Introduction
It is astonishing how many of us have seen authority so grossly
abused. It is even more appalling how many of us have seen authority grossly
abused in the church. From uncorrectable pastors to autocratic leadership
styles to deplorable sex scandals, most of us have at one time or another
been sent reeling by the incongruity between verbal profession and practical
lifestyle in the examples of our most trusted spiritual leaders. Not surprisingly,
we are all the more reticent to trust people with the responsibilities of
leading and exercising discernment among the flock of God. As a result, the
foundational concepts of leadership and authority have taken a near fatal
hit in the church - and understandably so.
Yet it is not excusably so. It is well for us to recognize that the Bible presents authority and leadership in the church as good things, even necessary things - things that, when exercised rightly, greatly promote spiritual health and growth in the local church; things that, when exercised wrongly, damage spiritual health; things that, when not exercised at all, lead to the dangerous confusion of God's flock, the weakening attrition of the church, and the debilitating atrophy of Christ's body. The author of Hebrews writes that we should "obey [our] leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over [our] souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for [us]" (Heb 13:17). We need to remember that biblical authority rightly exercised in joy is actually "profitable" for those being led. But perhaps even more importantly, we need to remember that, no matter how deplorable the practical leadership of the church becomes in any given age or area, our Christian views on authority and leadership in the church need to be shaped and molded not by our subjective personal experiences, or by the poor execution of biblical principles by our leaders, but rather by the objective standard of the Scriptural text. We find ourselves in need of having our experientially shaped ideas and even prejudices about church authority and leadership rehabilitated - even overhauled - by a return to the biblical moorings and models of Christian leadership. Well - no time like the present, right?
