Executive Summary

Outlying congregations often depend upon long-serving members who host, organize, fund, or sustain local gatherings. While such service is frequently sincere and indispensable, Scripture warns repeatedly of the spiritual and organizational dangers that arise when service hardens into perceived ownership and informal influence is mistaken for legitimate authority.

This white paper examines, from a biblicist perspective, how an ordinary member’s assumption of proprietorial control over a congregation—particularly when organizational reordering is interpreted as personal punishment—undermines unity, damages spiritual health, distorts discipleship, and places the entire outlying congregation at long-term risk.

I. The Biblical Distinction Between Stewardship and Authority

1. Stewardship Is Delegated; Authority Is Conferred

Scripture consistently distinguishes between:

Stewardship: responsibility for care, logistics, or resources Authority: responsibility for doctrine, discipline, and direction

“Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2, NKJV)

Faithfulness is measured by obedience to the owner’s will, not control over the domain. The steward does not own the vineyard.

By contrast:

“No one takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God.” (Hebrews 5:4)

Authority—especially spiritual authority—is not accumulated by longevity, labor, generosity, or competence. It is recognized and conferred, not seized or inferred.

2. Service Does Not Mature Automatically Into Governance

Biblically, service and leadership follow different evaluative paths:

Deacons serve tables (Acts 6) Elders oversee doctrine and flock (1 Peter 5:1–3) Teachers are judged more strictly (James 3:1)

When a member assumes that long service entitles him to govern outcomes, structure, or policy, the church experiences category confusion—a deeply destabilizing condition.

II. The Psychological and Spiritual Drift Toward “Ownership”

1. The Subtle Shift From “I Serve” to “This Is Mine”

In outlying congregations, especially those meeting in homes or rented spaces, a host may unconsciously transition through stages:

Custodianship – “I help make this possible.” Identification – “This congregation reflects me.” Control – “Changes require my consent.” Possession – “This is my congregation.”

Scripture warns against this drift explicitly:

“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed… I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:5–6)

Even apostolic labor did not confer ownership.

2. Reorganization Interpreted as Punishment

When informal authority is mistaken for legitimate authority, any corrective action or reorganization is perceived as:

A personal rebuke A loss of status An unjust demotion

This perception reveals not merely hurt feelings but misaligned ecclesiology—the belief that the congregation exists to validate the individual rather than the individual serving the body under Christ’s headship.

III. Effects on Unity and Spiritual Health

1. Unity Becomes Conditional Rather Than Covenantal

Biblical unity is rooted in shared submission to Christ:

“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)

When unity is conditioned on preserving one person’s informal dominance:

Loyalty shifts from Christ to personality Disagreement becomes betrayal Order becomes oppression

Such unity is fragile, coercive, and unbiblical.

2. Members Are Forced Into False Choices

Ordinary members in such environments experience pressure to choose between:

The recognized ministry structure The local strong personality who “runs things”

This fractures consciences and teaches believers—implicitly—that relational leverage outranks biblical order.

IV. Long-Term Risks to Outlying Congregations

1. Institutional Fragility

Congregations centered on informal ownership suffer from:

Succession crises Resistance to growth or replication Doctrinal drift aligned with personality

Scripture’s model is explicitly anti-personalistic:

“Nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:3)

Informal authority without accountability becomes lordship by default.

2. Hostility to Legitimate Oversight

Outlying congregations are particularly vulnerable to anti-oversight sentiment, framed as:

“Local autonomy” “Relational trust” “We know what works here”

Biblically, however:

“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls.” (Hebrews 13:17)

Resistance to oversight is not neutrality—it is rejection of God’s protective design.

V. Spiritual Consequences for the Individual

1. The Burden of Illegitimate Authority

Assuming ownership without calling places a member in a spiritually dangerous position:

Bearing responsibility God did not assign Exercising influence without grace for the office Defending identity rather than serving truth

This often produces bitterness, paranoia, and grievance-based spirituality.

2. The Idolatry of “My Work”

Scripture repeatedly condemns taking credit for what God sustains:

“Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” (Psalm 127:1)

When identity is tied to “what I built,” correction becomes existential threat.

VI. Biblicist Correctives and Safeguards

1. Clear Teaching on Authority and Calling

Congregations must be taught explicitly:

The difference between service, influence, and authority That calling is discerned by the body, not self-declared That reorganization is not punitive but pastoral

2. Structural Clarity in Outlying Congregations

Best practices include:

Written charters clarifying non-ownership Regular rotation or review of hosting roles Visible linkage to recognized elders or ministry oversight

3. Pastoral Intervention Early, Not Late

Once ownership mentality calcifies, correction becomes traumatic. Early conversations framed around stewardship and submission prevent later fracture.

Conclusion

The health of outlying congregations depends not merely on dedication or sacrifice, but on rightly ordered submission under Christ. When an ordinary member confuses stewardship with ownership and influence with authority, the result is not empowerment but distortion—of unity, discipleship, and ecclesial life.

Scripture offers a clear corrective:

“For you are not your own; you were bought at a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)

No congregation belongs to the host, the organizer, or the most invested member.

It belongs to Christ alone.