Who’s the boss? Submitting to authority in ministry
I am aware that the subject covered in this article might bring up very difficult memories for some readers or may be hard to hear given your current situation. My aim in writing this article was to think through the subject of submitting to authority in ministry primarily from a positive perspective. I want to encourage us to entrust ourselves to God and submit to those in authority over us as God’s word instructs us. The reality of a world deeply affected by sin is that there are many ways in which church leadership can be distorted and can indeed bring harm not good. This saddens me greatly and I feel deep concern for those who have been impacted or harmed under these circumstances. Ongoing ungodly or even abusive leadership is not to be tolerated and it is right that people should seek a way out from under that kind of authority – ideally, this would also involve reporting your experience to the appropriate authorities. God is our loving Shepherd who takes us even through these dark valleys and will bring us to dwell in his house forever.
Who’s the boss? As one of the great theologians of our day Colin Buchanan says: Jesus is the boss! It’s not me or you or my husband or your husband, it’s Jesus. We are members of His church bought with His own blood. Any human ministry authority sits under the rule of our loving Saviour.
What’s been your experience of church leadership? Perhaps you have experienced only godly, faithful and loving ministry leaders thus far. Or perhaps you know all too well the difficulties that can exist in this area of church life. Personally, I’ve had a range of experiences over the last 19 years. During this time I have either been in paid ministry or been married to someone in paid ministry. Here are some real situations that we’ve faced.
My husband was away at the staff planning conference when he received the news of a family emergency. He left the conference early to travel to Brisbane and thankfully the situation was resolved. The senior minister on this occasion was so supportive. He kept in touch with Matthew while he was away, he got in touch with me to see how I was doing and there was no resentment from him that Matthew had to miss such an important planning time. He used his authority to serve.
I heard one man in authority at my church, in a speech to the entire congregation when announcing the resignation of an assistant minister, equate the resignation to losing a pet dog: when you lose one, the best way to get over it is to buy another one. The leader in this case showed little empathy or understanding of the situation. How should I respond to this man who had pastoral oversight of me?
I remember being in a mixed bible study group with a male leader, who wasn’t my husband, he was not in the group at all. This man was well-intentioned and learning fast but there were a couple of studies where I really disagreed with the way he was teaching the Bible. How should I respond? What can I say in the group? How do I respect and encourage his leadership when he’s got the bible wrong?
So how does it actually work in every day situations of difficulty or conflict with those who teach or lead us in our churches? How should we respond as women, ministry wives and as congregation members? How do we submit to the God given authority of teachers of God’s word and leaders of God’s people who are sinners like you and me?
1. Choose the Right Goal - Submit to God
Peter was familiar with the experience of submission in this context. He writes to believers who are facing the prospect of unjust treatment. These verses from 1 Peter come in the middle of a sustained section on authority and submission. They show us what it looked like for Jesus to submit to his Father in heaven. This helps us know how to submit to God.
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter 2:21-25 NIV
Jesus bore our sins to make us righteous, his death heals our wounds. The main purpose of Jesus’ death was to return us to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. With this in mind and not to undermine Jesus’ death as payment for sin, Peter also points out that Jesus’ attitude in suffering and death is an example for us to follow, we should ‘follow in his steps’. Our life in Jesus will follow the same pattern as his life: suffering on the way to glory. We look to Jesus to find out how to do this.
In 1 Peter 2:23, Jesus ‘entrusted himself to him who judges justly’. In the face of extraordinary suffering and hardship, Jesus entrusted himself to God. He didn’t seize control or stand on his rights, he entrusted himself to the will of his Heavenly Father. He knew all along that he was carrying out the will of his Father and that this was the only way he could pay the penalty for our sin. He trusted that God would not abandon his dead body, but raise him from the grave.
We are to follow Jesus in the same way. As we submit to any God-given human authority we entrust ourselves to their leadership. But we are ultimately entrusting ourselves to God. What does this mean? It means that we are constantly aware of God’s loving and sovereign care of us even in the midst of great difficulty. It means that we don’t give in to selfishness and sin when things get tough. It means that we guard our hearts against bitterness and resentment as we deal with ungodly leaders. When we feel like there is no one to help us or to talk to we know for certain that our Heavenly Father hears us when we pray. It is putting our trust in God into practice each day.
