Purpose And Power Of Authority (24 page)

Do the above benefits change your perspective on submission?

The give-and-take of authority and submission may best be exemplified by the mentor-mentee relationship. A mentor is someone who invests his time, energy, and genuine interest in the life of another for the purpose of enabling that person to fulfill his personal authority. The mentee may initiate the relationship, and he voluntarily submits for the sake of learning and growing as a person.

I mentioned earlier that when you know who you are in your God-given authority, the first thing you look for is the authority that God has placed in your life to benefit and protect you and to release your own authority. If you are wise, you make a careful search for someone who is very effective in a domain that is like yours and, after prayerful consideration, ask to enter into a mentoring relationship with him or her. (It is usually best, for a number of reasons, for men to have male mentors and for women to have female mentors.) This person may be a family member, a civic leader, a leader in your church, or a member of an organization in which you are involved.

Unfortunately, people rarely will go to others and ask to be in such a relationship in order to learn what they know and to see firsthand how they function in their authority. Yet it is the people who have the humbleness of heart to seek a mentor-mentee relationship, rather than those who try to push or manipulate their way to the “top,” who become true leaders.

Examples of Mentorship

A famous example of mentorship is found in the Scriptures and involves the prophets Elijah and Elisha. God had told Elijah that Elisha was his authorized successor.

[The Lord said,] “Anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.”…So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him.…Then [Elisha] set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.(1 Kings 19:16, 19, 21)

Elijah’s cloak, or mantle, was the symbol of his prophethood, and by putting it around Elisha, he was demonstrating that he would pass along his authority to Elisha.

Note Elisha’s attitude. He wasn’t like most people, who want the position before the qualification and experience. He was willing to become Elijah’s full-time attendant and to observe him as he fulfilled his calling as prophet. He was not afraid to submit his life to Elijah for fear of having his life ruled and controlled by Elijah or his own future forfeited. That kind of fear comes from misunderstanding authority, which, in its true form, releases and frees a person to fulfill his purpose.

The greatest example of a mentor is Jesus Christ, who mentored the small group of twelve men from among His disciples whom He had chosen to train as His apostles, or those who would have special authority in establishing His church on earth after He returned to God the Father. The word apostle comes from the Greek word meaning “a delegate; specifically an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ” or “a messenger, one sent on a mission.” Jesus trained and then delegated authority to these men, who would be ambassadors and messengers of Jesus’ mission to bring the kingdom of God to the earth. Their mentorship relationship would last for three and a half years, before Jesus’ death and resurrection.

These men submitted to the mentoring of their Master Teacher. They spent large amounts of time with Jesus, observed His way of life firsthand, and endeavored to imitate it. They were able to ask Him questions and benefit from His knowledge and wisdom for the purpose of personal transformation. He asked them questions and tested them to see if they understood who He was and the truths and principles He was teaching. (See, for example, John 6:5–13.)

Selecting a Mentor: Assessing Attitudes and Qualities

Mentorship should not be entered into lightly. When making a decision on whom to approach as a potential mentor, and even when you are considering taking a job, joining a church, or aligning yourself with an organization or individual who can influence you and the direction of your life, refer to the following checklist first. It will save you time and help keep you from heartache and even abuse.

Submit yourself only to someone…

• who loves you.
  

• who will receive no personal gain from your submission.
  

• who is committed to your success more than you are.
  

• who has passed the three crucial tests of (1) the appetites, (2) fame and popularity, and (3) power.
  

• who is secure in his leadership and ability.
  

• who is or has been where you want to go.
  

• who has access to those whom you need to know.
  

• who is willing to teach you everything he knows.
  

Key Characteristics of Mentorship

What will being a mentee or delegatee mean for you? The following is a list of the general characteristics and benefits of mentor-mentee relationships and delegated authority:

• Identification/Identity: the association of yourself and your name with the respected authority
  

• Accountability: follow-up of your delegated authority and actions and evaluation of your progress
  

• Responsibility: a solemn trust to carry out and show evidence of the delegated authority
  

• Credibility: authorization to work on the authority’s behalf and, in some cases, to succeed him
  

• Representation: the authority’s endorsement and certification of the decisions and actions you take on his behalf, as well as the benefit of his defense and help on your behalf
  

• Counsel/Advice: the knowledge and wisdom of the respected authority gained from years of experience and study
  

• Protection: the safety of being able to appeal to the decisions and problem-solving responsibilities of the authority
  

• Physical Resources: the supplies and support needed to carry out your authority
  

• Personnel: access to people, through the respected authority, who can assist you to accomplish your responsibility and fulfill your personal calling
  

A Person with Genuine Authority Can Open Doors for You

As you can see, when you submit to an authority, you identify with him and receive many benefits from your relationship, including credibility. This is where the power of mentoring comes in. In fact, a person in authority can transfer to you in a very short time what it took him an entire lifetime to achieve.

