A true reading of the "priesthood of all believers" fundamentally challenges the clergy/laity system of the institutional church today, regardless of Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox. I have literally been told by church elders in a Protestant church that to ask them to defend their teachings in light of the Bible and the authority of Christ as Head of His church is to claim that my reading of the Bible usurps their authority as church leaders. It's no wonder, really, since many of the practices of the church today are of human invention rather than things found specifically in Scripture. What results is a fragmented church that bears little witness to the love and forgiveness displayed in the Gospel.

Any time a church leader tells you that their way is the right way then I urge great caution in dealing with them. It is true that elders have an additional responsibility to the Body of Christ that others in the church do not, but Scripture is also quite clear that the associated authority comes to those who first and foremost bring God's Word to His people. Yet most church leaders do exactly the opposite, at least in practice. They sow division and mistrust within the Body. They focus on the Law, not the Gospel. They place their own human ambition over the blood of Christ.

One of my favorite passages is John 10, specifically verse 27 where Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." If you hear Christ's voice in any teaching then I recommend that you follow it, regardless of whether it comes from a church leader or the church janitor. Any other teaching should be tested and discarded