Authority in the Church
We live in a culture that displays an increasing contempt for authority of all kinds. Contemporary ideas and attitudes are light years away from what the bible has to say. In these stories we learn that God’s plan for leadership in the church is not that one individual should dominate the next—autocracy. Nor is it one man, one vote—democracy. It is certainly not ‘every man for himself’—anarchy.
Instead the biblical pattern is ‘servant leadership’—a plurality of godly men responsible ‘for’ not ‘to’ the congregation. This is not a matter of marginal importance. The church cannot and does not make progress beyond the spiritual maturity and sensitivity of its leaders.
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We live in a culture that displays an increasing contempt for authority of all kinds. Contemporary ideas and attitudes are light years away from what the bible has to say. In these stories we learn that God’s plan for leadership in the church is not that one individual should dominate the next—autocracy. Nor is it one man, one vote—democracy. It is certainly not ‘every man for himself’—anarchy.
Instead the biblical pattern is ‘servant leadership’—a plurality of godly men responsible ‘for’ not ‘to’ the congregation. This is not a matter of marginal importance. The church cannot and does not make progress beyond the spiritual maturity and sensitivity of its leaders.