Some Thoughts on Authority, Power and Church GovernmentRev. Brian M. Abshire

Recently, a hot topic on one of the Internet discussion groups to which I subscribe, concerned pastoral tyranny. Various allegations of malfeasance were hurled at pastors who “tyrannized” their congregations by requiring all sorts on “non-biblical” practices. Now the point was an important one, just what are the limits of pastoral authority? Sadly, the discussion never got very far; ultimately, the definition of pastoral “tyranny” was the pastor telling someone to do anything he didn’t want to do.

My desk is littered with letters, faxes and email messages from both pastors and laymen who have been badly used by their churches. But who’s abusing whom? For every charge made against a pastoral dictator, there are three examples of pastors being persecuted because they said the right thing, to the wrong person at the wrong time.

In broad evangelicalism, churches change pastors (and pastors change churches) with alarming frequency; the average tenure is about 2.5 years. Happily, in Presbyterian circles, the average is considerably longer, but even so, when the going gets tough, most pastors pack up and leave. Part of this is undoubtedly due to poor conflict and confrontation procedures. But there is also a sociological dynamic going on of which most people are woefully unaware.

Most Christians do not seem to grasp the basic difference between authority and power. Power is the ability to influence others’ behavior. A person has power when we think he can either help us or hurt us. A cop exercises power when he turns on that red light behind you. He can make you pull over. Why? Because otherwise, he’ll give you a ticket! That ticket costs money, and time, and may hurt your reputation. He has power because he can influence your behavior.

Authority on the other hand is the right to exercise power. If I put a little bubble-gum machine on my dash, pull up behind you and tell you to pull over, you don’t have to. I am not a police officer. I do not have the right to exercise power over you in this way.

Men can have power without authority (e.g. the mugger who shoves a pistol in your face and demands your wallet). Men can have authority without power (if you haven’t fought for your second amendment rights, you’re probably defenseless when the mugger jacks you up). But true Biblical leadership is a combination of both; lawful authority, properly used (you pull out your own weapon and shoot the mugger!).

All authority comes from God (Rms 13:1). He is the One who created, redeemed and sustains the universe. Everything belongs to Him. God delegates lawful authority to various institutions, specifically Church, State and Family as well as the power appropriate to each: the Family bears the rod, the State the sword, and the Church, the Keys to the Kingdom. The Law of God details very specifically both the duties and responsibilities of each lawful institution. Anarchy is the breakdown of authority in these institutions. Tyranny is the application of power outside of a sphere’s legitimate authority.

In regards to the church, pastors obviously have God given authority delegated to them for specific purposes. The have genuine authority (or the right) to preach the Word and administer the sacraments. In the Westminster Confession and early Books of Church Order, not just anyone could stand up and preach. Preaching, teaching and administering the sacraments are, at least in historic Presbyterianism, restricted to the minister.

However, while the pastor has the authority to preach the Word, does that give necessarily him power? Maybe and maybe not. Most Christians think pastors exercise far more power than they really do. They see him leading the service, preaching the word, distributing the sacraments, etc. and it sure looks as if he’s in charge. And most pastors would certainly like to think that their preaching influences people’s behavior. But does it really? First of all, what determines the content of the pastor’s sermons? Most Christians say they want a strong pastor, preaching strong messages, but that is not necessarily the case. People have certain expectations from a pastor. If he does not meet their expectation (whether those expectations are right or wrong), he’s in trouble. If people don’t like his preaching, they either leave his church, or they can make him leave. If he says the wrong thing (i.e., something people do not want to hear) he just might end up selling insurance!

Therefore pastors tend to stay away from anything controversial, they speak only in glittering generalities, and for heaven’s sake, don’t ever make a message actually applicable to someone. You see, if the sermons actually challenge people to change their behavior, then people will be uncomfortable. And if the pastor makes enough of them uncomfortable, well, they’ll find someone else to tell them just what they want to hear (cf. 2 Tim 4:3-4). I was told in one homiletics class in seminary, “People don’t come to church to feel bad.” Our job was to make people feel good about themselves. Hence, many, many sermons are essentially, tasteless, puerile collections of anecdotes and pious sentiments. Like predigested pap they go down easily and are just what a baby needs. And that just may go a long way to explaining the infantile behavior of so many Christians.

Therefore the pastor often has to walk a tightrope, especially if the congregation is in need of reformation. If he starts preaching about specific sins the Holy Spirit just might start convicting people. Granted, in a mature church filled with godly people, those saints will receive the Word with gladness and rejoice in God’s Law. But sadly, there does not seem to be a lot of those churches around today. Instead, when the Holy Spirit starts putting the pressure on, most congregations just get rid of the pastor!

There’s an old joke about a pastor who was preaching on the Ten Commandments. After each message, one old timer would say, “Preach it brother.” When the sermon series got to “Thou shalt not steal,” the pastor emphasized that dishonesty in business dealings was a violation of the eighth commandment. The old timer, known for his shady business deals grumbled, “You’ve stopped preaching and started meddling.”

