“And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” (Col. 1:18). A good friend and sister in Christ raised an excellent question last week. “Are a church’s congregants subject to its leader’s totalitarian authority?” She had been reflecting on her somewhat difficult past in a denominational church where the “Pastor” required non-wavering obedience and acted like a “Lord” over “his people.”
Even a casual study of churches worldwide, especially some mega-churches, will reveal that issue as an ongoing, albeit unscriptural, reality. Men and women dominate the stage and act as if the role of leadership afforded them allows them to dictate absolutely everything to an often-unsuspecting following. Heb. 13:17 is then used to qualify their “god-like” status before a combination of adoring, hypnotized, or fearful congregants – “Obey your leaders and submit to them….” Thousands who are unfamiliar with the scriptures then credit the leader(s) with authority they do not have or deserve.
There is no doubt that a church needs a leadership structure, which will grow as the population increases in number, and there can also be no doubt that they deserve the respect the position entitles them to. But let’s be very clear, respect should never be blind loyalty, and if any minister starts to demand anything more than the scriptures allow, they (the congregation) should flee as fast as their feet allow them to. The preacher is not the boss; the elders are the bosses; the deacons are not the bosses; the teachers are not the bosses. And no leader is the head of the church. That title and all its authority are directed to Jesus Christ alone.
Leadership is a vital cog in the mechanism of obedience to the scriptures, and sound, humble leaders are a blessing to the scriptural health and accuracy of the church. Many scriptures like 1 Pet. 5:1-2 and 1 Thess. 5:12clearly indicate that church leadership is a requirement for successful growth, but there is not a single verse in the Bible that allows any leader to Lord over the people. In fact, the Bible demands quite the opposite in 1 Peter 5:3, “not domineering (lording) over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” When a leader sees himself as anything more than a humble, undeserving servant of Christ, his leadership is “null and void,” and he should be replaced.
What example is a leader who requires total allegiance to himself instead of the scriptures? Certainly not one that is trying to emulate the Master, Christ Jesus. His example was/is one of servanthood – Matt. 20:28, “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus paid for our loyalty with His perfect example and with His blood, not with His lofty position, which was given to him by the Father. Matt. 28:18, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” If the great “I Am” (John 8:58) did not take it upon Himself to dominate the sheep, what gives man the right to do so?
I am a pulpit minister, not a god. I do not own the “flock.” It is Christ’s flock who have been given into my care to lead away from destruction and toward salvation with doctrinally sound preaching and teaching. Elders, too, are to shepherd the flock with the love and care of Christ as they are clearly directed to do in verses like 1 Pet. 5:2, “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight….” Do not allow a leader to confer more than allowed to himself. And never believe for a second that he owns any part of you…he does not. Respect your church leaders, but do not sell your soul to them. They did not pay the price for it; Christ did – 1 Cor. 6:20, “for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Leave a Reply