Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom (1993), “Why Called Pastor (box)”
“In view of the pastoral work that he was doing under the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ, certain congregations acknowledged by vote that he was their pastor. It was not a self-assumed title. The first group to vote him their pastor was the congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1882. Thereafter, he was voted pastor by some 500 other congregations, in the United States and Britain. ... Today, Christian elders among Jehovah's Witnesses are not elected by local congregations but are appointed by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. Care is also exercised not to use expressions such as “pastor” or “elder” as titles.”
A box answering the frequent criticism that Russell styled himself “Pastor” without ordination. The organisation's answer is that congregations conferred it; the box does not address ordination.
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Provenance and verification note for Jehovah's Witnesses—Proclaimers of God's Kingdom (1993), Why Called Pastor (box)
Confidence note. Opened on the Watchtower Online Library; the box is labelled “[Box on page 54]” in the document, which sits in chapter 5 (jv chap. 5 p. 42 – p. 60).
Corroborated by. src-ctr-ad-1915-0507-russell-v-eagle
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-ctr-jv-1993-p54-why-pastor