Spiritual Authority (Paul)

Near the end of my tenure as the President of Every Generation Ministries, we had an issue in East Africa regarding the misappropriation of funds.

It involved a ministry we had just established and some of the board members. Our new, young, and gifted Director was caught in the middle. The leadership in the U.S. decided that I should travel there to address the issue personally.

We did not want to let this sort of thing become endemic to the other ministries and ones we were planning to develop soon.

Flights to East Africa are long. In fact, they involve long flights to Europe and then another long flight to East Africa. After spending the night near the airport where we arrived, we drove about six hours to meetings with the board members and our new fine young Director.

The meetings were difficult leading to the resignation of the Chairman of the Board and the Treasurer. Our new Director was set on solid ground and things could not have turned out better.

On the return trip to the airport, we stopped for the night in Southwest Uganda at the Muhabura Diocese hoping to connect with my friend Bishop Cranmer Mugishu.

I have tremendous respect for Bishop Cranmer and love spending time with him. My visit was unannounced, but he found us in the dining room of their retreat center. 

We exchanged warm greetings, and he asked what I was doing in his corner of the world. Being tired, jet-lagged, and travel weary, I unloaded.

It did not take me long to explain my frustration with having to fly halfway around the world to deal with some financial failure and then fly all the way back. I knew that Bishop Cranmer would give me the shoulder to cry on, so to speak. To my shock, he blurted out “This is great.” 

Before my jaw could come back up, he continued exuberantly assuring me that what was happening was fantastic.

Specifically, he said “This is a great opportunity to communicate godliness and integrity to the entire EGM family. Each one of the fifteen ministries would know that excellence in financial stewardship and godliness would characterize the worldwide ministry!” 

He concluded with “What a great opportunity!” and nearly congratulated me. As the words flowed out, I knew it was the LORD exhorting me.

Also, I knew that this was why I love Bishop Cranmer, whose authority is his primary means of influence. This was the case with the Apostle Paul, particularly in some of the conflict situations that needed his influence and leadership.

Paul's Spiritual Authority

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you —unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. (2 Corinthians 13:5-10)

Coming at the end of 2 Corinthians, this passage is packed with meaning from the earlier portions of the letter. We will not attempt to unpack it, but instead, note the approach that Paul takes in dealing with an issue, namely the Corinthians' rejection of Paul and his gospel.

Rather than defending his authority as an apostle, he urges the Corinthians to examine themselves.

Most interpreters note that Paul directs his defense away from himself urging the Corinthians to assess themselves. In essence, he is asking them to evaluate their own personal lives (vs.5).

If they have found hope in Christ, it is a short step to recognizing that this was the fruit of Paul’s ministry, having planted the Church. The Corinthians are the spiritual fruit of his ministry and the basis for his authority. Echoing our earlier themes, Paul is calling the Church to recall the spiritual authority exercised in founding the Church.

Paul returns to authority issues at the end of this section reminding the Corinthians that he will use his spiritual authority for the building up of the Church, working to prevent her destruction. Paul is willing to act with courage and leadership, not for his own benefit and reputation, but as directed by God.

Leaders face a variety of ministry problems involving personality clashes, finances, gossip, criticism, divisiveness, blowback, and all kinds of immorality. These require wise and discerning leadership often involving the need for Spirit-led, courageous, and decisive action.

Leading in conflict situations with discernment and wisdom is another critical source of spiritual authority, a leader’s primary means of influence.

Finally, we cannot examine Paul’s leadership without briefly examining the spiritual authority that arose out of his teaching ministry.

As for other matters, brothers, and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave You by the authority of the Lord Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2)

The canon of the New Testament testifies to the spiritual authority evident in Paul’s teaching. For over 2,000 years that teaching has continued to be used by God to exercise spiritual authority in the lives of millions of people. The influence of the Apostle Paul, through his teaching continues to this day and will continue into the future as well.

This brief text in I Thessalonians is just one example of many where Paul realizes that he is teaching with spiritual authority.

Reading Paul’s letters, it is apparent that much of his teaching was clarifying the meaning of the Old Testament, including much of Isaiah 40-66, many of the Psalms, and passages in Ezekiel to name but a few. This was recognized to be inspired writing as evidenced by inclusion in the New Testament canon.

However, we see here and elsewhere that his teaching always led to a life response (vs. 1). All of this in the “authority of the LORD Jesus” (vs.2) led to spiritual freedom and life transformation in the churches he planted. It was this spiritual fruit that validated his ministry work.

