A Fresh Look at Leadership, Authority, and Accountability

by Frank A. Viola, Copyright 1999 Present Testimony Ministry

To all Christians who are seeking to meet under the sovereign Headship of Jesus Christ,
with the same simplicity and purity that marked the first believers.

FOREWORD

   Remember the children's story, The Emperor's New Clothes? In it, a child verbalized that which the adults already knew but were hesitant to admit. Frank Viola, in this revealing treatise on "church authority," is like the small boy who finally blurted out, "But the emperor has no clothes on!"

   Most believers probably already suspect that all is not well in Zion, but they are slow to question the status quo. After all, who wants to get branded as a troublemaker? The appalling fact of the matter is that most systems of church polity are utterly without Scriptural clothing!

   So exactly who has authority over whom in the church? Should a pastor or even a plurality of elders control a church? What is accountability all about? Do denominations afford protection from doctrinal error and moral failure? Do we need modern day apostles to tell us what to do? How does the spiritual gift of "ruling" fit into things?

   When I was a career pastor, I struggled with these issues. Surprisingly, none of them were really dealt with during my time in seminary. Once in the ministry, I discovered that most of the pastors with whom I discussed these things had never really thought through them either. It was a major paradigm shift for me just to go from believing that there should be a single pastor in every church to believing in a plurality of elders. As it turned out, that was just the tip of the iceberg--there is so much more to this issue of leadership that the number of elders becomes almost irrelevant.

   Frank's exposé is both thorough and Biblical. Every relevant passage dealing with leadership and authority is considered. I promise that this book will enrich your understanding of authority in God's kingdom.

   May our Lord be pleased to use the truth contained herein to free the legions of followers and leaders who are trapped in the bondage of hierarchical church systems. As Jesus said, "the truth shall set you free."

Steve Atkerson
Atlanta, Georgia

PREFACE

   In my last book, Rethinking the Wineskin: The Practice of the New Testament Church, I set forth the fundamental principles that governed the practice of the early church and contrasted them with those that characterize the modern institutional church. The book was favorably received and has managed to influence the birth of a number of New Testament-styled churches in this country and abroad.

   As expected, some of these fresh and budding testimonies have borne the brunt of misunderstanding and opposition from leaders in the organized church. In particular, they have generated acute questions regarding ecclesiastical authority. Namely, they have been asked the same question religious leaders asked our Lord centuries ago: "By what authority do you do these things, and who gave you this authority?" (Matt. 21:23).

   Since not much has been written about this question from the standpoint of New Testament (NT) assembly life, I felt burdened to tackle the matter here and now. While some of its content overlaps with that found in Rethinking the Wineskin, this book makes more complete my treatment of the overall subjects of leadership and authority. Furthermore, there is a wide range of new material that I have embarked upon that does not appear in the earlier book. Thus, in many respects, I regard this work as a companion to Rethinking.

   To my mind, the chief value of this book lies in its presentation of a fresh model for understanding leadership, authority, and accountability. This model, which is both complex and countercultural, is not rooted in mere theory. I have seen it work in many contemporary assemblies that have returned to NT principle for their corporate life. My aim in writing, therefore, is both practical and theological; it is constructive rather than controversial. Albeit, because what follows is so radically different from traditional understanding, it will doubtlessly raise eyebrows and perhaps hostility.

   With that said, I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Hal Miller, Robert Banks, Russ Lipton, and Chris Smith, cheerfully thanking them for their inspiration and influence on this work. I would also like to thank my wife Susan as well as Stephanie Bennett, Tim Degrado, Chris Kirk, Mark Mattison, George Moreshead, Frank Valdez, and The House Church Discussion List (an on-line Christian community that utilizes the Internet as a mode for cyber-fellowship) for their critical comments on the manuscript.

   To the Lord and to His people do I commit this book, with the hope that He will use it for the furtherance of His eternal purpose.

Frank A. Viola
Brandon, Florida
January, 1998

INTRODUCTION

"So who is your covering?"

   This is the terse query raised by many modern Christians whenever they encounter those who assemble outside organized, institutional lines. But what is at the heart of this inquiry, and what Biblical basis undergirds it? These are the questions that will engage us in this book.

