrecognized by the state, was awarding doctorates to the highest bidders.

Jesus dealt with those same kind of people too.

Ask yourself, "How many men coming out of theological schools have ever made disciples?" Then they are expected to teach the church how to make disciples, but the theological school has nothing to do with making disciples and has no intention of teaching the prospective pastors because they say that is the job of the church. Imagine an elder in the NT not ever making disciples before he was an elder? How many pastors are there really?