The Freedom and Responsibility of Baptist Congregation Relative to the Question of Leadership

The Freedom and Responsibility of Baptist Congregation Relative to the Question of Leadership

Robert E. JOHNSON

Articles four, five, and six focus on the Baptist believer within the faith community. This article explores the issue of the Baptist congregation and the question of leadership. The troika of pastor, deacon, and congregation often has generated tensions, questions of authority, and occasional crises in the life of many Baptist churches. This article utilizes Celia Allison Hahn's model of four stages of authority in pastor-deacon-congregation relationships to evaluate this topic. The article addresses the troika of decision making in Baptist churches in five stages: (1) the exercise of authority by the congregation and/or deacons over the pastor, (2) the exercise of authority by the pastor apart from the deacons and/or the congregation, (3) the exercise of authority by the pastor over the deacons and/or the congregation, (4) the exercise of authority by the congregation and/or deacons apart from the pastor, and (5) the exercise of authority by the pastor, deacons, and the congregation in an integrated fashion. The article concludes that achieving an integrated exercise of authority helps bring focus to the ambiguities in Baptist polity regarding leadership. Appropriate understanding of the authority dynamic offers hope for healthier relationships among the leadership troika in Baptist churches, and with that the promise of healthier and happier Baptist faith communities.