The congregation gets to exercise that authority together with and under the leadership of the elders. Notice, then, that there are two kinds of authority at play in the same jurisdictional space. The congregation’s authority is a natural authority or authority of command, as we defined these terms in chapter 1. It is unilaterally effectual and possesses an earthly sanction, effectual because the whole church can remove an individual from membership even against that person’s will—now, on earth.