Pastor Power?

Although the pastor might like to think that his role is beyond such mundane and grubby pursuits, the church, no less than the world, must be concerned with power. The difference lies in the model one takes.

Gordon Bietz is pastor of the Stockton Central Seventh-day Adventist church, Stockton, California.

Power has become a catchword for phrases around which the disenfranchised can gather. There is black power, white power, woman power, and a hundred others. Possibly, like Walter Mitty, you have fantasized being in a very powerful position, maybe immediately after being put down in the board meeting by that troublesome church member who seems to have more power than you do!

What is power? Power is simply "the capacity to act or to get things done, or the ability to execute change." It is similar to leadership, since through the use of power a person is able to control people or events. If you have no power you are not a leader, and you are not effective in your congregation.

You may be getting uneasy at this point and thinking, "It is the Holy Spirit that has all the power; He gets things done through people." That is axiomatic; it is also a way to avoid responsibility. Are there not ways by which we can become more effective channels for the power of the Holy Spirit?

Some pastors effect a great deal of change in a church, and some pastors accomplish very little. The problem is not always with the congregation. Frequently it is the fault of the pastor and his abuse of power as a result of an improper theology of power, or simply a denial of it, for to deny power is to misuse it.

The model of power that many pastors use naturally is the one that is the world's standard—the dominance-submissive scale. In this scheme, each person places himself, or is placed, somewhere along a line between dominance and submissiveness. Those more dominant than him have power over him, and those more submissive are those he has power over. This results in each person scrambling competitively over others to gain more dominance. If your personality does not lend itself to being dominant, you can take assertiveness training.

The most frequently used tools used in the dominance-submissive model of power are money and position. If you have money, you are less dependent on others; you can do what you wish. Any pastor knows that heavy givers to the church have power in the church board. Likewise, when someone is placed over us as our boss, he has power of position. His voice is one of authority. Most of us, by virtue of our position as pastor, find ourselves in a position of power or dominance in the society of the church.

I would like to suggest that the Christian should not use the same model of power that the world uses, but that he should develop a Christian theology of power. The world's model is not safe, because of the nature of man. It is inadequate in a Christian framework because it places people in opposition to and in competition with one another. It assumes antagonistic relationships be tween groups and individuals. As a result, one can settle for only a balance of power. Christian organizations must go beyond such precarious relationships, and demonstrate to the world the principles of the kingdom of heaven.

Church organizations, including our own, are not immune to power struggles, and for that reason a purely Christian model is needed that is adequate for the stress of the church board meeting as well as in the church's contact with the world. Fortunately Jesus gives us just such a model. Jesus responded to the disciples and their struggle for position in His new kingdom by saying, "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them" (Matt. 20:25). He described the coercive power of the world and then He gave the disciples a model of Christian power. "But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and who soever will be chief among you, let him be your servant" (verses 26, 27). Who exemplifies that kind of power for us? Jesus Himself. "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (verse 28).

The source of power

Paul says, "There is no power but of God" (Rom. 13:1). God is sovereign, and there is no Christian power outside of Him. That seems obvious, but is it demonstrated in the lives of pastors?

Position alone, whether pastor or conference president, does not necessarily give one power with the people in that organization. Leadership gets its authority and its power from those it leads; they are not simply granted from the top. Power to change people is granted by the people to be changed. One third of the angels in heaven, though in a position that was obviously under the authority of God, did not grant God power in their lives.

Jesus: "Father, the angel of light says that he will give Me all the kingdoms of the world, that I don't need to suffer for them. . . . I will not accept power at the price of denying My dependence on You as the source of My power. "

Pastor: "My rich church member will give me his backing if I support him for church office. . . . I will not accept power at the price of denying my dependence on God."

The base of power

The world considers that the best power over others is obtained by reward (a raise in pay) or coercion (showing who is in charge). That is not the kind of power Jesus exercised. What was His power base? It was His gentleness, His unassuming manners, and His strength of character. It was not based on coercion or reward. His power base was so strong, and the religious leaders were so threatened by it, that they had to kill Him. Pride and self-importance are weakness when compared with lowliness and humility.

The powerful Christian leads people to commitment by calling them to some thing beyond themselves. The weak person, like a leech, draws from others to build himself. He seeks to use others to build a power base. The Christian gains power, not through using others, but by leading them to visualize their own potential through the development of their Christian character.

E. L. Becker said, "Within religious organizations the ability of an individual to wield influence is related closely to his embodiment in his own person of the beliefs and values of the group." "Church and Power Conflicts," Christianity and Crises, March 22, 1965, pp. 26-36. When the pastor lives the ideals that the group seeks for itself, then that pastor will have character power with those people.

The person who seeks to build a power base by using others and conquering them is weak, for he builds on the bro ken bodies of his competitors. This unstable base will move as soon as the coercion weakens or the reward is too small. Dissatisfaction and the resulting dislocation will bring the power structure to a grinding halt. A leader who builds power through playing favorites, coercion, or reward is not a strong leader but a weak dictator. He is always suspicious of others, afraid that they may be seeking to build their own power base at his expense. Such a pastor will lose all creativity; he will be an obstructionist seeking to preserve his tenuous position in the bureaucracy.

