Kristen

“I guess where I am going is, if we believe there are some similarities between husbands and wives and Christ and the Church (which is scriptural), then what do we do with authority if CHrist exercises authority over the church?”

We have to stick with the metaphor that Paul gave: the husband is “head” of the wife as Christ is “head” of the church. That means that the husband as “head” cannot be different towards his wife than what Christ is towards the church as its “head.” It does NOT mean the husband can take on other roles of Christ towards the church than “head.”
Christ is “Lord” of the church (which definitely entails authority), but “head” as used in Ephesians is not synonymous with “lord.” Christ is the Object of worship of the church– but “head” as used in Ephesians is not synonymous with “object of worship.” Husbands must not appropriate other roles than “head” when it comes to their wives– and Ephesians itself identifies what “head” means. It has to do with being the source of growth and provision (as per Eph. 4). It has to do with going down to the church’s level and raising her up to be “seated” with Him above all other things (per Eph. 1). But “head” as used throughout Ephesians is simply not about an authority-subordinate relationship. “Lord” has that meaning, but husbands are never told they are “lord” of their wives.
As far as I can see, the issue is not that Christ is not in authority over the church. The issue is that being “head” is not about authority.