A Compelling Case for Service
A Review of
A Theology of Authority: Rethinking Leadership in the Church
Christa McKirland
Paperback: Baker Academic, 2025
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Reviewed by Lauren Mulford
Christa McKirland, a lecturer in systematic theology at Carey Baptist College in Aotearoa, New Zealand and executive director of Logia International, has written a book that will help readers reconsider their assumptions about relationships in the church. In A Theology of Authority: Rethinking Leadership in the Church, she expounds on “the source, purpose, and limits of authority that we believe (explicitly or implicitly) is conferred in the ordination process (or however we designate who ‘clergy’ or ‘ministers’ are) and what that implies about the dignity and function of the nonordained” (5).
This book is written to leaders and congregants alike. It is an easy read, but you may want to keep a dictionary nearby if you’ve been out of school for a while. It’s also gripping enough that I can’t stop talking about it with others. I feel like I understand the gospel and the mind of Christ better —McKirland shows how Christ demonstrated his power and authority and calls us to lay down our lives for others. You will not read the words “power” and “authority” in the Bible the same way afterward.
She offers a couple of ways to read the book. The first is the regular straight-through method. The second, for those less interested in the argumentation behind the discussion, is to read the summary of the first three chapters, image 9.1, and then the final section of chapters. I suggest a third way, which is to read the summary of the chapter and then the chapter, so you know what to expect going through it. If you skip any chapter outright, you will be missing out on (possibly) a closer walk with Christ.
McKirland has divided her book into three sections: “What is Authority? Forming the Bricks;” “How is Authority Expressed? Building the Boundary Walls;” and “How is Authority Identified and Evaluated? Living Within the Boundary Walls.” In this book, she’s building bricks to form a wall around how “authority and power should be understood, especially as those walls relate to practices we tend to associate with leadership” (16). She defines the words “power” and “authority” so the reader can easily follow along.
We have all dealt with imbalances of power in church settings. Some of us have been hurt or suppressed by others lording their authority over us. We see this unhealthy dynamic at many churches where the ministry-as-a-business functions to promote the Pastor-CEO while using the resources of the lowly underlings without recognition or gratitude. The pastors of these churches feast on their congregants rather than feed them. Some pastors feel it’s their duty to be controlling, while many congregants agree that they need to be subservient to their leaders. This is a problem, according to McKirland. “Power and authority are meant to look markedly different within the church than outside the church” (3).
McKirland writes a compelling case for the Christian’s calling to serve and have power through weakness and vulnerability rather than a power over others that is more consistent with Screwtape and Wormwood. When we fight over who gets to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, we reveal our motivation is not love for God and love for neighbor. “[T]o be human is to need union with God…this need is best satisfied through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who conforms us into Christ’s likeness…[T]he church is meant to be a flourishing community of those who are in the dynamic process of being in union with God” (12). McKirland’s goal is to provide a tool for clarifying our understanding of authority and power. She does an excellent job of this.
This book would be a good choice for book clubs at churches or even small groups. The leadership team at your church will greatly benefit from it as you seek to serve the kingdom together.
Lauren Mulford
 Reading for the Common Good From ERB Editor Christopher Smith "This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church." -Karen Swallow Prior Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook! |
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