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

Maybe more than anywhere else in the church, spiritual gifts are entry points into the way from below. The way we understand it, spiritual gifts are unapologetically about power to control—where we assert our power in the service of the kingdom. These easily become devices for our self-actualization. We mistakenly believe these gifts are special abilities, almost like superpowers. This creates two problems. First, it establishes a hierarchy of value, where we come to see certain people as particularly important because of their gifts. We come to think about these “special abilities” in worldly terms, so naturally, we begin making worldly value judgments. The result is that we create a hierarchy of power within the church based on one’s particular gift. Second, it tends toward self-reliance. If we tap into our superpower and cultivate it, we can do powerful things. Since we think these are our abilities, we come to believe we own them and therefore don’t really need God. He may have given us the gifts, but now they are ours to actualize or to let atrophy. The results are up to us and our savvy.