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The Congregational Context of Church Leadership
Perspectives in Tension
There is a healthy tension to authority relationships in
the church. The Bible's perspective of Church leadership involves a little
recognized but important tension that we need to preserve in our local churches.
It is the tension between the authority of the leaders (or elders) and the
authority of the congregation.
Leaders have real authority. As we have already seen
from Hebrews 13:17, the leaders or elders of the local church do have a God-given
authority to which the congregation is called to happily submit. Leaders
exercise this authority for the good, provision and protection of the congregation.
The congregation has real authority. It is also true
that the Bible presents the local congregation as having the final say in
matters of dispute, doctrine, discipline, and membership. The congregation
exercises this authority for the maintenance of the Body's health and for
the accountability of the elders.
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