On the other hand, a leader who has built a power base on character can be open and unthreatened. He knows that as people identify with him and his own struggles, they will be more willing to follow his direction. He is willing to have another take his place in leadership if that person can do a better job. His interest is in organizational goals, not power struggles. His security is based not on his position but on his character. Instead of keeping others down so he looks tall, he will call people beyond themselves to their best.

Jesus: "Father, I am a threat to the corrupt institutions that they have here. They plan to kill Me. Shall I call the legions and fight? I am in the right!. . . No, I will die so that they might live. "

Pastor: "My president is threatened by me and plans to transfer me to another conference. Shall I rally my members? I am in the right!. . . No, I will suffer, that he may be made whole. "

The action of power

What does power do? " 'Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all' " (Mark 10:43, 44, R.S.V.). Christian power manifests itself in servanthood. Service is the expression of one who is free from self and who does not need to struggle in competition with others for an ever-dwindling supply of power and influence. Character power, expressed in servanthood, is found in the person who is influenced and does not need dominion over others to assure himself of his self-esteem. Jesus is the perfect example. He came from heaven not to enrich Himself at our expense, but to impoverish Him self so that we could be rich. The Christian servant is free to use his character power to feed others so that they can reach their goals, rather than feeding on others so that he can reach his goals.

If ministry is anything, it is service. Coercion is not God's way; it does not represent His kingdom. If God had allowed coercion, there would never have been sin. Those whose frame of reference is the worldly model of power would have fired God at the beginning of the great controversy because of indecisiveness. The Christian leader is never allowed to use coercive power. He is enjoined to suffer first. Renunciation of force and passive suffering of violence are imposed as an obligation on His disciples by Jesus' teaching and example.

Jesus: "Father, Satan wants to take over Your government. He is jealous of Me. Shall We get rid of him ?. . . No, he must be free to choose; We will let him have his way for a time."

Conference president: "My most talented and organized pastor is threatening me. I think he wants my job and could probably do it better than I could. . . . I am his servant. I will give my job to anyone who could do it better. "

The goal of power

All power is to re-create the image of God in man. When people sense that a leader's use of power is for the single purpose of helping them to be more like God, they will become committed fol lowers, for they see that the leader is their servant and that he is interested in their good and not simply seeking to extend his own power. Jesus exercised power over people because He led them to visualize their potential as children of God. He saw in them not what they could do for Him, but what they could become for God.

The Christian leader is not jealous of others' power. In fact, he freely seeks to give power to others by helping them develop. The goal, then, is the building of the image of God in those we serve by sharing power and teaching how to use it in God's plan.

Jesus: "Father, I have a disciple here who is a traitor and who intends to be tray Me. The other disciples will abandon Me. . . . I will forgive them to build Our image in them. "

Pastor: "My staff is rebellious. I have an associate who is not loyal. In a showdown, the others would not support me. . . . I will forgive them so that they might see God's image in me and that it might be developed in them. "

The motive of power

Power's motive is love as described in Paul's letter to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 13). Oratory, prophecy, knowledge, faith, benevolence, and martyrdom are worth nothing without love as the motivating factor. Any other motivation tends toward self-aggrandizement and the corruption of power.

This love that motivates Christian power creates value in people. People are not to be valued only because they can be used; they have value because they are loved.

Jesus: "Father, Adam and Eve dis obeyed; they didn't trust Me. ... I will die for them. "

Pastor: "The member who has op posed my ministry here ever since I came is having problems in his marriage. . . . I will show my love for him. "

Power, real power as it exists in God's kingdom, is the most powerful leader ship force in the world. The world's concept of power is only disguised weakness. God's model takes time and patience. It has taken Him more than 6,000 years, but it is the only model that provides permanent results and gives power to the pastor's leadership.


Ministry reserves the right to approve, disapprove, and delete comments at our discretion and will not be able to respond to inquiries about these comments. Please ensure that your words are respectful, courteous, and relevant.

comments powered by Disqus
Gordon Bietz is pastor of the Stockton Central Seventh-day Adventist church, Stockton, California.

January 1981

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

Finding the right pastor isn't easy!

Shopping for a new pastor is not exactly the same as buying a new car, even though pastors, like automobiles, come in a variety of models and styles.

New methods for a new journey

As you take inventory of gains and losses in your ministry during 1980 you will no doubt have several entries on the debit side of the balance sheet But you don't have to carry them over into the new year.

The saving knowlege of the truth

Has the tendency of many evangelical pulpits to concentrate on personal experience rather than on the teaching of sound spiritual truth resulted in a shallow spirituality among professed Christians?

Putting your sermon on target

In this fifth article in his series on expository preaching, John Osborn gives preachers some definite methods of so limiting and defining their topic that their hearers will be able to remember and state clearly its specific aim.

Legislated Morality

Christian political action groups are largely right in what they are trying to do but quite wrong in how they are doing it

Disappearing Walls

Ministry Magazine and professional growth

Jesus' Own City

Jesus spent much time in Capernaum and also reproved it harshly. Recent excavations reveal much about the city's ongoing role.

Tribute to a Pastor's Wife

How could a private person like me lay bare her heart to a stranger?Why should you care what happened to me?

Marvels in Miniature

Scientists recognize that the insect wing is a superbly designed flying tool, although they don't agree on who designed it.

Smoking Still Kills

"Let's give the tobacco companies fits," urges the former U.S. Surgeon-General who brought about the warnings on cigarette ads.

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up

Recent issues

See All