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Though I can’t recall the year or which administration was in office at the time, I do remember both the president and the vice president being simultaneously but temporarily unable to perform the duties of their position. At that time, there was some question and quandary among the powers that were with regard to who exactly was supposed to be in charge. As a matter of fact, there was more than a single individual who thought that the powers of the presidency were supposed to fall upon him.
I believe the matter was later resolved by an examination of the laws governing such things. However, by that time, either the president or his vice president had returned to work, and the matter became somewhat pointless to pursue except for the need to know what to do should such a question arise again in the future. To be sure, the correct answer had been provided somewhere in the recorded legal and constitutional structure of the country, although no one seemed to know at that time what that answer was.
In a way, I felt a bit embarrassed for the executive branch at that time. However, I have felt more than embarrassed for those in the religious world who also do not seem to know Who is supposed to be in charge. That answer, too, is written in a document intended to be the final word in all matters spiritual. In the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul noted at verses twenty through twenty three that God placed all things under the feet of Jesus Christ, gave Him a name that is above all others, and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church.
That being the case, it confuses me to witness the efforts of folks who claim to be serving God, but who are appointing men, conferences, and councils to decide issues and legislate laws for religious bodies. Such things as this announce the rejection of Jesus Christ as Head absolute over the church, challenge His lordship, and openly confess the onset of apostasy while advancing the agenda of denominationalism and even humanism. Christianity dictates that any pursuing it must consistently confess and acknowledge Who is in charge, while conducting the affairs of individuals in particular and the church in general accordingly.