4.3. Not Authority, but Ministry
4.3. Not Authority, but Ministry
Apart from the authority of the apostles over the churches they had founded, there seems to be very little interest in the question of “authority” at the local level. To be sure, the people are directed to respect, and submit to, those who labored among them and served them in the Lord (1 Cor 16:16; Heb 13:17). But the interest is not in their authority as such, but in their role as those who care for the others.
The concern for governance and roles within church structures emerges at a later time. Nonetheless, the twofold questions of laity and women in ministry are almost always tied to this question in the contemporary evangelical debate. The great urgency always is, Who’s in charge around here? which is precisely what puts that debate outside New Testament concerns.