And so, we have come full circle, reminded again that spiritual authority comes from God working in and through the humble leader. Spiritual authority flows from the leader who maintains congruency between word and deed.

Spiritual authority is evidenced when we deal with ministry challenges and conflicts with God-given wisdom, discernment, courage, and strength. The above are only some of the sources of spiritual authority but show that this kind of authority is a Christian leader’s primary source of influence.

Misconceptions of Leadership in Christian Ministry

We conclude this section by observing how many Christian leaders, children’s ministry leaders included understand influence today.

Simple observation leads to the conclusion that many of these ideas flow from secular leadership principles. Some of the more glaring examples are the tendency to view communication skills as the base of authority and power.

A pastor or leader that speaks to large throngs of people, writes widely read books, and generates a large social media audience establishes that as a base of power and authority. This is often associated with the use of humor, emotional storytelling, or in some cases confronting issues or people with righteous indignation.

In some cases, the content of the communication, preaching, teaching, or writing is rooted in God’s Word and spoken on His behalf. However, it is often the case that the delivery exceeds the content which may in fact be sorely lacking.

This emphasis on communication is also revered in a leader’s ability to draw people and resources to a vision. Again, the vision may be of the LORD (see I Chronicles 28-29), but in our modern leadership paradigm, the vision is eclipsed by the leader's “casting.”

Another example that illustrates the way Christian leadership has adopted the principles of the world is regarding appearance. In a society that places so much value on looks and cosmetic appearance, it is no surprise that leadership has been subsumed.

In our secular world, effective leaders look good. One of the current governors of a large U.S. state is unable to walk without assistance and efforts are made to limit his media exposure in the wheelchair. This was the case with FDR who, after contracting polio, relied heavily on a wheelchair.

Public perception and how it “looked” in the eye of the electorate was and is still clearly an issue. Leaders in the arena of business, politics, sports, and most arenas are greatly concerned with how they look. It matters! This principle has crept into Christian leadership. 

We could cite other examples such as the importance of education, wealth, and success, but you can sense the influence that secular leadership principles have had on Christian leaders.

Our appearance, education, standing in the community, and communication skills are all important and should not be ignored. However, when those become our primary means of influence, we are treading on thin ice—that ice being the thin veneer of self.

Underlying secular leadership principles is a focus on the leaders themselves. Influence is  about various qualities and characteristics of the leader. Their looks, education, speaking skills, titles, and status…emphasis on “their.” This is in stark contrast to the spiritual authority of a Christian leader focused, not on them, but on God.

For the Christian leader, God is working and speaking through the leader to influence people towards God’s purposes for those people. The leader is the crucial instrument that God has chosen, and God is not honored by ignoring a leader.

However, the focus is not on them but rather on God. It is God working through a leader that gives them spiritual authority. Effective leaders realize this spiritual authority as their primary means of influence.

Mother Teresa’s prayer breakfast message, recounted two blogs ago, was not her first controversial speech. Years earlier, she had spoken at the Harvard University commencement and urged the graduates to refrain from sex before marriage.

Naturally, this was in the face of popular practice and the social norms that had emerged from the 1960s in secular U.S. society. She said it this way.

It is very beautiful that a young man loves a young woman, and a young woman loves a young man. That’s a beautiful creation of God. But make sure, make sure, that you love with a clean heart, with a pure heart, that you love with a virgin heart. And that on the day of your marriage—when God makes you one, as in the Scripture we read that they cleave together and they become one—on that day, that you can give to each other a virgin heart, a virgin body, a virgin soul. That is the greatest gift you can give to each other.

Seated behind her on the dais were the Ivy League intellectual elites. In the audience were some of the wealthiest and most influential members of American society.

Seated before her were the emerging members of the elite. Watching the footage on the internet and the standing ovation afforded diminutive nun, one cannot avoid the sense that she was the person with all the authority.

Over these last three weeks we have examined the leadership of Joseph, Jesus and Paul noting that their primary means of influencing others was spiritual authority.

Their leadership lives evinced God-given authority both in how they lived and what they said as leaders. Although they may not be famous preachers, noted authors or evangelical celebrities the effective leaders today are the same viewing spiritual authority as their primary means of influence.

This weekend let’s remember that creativity, activities, facilities, security and fun are important, but spiritual authority is our primary means of influencing boys and girls for Christ.

Let’s keep the focus on God and pray that He will work in and through us to influence boys and girls towards experiencing His purposes for their lives.