“Christ is the only Head of the church” (21MR 274; DA 817;
GC 51). The context clarifies her meaning: “He only has the right to demand of man unlimited obedience to His re-quirements” (21MR 274). Obviously, no mere human put “at the head of the work” has the right to demand “unlimited obedience.” The Catholic Church may believe this, but it is not an Adventist belief. Nevertheless, Ellen White was very
3 From Letter 69, 1904, written to J. E. White, Feb. 9, 1904, “Exhortation to Faithfulness to Church Members and Elders,” March 12, 1907; cf. 5MR 451.4
clear about the delegated authority of the human leaders of the church:
“Jesus was given to stand at the head of humanity, by His example to teach what it means to minister. … The great Head of the church superintends His work through the instrumentality of men ordained by God to act as His representatives. … Christ’s ministers are the spiritual guardians of the people entrusted to their care. Their work has been likened to that of watch-men” (AA 360).
“God has provided light and truth for the world by having placed it in the keeping of faithful men, who in succession have committed it to others through all generations up to the present time. These men have derived their authority in an unbroken line from the first teachers of the faith. Christ remains the true minister of his church, but he delegates his power to his under-shepherds, to his chosen ministers, who have the treasure of his grace in earthen vessels. God superintends the affairs of his servants, and they are placed in his work by divine appointment” (ST, April 7, 1890, par. 6).
One more statement in this regard should be considered:
“Christ, not the minister, is the head of the church” (ST, Jan 27, 1890). The context of this statement reveals that Ellen White speaks against an unhealthy dependence on ministers, to the exclusion of personal growth and responsibility. This is not a restriction or definition of leadership, or local church head-ship, but a reprimand of lethargic, spiritually stunted church members. It is a warning against the all-too-common reality of ministry where the head (the pastor) works without the help of the body of laity! Here is the statement in its full context:
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“The success of a church does not depend on the ef-forts and labor of the living preacher, but it depends upon the piety of the individual members. When the members depend upon the minister as their source of power and efficiency, they will be utterly power-less. They will imbibe his impulses, and be stimulated by his ideas, but when he leaves them, they will find themselves in a more hopeless condition than before they had his labors. I hope that none of the churches in our land will depend upon a minister for support in spiritual things; for this is dangerous. When God gives you light, you should praise him for it. If you extol the messenger, you will be left to barrenness of soul. Just as soon as the members of a church call for the labors of a certain minister, and feel that he must remain with them, it is time that he was removed to another field, that they may learn to exercise the ability which God has given them. Let the people go to work. Let them thank God for the encouragement they have received, and then make it manifest that it has wrought in them a good work. Let each member of the church be a liv-ing, active agent for God, both in the church and out of it. We must all be educated to be independent, not helpless and useless. Let it be seen that Christ, not the minister, is the head of the church. The members of the body of Christ have a part to act, and they will not be accounted faithful unless they do act their part. Let a divine work be wrought in every soul, until Christ shall behold his image reflected in his followers.”
13. Why do some reject the term “headship”? The term is disliked likely because the concept is disliked. But the fact that Scripture connects male headship in the church with the leadership of Christ and the order of authority within the Godhead itself (1 Cor. 11:3) should be sufficient to establish
headship as a biblical teaching, even if, in our authority-resis-tant age, many resent it. We can only repeat that the biblical meaning of headship is a positive one, which neither fosters nor condones abuse in any form.
14. Doesn’t “the priesthood of all believers” imply that women are now included in a headship ministry? No. The doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is derived from such passages as Exodus 19:6, where God speaks of Isra-el’s call to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” But this did not mean that every Israelite was called to serve as a priest in the sanctuary, and it certainly did not mean that women could be priests. That role was reserved for the male descendants of Aaron (Exod. 28:1; Num. 3:3).
The New Testament borrows the language of Exod.19:6 in 1 Pet. 2:9, which describes the church as “a chosen gener-ation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.” But as with ancient Israel, this designation doesn’t mean every church member is qualified for every role. According to other New Testament passages, addressing both the family and the faith communi-ty, spiritual headship roles are reserved for men (1 Cor. 11:3;
Eph. 5:22–25; 1 Tim. 2:12, 13).
Statements about God’s people functioning as kings and priests appear in the book of Revelation (1:6; 5:10; 20:6), but it is always pertaining to final salvation. The twenty-four el-ders in Rev. chapters 4 and 5 appear to have a priestly role, in that they are depicted holding golden incense burners, rep-resenting an intercessory function in relation to “the prayers of the saints” (5:8). But these individuals are represented as those who have received the promises of Jesus to the faithful overcomers in the churches (4:4; cf. 2:10, 26; 3:5,12,21), so they seem to represent redeemed saints who are already en-joying the blessings of the everlasting covenant.
There is nothing about the priesthood of all believers that automatically confers a headship ministry in the church to
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every individual. This phrase, when viewed in the light of the biblical consensus, simply refers to the role of Christians in representing God to the world and in having no earthly priest to mediate between them and our great High Priest in heaven, Jesus Christ (Heb. 8:1).