“Pastors Don’t Own Members, and Members Don’t Own the Pastor”
A shepherd tending to a flock of sheep on a green hillside.
The Health of a Congregation Depends on Remembering Who Truly Leads
Churches often stumble not because they lack vision, resources, or even willing people, but because they forget a simple truth: Christ is the head of the church. When that reality slips into the background, unhealthy dynamics rush in to take its place.
Some pastors begin to act as if the congregation belongs to them. Authority turns into control, and shepherding slips into ownership. On the other side, members sometimes treat their pastor like an employee or a personal property—someone who exists to meet their preferences and protect their traditions. Both patterns distort the gospel, because both confuse stewardship with possession.
The New Testament paints a very different picture. Paul writes that the church is a body, with Christ as the head. John 15 reminds us that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. In both images, life flows from Christ—not from a pastor’s charisma or from a congregation’s demands. Pastors are called to shepherd, not to own. Members are called to belong, not to possess.
Let’s level the ground and dismantle idolatry on both sides: pastors idolizing power, and members idolizing the leader. Both are equally dangerous because both shift attention away from Christ. The truth is that all belong to Him. Pastor and member alike are sheep under the same Shepherd, as Jesus said: “They will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16).
That truth redirects our vision. It calls for maturity in discipleship, for mutual honor between leaders and members, and for the death of unhealthy attachments that breed control, fear, or dependency. No one owns anyone. Christ alone is Head of the Church.
When a congregation remembers who truly leads, several shifts happen:
Pastors lead with humility. Authority is exercised as service, not control. Leadership becomes about equipping, not dominating.
Members engage with maturity. They follow, not as consumers demanding their way, but as disciples willing to be shaped by Christ’s mission.
The church flourishes. Unity deepens, conflict lessens, and mission takes center stage because everyone knows their place in God’s design.
The health of a congregation, then, is not about structures, strategies, or even personalities—it is about alignment. When pastors and people alike align under Christ, the church finds freedom: freedom from control, freedom from ownership battles, and freedom to live out its calling as the body of Christ.
Healthy churches are led by one Shepherd. And He will not share His flock with anyone else.
