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Dear Friends:
When it comes to leadership, it is worthwhile to consider the difference between power and authority. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of Hosts” in counsel to Zerubbabel, the Governor of Judah, about the difficult task of rebuilding the temple (Zech 4:6). The Holy Spirit carries with it the authority of God for conviction and inspiration. “We love because he first loved us” is a succinct summation of this point.
Power, on the other hand, carries with it the inherent stigma of coercion and distrust. The use of power says a leader must compel others to do what he or she cannot persuade or trust them to do.
The difference is summarized nicely I think in this quote from a 1999 address from the then National Security Adviser to the President of the United States:
There is a difference between power and authority. Power is the ability to compel by force and sanctions; there are times we must use it, but as a final, not a first resort. Authority is the ability to lead, and we depend on it for virtually everything we try to achieve. Our authority is built on very different qualities than our power: on the attractiveness of our values, on the force of example, the credibility of our commitments and our willingness to work with and stand by others (Samuel L. Berger, National Security Adviser to the President, Speech, November 4, 1999).
When the High Priest Caiaphas said to the Sanhedrin about Jesus, “It is better for one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed” (Jn 11:50), he was appealing to power, not exhibiting authority. Caiaphas’ comment and its implementation illustrate that when the preservation of bricks and mortar and image and influence become more important than the cost to flesh and blood, leadership has been corrupted from stewardship of souls to ownership of them in competition with the God who alone gives life.
When the door permitting light and movement toward God and grace is slammed shut on the musty, windowless, lifeless room walled by tradition, brittle commitments of the past and self-preservation, then leadership is nothing more than a cheap and hollow substitute of power for the authority of love.
An obscure and disgraceful episode in the life of David demonstrates the essential difference between authority and power. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: A Word of Grace, authority, grace, Kent Hansen, love, power

