THE WAY OF THE DRAGON OR THE WAY OF THE LAMB by Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel

This is a why-to book. IT's part memoir. It focuses on Jesus' concept of empowerment vs. the world's way. Goggin and Strobel start out with an Introduction to this book. The authors split this book's contents in two parts: Discovering the Way and Embracing the Way. The authors spread out their content in ten chapters, five chapters under each of their parts. Goggin and Strobel end with a Conclusion and Quotations. They include a Bibliography and Acknowledgments of those who made this book possible. They wrap it up with author bios and Notes of Sources used in each chapter. James Goggin serves as pastor at Mission Hills Church in San Marcos, California. He is a speaker and writer. He has coauthored books like Beloved Dust. His interests lie in spiritual formation, theology, pastoral ministry, and church life. Kyle Strobel is assistant professor of spiritual formation and theology at Talbot SChool of Theology, Biola University. He has written Formed for the Glory of God has coauthored Beloved Dust.

This isn't light, entertaining reading. In Scripture, God says that His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12: 9). This includes suffering, loss, failure, need, and trials of life. Tapping into God's power through using our weaknesses to depend on Him, is the opposite of this culture's value system. Our culture tells us that strength comes through grasping power, success, and status. The two co-authors candidly revealed how they wrestled with their hungers for power and status. They testified how the worldly values of control, power, success, and strength, influenced them. Goggin and Strobel spoke of how their unconscious desire for significance tainted their ministries. Kept them from reflecting Jesus. As I read their reflections and soul-searching revelations, I pondered how subtle and sinful we are. No wonder the Bible tells us that our hearts are deceitful and wicket; even we can't know the deceptiveness of our hearts (Jeremiah 9: 9). The authors drew from others whose friendships they treasured and people they came to know well. One of those people was an author, Jean Vanier. Many years ago, I had read a book written by Vanier. Called A Blessed Weakness, that book revealed much about that author's work with people who have cognitive limitations. Goggin and Strobel didn't mention the book. But this this book I just read shows Vanier's influence on these writers. This book is much what I expected, heavy on theology and the author's soul-searching reflections. I was rather disappointed, I must say, when the authors seemed to confuse our church traditions with Scripture. But they made their point in that the church, imperfect as she is, is a family. And families have traditions.

Goggin and Strobel tell us that their message is for all readers. But this book isn't for new Christians, those getting established in their faith. This book's theological depth would probably bore many readers. Those with the philosophy, "Forget doctrine; just love Jesus," may not have the patience to wade through this reflective, deep material. I highly recommend this book for pastors, other church leaders, and seasoned believers. Non-Christians with open, searching hearts may be interested in this book.

I receive a complimentary copy of this book from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to give a favorable review of this book.