Spiritual Authority: How to Use It, Not Abuse It

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I am going to make a few assumptions about you, the reader of this article: First, you know what spiritual authority is. Second, you presently hold some sort of leadership position in a church in which you regularly exercise this sort of authority in some official capacity. If this does not describe you, consider yourself a welcome eavesdropper.

If it does, here’s my exhortation to you: Make sure you are using that authority to build up rather than tear down the body of Christ. One of the most destructive things is a church leader wielding authority in an unauthorized manner.

To this end, here are five general rules for using your God-given spiritual authority without abusing it.

1. Exercise oversight, but do not be domineering

We begin by considering Peter’s words to first-century pastors, words which still apply to pastors today:

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Pet 5:2–4)

Shepherds “exercise oversight” in Jesus’s name and stead. They literally watch over Christ’s church, (1) warding off predators that threaten the flock but also (2) feeding and tending to each and every sheep (see Acts 20:28–30; Heb 13:7; etc.). They gladly take up that task not because they have to, but because they want to (“not under compulsion, but willingly”). They know that God placed them in authority for the sake of his beloved sheep for whom he laid down his life. They do not guide the flock by pushing and shoving, but by exhibiting Christ-like sacrificial love and devotion (“not domineering … but being examples”).

In the context of church ministry, things can easily go wrong—and fast—when pastors forget that they work for Jesus (“the chief shepherd”). Pastors begin to push people around rather than hand out the gifts he gave them to distribute to his people.

2. Beware of a self-focused approach to ministry

Face it, being the focus of everyone’s attention in a congregation can easily go right to your head. But when you try to accomplish things in your church by asserting yourself, promoting your own ideas, manipulating people by the sheer force of your will, or courting their admiration and adulation, you are playing into the devil’s hands.

Satan is the great manipulator, the great politician. He pits people against one another to distract them from the truth of God’s Word and create dissension and mischief within the flock of God (see Jas 3:14–16). Jesus, on the other hand, is the great good shepherd (John 10). He draws people together because he draws them to himself (John 12:32).

When you turn divinely-given authority into personal power and influence, you put an expiration date on effective ministry.

You can survive for a while in the ministry by winning friends and influencing people. You can even achieve some measure of “success” as a pastor by being a good politician and using the policies and people within the organizational structure of your church to your personal advantage. But sooner or later things will sour. You’ll suffer from stress and burnout. Worse, there will be tension and resentment among congregants rather than the joy of the gospel.

By making yourself the focus of ministry rather than Jesus, you endanger the flock of God that he has purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28). You can “get things done” that way, but eventually you’ll run out of steam. When you turn divinely-given authority into personal power and influence, you put an expiration date on effective ministry.

3. Don’t confuse power with authority

As I explain in Pastoral Leadership,

The Bible … makes a clear distinction between authorized power and unauthorized power. The only legitimate way to do ministry is by way of the authority of Jesus: doing what he’s given you to do. Step out of the chain of his authority and you’re on your own. And that’s when things go south in a hurry.¹

Power is a finite commodity. In any group of people is a limited amount of power, humanly speaking. It’s the sum total of the volition and energy of every individual in a group.

That means you can wield your own power in that group only by taking power away from others. You may be able to impose your will on the group, but you will likely alienate others in the process. When pastors do this—operating not out of their divinely-appointed authority but their own personal interests—conflict often results.

Spiritual authority ought to be exercised in an entirely different matter (see the lesson of servant–leadership taught in Mark 10:35–45). Because it originates in Jesus, God-given spiritual authority has an infinite capacity. As Christ’s ordained servant, when you act on his behalf, bringing healing and forgiveness to broken sinners, they will recognize this authority and defer to your direction.

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4. Conduct a personal audit

So how do you know if you are exercising divinely-commissioned authority or imposing humanly-devised power? Here are some questions you can use to periodically assess yourself:

I. What is my default mode when dealing with people?

Am I focused on their underlying spiritual needs or their surface complaints? And do I try and address these needs using my personality and leadership skills, or by applying the gifts of God by means of his Word and the sacraments?

II. What sort of message do I send to others?

That I’m obsessed with myself and what I can accomplish by sheer force of my influence? Or that I’m infatuated with ministering to them in Christ’s name and stead?

III. How do I view ministry?

Am I in ministry for the sake of personal gain or for the absolute delight of seeing what Christ Jesus is doing among his people? Am I looking for recognition and fame, or looking for ways to be of service to Christ and his people?

IV. How do I view others?

Do I see people as problems to be solved, or as suffering sinners and saints who need Jesus’s forgiveness and healing? Do I approach ministry as a chief executive managing a business, or as a physician in a clinic, diagnosing and treating human beings?²