ELEVEN MARKS OF PERVERTED AUTHORITY
(1) The claim of direct authority from God, rather than testing
things by the Word. Many today have set "personal" revelation and
experience above the final authority of God's Word. When this occurs there is
no longer any basis for ascertaining the will of God, as one would not be able
to discern truth from error because the standard is "personal" rather
than the Word of God.
(2) The command is to "submit to
me," rather than "I will serve you."
(3) The method of leadership is to
"order" people around, rather than to appeal for them to do the right
things.
(4) There is a dominating, "pushy"
drive instead of a dependence on God to direct.
(5) There is a sense of control, rather than
a sense of support.
(6) A gift is exploited so that others are
made to feel dependent on it.
(7) There is inflexibility - "don't
question me" - "don't touch the Lord's anointed."
(8) There is unapproachability and
intimidation - the "aura" around the leader keeps the followers in
"awe."
(9) There emerges an organization built
around a man and his peculiar emphases instead of around Christ and His Word.
(10) There will be cyclical challenges to
the authority figure (which are immediately and forcefully purged).
(11) There is more concern for maintaining
the authoritarian structure than there is for caring about the people in it.