“The Body of Christ” Figure and Its Functional Significance for Adventist Church Leadership

A biblical imagery of `the body of Christ` has been often used in connection to the church herself. This paper takes another view on the same imagery and discusses it in relation to the Adventist Church leadership. First of all, it lays the biblical foundation for this subject with the emphasis on the functional relationships of the leaders with Jesus and each other. Secondly, it presents the leaders` responsibilities and accountabilities on the horizontal and vertical levels. Thirdly, it describes the nature of authority in the church, giving some examples of different type of authorities partially adopted from Neil Cole. Then, it discloses the life of the church and her leaders in view of Christ`s second coming when such biblical teachings as righteousness, moral integrity, humility and love towards God and one`s neighbor become meaningful and essential. The final part of the paper presents concluding remarks with a call for radical transformation in the contemporary church leadership.