Cheryl Schatz

The way I see it is that authority is in the gift and in the giver therefore it is God who is the authority and not man. Authority is given to use our gifts for the benefit of the body, not for lording over the body or forcing the body to fall under us.

I think we see this when we look at the scriptures where we see the entire body making decisions instead of one man.

Act 6:2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.
Act 6:5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

It was the whole congregation who were summoned by the apostles to make a decision and it was the whole congregation who chose men to do the work on their behalf.

We can also see that authority could have been asserted, the apostles chose to not lord it over the body of Christ.

1Thess 2:5 For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed–God is witness–
1Thess 2:6 nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.

I also see presbyteros as non-hierarchcial since those who were to be great among the congregation were to be servants of all. How can there be hierarchy when one is acting as a servant? It doesn’t make sense to me as a hierarchy.

What I do see is the leaders going underneath the flock and lifting them up. It is an upside down model where the leadership is underneath not on top. It is lifting one up not putting one down underneath yourself. It is the example of Jesus who did not use his authority to put people underneath him when he was here on the earth.

When leadership starts thinking of hierarchy they run into major problems. All of a sudden the sheep become their sheep and are there to serve them. When a leader starts to think that the sheep are there to serve them, it is very easy to slip into an abusive model.

The way I see it is that I have authority to use my gift of teaching and I use it wherever and whenever I can. Yet I do not have the authority to force people to listen to me. It is only when people submit to learn from me that my gifts can be fully used. The power is in the hands of the body of Christ, not in me or in any other leader. I believe this is why submission is so important. I also believe this is why submission is emphasized and taking authority over people is never given as a solution in the scripture. When we submit to the gifts of the body, we will grow and be in unity with others who have what we need.

Does this make sense?