Nor was supreme spiritual power lodged in the hands of any office-bearer of the church, however distinguished by his gifts, his sufferings, or his abundant labors . . . Even the apostles did not claim to have dominion over people’s faith, but only to be helpers of their joy (2 Cor. 1:24).

Thomas Witherow, I Will Build My Church: Selected Writings on Church Polity, Baptism, and the Sabbath, edited by Jonathan Gibson, 122.