Equal in the Church

The ground at the cross is level.

The preacher is first among equals.

 

Authority and respect are earned. Too many pastors want authority, but do not want to put in the work of the Shepherd. All too many pastors want their hands in everything.

 

Yes.

The reason that believers obey them that have the rule ( oversight, as one who watches for their brothers' and sisters' welfare ) over them is not because they are subordinate to them, but because they are subject to their wisdom and knowledge in the Scriptures for the Lord's sake.
It has nothing to do with hierarchy, like in the military.

In other words, the "Sergeant Major" ( pastor ), the "First Sergeant" ( "associate pastor", whatever that is ), the "Staff Sergeant" ( deacon ) and the "Sergeant" ( "trustee", whatever that is ) has no more standing in God's sight than the "Private" ( "common layperson", whatever that is ), because none of those ranks even exist among the saints...
There is no "rank and file" in the Kingdom of God:

Matthew 20:25-28.
Mark 10:42-45.

That sort of thing is contrary to how the Lord described it as working among His sheep.
Those that would be great, are to serve the entire body.

The church is not a business with a CEO and a board of directors, it is a family.
It is not a military unit with officers who command their brothers and sisters because the Lord has "put them in command"...

It is a family unit with "officers" who serve in wisdom, ability and most of all, humility.

 

Christ is the head of the church and is it's Authority,
not the pastor and not the deacons;

Those elders are only functioning in their offices as guiding the church and as serving it, and not as being lords over it.
Younger brothers and sisters are subject to the elder for reasons of respect and because of their labor for the welfare of the body...
Not for reasons of being subjugated as "lessers" in any way, shape or form.
The church as a whole has the authority to discipline, correct in love, instruct in doctrine and to oversee the physical and spiritual welfare of its members.

Again,
It's nothing like the military.

Unlike when I was an E-5 in the U.S. Navy and had authority as an NCO over anyone in my shop that was assigned to me, this type of thing does not carry over to those whom God has saved to an eternal relationship with Him and His Son.
To me, that is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing the Lord hates ( Revelation 2:6, Revelation 2:15 ).

Respect for elders is not so much earned, but rather it is commanded by the Lord ( 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, 1 Timothy 5:17, Hebrews 13:7, Hebrews 13:17 ).
He is the one who has made them overseers of the flock ( Acts of the Apostles 20:28 ), not men.

See 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.
God has given each member of the body gifts.
He also gives some teachers, some preachers, some evangelists ( Ephesians 4:11-14 ).

It is within this context that elders like pastors and deacons are to function;
For the edifying of the body, building it up in the faith.

 

Within some churches, the power grid looks like this:

1) Members vote on major items, like hiring key positions, electing Elders (or whatever name given to leaders) and the budget.

2) The Elders report to the membership and give account for the various ministries, growth, or lack thereof, and initiatives to further Christ's ministry.

3) The Pastor is one of the Elders but takes direction resulting from the majority vote of the Elders.

Thus the Pastor is accountable to the Elders and the Elders are accountable to the members.

Of course many other formulations exist and further Christ's ministry. The inability to submit to others is driven by pride, the opposite characteristic of authentic Christians.