If you have never been a part of a church with an abusive leader count yourself blessed. Thankfully, our current church has no abusive leaders, but I know plenty of churches that do. Many people in our church have had abusive parents. Many have had abusive bosses. At the core of those abusive relationships is a misunderstanding of Biblical authority. In this work on Authority, Leeman writes about the abuses of authority and the proper uses of authority and how they can either tear a person down or build a person up.

The Structure

     Leeman organizes this book into two sections, but I believe it could be divided into three sections. The first section is what we will label as case studies. Leeman gives a few stories from different people that he interviewed for the book on both the positive and negative effects of good and bad authority. In the second section, Leeman begins to define Biblical authority. Though there is not necessarily a third section, I believe that towards the end of the book Leeman shifts his focus from authority to submission.

Personal Impact

     While reading this book I was convicted and encouraged at the same time. Convicted to be a man who uses his authority for the building up of my home. My wife was severely abused as a child, and she knows full well what abusive authority looks like. Unfortunately, that abuse was just as powerful from her childhood pastor as it was in the confines of her home. Living with someone whose been abused has been humbling, sanctifying, and convicting. While reading this book I was filled with gratitude that the members of Masters Community Church have not and will not see abusive leadership. An important gauge of any healthy church can be found in its leadership. Abusive leaders shows that the church is unhealthy. Likewise, if a husband and father is abusive to those under him the family is unhealthy. A place of employment with an abusive boss shows that the business is run poorly.

     Leeman told a story of a lady that he interviewed, and it had the largest impact on me. The lady tells a story of her father. She defined her father as a man who was a gentle man of principle. The first two words stood out to me. Gentle man did not mean gentle parenting. It meant that everything that he did was done with a gentle spirit. She said that it was through the actions of her father that she saw the love of her Heavenly Father. Intrigued by this statement I couldn’t stop reading, how can this be? Her father was a man that showed mercy while at the same time setting out specific expectations. One night she showed up late from her curfew and her father was awake waiting on her. It was with this story that she began to see the love of God displayed in her earthly father. He told her that she was no longer allowed out at night for the foreseeable future, that’s the consequence. However, he still allowed her to drive, and she saw that as her father exercising mercy and grace.

     As I finished reading this case study, all I could think of were my wife and two daughters. Will they say the same thing of me. Do I lead with gentleness and in a way that points them to Jesus. As husbands and fathers, that’s our hope, isn’t it?

Implications for MCC

     I’ve tried in recent reviews to gear the  applications/implications toward whatever season we are in. For this review I would like to focus on two different seasons. The first is the implications this has for our outreach and the second is the implications this has for our discipleship.

     First for our outreach. This book can help us in our outreach approach by considering biblical submission. Though I have my disagreements with Leeman on certain areas, I do believe his overall principle on submission is healthy and right and it can help us in our outreach. I want to focus primarily on the issue of submission in our workplaces. Many of us have had or currently have bosses that are difficult to work for. One implication of submission that Leeman lays out is how employees submit to their bosses. There is a balance between submitting to the boss in a quiet and peaceful manner and not agreeing with your boss. You never know the outreach opportunities that might be afforded to you by quietly submitting to your boss, refusing to gossip about him or her, and doing your job to the best of your ability. I know it’s hard, I’ve been there. I was there recently. There is a time and place to leave an abusive work environment but continue to be diligent as you wait on the Lord. It could open up doors for the gospel that you would have never thought possible.

     Second, implications for discipleship. One way that this book can help our discipleship is by understanding Titus 2. In Titus 2, Paul instructs Titus to have older men teach the younger men and older women teach younger women. Many young men who desire a wife and desire to be in positions of authority need to be taught how to use that authority for good. We live in a culture where masculinity is ill-defined by many and seen as nothing more than toxic by others. Older men in our church can ask themselves, how can I teach the younger generations what good authority looks like? Younger men and women seek out those older than you and have them teach you what biblical authority looks like. Submit to that teaching and let’s be a church that seeks to live lives of authority that brings life as we submit to the Giver of life.