The concept of authority has fallen on hard times lately. A popular steakhouse slogan sums up the spirit of the age pretty well: "No rules, just right." Maybe closer to the mark would be "No rules, just rights." Privileged autonomy—it's what culture tells us to want, and it's what consumerism sells us…for a modest fee, of course.

When it comes to the church, most American evangelicals do not view it as a place where you submit to the leadership for the purpose of growth and accountability, but rather as a store where you shop as a consumer. If you like the place and it services your needs, you come back. If another place down the road offers a more pleasant experience, you move your business there. Thus pastors who are trying to market their churches don’t dare say anything that might offend or upset the customers. The customer is king. You want to please your customers. With this consumer view about the church, the idea of spiritual authority seems odd and out of place.

The concept of spiritual authority scares us because so many of us have seen authority grossly abused—even in the church.  Wackos like Jim Jones, the cult leader who killed over 900 followers back in the 1970’s leave a bad taste for spiritual authority in our mouths.  Even in less extreme situations many Christians in leadership abuse the authority entrusted to them.

Not surprisingly, we are all the more reluctant to trust people with the responsibilities of leading and exercising discernment among the flock of God.  As a result, the foundational concepts of leadership and authority have taken a near fatal hit in the church—and understandably so.  Yet it is not excusably so.  It is good for us to recognize that the Bible presents authority and leadership in the church as good things, even necessary things. 

When exercised rightly, authority can greatly promote spiritual health and growth in the local church.  But when authority is exercised wrongly, it can damage spiritual health. And when authority is not exercised at all, it can lead to the dangerous confusion of God's flock and the weakening of the church. Clearly there is a need for a biblical understanding of church leadership.  This is the final vital sign of a healthy church that we will be exploring. 

The author of Hebrews writes that we should "obey [our] leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over [our] souls as those who will give an account.  Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for [us]" (Heb 13:17).  We need to remember that biblical authority rightly exercised in joy is actually "profitable" for those being led.  But perhaps even more importantly, we need to remember that our views on authority and leadership in the church need to be shaped and molded not by cultural influences or subjective personal experiences, but rather by the objective standard of Scripture.