As One with Authority

Once upon a time, so they tell me, clergy had authority.  Sometimes I allow myself to believe it, usually when someone anachronistically shows deference to my position.  I try to be aware of the fact that I may be wielding it so that I don't unintentionally damage others.  But for the most part I don't really feel like I've got much clout, and yet, I'm what most would call a leader.  Here's an attempt at an objective description of "leading" in a Presbyterian Church:

1. We're basically a democracy, so I'm chosen by vote.
2. My salary is public knowledge, which is again approved by vote (the only part of the budget that is), and in a lot of churches said salary is one of the single largest line items on the budget.
3. I can preach, exhort and cajole, but ultimately I can't order anyone to do anything.  I cannot fire anyone, or cut them from the team, I can't make them be more committed to the church.
4. I have learned that guilt trips and political maneuvering are manipulative behavior and sign of bad boundaries and can perhaps even be considered bullying, at least if I'm the one doing them, because I have "power."
5. I constantly have to balance between over-functioning (doing everything) and being seen as a slacker.  And I have to deal with the reality that people will think I'm doing a lot better job at the pastor thing if I over-function, even though personally and for the sake of the community it's one of the worst things I could do.
6. I do not have any magical powers.
7. I do have feelings, and they can be hurt, but I'm supposed to try super hard to love the people who hurt them..

I'm working through Matthew 21 right now, where the religious leaders in Jerusalem question Jesus' authority.  He responds with questions of his own, parables and in many cases some fairly insulting judgments against them.  And while rhetorically and in public opinion Jesus wins the argument, we know a cross is right around the corner, because Matthew keeps reminding us: "they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds."

I am not trying to equivocate myself and Jesus, nor do I intend to complain about my congregation or my vocation as a whole. I actually like my job, with all it's peculiar quirks.  What I would like to examine is the nature of authority and specifically what constitutes authority in the context of the 21st century church.

The office and the education only go so far.  I know a lot of things that absolutely no one cares about.  Harry Emerson Fosdick once quipped that, "no one ever goes to church to find out what happened to the Hittites."  Well, first off, I know who the Hittites were, and I have read an assembly of theories about what became of them, but this does not give me ability to transform lives.

And what about the authority of the office and the ordination?  Well, I remember in Seminary and shortly thereafter, hearing all sorts of cautionary tales about how people can abuse the "role" of pastor.  Occasionally I have had people defer to me because of the role, but more often than not, in a non-hierarchical (and well... Scottish) structure like mine, any attempt to wield power or authority meets with almost automatic resistance.

People from Baptist traditions often speak reverentially about the role of Pastor, so do people from certain immigrant backgrounds, but these are just rare tastes that sort of help me understand what ministry "used to be like."

I'm under no illusions that the way it used to be was somehow better.  I see how, even now, egomaniacs can "succeed" in ministry, but I have no desire to walk that road.

I guess I just have to look at Jesus, who didn't actually grasp at the power that he pretty surely could have had, neither did he pull back from those who questioned his authenticity and intentions.

This sort of thing leaves me feeling helpless and powerless, and maybe that's just where I need to be to lead.

Didn't Jesus say something about the meek inheriting the earth?