Power is coercive, power is manipulative; power can be bought and sold, as in the arena of politics, like grain and oil on the commodities market. Authority cannot. Authority is earned... in one way: through sacrifice and service. The one who serves, Jesus said, is the greatest among you; the one who sacrifices the most for you has the most authority over you.

The authority of sacrificial love earns a man or woman the right to speak about the love of God and the Kingdom of God. Anything other than earned authority is a sham.