We shall look at these later. However, it is significant that none of these metaphors stands or falls by the inclusion or exclusion of leaders. This is simply not how the Bible thinks about the Church. In other words, the essence of the church does not reside in its leadership. The purpose of the leadership is to encourage the church to function in a way that is true to the implication of these metaphors, which all point to Jesus as its Lord.
Feminists have a point here.
Though this is the New Testament emphasis, the church needs also to be aware of how little sympathy people in today's postmodern world have for top-down organisations. Babyboomers and later generations look to networking as their model for an organisation. Today's culture talks of facilitators and initiators. A beautiful picture of divine leadership is given us in the last chapter of the Bible. The ministry of women It would be inappropriate to leave the question of leadership in the church without declaring my colours on the subject of women in leadership.