Leadership in the Church

A remarkable fact, virtually unknown in the Christian community but well recognized by biblical historians such as Bart Ehrman, is the absence of any hierarchical structure in the government of the first century congregations. The first century apostles treated all of the members of the first century congregations as equals. Paul called himself a fellow-worker with the members of the Corinthian church, (1 Cor 3:9) and Peter specifically denied elders the privilege to exercise lordship over the members. (1 Pet 5:3) Leadership in the early churches was a function of example and practice, not authority. First century church leadership did not include lordship. Members were recognized by the congregation for their leadership skills rather than being groomed by authorities for ordained service. Authority is not associated with church leadership anywhere in the inspired Greek text of scripture.

Bible students frequently associate leadership with authority and assume church leaders held authority over the first century churches, but leadership does not always require authority. Even secular leaders do not always enjoy the privilege to command those they lead. The leader of my hike in the woods may be very capable and well trained, and he may have an intimate knowledge of the terrain where I will be hiking, but his training and knowledge grant him no authority over me at all. I would be wise to follow him very closely, but I am not under his authority. I am not bound to obey any particular command he might give me. Likewise, we often recognize members of the community for their examples of leadership, but such recognition does not grant them authority over the citizens of the community. The citizens may applaud the leaders’ actions, and the citizens may be encouraged to follow their lead, but no one in the community is placed under a community leader’s authority simply because that person exhibited leadership in the community. Leadership cannot always be equated with authority.

Scripture specifically tells us leaders existed in the first century congregations, (Heb 13:17, Greek text) but we may not automatically assume those leaders were authorities. We may not assume church leaders possess authority over a congregation unless God has specifically granted leaders the privilege of authority in the Bible. The Bible implies all authority has been given to Jesus Christ in heaven and in earth, (Matt 28:18) but the Bible does not specifically say Jesus delegated any of His authority to the apostles. The apostles are not directly associated with authority anywhere in scripture.

Believers who come from Christian families and are reared in organized churches may naturally assume that the authoritative leadership found in contemporary churches accurately reflects the way the first century churches were led. They may assume that a church should be governed the same way a corporation is governed, and they may assume the authority church leaders hold today is based on scripture. Sadly, none of these assumptions is true.

I have even met some churchgoers who think the Bible was originally inspired in English and that the scriptures we read are inerrant. Neither of these is true either. The words of the Old Testament were originally inspired to be written in ancient Hebrew, and the New Testament books of the Bible were written in Koine Greek. Every English Bible we read is a translation of the original texts. One may assume the original texts were inerrant, but not a translation. Any time the original texts are interpreted by a man or a group of men, they are no longer the same and, therefore, no longer inerrant. Inerrancy is impossible in respect to a translation.

Perhaps we can better appreciate the apostle Peter’s concern for translations, when he admonished the scattered Jewish brethren under his leadership to avoid private interpretations of scripture. (2 Pet 1:20) Translation naturally results in an interpretation, because the exact thoughts the author expressed in the original language can never be precisely conveyed in another language. Peter, in fact, warned the recipients of his epistle to avoid translations. Peter wrote to Hebrew brethren who were scattered around Asia Minor, and some of them were becoming used to speaking and reading Greek. Scholars had even produced a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, and the Septuagint was gaining popularity among Jews who could no longer read Hebrew. Peter was encouraging the brethren to retain their ability to read their ancient language, so they would always have direct access to the inspired thoughts God preserved in Hebrew, even though Greek had become the first language of many Jews. We may apply the same principle to the New Testament scriptures, which God inspired to be written in Koine Greek. God strongly implies through Peter that later generations of believers should continue to read and understand the Greek language, so every believer would always have direct access to the words God inspired for His Church.

The issues surrounding church leadership have forced me to study and become familiar with the inspired Greek text of the New Testament, so I can have direct access to what the apostles wrote. A casual Bible student can infer authority for church leaders from several texts of our English Bibles, but there is only one direct reference there, and there are absolutely no references to authoritative church leadership, either direct or implied, in the Greek text of the New Testament. Every reference to authority in church leadership is imputed by translation.

Remarkably, the Greek text of the Bible contains no such word as authority, but the Greek word exousia is usually the Greek word behind the authority we see in English Bibles, and it is the only Greek word which has the ability to indicate hierarchical authority in scripture. Strong’s Greek Dictionary defines exousia.

NT:1849
exousia (ex-oo-see'-ah); from NT:1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, i.e. (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence:

Exousia means “privilege,” not necessarily authority. Although it may indicate authority, it cannot always be correctly translated as authority, because the context always determines the nature of the privilege granted to an individual. The exact English meaning of exousia in any given passage is entirely contextually discerned. The hierarchical concept of authority, as we use it in twenty-first century American culture, did not exist in a single word in first century Greek culture, although exousia is the central concept which may designate authority as we understand it, particularly if the privilege is associated with certain prepositions such as hupo, under, or huper, over.

