SHOULD A MAN/WOMAN WHO IS IN A POSITION OF LEADERSHIP IN THE CALLED-OUT ASSEMBLY USE TITLES SUCH AS PASTOR, OVERSEER, EVANGELIST, ETC.

First a man can be ordained by any group of church leaders and not have the ordination where it counts, from his lord and savior Jesus. Jesus is the head of the ecclesia - the called-out Assembly of God and as such it is he who puts men or women in places of leadership within his body, congregation, the Israel of God of which he is the Messiah. He alone has the authority to "ordain". How are we to know those who have been "ordained" by the lord Jesus. He states very plainly in Matthew 7:20: Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them”. This is the only way we can know those who have been given positions of responsibility over the congregation - the called-out Assembly of the living God. I don't see any place in scripture [after the Apostles] where any authority was given to men to ordain anyone to the ministry of Jesus, that prerogative belongs to Jesus and to him alone as the head of the called-out Assembly – his body. There are no apostles to-day who can appoint anyone to any office or responsibility in the Assembly of God or anyone else instructions to do so.

In the Old Testament there was a distinction between the members of the congregation and the ministers. Only the prophets, priests and kings were anointed. But under the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit comes on "all flesh"; that is, all the people of God; "sons, daughters, young men, old men, menservants, maidservants"

Acts 2:16-18: but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ GOD SAYS, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on ALL mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, And your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams; And even on My male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, AND THEY WILL PROPHECY.

All believers in the Messiah are royal priests of God now:

1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people, royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light:

Revelation 1:4-6: John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him [Yehovah] who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits [angels] who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus the Messiah, the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood; and he made us into a kingdom, priests to is God and Father [Yehovah] to Him [Yehovah] be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

There are no two groups called clergy and laity in the called-out Assembly of God. All of God’s people are priests. Each believer is a minister of God and an ambassador the lord Messiah Jesus. And all believers in the lord Messiah Jesus have been given varying responsibilities and various gifts to use to uplift one another and to preach and publish the soon coming kingdom of God.

Even before the New Covenant was established, Jesus spoke against the Jewish synagogue practice of using special titles and wearing special clothing:

Matthew 23:1-10: Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them. And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people.

But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father [spiritual father], He who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for only one is your leader, that is, the Messiah.

His twofold argument was: "One is your Father who is in heaven... You are all brothers."

The apostles followed the Messiah’s teaching closely in the called-out Assembly. John in Acts or the Epistles. Peter addressed Paul simply as "Brother Paul"

2 Peter 3:14-15: Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,

Even the angel, who brought the Revelation to John, introduced himself as a fellow servant:

Revelation 19:10: Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Revelation 22:9: And he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” The introduction of clerical titles was made years later when the Church began drifting away from the simple pattern of the called-out Assembly to a hierarchical system. The Protestant Reformation was not a total restoration of New Testament Christianity. In fact, the reformation is not complete yet. Every step of restoration is both costly and painful. But that is the call of the Head of the called-out Assembly: "Remember from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else..."

Revelation 2:5: Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the [a]deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place; unless you repent.

The act of ordination is only for appointing a person for a specific function and not for awarding any "title".

Acts 13:2: While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for Me for the work to which I have called them.”

Titus 1:5: For this reason, I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,

We can say Apostle Paul, Evangelist Philip or Pastor Timothy, because these are ministerial or functional titles with Biblical approval.

Notice: Matthew 20:25-28: But Jesus called them to himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and those in high position exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant, and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

He was saying, “If you want to be important, be a slave, a servant. Don’t sit in the boss’s chair, don’t insist on titles of respect, and don’t lord it over those under you.”

They weren’t to insist on people addressing them as “Apostle James,” or “Apostle John.” That may have been their position, but it wasn’t to be used as a title. If they insisted on giving each other titles, it should be “Servant John” or “Slave James.” All brothers and sisters have been purchased by the blood of the lord Jesus and therefore we are his slaves and as he was acting as the agent of Yehovah we are His slaves also!

To sum up: My opinion begins at the root of Jesus' instruction in Matthew 23:12: Whoever is greatest among you shall be your servant.

In Matthew 23:1-7: Jesus instructs the disciples on what not to do based on the behavior of the scribes and Pharisees:

1) They made rules they not only didn't keep, but didn't assist in helping others to keep their rules (3-4);
2) They only did things to be recognized by others (5);
3) They wanted preferential treatment, demanding the best seats at feasts and gatherings (6), and
4) And finally in verse 7, they demanded greetings in the marketplace, specifically requiring the use of the title of Rabbi ("ῥαββί rhabbí, hrab-bee'; of Hebrew origin (H7227 with pronominal suffix); my master, i.e. Rabbi, as an official title of honour: Master, Rabbi" – Strong's Concordance).

Basically, they were full of themselves.

In Matthew 23:8-12: But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only one is your teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth your [spiritual] father; for only one is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called leaders; for only one is your leader, that is, the Messiah. 11 But the greatest of you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Jesus now directly addresses the use of titles when it comes to the called-out Assembly: "Do not be called..." (8), and "Do not call..." (9). Titles were never to be a part of the hierarchy or makeup of His people, which he emphasizes in verse 8 when he states, "...for you are all brethren."

This principle is confirmed throughout the balance of the New Testament; nowhere in the book of Acts or in any of the letters is any apostle or prophet or evangelist or pastor/teacher ever called by a title by anyone.

In Acts 9, after Saul's conversion, Ananias was instructed by God to go to Saul and instruct Saul that he was God's chosen vessel and would suffer many things for Jesus' name’s sake. When Ananias entered the house, he addressed Saul as "brother Saul"... but even this must be kept in the context of its setting. Ananias did so to confirm to Saul that he was now one of the many brethren to whom Jesus referenced in Matthew 23.

All throughout his letters, Paul calls himself an apostle many times, but that was his calling, his function in the body of the Messiah; he never used it as a title. It would like someone saying, "I'm a plumber."

In Revelation 1:9, when referring to himself, John didn't use a title but simply called himself "your brother and companion in tribulation...". In Peter's last letter to the called-out Assembly, when addressing the writings of Paul's letters, stated "...as also our beloved brother Paul...has written to you." Notice Peter called Paul simply by his name - no title:

2 Peter 3:15: and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,

Jesus' instruction in Mathew 23, is regarding the use of titles giving distinct instruction to their use within the called-out Assembly of God. It was instruction meant to remind us that we are all slaves/servants of one another and of the lord Jesus and Yehovah. It was not saying that we shouldn't call our primary care physician "Doctor Smith", or that we couldn't call our natural parent’s father or mother. Jesus frames his instruction distinctly to avoid the development of a hierarchy in the called-out Assembly.

While Jesus never addressed the use of the titles such as Reverend, or Pastor, or Prophet (and remember the 5-fold weren't given until after his ascension:

Ephesians 4:7-13: But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift. Therefore it says,

“When He ascended on high,

He led captive the captives,
And He gave gifts to people.”

(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that he also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints [holy ones] for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of the Messiah; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the [f]knowledge of the son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of the Messiah.

It is important we keep in mind the spirit of His instruction. We are here to serve one another - we are all servants/slaves. Indeed, in him we are new creations who are slave of righteousness!

I remind myself often that as a slave of the lord Messiah and Yehovah they are my masters and as such will provide shelter, food and clothing, basically all that I need to serve them physically. On top of that they empower me with their spirit to be enabled to carry out all they instruct me to do for them! What and amazing God and Father and elder brother we have; in Yehovah and His son Jesus, His anointed one. Amazing grace that has saved a wretch like me!