I believe there is a direct proportion of dis-empowerment from the clergy to the empowerment of the laity in churches and faith communities these days. The opposite is also true it seems. It would seem that this is why Christ displayed a model that made him as equal to those he was discipling as was divinely possible. This doesn't mean that he was trying to exact himself in human form so as to keep his divinity undetected. It is more that he was unassuming in his "leadership" ability and didn't extend himself on his own account other than through miracles and his declared relationship to the Father. He had no problem displaying obvious authority over the elements (walking on water, stilling the storm), angels (fallen or not), the law (Sabbath), the body and sickness (healings and raising from the dead) and over himself (self control, sinlessness). In doing so he modeled for us the authority that he was to pass on to us. We have that authority, though imperfectly and not as fully expressed as he did, but nonetheless, the design is that we would carry the same authority throughout Creation according to our relationship with him over his creation as stewards and co-creators and members of his redemption team.
He could have become a Scribe with his knowledge of the Law and he could have become famous with his ability to heal and do miracles of all sorts but he hid that. What is interesting is that he was consistently intentional about withholding his divine attributes in order to be fully human - not fully human in the way that we are fully human but fully human in the way that we are to become fully human. The potential to be fully human is present within us but can only be unleashed and fully expressed in a living relationship with Christ. The fullness of that expression can then only be experienced in the new creation - but that which is necessarily possible within us is also essentially us now in our identity (positional justification/already not yet).
One can track with this line of thinking by accepting that Christ's life is just as important as his death and resurrection because in it, that is his life - redemption was also present. Not necessarily redemption that he accomplished through the cross, but the redemption principles that we would learn from his life and then carry into our life - the life and action of his body, the church. This would be our modus operandi as his community until he would return.
He was constantly giving away power, prestige and opportunities to be praised. He either gave them to his disciples, to his Father or he would tell the onlookers to not speak a word of what he had done. In our time, he has given them to the church. So as the life of Christ, as 100% human, is the model that we are called to live under, we then have the ability and potential for everything that he accomplished except for substitutionary atonement.
One question is, is it possible for human beings to calm a storm? Was Christ doing that to nature or was he rebuking an invisible enemy. Some believe it is possible that he was actually rebuking the enemy who was causing the storm, otherwise a rebuke wouldn't have been needed. In other circumstances where natural phenomena occurs in a supernatural way, there is no need for a rebuke. A rebuke is language generally reserved for the enemy of our souls not for nature. It is obvious in the text that the disciples thought he was addressing nature in his remark but the facts remain and it is still possible that he was addressing evil spirits who were also able to cause the conditions that they were in.
Either way, the idea that Christ gave away power through his example and the way in which he discipled, lived, taught, healed, etc... is seemingly strong. His efforts were to "em-power" the disciples. As we see with Christ and the Pharisees, the message given by Christ of the New Covenant arriving and his identity as the Messiah who had brought it, was definitely not welcome. The disciples already doubted their purpose, ability and place in Jewish society as it pertained to their backgrounds (Christ never chose a Pharisee, Saducee or Essene to join him - only misfits, socially uneducated and unacceptable, non-conformists, outcasts and compromisers). It would follow that they would struggle to also embrace their God given identity as heralds of "the" New Covenant and the message of "the" Messiah who had come and gone. Not an easy task in their environment and historical setting. His constant affirmation of them from the first time he chose them to the final commission he gave them at his ascension and every affirmation in-between shows how intentional he was about always giving away power and purpose, affirmation and authority - even to those who seemed least likely to manage it well. But over time they got it and became 12 of the most unstoppable characters in the history of the church.
Therefore through Christ's example and life we can say that, "there is a direct proportion of dis-empowerment from the clergy to the empowerment of the laity in churches and faith communities in the establishment and growth of those communities and the church as a whole universal. There is also a proportionate movement of empowerment of the clergy with a resulting dis-empowerment of the laity in the opposite direction that is also true."
Christ's example was not only through humility in the washing of the disciples' feet but also in power and authority in the elevation of their apostolic identity and purpose in spreading the "gospel" globally, regionally and locally. If the responsibility in the Great Commission is as pervasive as it is reported to be in Matthew 28, then the authority to accomplish that great commission has to match the responsibility and any good parent, leader, manager or trainer will tell you and also model for you that responsibility and authority are better caught rather than just taught. Ultimately, to do what Christ commissioned us to do requires a continual affirmation and em-powerment of regular people being equipped and empowered to accomplish irregular tasks - tasks that even Christ said would be greater than his.
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