Leadership can be described as the exercise of authority.  While leadership can be influence in the absence of authority, even that could be considered a form of informal authority.  Therefore, good leaders know how to exercise their authority well, whether that authority is formal authority due to their position or informal authority due to their reputation.  But where does authority come from and how do we properly exercise it?  Answering these questions is crucial to leadership. 

The Origin of Authority

First, where does authority come from?  To start, it is important to note that no one has inherent authority.  Even those who receive authority by virtue of heredity are still receiving it from a source outside of themselves.  Military officers and government leaders alike receive their authority from the Constitution.  Others receive authority due to the position they hold.  Ultimately, as a Christian, I believe that all authority comes from God.  As such, all authority is a gift from God to be used for His purposes within the boundaries He sets.  Jesus said as much to Pilate, reminding him that his authority comes from above (John 19:10-11).  Paul picks up on that theme by stating that all authority ultimately comes from God (Romans 13:1). This also means that all people with authority will be held accountable to God for how they use that authority.  As a gift from God, authority can be likened to the talent in Jesus’s Matthew 25 parable.  To not use it would be the same as burying the talent in the ground, for which that servant was chastised.  The point is clear: all gifts of God are investments from which He expects a return.  This is echoed by both Paul and Peter commanding the use of various gifts as good stewards (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10), including leadership (Romans 12:8) and by extension authority.  Therefore, not exercising God-given authority is not an option.  Some may object to this by saying that Jesus condemns the exercise of authority by contrasting it with the manner in which the disciples were to lead based on His own example of servant leadership (Matthew 20:25-28).  However, Jesus is not condemning the use of authority itself but the manner in which leaders often use their authority, “lording it over” their subordinates.  Therefore, the use of authority is commanded in Scripture, so the Christian leader must understand how to properly use it.

Improper Use of Authority

How does the Christian leader use God-given authority correctly? Perhaps it is easier to start by examining incorrect ways to use authority. Both Scripture and life experience are filled with examples of people using authority improperly.  In defense acquisition circles, the story of Darlene Druyun lives in infamy for her use of her position to ensure Boeing was awarded major contracts in exchange for personal benefits.  But her story is not alone, as both the corporate and government worlds are filled with such stories, as are the annals of history.  It is universally understood that using authority for personal gain to the detriment of others is improper, but that is only one way to use authority improperly.  In my paper on leadership, I briefly discuss how the Bible uses the shepherd as a metaphor for leaders, highlighting the bad example of leadership given in Ezekiel 34:

Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?  You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.  The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them….Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

-Ezekiel 34:2b-4,18-19, ESV

Not only do such leaders enrich themselves by essentially devouring their people, but they also neglect to care for their people specific to their needs.  Ruling with harshness is only one way in which their exercise of authority was sinful.  They did not strengthen the weak, heal the sick or injured, bring back the straying, or seek the lost.  This left the sheep vulnerable and easy prey for outside threats.  Reformer Martin Bucer used this passage as the basis for his summary of a pastor’s work in Concerning the True Care of Souls, applying the specific categories of weak, sick, injured, straying, and lost to the various congregants a pastor must help in various ways.  Similarly, those in authority will have subordinates who are weak, sick, injured, straying, and even lost.  In each circumstance, the leader is called to exercise authority in ways specific to that situation for the ultimate good of the subordinate not the leader.  Failure to do this tears apart the organization. 

To make matters worse, the shepherds in Ezekiel 34 cared for themselves at the expense of the sheep. They used their authority to give themselves privilege, depriving their followers of necessity. God describes this as grazing the good pasture bare and trampling what’s left to the point that it is inedible by the sheep, or drinking the good water then polluting it so it was undrinkable by the sheep. In leadership, this happens whenever leaders deprive their people of what they require and are rightly owed in order to sustain their own privilege. Executives who lay off large numbers of workers then receive massive bonuses for increasing profit margins are acting as the shepherds God is condemning. Managers who ensure they get the best pay and working conditions while depriving their people of adequate pay and working conditions are acting as the shepherds God is condemning. Leaders who charge personal luxuries to the organization by committing logical gymnastics to justify them as business expenses while failing to provide their people with adequate tools and a safe work environment are acting as the shepherds God is condemning. I am certainly not saying that leaders should not be adequately paid for their work or that those who risk their own capital should not reap the rewards. What I am saying is that when times get tough, bad leaders are all too willing to pass the pain onto their people while protecting their own privileges. This is detrimental to the organization and morally abhorrent to God. In a parallel passage, Israel’s leaders are indicted for scattering rather than caring for the flock, for which God promises to judge them (Jeremiah 23:1-2).  Ultimately, that judgment was destruction of their nation and exile to a foreign land. The Pharisees of Jesus’s day did likewise, as He points out when calling Himself the Good Shepherd in John 10. They were likewise judged with the destruction of their nation. Clearly, improper use of authority is a great evil, not only in its abuse for personal gain but also in its neglected use that leaves people uncared for.

