Loving Leaders, Faithful Followers

Date: March 1, 2009 Series: Being the Church Sermon: Loving Leaders, Faithful Followers Text: Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:17; 1 Thes. 5:12-13; 1 Tim. 3:1,13; 5:17 “Question Authority!” We live in a world that is inherently suspicious of authority. In our fear and suspicion, we have a tendency to throw the concept of authority completely out the window. We try to level the playing field and create a system somehow devoid of any real authority. As such, in our town governments here we have the familiar "New England town-hall" style of meeting. And somehow this "authority-less" form of government has crept its way into use in many of our New England churches. We live in a fallen world and we have seen the heinous abuse of authority. We all know well that spiritual authority is not exempt from such abuse. All one must say is “don’t drink the kool-aid” to remember how horrible and utterly tragic and abuse of spiritual authority can become. But the question with which we must wrestle this morning: is all authority truly evil or might there be such a think as Spiritual authority – beneficial to us all?