Beyond the Boss Mentality: What Scripture Really Says About Headship
Have you ever seen a Mr. Potato Head with a huge head and tiny little arms and legs sticking out? It looks ridiculous, doesn't it? Yet this is exactly how many of us picture our relationship with God—and how we've structured our understanding of biblical headship.
We think we're honoring God by making ourselves small and insignificant, like little plastic appendages barely hanging onto this enormous, all-powerful head. But what if I told you that this image actually dishonors God and completely misses the point of what Scripture teaches about headship?
The Proportional Body Revelation
When we talk about Christ as the head and the church as His body, we need to understand something crucial: the body of Christ is supposed to be in proportion to her head.
Think about it—would you be impressed if someone came up to you and said, "Your son is nowhere near the man you are"? Of course not! That wouldn't bring you glory; it would actually concern you. A healthy father delights when his children exceed him, not when they diminish themselves.
As I discussed in a recent podcast, we've bought into this idea that we bring glory to God through self-abasement. Religion tells us to "go low so He gets bigger," but the truth is He's already big enough. He's so big that He actually wants to lift us up into Him.
The Dangerous Misuse of "I Must Decrease"
We've taken John the Baptist's words—"I must decrease so He can increase"—and turned them into a model for how we're supposed to approach God. But this completely misses the context. John was speaking about a very specific covenantal transition from old covenant to new covenant, not establishing a permanent posture of self-diminishment.
Bill Johnson puts it beautifully: "Before God created you, He had none of you. And if that's how He really wanted it, He wouldn't have created you."
God created us for union with the triune God, not to be His diminished servants.
What True Headship Actually Means
When Scripture uses the word "head" (kefale in Greek), whether it's referring to the literal head on a person's body, the head of a corner, or in a more metaphorical sense, it ultimately comes down to meaning unity between head and body.
This isn't about hierarchy or control—it's about connection, life-flow, and mutual interdependence. The head doesn't boss the body around; the head and body work together as one living organism.
In Ephesians 1:22-23, Paul writes: "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way" (NIV).
Notice that the church is described as Christ's fullness—not His diminished servants, but His actual fullness. We are the completion of Christ in the earth.
The Mutual Flow of Life
Here's what's beautiful about this revelation: the body is filled with life from the head, and the head is actually filled with life from the body. It's a reciprocal relationship—a dance of mutual interdependence.
We are actually invited into the dance with the Godhead, not as dogs coming to the family meal, but as those who actually have a seat at the table. Jesus said, "You are not my servants, you are my friends" (John 15:15, NIV).
Breaking Free from Pyramid Thinking
The problem is that we've slipped from organism to organization. We've moved from a life-giving flow to a law-based hierarchy. We've taken the beautiful mystery of union with God and reduced it to a power structure where someone has to be on top.
But that's not how God's Kingdom works. In God's Kingdom:
The head and body are one
Power flows in all directions
Leadership means serving and lifting others up
We grow up into the head together
The Real Mr. Potato Head
So here's the real revelation: we're not supposed to be tiny plastic parts hanging onto a giant head. We're supposed to be a proportional, healthy, vibrant body that perfectly complements our head.
When we truly understand this, everything changes:
We stop trying to diminish ourselves to honor God
We start embracing our full identity as His beloved
We recognize that our flourishing actually brings Him glory
We step into the responsibility of being His fullness in the earth
Living as His Fullness
This means that when we touch somebody and release the Kingdom, we're releasing His love through us. When we bring healing, we're demonstrating that the King is in the room. It's not about saying magic words at an altar—it's about being in unison with the Healer.
Even Jesus said, "I can do nothing by myself; I only do what I see the Father doing" (John 5:19, NIV). But notice—Jesus didn't make Himself small. He made Himself available. He laid aside His divinity and became a man, but a man in right relationship with God can do all things.
The Exponential Power of Unity
Jesus said we would do greater works than He did (John 14:12, NIV). Why? Because it's not just Him anymore—it's Him and me, and Him and you. When we come together in unity, we release exponential power.
Unity releases the exponential power of God's Kingdom.
This is why understanding true headship matters so much. When we fall into pyramid power structures, we actually empower the wrong kingdom. We create environments of envy, jealousy, and strife instead of the unity that releases God's power.
The Challenge and the Invitation
So here's my challenge to you: Stop trying to be a Mr. Potato Head with tiny appendages. God didn't create you to be barely hanging on to His greatness. He created you to be His fullness, His completion, His body in the earth.
This isn't about pride or arrogance—it's about stepping into the truth of who you are in Christ. It's about recognizing that your flourishing doesn't diminish God's glory; it displays it.
The time has come to embrace the full reality of what it means to be the body of Christ—proportional, healthy, vibrant, and fully alive. This is what true headship looks like: not a boss ruling over diminished servants, but a head in perfect unity with a body that reflects His glory in the earth.
Are you ready to step into this truth?
Blessings,
Susan 😊