The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb: Searching for Jesus’ Path of Power in a Church that Has Abandoned It

by Jamin Goggin

Godly wisdom is not achieved, but is received.

my quest for power was merely a fervent commitment to the important work of the kingdom. My grandiose fantasy of success was excused as an embrace of God’s big plan for my life.

Instead of being exhorted to pick up my cross and follow Christ, I am told that Jesus wants to be my partner in the plan I have to rid my life of all struggles and challenges.

They get special wisdom from their special pastor. Being special is the Achilles’ heel of many churches today. They want to stand out and be noticed.

“The way of power, as you are talking about, is the way of self-redemption.

If you are majoring in your strength, how can you ever live without a mask?

When a culture has come to define itself by what you can achieve and what you do for a living—as ours has—the retired person ceases to be a real person.

One of the ways we mask our use of power in strength is to label it something different. This is self-deception at its finest. It is not unusual, therefore, to hear the call to fully realize our potential; to develop, build, and create selves in our own power; and to follow it up with, “for the glory of God.”

When those who are obviously weak have no place in the church, we know that we have rejected the way from above and have embraced a power antagonistic to the gospel.

Outside of anything illegal, sex is really the only thing that matters to us concerning the pastor’s personal life. Power? Not so much. Money? Very few care.

Nonviolent resistance seeks to expose a system of evil to the evildoer so that he sees it for what it is.

Perhaps this elitism finds expression when the predominantly rich, white church decides it has a vision to reach the city, a vision it assumes nobody else has because “nothing is happening there.”

Worldly power always wants to identify people in worldly ways (like status), so that we can decide if we find them valuable.

My calling is not based on my résumé, my abilities, or my power. It is based solely upon the résumé, ability, and power of the One who calls me. This is not something I control, but something I receive.

pastors can get really good at seeming relational, but they are just being manipulative.

many pastors, and I include myself in this, operate within our own “class” as it were—separate not only from nonbelievers but also from the very people we are called to shepherd.

The way of the Lamb is committed to worship, pursues God in the ordinary, and is faithful in hiddenness.

A toxic leader is someone who maintains power and significance by manipulating followers through their own fundamental drive to be powerful and significant.

Unfortunately, the things that make leaders dangerous are the very things that earn them affirmation.

Ministry is bringing the life of God, as it would be understood in terms of Jesus and his kingdom, into the lives of other people. That’s ministry.

we are always tempted by trying to do big things for God and neglecting the small things.

But as we trust in the way of Jesus, we must not look around and ask if others are watching, if we are seen as important, or if we are doing something “meaningful.” Rather, we need to ask: If we are pierced, what do we bleed? Do we bleed forgiveness, love, and grace, or anger, hatred, and domination?

We can still talk about leadership (and should), but when we do we need to recognize that we are talking about becoming someone wise.

If we find that preaching is the centerpiece of everything we do—not because of our hunger for the Word, but because of our affinity for a particular speaker’s personality, wit, or stage presence—we can discern that our community is in need of repentance.

Whereas the world recognizes that segregation is a kind of moral failure, in the evangelical church it is basically the go-to strategy. Instead of seeking to be unified in our diversity, we segregate into communities that look alike, make similar amounts of money, appreciate the same kind of music, and share the same social status.

The call of the church is reconciliation in diversity and not reconciliation that collapses it.

evangelicals have a tendency to push tough questions into a simple “either-or” paradigm.

Power in weakness is freedom because it is a call to find our all in God, and in so doing, to discover our true mission in the world in Christ.