The Place of Pastoral Authority

In The Pastor as Spiritual Guide (Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1998), Howard Rice writes:

“We live in a time when authority is suspect; it is a time of massive disillustionment about far-off decision makers who affect the direction of our lives. Deep resentment is aimed at most institutions and professions…people have a hard time expressing their resentment toward many of these professionals; they feel relatively helpless. That feeling of powerlessness may surface most clearly in the one remaining place where people can still participate in the decision making, and that is the church. Here is the place where the average citizen can still exercise some authority—even over the pastor” (p. 172).

In the church, as an organized institution, pastors have more authority than the rest of the congregants. But what kind of authority do pastors have? Some seek pastoral advice and respect pastoral authority; some, resist and resent their authority. On the one hand, pastoral authority needs to be built and established through pastoral consistence and integrity. On the other hand, I wonder how the congregants view pastoral function and receive pastoral authority. I believe that pastoral authority is more well received when the congregants say, “You are the/my pastor. Because God calls you into full-time ordained ministry, you deserve my respect and trust. I respect your pastoral authority unless you yourself give it away.” On the contrary, when the congregants say, “You have to earn my respect. Pastoral ministry is just like any other ‘profession.’ Ordained ministry is as secular as other jobs in society. You just do what you need to do. I will decide whether I will give you the respect you should deserve.” I guess that the latter mentality is more common among Christians.

Recently, I’ve thought about pastoral identity and authority as well as the role and mentality of the congregants. Pastoral ministry has authority over the congregation because pastors are entrusted with prominent ministerial roles, such as preaching on a weekly basis. Preaching is persuasion. It’s an influence, for good or ill.  Every week, people come to listen—listening with curious, cynical, or submissive spirit. No matter what, at the end of the day, the congregants still come and listen. Sometimes I wonder why they still come every week. Is it because of their desire to worship God? Or is it just their “holy” weekly habit? Perhaps, it’s our existential instinct that we long for something that is contrary to what we experience every day: chaos, disorder, confusion, and mess. We long for a Center in which we can be centered.

“Church members will accept persuasive authority eagerly. In a confusing world of too many choices, people hunger for an authority that speaks directly and commandingly. People want some clues to guide them through the maze of moral confusion and diversity of style of life that exists everywhere in our culture” (p. 177).