Thoughts About People in Authority

It is true that God is My Lord and Saviour. He is Supreme and Ruler of all. There is no higher authority. It is also true that God has put people in my life to keep me accountable. As I was growing up, I had parents. To this day, I still give honor and respect to my mother (my father transitioned into heaven last year). I consider carefully the words in Ex 20.12, Eph 6.2, and many other scriptures relating to my attitude towards my parents. In school, I had educators that I needed to honor. It was their authority that guided my learning. I have worked for bosses and I know people who are self-employed who work for customers. (See Eph 6.5). There is civil authority; government authority that the Scripture tells us to obey (See Rom 13.1,2). I don't know of many Christians who would disagree that these authority figures in our lives are to be honored as long as they don't go against God's laws. God Himself remains the ultimate authority.

It is easy to see how each of these authorities are designated by God. I am born to parents. I had no say in who my teachers were to be. Although I vote for my civil authorities, I often do not get who I vote for.

Church authority seems to fall into a different category. Some go to whatever church they want. And when the pastor or leadership say or do something they disagree with, it's time to move on. In other words, Church Authority is not really authority at all. For a pastor to keep a church together, he will have to be popular with everyone and never offend anyone. I disagree.

For me, I carefully consider what church I am to attend. For this, I turn to God. I believe the same God that cares for my soul, designates parents, teachers, etc as authority in my life, will also direct me to a church that will best fit my spiritual needs, including the need to serve others. Therefore, if God leads me to a church, I would assume that the leadership of that church is designated by God to have authority in my life. This is a somewhat terrifying thought and requires a great deal of trust. Often, I am directed by my authority (whether my employer, or pastor, or whoever) to do things or make changes in my life that I am uncomfortable with. This is not easy, even if God Himself is directing me from scripture to make an uncomfortable change. I have to ask myself, Did I really hear God when He directed me to this church? Is what I am instructed by the church against God's Word?

David, who is described as a man after God's own heart, would not harm King Saul, who was likely much worse in his leadership than many pastors who are critisized today. My uncle, who has worked with many church leadership teams, said that he noticed that if the people are faithful to God, then God will deal with the leadership.

For me, it is important to stay where I am, to listen carefully to the advice of my pastor, and to be faithful to the local church where God put me. If I hear or see something I don't agree with, I will, of course, go to the pastor in person, but will not be publically critical of him. I will pray for him and support him the best that I can. If God sent me to this church, with this pastor, it would be foolish of me to leave the church without a word from God.