I Want My 50 Cubits!

By Lance Bledsoe

I recently engaged in an email discussion that began with a question about what exactly it means for a pastor to have authority. And where did this authority come from anyway?

Authority appears to have more than one form, and we began discussing a form called “spiritual authority.” This is important because – for example – one doesn’t generally have a lot of say in whether one will submit to “civil authority.” If you are convicted of breaking a law that a government has enacted, you’re probably going to suffer the consequences whether you like it or not, since governments generally have courts and jails and police to make sure of it. You do, however, have a say in whether you will submit to the spiritual authority of a particular person (e.g., pastor) or group (e.g., church or denomination). My contention is that ultimately I decide what people (or groups, or documents, etc.) will have spiritual authority over me, and how much authority they will have. Regarding pastors in particular, in any given local church the pastor may have some degree of authority over the congregation, but that pastor has authority because the people give it to him/her.

(Brief parenthetical diversion: It was at this point in the discussion that it was suggested that there might not in fact be some “biblical allotment of authority” conferred on certain people. I was so enamored of the idea of an authority allotment that I began joking that we should measure it in drachmas; it was later agreed that cubits would be a better unit of measurement.)

Spiritual authority is related to but distinct from “leadership.” In my mind, leadership is a gift (in this context, a spiritual gift) that some people have been given. Whether or how someone uses their gift is up to that person. It's also true that whether a person chooses to follow a particular leader is up to the follower, but the leader has the gift regardless. Authority, on the other hand, is primarily determined by the follower. If you decide you’re going to follow someone (e.g., listen to their advice, follow their instruction, etc.) then you have given that person some degree of authority over you. And if you decide you’re not going to follow, then that person has no authority over you.

Even Jesus was forced to suffer the sometimes annoying ability of others to deny his authority over their lives. In Mark 6, after performing some pretty impressive miracles (including raising a little girl from the dead) Jesus went to his hometown to teach in the synagogue but, “They took offense at him… He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” It seems to me that in this case “lack of faith” is closely related to an unwillingness to recognize Jesus’ authority. While some of us might consider the healing of a few sick people to be pretty miraculous, it kind of makes you wonder what Jesus could have done in these people’s lives if they had actually recognized and acknowledged his authority.