Titus 2:15-3:1

Though completely unbiblical, the popular position today in relation to this issue (the authority of the pastor) is that he has no authority. The combination of pastor and authority – it is believed, leads only to abuse (“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” – John Dalberg-Acton). As a result, the way the pastor and his message are received is very similar to Barth’s Neo-orthodoxy: what the pastor speaks from the bible does not become the Word of God (i.e. authoritative), until the Holy Spirit makes it so in the heart of the individual. Such thinking is true as it concerns the church as a whole.