Is Authority Only Given to Men?
In a 1976 sermon, a well-known pastor asserted that “God has designed that men be given the position of authority, and women the position of submission.”[1] In the decades since, many complementarian theologians have continued to write about what “authority” means and describe it as “servant leadership,” especially if it has to do with men leading women.
What I’ve seen less often is men in power giving up their own right to lead (or speak) in order to open the door for someone else. We can observe this failure systemically (as when leadership teams intentionally exclude women or minorities), but it also happens situationally (as when men talk more loudly and more often than women during a meeting).[2] In the words of David Fitch in his recent book, Reckoning with Power, “Like it or not, church leaders’ views of power and authority are more often shaped by culture than by scripture.”[3]
But to understand “authority” in Scripture, we must start with what Jesus taught and did.
Jesus’s Teaching and Example
In the sermon on the mount (Matt. 5:3–12), Jesus introduces his view of kingdom living. He must have sounded quite different than how his followers—or even strangers—had expected. Yet Jesus taught “as one who had authority” (Matt. 7:29) and attracted scores of followers with his counter-cultural teachings about who is “blessed”: the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers. None of these characteristics would be expected in a modern (even if quasi-Christian) book on “leadership and authority.”
Just ask AI.[4] Leaders are described as competent achievers, self-starters, and strong decision-makers.[5] They inspire and motivate others with clear and persuasive arguments. Sample resumes include phrases like “high performing” and “proven success.” In modern-day churches, leadership teams are often based on these marketplace principles. But these are not the people Jesus calls “blessed.”
In Luke 14, Jesus teaches the importance of humility. In our modern day, it might never occur to you to take the seat of honor at a wedding, but today’s version of “seeking honor” may be curating your social media to look more powerful or popular than you actually are, or buying scores of your own book to drive up its rating on Amazon. In an age of celebrity preachers and Instagram influencers, it doesn’t take long (unfortunately) to find examples of power-hungry preachers with a lack of integrity.[6]
They might think that authority and power are methods to help them accomplish the mission of God. But biblical authority comes when the Holy Spirit works through us—we are only stewards of God’s gifts. God will accomplish the mission with or without us. And Jesus never suggests we should co-opt society’s methods to do so.
In Mark 10, James and John approach Jesus and ask, essentially, to sit in places of honor (to use the language from Luke 14). They want to be at his right (and left) when he’s on his glorious throne—his “right-hand men,” as it were. His chiefs of staff. His vice-presidents. His executive ministers. His CFO and COO.
Proximity to power is an addictive drug, and these disciples fall sway to its allure.
The other disciples are offended and, perhaps, jealous they didn’t think to ask first. . . but glad they didn’t after Jesus’s response. Jesus does invite James and John to join him on this discipleship journey with language that echoes his earlier call to “take up their cross, deny themselves, and follow” (Mark 8:34).
But Jesus does not invite them to become “servant leaders.” He even seems to suggest that exercising authority is not the way of his followers! “Not so with you!” Jesus says. We are called to live the life of a servant—full stop—not a servant leader. We are called to give up our lives on behalf of others. And Jesus’s own life was one example for us.
Jesus is never interested in proximity to power unless it is in order to call out sin. His conversations with the Pharisees bear this out (Luke 11:37–54). Jesus eats with sinners, touches corpses, and heals the sick (Matt. 9). He makes time for both women and children (Luke 10, John 4). In other words, Jesus prioritizes “the least of these,” those living on the margins of society (Matt. 25). And power is not found on the margins.
Perhaps Jesus’s most striking example of servanthood is when he washes his disciples’ feet (John 13). Jesus doesn’t take this humble position because the housemaid had the day off, or out of despondency over his upcoming crucifixion. Jesus knows his authority and identity come from God, and he serves his disciples in light of this knowledge that all things are under his power. In full and complete authority, given him by God, Jesus still sets aside that authority and chooses to serve.
Paul’s Teaching and Example
Our mission on earth is in obedience to Jesus’s authority, first and over man-made authority. Theologically, Paul establishes Christ as above all other forms of rule and authority, asserting, “God appointed him to be head over everything for the church” (Eph. 1:21–22). In Colossians 2:10, he similarly asserts Christ as “head over every power and authority.” Based on his resurrection power, Christ will destroy all “dominion, authority, and power, for he must reign. . .” (1 Cor. 15:23–25).
