Lording it Over

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[Linda]

Here is a link listing some of the ways pastors "lord it over" the congregation.

http://www.samstorms.com/enjoying-god-blog/post/pastoral-bullies

A man can “domineer” or “lord it over” his flock by intimidating them into doing what he wants done by holding over their heads the prospect of loss of stature and position in the church.

The idea of "recognizing" pastors comes to mind.

A pastor domineers whenever he exploits the natural tendency people have to elevate their spiritual leaders above the average Christian. That is to say, many Christians mistakenly think that a pastor is closer to God and more in tune with the divine will. The pastor often takes advantage of this false belief to expand his power and influence.

and

A pastor domineers by widening the alleged gap between “clergy” and “laity.” In other words, he reinforces in them the false belief that he has a degree of access to God which they don’t.

Reminds me of this, "And so even to give the controls over to God, that's hard, but the real kicker here is God is saying, "give the controls over to people that I work through, and these people are fallable, these people make mistakes, these people are weak at times. You-outta work through it anyway," that's what God says."