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

had learned to equate winning with work ethic.

I had healthy intentions to be faithful and grow in Christ. But my desire for power was stronger

I wanted to control reality, to create a self that would thrive in the world, while Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me”

CEV). I wanted to be cutting-edge and savvy, knowing the right people and being accepted in the right circles, while Jesus said, “The last will be first, and the first last”

Pharisees who “love the place of honor at feasts an...

Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much,

The Bible’s vision of power in weakness and suffering for the sake of the gospel didn’t harmonize very well with our quest for power, influence, and ministerial acclaim,

people of power, certainly, but ours is a kind of power antithetical to the power of the world.

dynamics that contributed to his infidelity, at the forefront were pride, status, and grandiosity.

This is the first temptation of power: We view the problem as “out there.”

our first inclination should not be to identify the problem of power as somewhere “out there,” but as “in here,” within our own hearts. Jesus says, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and

We find it much easier to become burdened and angered by sins that are not our own.

Jesus is not saying the solution is to ignore the sins of others. We should name sins, just as Jesus did. However, we must recognize that only after naming the truth of our own sin can we ...

Only when we see the truth of ourselves can we have mercy to address ...

From the moment of creation God intended for people to have power. Adam and Eve were given rule and dominion over creation by God himself (Gen. 1:28).

Part of being created in God’s image is having the power to shape the world around us.1

Power is the capacity to affect reality.

But as Christians, our primary interest is not simply in affecting reality. Our primary interest is to bear fruit of the kingdom—the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23). We were not created to pursue power as an end in itself, but rather to pursue God, the powerful one, and abide in his power to bless the world.

We may happily receive the good news of Jesus’ cross, but we often shy away from his call to pick up our own.

By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

comes from above (James 1:17). Godly wisdom is not achieved, but is received.

Wisdom is not essentially about making right decisions, but about living by the power of God in Christ Jesus.

The way from above is embracing God’s power and depending upon him. As we will see in the next chapter, embracing God’s power involves embracing our own weakness and abiding in Christ (John 15:1–5).

The way from above and the way from below are distinguished not only by the source of power, but also by the fruit or results of power.

He tells us that the way from below masquerades as the way from above.

False wisdom deludes us into believing it is the truth (James 3:14): “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Prov. 14:12).

John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

It is only as we depend upon Christ, by the Spirit, that we can hope to produce kingdom fruit (Gal. 5:22–23).

And so we see that the way from above is power from love and for love.

power without love is reckless and abusive and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love, implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.

Instead, Moses chose to strike the rock, the same course of action he had earlier performed successfully—giving him the sense that he was making something happen (Ex. 17:1–7). The result of Moses’ disobedience was judgment:

God can move in his grace to produce kingdom fruit despite our pride, but the call for followers of Jesus is to have hearts congruent with his work.

God’s power is God’s very presence in our hearts,

power from God and power for God; it is a power known in our weakness and expressed in love.

we embrace the way of Adam, which is the way of death. We, too, become captivated by the tree in the garden we believe will provide true wisdom.

The church is called to be the “pillar and buttress of the truth”

Instead of being told how desperately I am in need of God, I am repeatedly told how much God needs me.

Instead of worship being an invitation to come before God in humble awe and reverence, worship becomes an experience meant to lift us above the travails of everyday life and give us a sense of transcendence.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Followers of Christ are called to embrace their weakness and not deny it.

For Christians, the journey into true power begins with the realization of our desire for false power.

The way of weakness, as I understand it, has two basic aspects. One is that the watching world sees you as weak in the sense of being limited and inadequate. The second aspect is that you yourself are very conscious of being limited and inadequate.

weakness is not only for monks, pastors, and missionaries, but rather is the way, the only truly

Rather than accept the truth of my limitations and inadequacies, I fought against them.

The great danger, of course, is that even in the church we begin to see the way of weakness as foolish.

Building your platform, leveraging your relationships, and getting in with the right people are assumed to be the obvious approach to making a difference in the church.

They get special wisdom from their special pastor. Being special is the Achilles’ heel of many churches today.

It will command attention. It is something special. It will draw people in. It is a kind of exuberance that makes for shallowness

I think that in contemporary evangelical worship there is often an element of showing off, which is external.