When Paul does speak of worldly authorities, he says to submit as they are “God’s servants,” allowed power to maintain social order (Rom. 13). When we obey civil authorities out of love, we are also called to pray for “kings and all those in authority. . . which pleases God, who wants all people to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:1–4). Our voluntary submission to those in authority impacts our witness in the world.
Paul describes those who carry “authority” in the church as ones who “devoted themselves to service. . .” deserving of our submission and recognition (1 Cor. 16:15–18). He also notes that those who “work hard. . . who care. . . and who admonish” merit our “highest regard in love” (1 Thess. 5:12–13). In each text, recognition of leadership was based not on a positional title, but on the service and example they had provided the community. Pastoral care preceded any presumption of having authority over others. Their work went ahead of their witness. Seeking authority or sensing the “right” to be in charge is not the way of Jesus—or, for that matter, of Paul.
Elsewhere, Paul is an example of someone who teaches, loves, and cares for the church (1 Thess. 2:1–12). His apostleship meant he could have asserted authority—and yet, he describes himself and other leaders as being “like young children” among them (verse 7). In humility and deference, he puts their needs before his own. His metaphor of a nursing mother who “shares her own life” calls to mind the embodied sacrifice required when caring for newborns (verse 7). Just like a father, Paul certainly has the right to exercise authority and demand respect, but he emphasizes encouragement, comfort, and exhortation toward “lives worthy of God” (11–12).[7] He chooses to live in such a way that they respond to his loving example, caring for this church as if they were his own children.
Paul sets an example for us to practice humility and deference to the needs of others. He did not seek power over others or claim a position of status. Paul encourages the church to treat each other like family. He did not press into his God-given authority, but rather served alongside many other co-workers—both men and women—in order to build up the church (Rom. 16).
The reality is, unless we understand authority from a biblical perspective, we will interpret texts about authority through a secular, modern lens. And when we do that, we invariably apply beliefs about rights and power to our application of those texts.
The church is often an institution with hierarchical structures of leadership. I don’t understand why sharing “authority” and “leadership” in the church seems so hard. But I have been accused of “seeking power” or “usurping authority” just for asking questions about how and where I can use my gifts. And I’m not alone—even in my small circles of influence, dozens of women tell similar stories.
Why are women suspected of “seeking power,” but men who preach or lead are not suspected of the same? If male church leaders serve humbly using their gifts, equip others to serve, and care for the flock, they lose nothing when women have the same opportunities. The church benefits when each member uses their gifts for the common good.
Maybe those in positional “authority” are afraid of the power they might lose.
Henri Nouwen, in his book In the Name of Jesus, suggests that power is more attractive than service to those called into ministry. Serving and loving in the way of Jesus is difficult work:
“Power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to control people than to love people. . . . Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who. . . have opted for power and control [over the work of love].”[8]
When we have a biblical view of authority in the church, when we understand that Jesus is our head and we—all together—are the body of Christ, when we seek the common good, we are more likely to open the doors of opportunity for women and men to serve, in whatever way God has gifted them to do so. . . leading together in Christ.
[1] John MacArthur, Grace to You, “The Subordination and Equality of Women,” sermon, Grace Community Church, April 25, 1976, https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/1844/the-subordination-and-equality-of-women.
[2] Deborah Tannen, “The Truth About How Much Women Talk — and Whether Men Listen,” Time, June 28, 2017, https://time.com/4837536/do-women-really-talk-more/.
[3] David Fitch compares the worldly view of “power over” to a view of “power with” God. For more, see Reckoning with Power (Downers Grove: IVP, 2024), chapter 2.
[4] Artificial intelligence.
[5] “What is a leader” iAsk, updated 2024, https://iask.ai/?mode=question&q=what+is+a+leader%3F.
[6] Katelyn Beaty, Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church (Brazos, 2022). This resource unpacks numerous examples.
[7] See also Ephesians 6:4 where fathers are reminded not to exasperate their children but to “bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
[8] Henri Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, quoted by John H Sather (@johnhsather) on Twitter, Jul 13, 2023, https://twitter.com/johnhsather/status/1679640136357740546.
Photo by Samuel Lima.