Proper Use of Authority: The Example of Paul

From this, it is clear that to be considered proper, authority must be used by leaders to care for their people.  Essentially, good leaders use their authority to serve their people.  Scripture gives us a fine example of such a use of authority in the life of Paul.  As an apostle, Paul held the highest spiritual authority attainable by mere mortals.  Like the Old Testament prophets, the apostles spoke for God and thus carried God’s authority.  This authority undergirds Paul’s letters, with all but three of these letters beginning with Paul referring to himself as an apostle.  Even then, two of those introductions involve Paul calling himself a servant before calling himself an apostle.  He was not hesitant to use that authority to both encourage and rebuke, even rebuking Peter at one point (Galatians 2:11-14).  Even so, he was keenly aware of why he had that authority in the first place: to build up rather than tear down the church in general and local churches in particular (2 Corinthians 10:8 and 13:10).  When it would not serve that purpose, he laid aside the rights of his apostolic authority (1 Corinthians 9), instead using his authority to gently nurture the church (1 Thessalonians 2:6-8).

This is perhaps seen most vividly in the shortest of Paul’s letters: Philemon, which is one of the three that does not begin with a reference to Paul’s apostleship.  Paul wrote the letter to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus, who would be accompanying Tychicus to deliver Colossians to the church in Colossae (Colossians 4:9).  From the context of Philemon, it is clear that Onesimus was Philemon’s slave who had run away, apparently stealing from Philemon in the process.  Somehow, Onesimus ended up running into Paul and was led to Christ and discipled by the apostle.  While Paul did teach that slaves should seek freedom if offered the opportunity (1 Corinthians 7:21), he also taught slaves to both obey and honor their masters (Colossians 3:22-25, Titus 2:9-10).  Onesimus had violated that, so the right thing for him to do was to return to Colossae and repent to Philemon.  It is also clear that Paul believed that the proper and biblical response for Philemon would be to forgive Onesimus, grant him his freedom, and welcome him back as an equal.  Onesimus was understandably fearful that Philemon wouldn’t respond that way but would punish Onesimus and harshly return him to servitude.  To address this, Paul wrote the letter to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus, using his apostolic authority to care for both Onesimus and Philemon, giving us an example of how authority should be used.

After referring fondly to Philemon, Paul takes a stronger tone in verse 9: “Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you…for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment”.  Though not explicitly, Paul is reminding Philemon of his apostolic authority.  Just as he did with commands throughout his letters, Paul could have commanded Philemon to free and forgive Onesimus, but he determined that such a command would be dishonoring to Philemon.  Therefore, Paul appeals to Philemon with both logic and affection.  He affectionately refers to Onesimus as his spiritual child (verse 9), his very heart (verse 12) who had been serving him on Philemon’s behalf (verse 13), asking Philemon to receive Onesimus not as a slave but as a beloved brother (verse 16) in the same way he would receive Paul the apostle (verse 17).  He also shows dignity for Philemon, calling him a brother (verse 20), desiring to do nothing without his consent so that his “goodness might not be by compulsion” (verse 14), and even promising to repay what Onesimus stole (verses 18-19).  Paul also uses logic, playing on Onesimus’s name to explain how he is more useful to Philemon as a free minister of Christ than he ever was as a slave (verse 11), reminding Philemon of the spiritual debt he owes Paul for the receiving the Gospel from him (verse 19), and closing with a strong confidence that Philemon will obey (verse 21). Paul’s entire argument shows a very strong use of authority while also showing Paul’s heart to use his authority with kindness and gentleness, This aligns with other occasions in which Paul must use his apostolic authority, where he prefers to gently persuade and only comes down strong when persuasion fails and the unity and joy of the church are threatened (2 Corinthians 10:1-2). 

How Christian Leaders Use Authority

This gives a good model for how Christians should exercise their God-given authority.  First, we must humbly remember that every ounce of authority we have was given by God for the purpose of serving others and advancing His Kingdom not our own. We must consider any accompanying prestige or perks to be secondary privileges rather than rights, being ever ready to lay them aside if that will better serve the people God has entrusted to us.  We must prioritize providing for our people’s necessities over our own comfort. In Out of the Crisis, W. Edwards Deming defined the job of the leader as helping people do a better job with less effort and ever-increasing pride of workmanship. This means good leaders adequately compensate their people and ensure they have the tools, processes, and working conditions most conducive to not only doing their jobs well but taking pride in their work, which Deming says is their right. Second, our default should always be loving and patient persuasion rather than force or coercion.  Finally, kindness doesn’t have to imply weakness, so without threatening we can still be forceful and uncompromising.  Being strong yet kind is a lost art in our day and is a major way we can overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). 

Ultimately all of this creates an environment in which workers are cared for, freeing them up to do their work rather than fight to survive. In Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek describes this as extending the Circle of Safety, which is of vital importance to a healthy organization. Good shepherds extend the Circle of Safety to encompass the entire flock, while bad shepherds exclude all but themselves from their Circle of Safety. When times get tough, good leaders share the pain, often taking on much more of it than they pass along to their people. Sinek went on to describe a company that used furloughs rather than layoffs in the 2008 recession, ensuring everyone was taken care of rather than consolidating the pain to a few unfortunate workers. This is just one example of how good leaders prioritize caring for their people. When they prioritize feeding the flock, authority becomes the tool that Christian shepherds uses to seek the lost, bring back the straying, heal the sick and injured, and strengthen the week.  It also becomes the tool they use to ensure the flock is adequately fed before feeding themselves. In that way, the Christian leader reflects the Good Shepherd and how He fulfills the prophecy of Ezekiel 34:

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

-Ezekiel 34:15-16, ESV