A QUESTION OF AUTHORITY

A friend of mine reminded me the other day of an incident that occurred on campus when I was in Bible college 37 years ago. In reaction against a host of perceived ineptitudes on the part of the faculty and board of administration, and in keeping with the mood of the culture at that time, unrest was gaining a foothold in the student body. Classroom discussions were confrontational and petitions were being circulated.

In reaction to this brewing storm, a high powered guest speaker was brought into a chapel service to deliver a message on the topic "God's Chain of Command". With stridency and intimidation this member of the administrative board, who also happened to be a pastor of a large church, made the case that he and those in charge of the school were in authority by divine assignment and to question their authority was to question God. Several years later this same guy refused to comply with a denominational policy he didn't agree with and quit the denomination and had himself decalred to be an anointed apostle. So much for God's chain of command.

I have learned through some painful experiences that when we flex our authority muscles and employ enforcement tactics to coerce others into compliance, we usually do so out of insecurity and a need for control. Seldom if ever is that the approach God prefers. Human leaders are too human to be trusted with absolute authority. That is precisely why Jesus told his disciples that in his kingdom he resists any sort of lording it over others. Greatness in his world is reserved for those who humbly serve rather than for those who think they must be in charge. I've quoted it before but it bears repeating, "Relationships of domination are forbidden in the kingdom of God" (Jerry Cook).

For people to work together in any organized way toward the accomplishment of an objective there have to be certain agreed upon guidelines to maintain order and some way to resolve problems that arise. I get that. What we should avoid at all cost, however, is allowing anyone to station themselves between us and God as if in matters of personal faith they have the final word. Theologian Paul Tillich said it well back in 1962: "I don't give any human being, be it pope, or preacher, or professor of theology the right to tell me how my faith shall express itself." When it comes to my personal relationship with my Creator, there is no human chain of command.

C'mon Church Leaders, Guide Us Out of the Gloomies

Anyone who has followed my writings the past couple of years is aware that I am not optimistic about the future of the dominant expression of Christianity in America today. I fully expect denominational/institutional Christianity to follow the same course it has in Europe where it has largely become a relic of the past. That is not to say, however, that I think the message and way of Jesus Christ are in any sense in decline. To the contrary, I've never been more encouraged than I am right now with their future prospects.

There are a number of reasons for my hope. Among them are:
1) Widespread rejection of the political power seeking form of Christianity that sought to impose selected morality through legislative influence. The Moral Majority mentality has been a disaster and a distraction from serious Christ-following.
2) Emancipation of whole hearted God seeking from clergy and creed dominated forms. People everywhere are discovering God and his heart for compassion, justice and peace apart from excluding and controlling authority structures.
3) Serious and respected scholars and leaders who are rejecting gloomy doctrines that cultivate fear, cause people to cluster at the exit and assume most human beings are going to hell are gaining in number. Not because they are participating in some sinister plot to undermine God's truth, but because God's truth is setting us free just as Jesus said it would. Old superstitions and people regulating ploys can't stand up to enlightened scrutiny, as I indicated in my previous blog.

What I find myself longing for are established leaders who will be courageous enough to break ranks from the status quo and give voice to their attraction to and sympathy for the fresh ways God is working today. If even one or two significant institutional leaders would be willing to sacrifice role security for the sake of the greater good and declare the misguidedness of some of the old mindsets, I believe it would embolden many to break out into the light. It is long overdue for maintainers of the established to give way to the inevitable progress of the emerging.

C'mon church leaders, guide us out of the old gloomy perspectives of the past. How about some good news for a change--Christ's really good news.