Only one verse directly imputes exousia to church members in our English Bibles. The Greek word exousia appears in an analogy Jesus gave His disciples to encourage them to diligently work and watch while He was away. In the analogy, the man taking a journey gave “privilege” to his slaves. The KJV translators assumed that the stated privilege implied authority. They assumed that slaves can hold authority!

"For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority [privilege, literal Greek] (NT:1849) to his [slaves], and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch." 

(Mark 13:34)

The Greek word is “privilege,” not authority. This analogy plainly states that Jesus gave privilege to His slaves, i.e., believers, but the nature of the privilege is not specifically stated. If we assume the stated privilege means authority, we could conclude from this rather ambiguous general statement that all believers hold authority, but such an interpretation would seem meaningless. A more reasonable interpretation might be that Jesus gave each slave a specific responsibility and granted each of them a certain privilege, which would allow them to fulfill their responsibility. Given the metaphoric nature of the context in which this “authority” appears and the general ambiguity of the passage, theologians rarely employ this verse to validate hierarchical leadership in churches. Such a conclusion definitely cannot be reached based on a scholarly understanding of exousia.

A thorough study of exousia is not possible in this short article, but such a study will reveal that a church leaders’ privilege over members of a church is conspicuously missing from the Bible. Scripture does not grant church leaders any privilege over the members, and it does not indicate that church members are under privilege as was the centurion in Luke 7:8, who obviously had authority over the soldiers under his command. The Greek word, exousia, is not used to define the relationship between church leaders and members anywhere in the Bible.

By far the most powerful single verse supporting ecclesiastical authority  appears in Hebrews 13:17, but it only appears in English Bibles. This verse is the cornerstone of hierarchical authority in churches. Whenever I have challenged any biblically knowledgeable individual on the subject of church authority, this verse is always the first scripture quoted to support the hierarchical structure found in all organized churches. Without this verse hierarchical church government looses any explicit validation, and church authorities are left with only implicit references, such as command and obey, to support the presence of human government in churches. There is no verse in scripture which promotes the concept of hierarchical authority more than Hebrews 13:17, at least in our English translations, but Strong's Greek Dictionary exposes the translation errors. Let's examine this verse in the New International Version (NIV).

"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." (Heb 13:17) (NIV)

Those who trust the NIV may be surprised to learn that the bolded phrase “to their authority” appears nowhere in the Greek text. Any quality Bible program will easily confirm that the word exousia does not appear here and, indeed, that no Greek words appear here to support this English phrase. The phrase “to their authority” has been arbitrarily inserted by the translators. At the very least the translators should have placed the phrase “to their authority” in italics. It has no textual support. The translators of the NIV preferred to embellish what the author of Hebrews wrote, and they introduced their own words into the text of scripture rather than faithfully translating the inspired text. There are no subtleties in the meanings of the other Greek words which might require the added phrase. The NIV translators simply added these words to the Bible.

We can now examine the controversial part of this verse in the King James translation. 

"Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves." (Heb 13:17) (KJV)

Notice that the KJV does not flagrantly insert authority into the text, but implies authority through the translation of the Greek word hegeomai, which the KJV renders "have the rule over." Consider Strong's definition of hegeomai.

NT:2233

hegeomai (hayg‑eh'‑om‑ahee); middle voice of a (presumed) strengthened form of NT:71; to lead, i.e. command (with official authority); figuratively, to deem, i.e. consider:

Hegeomai is a verb meaning “to lead.” It has nothing to do with rulership. It may imply authoritative leadership, if the person leading has authority, but any vested authority exists outside the meaning of hegeomai, and authority cannot be imputed to church leaders based on the word itself. Hegeomai should be translated “lead” in this verse, and translators should allow the context to determine whether or not the leader has any duly constituted authority. The Greek verb, hegeomai, appears here as a participle preceded by the plural form of the relative pronoun, so this phrase should read, "those leading you." Rulership is neither stated nor implied by the Greek text.

Notice that this verse is one of several verses which reveal that leaders existed in the first century churches. Leaders are very important for the welfare and safety of a congregation, but no leader in the Church of Heaven possesses authority, because no scripture grants authority to church leaders.

In addition to the “authority” imputed by the NIV and the “rulership” imputed by the KJV, you may notice that obedience has also been imputed by both translations. If a church member must obey a church leader, such a statement implicitly demands that the leaders were vested with authority. However, once again Strong’s Greek Dictionary exposes the true meaning of peitho, the Greek word underlying “obey.” 

NT:3982
peitho (pi'‑tho); a primary verb; to convince (by argument, true or false); by analogy, to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); reflexively or passively, to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty):

Peitho means to convince or persuade. Peitho has nothing to do with obedience. Remarkably, peitho is the root verb for the Greek noun meaning persuasion. Peitho should be translated “persuade” in most contexts, however, it occurs here in the passive imperative mood, so it must be translated “be persuaded” in this context. Under no circumstances does peitho even imply obey.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words also contributes considerable scholarly insight to the meaning of peitho by noting that “the ‘obedience’ suggested is not by submission to authority, but resulting from persuasion.” No scholarly work includes “obey” among its primary definitions of peitho.