Consider the case of Moses and Joshua. Shortly before Moses died, he transferred leadership of Israel to Joshua, under God’s guidance. None of the people argued about it or nominated someone else for the job instead; Joshua was accepted as Moses’ successor. “Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses” (Deuteronomy 34:9). In effect, Moses transferred forty years of leadership to Joshua in about forty seconds. Similarly, Elijah’s anointing as a prophet of God was transferred to Elisha when it came time for Elijah to leave this earth. This transfer was represented by the symbolic act of Elisha receiving Elijah’s mantle, or cloak. In fact, Elisha desired and received a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. Other prophets recognized this anointing and said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” (See 2 Kings 2:8–15.)

Many people believe that submission means restriction, and so they compete with authority or try to make themselves look equal to someone in an authority role. Frankly, the dumbest thing you can do is to compete with true authority. Submission to authority opens doors that you don’t have to push. A person with genuine authority can help you progress quickly in accomplishing something that could take you ten years to achieve on your own.

Again, when you submit to authority, you receive everything the person can give you—friendships, resources, experiences, the lessons learned from his failures, and access to influence and fruitful environments. John the Baptist had many followers as he prepared the people for the coming of the Authorized Dealer, or the Messiah. People went to him “from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan” (Matthew 3:5). So many people came that he had a massive campaign. Jesus could have thought, I’m going to attract some of John’s crowd and start My own ministry with them. Instead, He submitted, and John’s followers legitimately became His.

John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’…I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.(John 1:29–30, 34–37)

If you submit to and receive from one who has true authority, you eventually will receive his credibility. John willingly transferred his whole school of followers to Jesus. He stated, “The reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel” (verse 31). Jesus rightfully “inherited” John’s followers at the outset of His ministry, and some of them became His closest disciples. John’s former disciples were already in tune with the message that they needed to align their lives with the Creator God and that the kingdom of God was coming to earth.

Jesus didn’t have to strive or promote Himself to accomplish the purpose for which He had come. As He followed God the Father’s ways, God provided for Him. Many people are working too hard because they haven’t entered into submission and received its benefits. Submission reduces stress, saves time, and eliminates work. When you submit in a genuine way, you work smarter, not harder.

When people truly understand authority, delegation, and submission, life runs much more smoothly for them, and their relationships are characterized by order and peace. They function in their areas of personal authority, respect others’ authority, and don’t trespasses on the authority of those around them. In this way, both harmony and effectiveness are achieved.

Part of the Lord’s Prayer is, “Forgive us our debts [trespasses], as we also have forgiven our debtors [those who trespass against us]” (Matthew 6:12). Could the greatest Example of authority have been calling our attention to the need to stay in our realms of authority and not trespass on others’ authority or interfere with their personal callings?

The only way to fully experience God’s plan for your life is to understand the interdependence of your personal authority with the personal authority of others and to carry out that interdependence through mentorship, delegation, and submission.

Chapter Twelve

Having talked about the benefits and responsibilities of mentorship, delegation, and submission, we still need to address certain needs and issues that arise within these relationships. It is sometimes difficult to know how to blend or balance authority and submission, especially when we find ourselves in circumstances where those who are in positions of authority don’t understand true authority or don’t practice its principles. While we should never willingly enter into an authority relationship with someone who isn’t submitted to anyone else or who misuses authority, there may be times when we find ourselves in such a relationship in our families, our jobs, or other situations in life.

The following general guidelines will help you to respond positively to, and even thrive under, both genuine authority and false or uninformed authority. Note that your personal situations must be considered individually, with careful thought and prayer to the Ultimate Authority, as the following points cannot address every circumstance you may encounter. The main thing to remember is that you can remain true to your personal authority while respecting the authority and positions of others.

Study the formal organizational structure of the family, community, or business you are a part of. This will help you to understand the relative positions and interrelationships of all the members. It will answer the question of who, officially, is your immediate authority, and whom you can appeal to in relation to a problem or need. It will also clarify those who are the immediate authorities of all others in the group, especially if they differ from your immediate authority.

If you happen to be in the senior position of authority, then remember that your Ultimate Authority is your Creator and that you are responsible to Him for all the members of the group. In addition, you should have one or two people or a small group to whom you make yourself accountable, for your own protection and safety as a leader. You need to be able to discuss your role and responsibilities as a senior authority with those who can help you remain true to the Creator’s principles and ways.

Next, study the informal structures of authority within the family, community, or business. Even though certain formal structures and procedures are usually in place, individuals often interact with one another in “unofficial” ways according to their personalities, relationships, and past experiences or histories. If you learn both the official and unofficial structures, you will gain a better understanding of how authority, delegation, mentorship, and submission actually function in your group.

For example, in a family, although the role of the parents is to teach, train, and supervise all the children, the children relate to their parents in different ways according to their ages, temperaments, styles of learning, and so forth. In this way, even though their parents may want to treat them exactly the same, the fact that each child has a singular makeup makes this difficult at times, if not impossible. Different approaches will be needed with different children in terms of teaching, correcting, and nurturing the unique character of each relationship.