No pastor of any integrity would ever refuse to preach a message just because he knew it would hit too close to home. Yet there is a subtle dynamic at work here. Pastors want to be liked and respected just like everyone else. If people are uncomfortable with what he preaches, there is a natural tendency to shy away from those subjects, especially if the pastor has no strong convictions on the issue. Sometimes there is a little “operant” conditioning going on, people positively reinforce preaching that makes them feel good, and negatively reinforce preaching that makes them feel bad. Trust me, any reasonable pastor can read body language while he’s preaching. He knows when people like what he’s saying. And he knows when they don’t. And the natural tendency for any pastor is to tell people what they like hearing.

Furthermore, the way we train our pastors almost guarantees that they can only preach in non-threatening generalities. After all, to make the Bible applicable, you have to understand not only sound doctrine and good homiletics, you have to have lived life. Most pastors have only a very superficial understanding of the real world. They’ve spent most of their lives in academic institutions that specialize in producing men great on theory, but lousy in application. How can they not preach in generalities?

Therefore, though pastors may look powerful, in reality, most influence people very little. He cannot influence people’s behavior unless he can (in God’s grace and by His Spirit) convince people to love and obey God’s Law. But if he’s not sure what the law requires, or how it applies, then he just doesn’t have anything worthwhile to say. And if he does not effectively teach, then he cannot lead. The average pastor is much like the average husband; he has the authority to lead, but doesn’t know what’s he’s expected to do or how to go about doing it. And just as the average American husband is led around the nose by his wife, too many pastors are willing to be led around by the whims of their congregations.

There’s a reason for this. A pastor is in a very tenuous position. If you don’t like a church, you can always leave (granted people shouldn’t leave a church for just any old reason, but I’m trying to make a point here). But if you leave your church (for whatever reason) you are not out of a job, and you are not putting your family or career at risk. However for a pastor, the Church is not only his church, but also his circle of friends and his livelihood. Yet many congregations think nothing of destroying a man’s whole life, career and family for the most ridiculous reasons. Nobody ever has to state it this baldly, but every pastor knows that if he ticks off the wrong people, he could find himself on the street, maybe with a pregnant wife and hungry children, no income and no salable skills.

Thus, many pastors soon learn to be very careful in what they say and how they say it. Generalities are safe. Controversial opinions are best kept to one’s self. Therefore unless he’s that rare sort who is motivated purely by duty, honor and courage, most pastor’s will not generally preach very provocatively. He will tell people only what they already know. He’ll stay away from things that might get him in trouble. And of course, these kinds of messages will not challenge anyone. And consequently, the congregation will not grow in wisdom, knowledge and discernment. Therefore, he has precious little impact on their lives. Meanwhile, the Church can get on with the serious business of building a nice sanctuary, developing cutzie little programs and holding hands for Jesus. You see, the pastor may have the authority, but someone else has the power. He knows it, and they know it.

In most established churches, a few people behind the scenes usually exercise the real power. They may or may not hold formal office. But everyone knows who they are. These people, by virtue of their tenure, or giving, or position in secular society (or just willingness to step in and do things), run the church. I well remember the first church I ever served. I was talking to the man in charge of the physical plant about where to move some office furniture when he said, “Oh, I have to call George and ask him about that.” George at that time held no official position in the Church (the constitution clearly defined term limits and he couldn’t lawfully serve in any leadership capacity that year). Yet, no decision, no matter how trivial, could be made without George’s approval.

Interestingly, the real power is often not even held by the “Old Bulls” (the sociological term for the real power people in a church) but by their wives. In conservative churches, women are usually prohibited from positions of authority. But with the state of American manhood being what it is, men are often dominated by their wives. The wives run the church the same way they run their households. They don’t mind a male figurehead as long as they can pull the strings in the background. And pull them they do.

So here’s the situation, a pastor has the authority from God, but likely exercises little actual power. Real power in the Church is often held by those without authority. Furthermore, both the pastor and the men in titular positions, are often dominated by their wives. Now is it any wonder that the average evangelical Church is split, divided into factions, wars incessantly within itself? There can be no legitimate use of power without legitimate authority. Those who have the authority don’t have the power. Those with the power don’t have the authority. The Church then operates like a banana republic, with the same predictable results.

What happens if a pastor starts using his authority and preaches powerfully? He makes people uncomfortable. He challenges the status quo. He wants things done differently than we’ve ever done them. Maybe even God blesses the ministry and new people start coming to the church (which upsets the traditional balance of power). And the people with power, do not want to give it up. So civil war erupts. The power people may decide to get rid of the pastor. They slander him behind his back, they complain about him, they make snide remarks about his gifts, they magnify his every mistake. They have “prayer” sessions where every aspect of his ministry, life and character are gone over in excruciating detail. (If the church is weird enough, they do a background investigation through the police department; you think I’m kidding?). They seldom bring actual charges in church courts, since unsubstantiated allegations might backfire. But they do put enough pressure on the pastor so that eventually, he decides God is calling him somewhere else. And one of the most tenacious of the unsubstantiated charges is that they pastor is a “tyrant.” He is abusive. He insists on preaching and teaching God’s Word.

