Tony Jones writes brilliantly on authority in the church:

One of the most compelling responses (for Christians at least) comes from Stanley Fish. Although people like Chuck Colson accuse him of total relativism, Fish is adamant that he does in fact believe in authority, but it is the authority of “interpretive communities.” Persons do speak (and write) authoritatively, as I am doing right now; that authority comes not from “on high,” not from a bishop or a judge or an elected official, synod, dictator, president, supreme court, or pope. It comes, instead, from the community in which the speaker/author has embedded herself.

Tony quotes Steve Bush, who says the community he belongs to makes decisions “through a process of dialogue and discussion, in which we process together the decisions that need to be made, present suggestions, give reasons for our suggestions, and critique the reasons that we give. This is ‘authority from below’ which is neither hierarchical nor individualistic.” The implication of this, Tony says, is that “the emerging church will deliberately practice a communal hermeneutic ‘from below.’” Tony continues,

Sub-implication: We will find ways to continually root out authoritarian tendencies, to unmask power structures (they grow like weeds, but we cannot quit weeding the garden). (If this can happen in denominational churches, in established and institutional churches, in “conservative” or “liberal” churches, then to God be the glory. I am not ruling that out (for God’s Spirit is capable of all things), but I am skeptical — I invite anyone to prove my skepticism unfounded.)

I commented at his site:

It’s helped my understanding of this issue to look at it chronologically. God made Adam & Eve at a specific point in history and instituted the first rule (don’t eat the fruit). The next several millenia resulted in an ever-increasing corpus of laws, structure, hierarchy, etc. Not all of this was bad, but much of it was. Jesus came at another specific point in history and tore down much of the hierarchy that had built up previously, but he didn’t dismantle the structure completely. He brought things back into balance. The next couple of millenia have resulted in more expansion of laws, structure, and hierarchy (Constantine, the Pope, denominations, etc.). Not all of this is bad, but much of it is. Our purpose, I believe, is to again strive, through the Spirit, to bring things back to balance. Not elimination of authority, but restoring proper authority. This is tricky work, and the definition of “proper authority” is slippery.

Can this coming back into balance happen within current church structures? I agree with Tony that the answer is probably no. Why? Primarily because those church structures (local church institutions, denominations, etc.) are incredibly self-preserving. All things are viewed through the lens of denominational or local church influence, power, budget, etc. Anything that threatens the pre-eminence of those institutions is a threat to their continuing existence, so they will fight it tooth and nail.

So this re-balancing of authority must happen, and it must happen outside of current church structures.

UPDATE: Tony reminds me in a comment that “Doug Pagitt (in Reimagining Spiritual Formation) proposes that we consider the Bible as a member of our community…The First among Equals.”