Believers Are To Respect Their Local Pastors
In John Owen's excellent and short book, Duties of Christian Fellowship, he gives 7 Rules "for walking in fellowship with respect to the pastor of the congregation". While it is true that a pastor can make unbiblical demands of the people, it is also unbiblical for the pastor to make no obligations of the people. The pastor is to proclaim all of God's Word which includes certain acts of obedience specifically of congregants.
Scriptural Commands
There are numerous commands in Scripture of how congregants ought to submit to the faithful performance of duties of the pastor. 1 Corinthians 4:1 says, "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 talks about how the ministry of gospel ministers is that of ambassadors of Christ Himself. This is why Paul says in Galatians 4:14 that when the Galatians rightly understood this about Paul they "received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus." It is also why the Thessalonians received Paul's preaching "not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in your believers" (1 Thess. 2:13). An interesting statement is seen in Hebrews 13:17 where pastors are to be obeyed when they are faithful to God's Word. "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you."
While it is true that authority can be misused and abused, it is equally true that people can sinfully reject rightful and faithful authority. The tall task of the minister of Christ is to be a watchman of eternal souls. This is a sobering task. At Judgment Day, every minister will be held accountable for how he ministered to the flock of Christ. No one loves the sheep more than Christ and therefore no one will hold ministers in stricter judgment than Christ Himself. Therefore, if a minister is rightly and faithfully administering Christ's authority then the minister ought to be obeyed out of a love for Christ. The minister only has a derived authority. But, it is a derived authority from the only Sovereign and Wise King.
This does not "give pastors the right to rule over the faith of believers...nor make them lords over God's heritage". Rather, pastors are given the office of stewardship of God's house. They are to minister God's truth in God's way through God's means for God's glory.
Are Pastors Just An Insecure Pinocchio?
John Owen says that the failure of congregants to "consider these principles is the cause of all the negligence, carelessness, laziness, and indiscipline while hearing the Word, which has taken hold of so many these days. Only a respect for the truth and authority of God in the preaching of His Word will bring men to hear it soberly and profitably." It is absolutely true that preachers can be like Pinocchio and insecurely cry out, "I'm a real pastor! Listen to me!" But, it is also a biblical command in numerous places in God's Holy Word that pastors must be listened to inasmuch as they are faithful to His Word.
One of the chief ways Christians look different from the world--especially in our day and age--is that, amidst a culture of rejecting authority, genuine believers will submit to godly authority. This is vastly different from holding a pastor out as a celebrity to be worshipped. We ought to repent of such things (Acts 14:11-15)! But, it is true that the pastor ought to be seen as--by virtue of the office he fills--an ambassador of Almighty God Himself. Yes, the pastor is a fellow Christian (saint, sinner, and sufferer). But, if his office is carried out in faithfulness then it ought to be respected.
If This Is True, How Should We Respond?
What does this mean? If the pastor--through the Session--is calling the church to observe the Sabbath (Exod. 20:8-11) and to have corporate worship morning and evening (Acts 20:7; Ps. 1; 92:1-2) then the church members ought to heed this and respond to it. The means of grace are to be administered by the pastor for the eternal benefit of their souls and the glory of God. If the pastor preaches from God's Word with conviction that it is a faithful interpretation of God's Word then it ought to be embraced as such. It is an entirely wrong approach for the congregants to sit under the preaching of God's Word with the posture of judgment rather than faith (Acts 17:11).
To state it again, this is only true as long as the pastor is faithful to God's Word. The man himself is not God's authority. Rather, the office is what God has instituted to be filled with godly and gifted men called to carry out Christ's authority in building His Church. When a pastor is faithful to Christ, he ought to be respected as such.