Kay

” In Matthew 23, Luke 22 and elsewhere. He taught his disciples about the temptations and abuse of power. Christ does not say that greatness does not exist: He says rather that our ideas about “greatness” are all wrong. The whole point of the authority which Christ commands is to be looking outside ourselves, just as the love to which we are commanded differs so fundamentally from the selfishness of worldly love.”

NN,
I’m still wondering how you make the leap from “greatness” to “authority”?

It seems to me that you are trying to hold two opposing views at the same time – one hand says Christ redefined “greatness” as serving others and the other hand says that serving is transformed back into “authority” over when done by male believers.

It seems like you are saying that male believers have been given “authority” to be servants. But Jesus doesn’t say that He is dispensing “authority” to “whoever wishes” or to male believers in particular. He simply says, “whoever.” What causes you to think that male believers need a particular authority to do what Christ says that “whoever wishes” may do?