Why do we teach the things that we teach? What is the authority behind what we do in the church? The answer is the word of God. We teach about the free offer of salvation to the world because the Bible tells us to. We teach about living the Christian life because the word does. We teach about the Pre-Tribulation Rapture because it is what the Bible teaches. The authority for the church is the word of God. When the pastor does anything outside the authority of God's word it is not living out the mission of the church. When the church operates outside the authority of the word of God it is wrong. The center of our worship is the word of God, it is how we know God, and know how He wants us to live. With the word of God we can exhort and reprove with all authority. When the church lives under the authority of the word of God no one can disregard us. We can be zealous for the Lord and zealous for good works, because God is the authority and not our own thinking.