Jesus has brought us back to the shepherd and overseer of our souls so we are able to live rightly in God’s world, submitting to him as our Lord and entrusting ourselves to those in authority over us. The right goal for us is submission to God.
2. Recognise Godly Ministry - Under the Great Shepherd
So, what kind of authority in ministry are we talking about? How do we recognise godly ministry or poor leadership? 1 Peter 5 gives a great summary of the Biblical picture.
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 1 Peter 5:1-4 NIV
It’s a fabulous picture here and a sobering one for anyone becoming an elder in the church. Ministry leaders are to be shepherds under the Chief Shepherd. They are to be gentle and concerned for each one in their flock. They are willing and eager to serve, not serving out of obligation or to lord it over people. Ministry for financial gain is not an option. As Jesus is an example for all Christians, so elders in God’s church are to be examples to their flock.
With this picture in mind, it sounds relatively easy to submit to authority in ministry, doesn’t it? It’s not always easy though. It can be hard to entrust ourselves to God - our loving and all powerful Heavenly Father. It can be hard to depend on Him for everything and to remember His goodness in hard times. How much more difficult is it then, to entrust ourselves to earthly authorities?
It needs to be remembered that even good human authority or leadership is not always exercised perfectly. Church leaders are not always willing to serve or motivated by love. Many exercise poor leadership at times, while others act in sinful ways towards those under their authority. Some want glory for themselves now, or take delight in lording it over those under their care. It is a great challenge to know how to respond to this kind of earthly authority.
When faced with the sad situation of ongoing ungodly church leadership we must remember that we are free to leave that situation. Entrusting ourselves to God in that context might mean making the very difficult decision to leave that ministry even though we don’t know what’s coming next for us and we might feel like we are abandoning those left behind. We might face uncertainty as a result of this kind of decision so need to remember that God is our Shepherd. Remembering too that our Christian brothers and sisters belong first and foremost to Jesus, not to a particular church, is really helpful in that situation and praying for God to hold on to them and us is sometimes all we can do.
We do, however, need to consider God’s word carefully in thinking about how to respond to the leaders God has placed over us even as we recognise that they are sinners like us. So, how are we to respond?
3. Imitate and Submit to your Leaders
There are two verses from Hebrews 13 that can help, as they are direct instructions to anyone as they relate to the ministry leaders over them.
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. ... Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
Hebrews 13:7 & 17
These verses call people to remember, consider and imitate and to obey and submit. The desired outcome is that the leaders will have joy in their work rather than feel it to be a burden. Interestingly it’s clear that if we cause trouble for our leaders and make their work burdensome that will have repercussions for us - it will be of no advantage to us.
If you or your husband is in ministry leadership or you have other such responsibilities, these verses should be sobering for us to read. If people will be looking to consider the outcome of our way of life as Christian families, we need to watch our lives and doctrine closely. If leaders must give an account of their work under God, it is a very serious matter indeed.
Great wisdom is required to model the godly Christian life to those under our care but also as we choose leaders to imitate ourselves. We need to keep in mind the pattern of Christian leadership given to us in 1 Peter 5 and remember, consider and imitate those who follow this pattern. We need discernment in choosing when and who to imitate.
As we seek to obey and submit to ministry leaders over us, we need to know that as ministry leaders or perhaps ministry wives we have a huge amount of influence whether we like it or not. People will watch us and follow our example. Our attitude to those in authority over us will be noted. We have the opportunity to do great good or great harm in this area. A cheerful attitude of obedience and submission to the leaders of our church will set a great example for others to follow.
Remember 3 things from God’s word.
1. Choose the right goal - submit to God
2. Recognise godly ministry - under the great Shepherd
3. Imitate and submit to your leaders
As we live this way we will have many opportunities to entrust ourselves to the care of our Heavenly Father probably for most of us in good situations and bad. Submitting to God will mean we seek to obey and submit to the ministry leaders He has given us. It will mean we keep reminding ourselves from the Scriptures of what godly ministry is, both so that we can imitate it ourselves and be models for others.
Belinda is married to Matthew. They have three children who are nearly all in high school. Matthew took up the position as Senior Minister at West Ryde Anglican Church last September where they now serve. Belinda enjoys getting to know women in the church and working out how to encourage them in following Jesus.
Written for Moore Women 14 May 2020, updated and edited for EBD July 2021