Do something which crosses certain boundaries that people perceive to exist and you may get this rejoinder, "Who gives you the right to do such-and-such?"

The question implies that you are welcome to do it, provided that an authority higher than yourself, or one authorized to do so, has granted permission to do it.

Authority

Where does authority come from? Where does a child get authority to go out and play in the backyard? Where does a driver get authority to travel down a highway? Or, where does a ruler of any entity, get authority to rule?

Ultimately, all authority comes from God. In Hebrews 6:13 we read

"For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater He sware by Himself,..."

There was no one higher than God; no one who granted Him the power to make a promise to Abraham, so he swore by Himself.

God further granted authority to mankind on earth:

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" (Gen 1:26).

It's a truism that the sender is greater than the sent. "As my Father in heaven hath sent me, so send I you." The question here answered is "Who is greater?" and "Who holds the authority?"

Remember when they asked Jesus "By what authority do you do these things?", they sought to deny that His mission was from God.

Rulership in Our Lives

Authority in God's universe is based on one thing, consent. God only has authority and rulership over our lives if we consent to allow it. His authority must be received and accepted much like Jesus accepted the rulership of the Father in his life. So too is everyone under another's authority. “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

It's much like being under the law. If you do not consent to the authority of the rule of law in your life, then the law also cannot protect you. This would apply to physical law. If you do not recognize the law of gravity, you can step off your roof and fall to your death. Or spiritual law—If you don't stop stealing, you will be placed in jail.

America

Ruling by the consent of the governed was a unique thing in the New World. In the Old World, rulers often ruled by an iron hand, the will of the people be damned. This iron/velvet hand was often termed the "divine right of kings." i.e. “I'm in charge so obviously God must want me here. And if you rebel, you're rebelling against God, not me.”

But in the New World, the people said that God's authority and rights were first given by Him to the people, and not prelates or monarchs. These rights were deemed inalienable to the people and could never be taken away. In America, these rights are intrinsic to citizens.

When the people came together to form a governance of the common good (regulation of roads, transport, defense, communications, public works, education, public safety) they then consented to grant certain rights and authority from themselves to the government. No longer would an individual take responsibility to build a bridge for a city; now a government entity would be granted authority to levy taxes to pay for and construct the bridge. They were granted authority through eminent domain to expropriate private land for the common good. Many more examples could be given as to how the people benefited by granting certain limited authority to a governing power.

But the real question is this one: Can such a government exercise any power of authority which was not first granted to it by the people? In short, No.

So how is this being distorted today? I don't want to get into politics too much here because my point ultimately deals with the church. But I need to elucidate this parallel.

Does it stand to reason that when people founded a municipality, that they gave the mayor the authority to tell them, at his own discretion, that churches must be closed, but bars and liquor stores must stay open? Does it stand to reason that they would grant a governor the authority to tell them that they could buy ice cream and cosmetics but not seeds to plant a garden? Does it stand to reason that the people would grant any governing authority to, at any later date, now tell them that the profession they studied years for, invested thousands of dollars and man-hours into, is completely legal and indeed licensed by the government, to now be deemed "non-essential" to society and outlawed by decree? And finally, does it stand to reason that any person would allow their rights of assembly, worship or even the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to be abrogated without due process? One thinks not.

The Church

Which brings us to authority in the local church. We are not all independent atoms. We are to be organized and united under the banner of Prince Immanuel.

"In order for it to be a successful ecclesiastical organization at the service of the Lord and humanity, it [the Church] needs order, rule, and discipline. Scripture affirms that “all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40)" (SDA Church Manual p.15).

What is the highest authority in the local church? Is it the pastor, the Conference, or maybe an elder? No. The highest authority lies with the church members themselves. They are the constituency of the local church.

They are the ones who form, organize, and run the church. They set the rules under which the entire organization will operate. They are the ones who create the various church offices, boards, committees, accept or decline people into membership, set the budget, purchase property, create bank accounts in the church's name, when, where and how the church will meet for worship and study, what kind of music will be played, and what doctrines will be taught and emphasized (in harmony with the Seventh-day Adventist world church beliefs).

In each case, the church members, in a business session, come together to decide how their authority will be used and delegated in the church. Do not miss this point!

In no case can a pastor, elder, deaconess, Sabbath school teacher, building committee, finance committee, church board, or other entity make authoritative decisions that go against what the church at large has already decided. Nor can they usurp authority away from the church at large by attempting to make decisions that only the church can do in a business session. This is the entire crux of the Women's Ordination fiasco—where various church entities are trying to usurp authority away from the decisions made by the General Conference in session. Does this make sense to any of you out there, or am I putting out a radical idea that seems totally ridiculous?

COVID-19

This brings us to our current situation in the COVID-19 world we live in. Everything is topsy-turvy. Some countries and counties are locked down, others not. Some cities have certain requirements regarding the disease, others don't.

Some churches, businesses, and schools etc have been ordered closed by civil authorities. My focus is on the spiritual matter of the church. If a government orders a church shut, that is one thing. But what if the government says that churches can now be open, what then?

In an SDA church near to me, the church board voted to do the following:

Decide when and where the church would open.
Attendees must wear a mask (when none was mandated by the government)
No talking in church
No singing in church
No touching of anyone else in the church (hugging, handshaking).
No potluck
No Sabbath school

Maybe some of these ideas are reasonable. I don’t know. That is not my point. As Seventh-day Adventists, I thought we were supposed to be different from the other churches.

They [other churches] attempt to change God's Law. And our response is always, "Show us from the Bible where we are in error. Show us where the change was made."

Why are we repeating the errors of the Catholic Church and attempt to say a kind of "Thus saith the Lord" when the Lord clearly has not spoken? If we allow an elected committee to change doctrine we have now made ourselves into nothing more than the Presbyterian Church, ruled by a presbytery.

Just as citizens are searching in vain their own state constitutions and laws for the passages which grant governors and un-elected directors of health departments the authority to shut down all commerce, travel, and education ad infinitum, so too do we search in vain the entire Bible and SDA Church Manual for those passages which grant church boards, Conferences, and pastors the authority to start and stop church services when they wish; how worship will be conducted; whether or not people can talk or sing in the church etc. The church, i.e. the constituency never granted them this authority. There is a provision for that.

"Major items should be decided at a regular or specially called business meeting" (SDA Church Manual p.128).

Would you agree with me that whether or not the church will meet is a 'major item'? Would you say that forbidding worship through singing is a 'major item'? And would you also say that doing away with Sabbath School is also a 'major item'?

It's not whether or not these decisions are a good idea. That's irrelevant. It's how were the decisions made? Were they done according to proper church order and authority?

Maybe you are in a liberal church. Maybe you are a long-time conservative member and you, on your own conservative SDA Church Board made similar decisions. If you have done so, I prayerfully ask that you reconsider this and bring these matters to a church business meeting. Any other course is to now assume kingly power.

Point number 11 in the Church Manual is given as a reason for church discipline of a member:

"Persistent refusal to recognize properly constituted church authority or to submit to the order and discipline of the church."
"By ignoring the authority of the church they show contempt for God, who gave to the church its authority.”— 5T 243

What do we call it when people despise the authority of the church and choose to go their own way?

Rebellion.

“Let everything be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).