Power Questions

Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
An observation that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The statement was made by Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

I find sadness fills my heart when I see the struggle and hurt that has come from ‘power’ questions in the church. The desire to be ‘in charge’ seems to run deep within humanity and the struggle for power or control has plagued the church over the centuries. Often it is clothed in the seemingly respectable garments of desiring to establish or preserve purity in the body by first establishing uniformity [as defined by a person or group, those who feel they have the ability and skills to read and comprehend the Word of God], and then enforcing that model on the other members of the body.
But, what if the statement by Lord Acton is an axiom that does have validity? What if the ability to understand the Word of God and to hear the voice of the Spirit does tend to decrease as the desire for power increases? Would this mean that the church must learn to listen to those that are perceived to be simple followers of Christ? What if the first shall be last and the last shall be first in God’s kingdom?
As someone once said, "The drive for purity, when defined by uniformity, will kill the church."