   It is my contention that a great deal of confusion and subnormal Christian behavior is connected with a modern teaching known as "protective covering." This doctrine, which flies under the flag of other names, holds that Christians are protected from doctrinal error and moral failure when they submit themselves to the authority of another believer or Christian organization. Experience has led me to believe that the "covering" doctrine is a matter that greatly troubles Zion today, and it desperately begs for critical reflection among God's people.

   In the following pages, I attempt to cut through the fog that surrounds the difficult issues attached to the "covering" doctrine, such as leadership, authority, and accountability. In addition, I seek to outline a comprehensive model for understanding how genuine spiritual authority operates in the ekklesia (church).

Is "Covering" Covered in the Bible?

   As we venture to examine the popular "covering" teaching, let us first explore the term "covering" itself. Surprisingly, the word only appears once in the entire NT, and it is used in connection with a woman's head covering (a subject which merits its own discussion--1 Cor. 11:15). While the Old Testament uses the word sparingly, it always uses it to refer to a piece of natural clothing or an overlay of some sort. It never uses it in a spiritual way to refer to authority or submission.

   Consequently, the first thing we can say about "covering" is that there is scant Biblical evidence on which to construct a doctrine upon it. Yet despite this fact, countless Christians glibly parrot the "who-is-your-covering" question and push it as a litmus test to measure the authenticity of a church or ministry.

   If the Bible is silent with respect to the idea of "covering," what do people mean when they ask, "Who is your covering?" Most people (if pressed) would rephrase the question as: "To what person are you accountable?" But this raises another sticky point: the Bible never consigns accountability to human beings. It consigns it exclusively to God (Matt. 12:36; 18:23; Luke 16:2; Rom. 3:19; 14:12; 1 Cor. 4:5; Heb. 4:13; 13:17; 1 Pet. 4:5). Strangely, however, the Biblically sound answer to this question ("I am accountable to the same person you are--God") is often a prescription for misunderstanding and a recipe for false accusation.

   Thus, while the timbre and key of "accountability" may differ from that of "covering," the song is often the same. And it is one that does not harmonize with the unmistakable singing of Scripture. (Please note that there is a healthy form of accountability in the church, which we will explore later. But the brand of accountability connected with the "covering" doctrine lacks Biblical merit.)

Unearthing the Real Question Behind Covering

   So let's widen the question a bit. What do people really mean when they push the "covering" question? I submit that what they are actually asking is, "Who controls you?" The common (mis)teaching about "covering" really boils down to questions about who controls whom. In fact, the modern institutional church is built upon this idea of control.

   Of course, people rarely recognize that this is at the bottom of the issue, for it is typically well clothed with Biblical garments. In the minds of many Christians, "covering" is merely a protective mechanism. Yet if we critically examine the "covering" doctrine, we will discover that it is rooted in a one-up/one-down, chain-of-command style of leadership where those in higher ecclesiastical positions have a tenuous hold on those under them. And it is through such top-down control that believers are said to be protected from error (a la "covered").

   The concept goes something like this: everyone must answer to someone else who is in a higher ecclesiastical position. In the garden-variety, post-war evangelical church, this translates into the "laypeople" answering to the pastor. In turn, the pastor must answer to a person who has more authority.

   So the pastor will typically trace his accountability to a denominational headquarters, to another church (often called the "mother church"), or to an influential Christian worker (who is perceived to have a higher rank in the ecclesiastical pyramid). As a result, the "laypeople" are said to be "covered" by the pastor, and the pastor is said to be "covered" by the denomination, the mother church, or the Christian worker. The fact that people can trace their accountability to a higher ecclesiastical authority is the equivalent of being protected by that authority (so the thinking goes).

   But this line of reasoning generates the following telling questions: Who covers the mother church? Who covers the denominational headquarters? And who covers the Christian worker? Some have offered the pat answer that God covers these "higher" authorities. But such an answer begs the question; for why can't God be the covering for the "laypeople," or even the pastor? Of course, the real problem with the "God-denomination-clergy-laity" model goes far beyond the incoherent, pretzel logic to which it leads. The chief problem is that it violates the spirit of the NT; for behind the pious rhetoric of "providing accountability" and "having a covering," there looms a system of government that is bereft of Biblical support and driven by a spirit of control.

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