I was once part of an authoritarian Pentecostal Church, and would have to say that in their case you are right, they formed their autocratic system of leadership partly because of their emphasis upon the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Although the idea that every church member was encouraged to think they had a mainline connection to God was not in place in this particular church. What they taught was that the pastor & his wife and the elders of the church had more experience “moving in the Spirit” than the rest of the congregation, and therefore we should follow their lead.

However, I have not found many Pentecostal Churches where such emphasis is common place. I have been part of Vineyard Churches, that compared to the non-denominational Pentecostal church I attended (between 75 to 79) were toe dippers or pool waders. And while the things you said were true of my former church, they are not nearly as characteristic of the other churches I’ve visited and or attended over the last 30 years. There are plenty of Pentecostal pastors out there in the church world who are genuinely concerned and opposed to the tendency towards authoritarianism within certain more radical versions of Pentecostalism.

Moreover, there is Pastor Chuck Smith, a former 4 Square Pentecostal Minister, and the leader of Calvary Chapel Costa Masa. He has taught extensively against authoritarianism (shepherding) in Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity… even so, I have heard him get very authoritarian when dealing with outbursts of tongues and prophecy in his church.

Moreover, authoritarian structures are not that uncommon in non-Pentecostal and non-Charismatic religious organizations. Take the historic Church (pre-reformation) all the way back to the first century for example – the epistles of Ignatius bishop of Antioch in particular. The entire Church was governed by bishops and deacons after the death of the apostles, and soon afterwards this structure was augmented to Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons, and with the development of the Holy Sees; Archbishops, Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons.

I am of the opinion that having an Authority figure at the head of the Church on earth is not necessarily evil. In the OT, the people rejoiced and prospered under righteous kings, and suffered greatly under the oppression of ungodly kings… having kings was not the problem. Even Jesus spoke about this in the Gospels…

Luke 12:42-48

42 And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. 45 But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. ~ NKJV

Manipulation, abuse, these are things unrighteous men do when placed in positions of authority, they are not necessarily things all Christian men in authority positions do - be they Pentecostals, Charismatics, Baptists or Popes.

~ Theophilus