Now all the above is not to ignore the little tin gods that run some churches. There are pastors who see their churches as petty fiefdoms. I have known several men who would fit the title of “tyrant.” They went beyond the scope of a pastor’s ministry and tried to run people’s lives and families. Not satisfied with teaching God’s law, they then tried to make sure that nobody in the church could do anything without their permission. Yet each of these men were eventually caught by their own neurotic need for power. Nutty people drive normal people away. Thus these men usually were either driven from the churches, or so reduced the congregation that only a dedicated elite of fanatics were left.

In this age, nobody is committed much to anything. If a pastor insists on playing God, “We’re the only true church…” etc. then it is unlikely that the church will ever grow much beyond a very few, weak minded people. While the souls of those poor few are in danger, the damage such a pastor can do is limited. Granted, occasionally there arises a man with the gifts, personality, charisma etc., that allows him to mislead a great number of people. But such men are rare. This is the Age of Democracy where truth is determined by counting noses! Whatever the majority want, must be right. Therefore whoever controls the congregation, controls the church. And thus, the real tyrants are the power people behind the scenes. They are the ones dangerous to the health, purity and peace of the Church, just because they are often not recognized for what they are.

How do we handle tyranny of either sort? Reformation of the Church starts in reforming the home. One of the most fundamental requirements for an elder is that he must be able to manage his own household well (1 Tim 3:4). If we have weak men in the home, we will have weak men in the church. And if we have weak men as elders, pastors, etc., then the Church will flounder. Weak men leave a power vacuum, a vacuum that will soon be filled by someone. Therefore, the first hedge against tyranny is that Christian marriages and families must be reconstructed along God’s Law. When men assume their authority in the home, and lovingly, self sacrificially, exercise that authority over their wives and children, then the church will have a pool of godly men it can draw on for leadership. If women don’t respect their husbands, they won’t respect their pastor. Thus family worship is not just a nice thing that Christians should do, but an absolutely critical discipline for every family. Men who take their families daily into the word of God, teaching them, praying for them, leading them, are completing basic training for dominion. Churches that do not emphasize family worship are setting themselves up for disaster.

Secondly, there needs to be accountability. OK, I admit it; I am a convinced Presbyterian (and presbyteries can become their own little tyrannies, but that’s a different issue for a different article). But regardless of what one’s thoughts on church polity, church courts are a fundamental requirement for any healthy church. First Corinthians 6:1ff commands us to have ways of arbitrating disputes. Of course, just having such courts does not mean that they are properly used (church courts are only as good as the men in them). But if you don’t even have a court system, you’re lost before you’ve begun.

There must be courts above the local congregation. I don’t care what you call them, but you’ve got to have them. A neutral court takes power out of the hands of the power brokers. Justice is no longer dependent upon the whims of one local congregation, or the “Old Bulls” who pull the strings in the background. If someone is a convinced Baptist, then enter into a covenant with other Baptist churches for the sake of arbitrating disputes. You don’t have to give up any of your own rights or privileges, just agree that when a problem comes up that cannot be resolved at the local level, you’ll go to other Christians to settle them (1 Cor 6:5). Set up impartial tribunals just to adjudicate disputes. Make it a requirement of church membership to voluntarily submit to the adjudication of such courts. But if we ever want to break the power of the “Old Bulls,” we have to learn how to submit to one another.

Then, we have to use Biblical principles of conflict and confrontation. Pastors need to study the Law in regards to resolving problems Biblically. Presbyterians call their session, presbytery and general assembly “courts” for a good reason. Adjudication is a primary function of authority. A father must adjudicate disputes between his children. A church must adjudicate disputes between members. Too often, as Dr. Rushdoony points out, the elders think it their job to judge the pastor. But they are a congregation’s first court of appeals. When problems come up that people cannot handle between themselves, then the session, elder board or whatever, must be willing to get in there and resolve those problems. It is the gutless, weak minded refusal of elders (including pastors) to take a stand that allows petty complaints to grow into disastrous church splits.

But if the pastor does not understand these things himself, if he has not instructed his congregation, admonished them, trained them, warned them, etc. then the people will not know what to do. Pastors need to stop preaching sentimental slush and teach God’s people God’s Law. He needs to lovingly confront, rebuke, and correct those who are in disobedience. And the first place to begin is teaching the men how to be MEN, at home, first. Get them ruling their families with wisdom, grace, compassion, justice and love, and they will be fit to rule God’s church as well.

Granted, if a pastor takes such a stand, most churches will not want him. But is that so bad? I made a decision after years of dealing with the kind of nonsense we’ve been discussing that has saved my family, and my ministry incalculable grief. I’d rather pastor a small church of fifty, where I can preach the Word, where the saints welcome the Word, where the elders apply the Word then a church of five thousand and play the mindless power games noted above. And God is sovereign. He will bless obedience. A man willing to take a stand, and fight for truth will find others of a like mind. I want to be obedient to God, and I will only pastor a congregation that wants to be obedient to God. By God’s grace, I now have such a congregation. The others are just not worth the pain.

More of course needs to be done. But applying the Law is the only way to bring order out of chaos. God give us pastors willing to stand up and be counted. God give us godly men who can run their homes. And God give us grace until we get this mess sorted out.