photo #8695959

THE MYTH OF PASTORAL AUTHORITY I recall a certain deacon who once said that he would commit suicide, if his popular pastor asked him do do it. This sick mentality comes from a vain tradition in IFB circles known as "pastoral authority." The only authority that a pastor has in the Bible is the final authority of God's word, which means THE WORD is the authority, not the preacher. The preacher simply preaches and teaches the word so everyone can know what God's authority says. Apart from the word of God, no preacher has any authority whatsoever, so no preacher has the authority to give any order that isn't in line with scripture. Preachers who tell people personal things like where to go to school, who to marry, how much Bible to read, how long to pray and how many souls to win are guilty of usurping GOD'S authority and deserve only to be ignored. Hebrews 13:7 is clear about this by associating the preacher's "rule" with the word of God itself: "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation." The preacher rules only in the sense of making the word of God known and obeying it. In II Timothy 2:12, Paul associates authority with the teaching of God's word, not merely holding a position. Sure, the pastor leads the church, but only in accordance with scripture. Apart from the word, there is no pastoral authority.