We have now accumulated enough scholarly information to produce a literal translation of this controversial verse. The author of Hebrews directed his audience to “be persuaded by those leading you and submit yourselves.” God does not require members to obey anyone in the church anywhere in the inspired Greek text. Any obedience to church leaders implied in English Bibles is always imputed by translation. Many verses teach us to obey God, Jesus Christ, the gospel, the word and the faith, but the Greek text never teaches us to obey a church leader.

The correctly translated word "submit" is further evidence that no authority is implied by this verse. The mere presence of the concept of submission in this context indicates that the members of the church held the prerogative to submit to those who led them and that church leaders held no authority to demand obedience. If the leaders of a church had the authority to command the people, the Greek word for obey, hupakouo (NT:5219), would surely have been used, and there would have been no need to request submission.

Obedience and submission cannot apply to the same individual in the same context. Obedience is always a required response to an authority, but free agency is implicit in submission. Submission is only an option when a leader has no authority. We may obey or we may submit depending on the type of leadership, but we need not obey a suggestion, nor can we assume the prerogative to submit, or not, to a command. If an authority gives us a command, we have no choice but to obey, but, if we are only led by a church leader, we are free to be persuaded and submit, or not, depending upon how persuasive the leader might be. The hard reality of life is that human leaders make mistakes no matter how well intentioned they might be. God wisely inspired Hebrews 13:17 to insure that uneducated, unpersuasive or false leaders have no authority to shackle even a babe in Christ to their doctrines or directives.

Leaders of faithful congregations are placed in the church by God according to their calling and gifts of the Spirit, not by the recognition of men through ordination. Jesus specifically addressed the issue of authority in church leadership.

"But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the [rulers] of the Gentiles [lord against] them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. but it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your [servant]; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your [slave]: even as the Son of man came not to be [served], but to [serve], and to give his life a ransom for many." (Matt 20:25‑28, literal Greek in brackets)

Notice that Jesus directed the disciples, later apostles, not to BE like the rulers and the lords of the Gentiles. Since the apostles were the most respected men in the Church and Jesus denied them the right to BE authorities, church leaders today certainly should not BE authorities. The rulers of the world rule over their subjects, and authorities exercise dominion over their subjects. Gentile rulers and authorities are able to do what they do, because they have been granted the privilege to be who they are. They are rulers, and they are authorities. Jesus' direction states, "it shall not be so among you." Jesus' direction forbids church leaders to BE authorities.

Jesus specifically instructed the disciples not to be rulers and not to be authorities. If the disciples desired greatness, Jesus told them to become servants and slaves. His words condemn the mere thought of superiority. Jesus’ instruction strongly discourages any exaltation of church leaders and implies that a church leader should not strive to attain any position or title in his or her congregation. If Jesus did not allow the apostles to become rulers or authorities, our church leaders today should certainly not assume any position of authority. Peter, reflecting what Jesus had taught him, expressly denied authority to the leaders of the churches he served.

"Feed the flock of God which is among you, [watching over them], not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock." 

(1 Pet 5:2-3, literal Greek in brackets)

Speaking to the elders of the church, Peter specifically denied them the right to be lords over God’s people. A first century lord was the master of slaves, and a lord’s essential function was to command his slaves to do whatever the lord wanted them to do. In this passage Peter specifically denied elders the right to command God’s people or to exercise authority over them. Since this statement is given within the context of directions for the leadership of the Hebrew churches, Peter’s directive is one of the most explicit statements in the Bible denying church leaders the right to exercise authority over God’s people.

Leaders existed in the first century churches, but no authorities. Leaders were gifted to teach, encourage, edify, exhort, rebuke and comfort the members, but leaders held no privilege to exercise authority over them. Church members are not required to obey church leaders anywhere in the Greek text of scripture. Jesus Christ is called the Chief Leader in four verses in the inspired text of the New Testament, all four of which are mistranslated, but He is never called the chief authority. He is the Chief over many leaders, but He is not the chief over any authorities for the simple reason that human authorities do not exist in any congregation of the Church of Heaven.

The leaders of local congregations of faithful churches practice the faith of Jesus Christ before the congregation, but none possesses a biblical right to exercise the privilege to direct the actions of the members.  A leader fulfills the responsibility "to hold fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers," (Titus 1:9) but no authority is required to fulfill these and other biblical responsibilities. Church leaders sit as equals at a round table with all the other members, where Jesus Christ sits above the table as the Head. Leaders are vitally important members of the church and play key roles to maintain the unity of the church, so Paul told Timothy that those who lead well deserve double honor, (1 Tim 5:17) not a higher rank of authority. Leaders stand as watchmen to guard the church from danger and warn the church when enemies threaten the congregation from without or errant behavior occurs within, but faithful leaders remain transparent as they point each member to Jesus Christ, the Head of the church, for personal direction.