let us ask ourselves where a church leader's authority comes from.
We can see many people having trouble over the question of a leader's authority, but they hesitate to talk about it since they don't have a clear answer themselves.
We can see someone having great authority one day and losing it all the next. Then he gains authority again. Sometimes we really can't tell where true authority comes from.
Most people desire to have some authority in their lives.
People have a natural tendency to want influence and authority over their own family or perhaps even over a nation.
On the contrary, I don't think we can find someone who actually has such authority.
Shall we think about Jesus for a minute.
Many try to learn about the authority of a true leader from Jesus, but he has never declared that he wanted to have authority on his own.
Rather, he humbled himself, sometimes taking the form of a servant and sometimes a sinner.
To someone wanting to have great power today, Jesus is no doubt an incompetent leader.
However, most people do not hesitate to say that Jesus is the greatest and the most ideal leader.
So what exactly makes Jesus such a great leader?
That's right. A person cannot claim himself a leader.
If he tries to present himself as someone with authority, he will be scoffed at by others.
Many people have a false notion that if they were appointed to a high place of authority that they would be a leader.
But that is a big mistake.
Many leaders don't realize that responsibility follows all places of authority and that people's expectations are much higher than they can ever imagine.
What is more important is the fact that authority does not come from a place of authority but from the bottom.
Jesus had the chance to be in a place of authority but He gave it up.
Instead, he comforted the poor and the neglected and healed the sick.
Only someone with authority can do those things.
Being loved by them, being with them, and leading their lives are some characteristics of a leader truly with authority.
Even in churches today, many people want to be in places of authority.
They think that they will have some kind of authority if they became pastors, elders, or deacons.
However, that is a misconception.
That is by no means a place of authority.
Let us think about the fact that Apostle Paul called himself a "servant."
Being in a place of influence means being in a place of service.
In other words, when people see us in a place of authority, we must be responsible to serve those who are under our authority.
We must keep in mind that the authority of a true leader does not come from himself but from those whom he serves.