Quote:
Originally Posted by Nell
Hi Awareness--
Before we can say these verses are an example of "Deputy Authority" we first have to provide evidence that the LC "Deputy Authority" teaching is in fact Scriptural.
Certainly there are men who legitimately act with authority in the Bible. However, this is not what the LC "Deputy Authority" teaching is about. This LC teaching is an attempt to do an end-run around accountability for the sinful behavior of its leadership. When the "Deputy Authority" card is played, it can lead to abuse of the membership.
This teaching makes a mockery of the gospel. In effect, this non-scriptural teaching answers the question "shall we sin that grace may abound?" with the answer "Yes".
Is this your understanding of the teaching?
Nell
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Is the teaching of Deputy Authority scriptural? Was it taught by Jesus and/or Paul? Is it New Covenant?
More than that, is the practice scriptural? Is the fruit of such authority scriptural?
So far, strictly speaking, in Christian circles, I haven't seen good scriptural fruit come from it.
Just look at the Roman Catholic church, when it had more authority than the standing government.
And look around at Protestant examples of the fruit of authority.
From my neck of the woods for 30+ years, there's the example of the 20,000 mega-church, Calvary Chapel, in South Florida. The governance model of that mega-church was called The Moses Model; in that, God spoke to Moses and Moses ran the show. So pastor Bob Coy's authority wasn't to be questioned, nor could the authority of the 200 pastors under Boy Coy be questioned. A year ago last April Coy had to step down, for affairs with sisters. And other pastors were exposed for affairs with sisters and brothers (gay). It was the non-questioning of authority that allowed such sins to abound. Ring a bell?
And bro Untohim has repeatedly brought up Mars Hill in the Northeast, and pastor Mark Driscoll. Driscoll's sin, as I understand it, was precisely that of his abuse of authority.
Then The Village Church (TVC), a mega-sized Dallas-area church, head pastor, Matt Chandler, who like Driscoll, heads up the Acts 29 network.
There the church wouldn't allow missionary Karen Hinkey to divorce her missionary husband after discovering he had a child porn addiction.
And even here locally, churches based upon authority figures, from what I've seen with family members, at an Independent Baptist Church, bears non-scriptural fruit.
So I have to ask. Is the fruit of Deputy Authority in the local church scriptural? I wouldn't know. I left circa 1980, when the deputy authority shoe began to drop here in America. I couldn't take it back then. I don't know how anyone since can stand it. It only got worse.
But like the Eurythmics sang in ""Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)":
Everybody's looking for something
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused