Moral Authority

Course Description:

We live in an age of a leadership crisis in which there is no consensus on what moral authority is. Even in the church and in Christian organizations, few positional leaders understand or wield moral authority. Perhaps the reason why we have a lack of moral authority is because we are not training people to live as moral leaders. Moral leaders are good shepherds, not hirelings. They are humble enough to take ownership of problems that they themselves did not cause. They are not afraid to do what is right—to the contrary, they're afraid to do what is wrong. Moral leaders fear the Lord. In this course, students will be given the opportunity to develop as moral leaders by thinking Christianly about authority and gaining wisdom in how to relate respectfully to all authority figures in light of the authority of God.

 

Key Questions To Be Explored:

• What is moral authority? What kinds of action does moral authority require?

• What does moral authority have to do with people bearing the image of God?

• What causes people to comply with rogue authority?  

• Is it ever right to refuse to submit to authority? If so, when?

• Which source of authority trumps: church authority, biblical authority, government authority, parental authority, the authority of one’s own conscience, etc.?