just some thoughts and verses to back them up...

I'll preface this by saying only that I love my husband, and that we both love Jesus, and we honestly hold no anger or bitterness against any person. The Bible has saved my life so many times and is so precious to me, I just wanted to put out there what I got from it.

1 Peter 5:2

2Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;

-eager to serve, not demanding to be served.

Hebrews 10:21

21and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

-great priest = Jesus. not any man.

-house of God = the Church. not a specific building.

1 Corinthians 12:25

25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

-CONCERN, not judgement or gossip or slander.

-concern for EACH OTHER, not themselves.

-EQUAL concern, no favoritism.

Romans 12:5

5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

-EACH belongs to ALL the others. we are all equal. there is no bowing down before a man or submitting blindly to a man.

Ephesians 4:15

15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

-CHRIST is the head. any man who says he is the head elevates himself to Christ's level, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:16

16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

-"as you teach and admonish ONE ANOTHER". not one person teaching all other people. we are all to teach and admonish each other, and learn from each other. no person is above this.

Matthew 12:6

6I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.

-"one" here refers to Jesus. He was referring to the fact that in the kingdom of God, the building doesn't matter. the body of Christ, the Church, is made up of people - believers. there is no all-holy "house of the Lord" that demands respect simply because it's been titled the house of the Lord. that's worshiping a building. WE are the temple.

1 Timothy 3

1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

- I highlighted in bold the qualities that tend to be lacking on a lot of "overseers" - they're just people. they're not more important or above other believers, they just have a different job. i'm not trying to be judgmental, because it's not my place to judge - only God can judge people. this is just what i've seen in my experiences. and the bible says these are REQUIREMENTS...not suggestions. it points these out because a lot of harm can be done, intentional or not, by someone in an overseer position who does not meet the biblical requirements.

-the point i wanted to make with this is that the Bible says here that the overseer must be "respectable". it does not say that if a man decides to call himself an overseer, that he is owed respect. he must be a respectable person. the only One to whom we "owe" respect and submission is God. and like i said earlier -anyone who claims you owe them respect or submission is putting himself on God's level and therefore enforcing idolatry.

1 Thessalonians 5:12
12Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

-this tells who who to respect. the ones who are over you "in the Lord"[which means they fit the above requirements] who admonish you, who ALSO work hard AMONG you. those who recognize that they are just part of the body, one of many overseers, who are willing to work hard among the body and not place themselves above it and expect o sit back and be respected simply because of their position and not in corollation with the work they do.

-it says to "hold them in the highest regard in love BECAUSE of THEIR WORK". not because of their position or title, but their actions. if their work or lack thereof doesn't deserve respect or high regard, then they don't deserve it. a position or title doesn't entitle someone to respect. THE BIBLE SAYS THEY MUST EARN THE RESPECT, NOT JUST DEMAND IT.

There's so much more scripture about this. In reality there's scripture to answer any problem or question we have because God love us like that. :] There are people out there who will twist things around until we forget that the most important thing is Love. That's why the Church is in the shape it's in now. Read the Bible for yourself. Make what you believe personal. Don't just take someone else's word for it [not even mine] - Jesus died to have a personal relationsip with you. Love Jesus, Love others, read the Bible every chance you get. It's not the easiest way to live- but it's the best way, and the way He designed for us.