The Centurion Understands Authority
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Authority, Are We In It – Or Under It?
“for I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, Go, and he goes; and that one, Come, and he comes…” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed…
Luke 7:8-10 NIV
This brief story illustrates the principle of the independent style of leadership and “followership” as presented in A Systems Approach to Small Group Interaction (Tubbs, 2007). Tubbs makes the case that “The independent [followership style] is one who can either take over and lead when the situation demands or follow the lead of others when more appropriate.”
In the example quoted above, the Centurion, schooled in Roman military discipline, recognized that Christ had authority over events and elements on earth. The Centurion compared his own levels of authority, “I…am a man under authority… with soldiers under me.” He recognized that depending on the situation at hand he could be the one giving the orders to others, or he could be the one implementing the orders of others. In either case no questions be asked – or even tolerated. All orders would be carried out without justification or explanation.
The lack of recognition of the appropriate use and acceptance of authority is a major problem in society today. In the work place there are situations when authority is questioned and challenged. If left uncorrected these situations lead to a breakdown of chain of command and disruption of the workflow and the productivity and output of the organization. Even in more progressive organizations someone has to make a final decision on the correct action. This person bears the ultimate responsibility and authority for the process or product.
The church frequently struggles with authority issues. When one group aligns against another in rebellion against Gods model for church authority the church looses it efficacy and looks foolish to outsiders can easily cluck their tongues at how those “Christians are fighting again”.
The ability to recognize where we fit in the authority hierarchy can be stabilizing and comforting. Once we have come to terms with our various roles and positions we can quite chafing at perceived injustices and get on with the work at hand of advancing the goals of our employer or the Kingdom of God,