Confronting Believers and Leaders
I recently witnessed a discussion where a question arose: is it ever appropriate for a lay-person to confront a leader about a problem in their teaching? This is an attempt to address that question by surveying confrontation in Scripture. This doesn't address the question from other perspectives that would be helpful—Christian spirituality more broadly, systematic theology, psychology and sociology would all add valuable insights. This is just intended as a baseline. Religious leaders can confront those under their authority. In Scripture, there are examples of religious leaders confronting people who are under their authority about problems in their beliefs or practices. For example, Paul confronts the Corinthians believers about a number of problems, and he explicitly says he has a right to their respect (1 Cor. 9:1-12). He cites his apostleship, the fact that he has personally seen Jesus and the fact that he founded the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 9:1). But Paul denies that he’s