Paula

I’m somebody’s mom, so I’ll take a shot. 🙂

I think that if someone was trained directly by Jesus or was a first-generation disciple of one who was, that person has a unique authority to speak for Him. This is one reason why I consider the canon of scripture closed. But mainly, it means that no one else has authority, including any and every “pastor” there ever was. For this reason I believe that the argument over “authoritative teaching” is fundamentally flawed. The authority and power is all in the words inspired by God, not the vessels appointed to pass on the words.