1. Beyond the False Choice
2. Flourishing
3. Suffering
4. Withdrawing
5. Exploiting
Interlude: The Path to Flourishing
6. Hidden Vulnerability
7. Descending to the Dead
8. Up and to the Right
Acknowledgments
Notes
Discussion Guide
Andy Crouch (MDiv, Boston University School of Theology) is executive editor of Christianity Today. He has written for Time and The Wall Street Journal, and is author of the highly acclaimed Culture Making and Playing God. Crouch serves on the governing boards of Fuller Theological Seminary and Equitas Group, a philanthropic organization focused on ending child exploitation in Haiti and Southeast Asia. He is also a senior fellow of International Justice Mission?s Institute for Biblical Justice. Crouch served as executive producer for the documentary films Where Faith and Culture Meet and Round Trip, as well as the multi-year project This Is Our City, which featured documentary video, reporting and essays about Christians seeking the flourishing of their cities. He sits on the editorial board for Books Culture and spent ten years as a campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Harvard University. A classically trained musician who draws on pop, folk, rock, jazz and gospel, Crouch has led musical worship for congregations of five to twenty thousand. He lives with his family in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
"Crouch has a good grasp of both the text of Scripture and also our
cultural context, and he's a good translator, taking robust
theological ideas and making them accessible to the general
interest reader. His thesis that human flourishing is embedded in
the paradox of both greater authority and greater vulnerability
echoes Jesus's incarnation and teaching, and inspires the reader to
pursue the far-reaching implications of the gospel in our broken
world, even our broken work."
*2016 The Gospel Coalition Book Awards*
"There are very few books that speak candidly and biblically about
the nature of power. Christians tend to err in one of three
directions with regards to power. Either they worship power as the
ultimate goal; they naively deny the power they are capable of and
responsible for; or they avoid leadership for fear that power might
corrupt them. Strong and Weak gives a theologically grounded
approach for a biblical alternative. By embracing vulnerability
while exercising authority, power can be used to serve the kingdom
of God. This is a worthwhile and needed encouragement for the
church and its people."
*Paul Taylor, Themelios, August 2016*
"Church leaders looking for a new lens to view the impact of sin on
a lost world will be well-served by this book. It's also an
excellent book to read together with a group of friends to discuss
the nature of the gospel—and its impact upon both individuals and
communities—from a fresh perspective."
*Tobin Perry, On Mission, Summer 2016*
"A book whose entire message can be summed up in a 2-inch by 2-inch
chart at first may seem overly simplistic and unworthy of its 186
pages, but Crouch effectively digs beyond the surface of his
message. He rewards readers with helpful insights into how
Christians can flourish by acknowledging vulnerability instead of
suppressing it. Both the pastor and the layperson will walk away
from Strong and Weak with a fresh outlook on how God's power is
perfected in weakness."
*Daniel Camp, The Baptist Standard, May 2016*
"Strong and Weak is a small book—approximately 175 pages. But for
me, it packed a large punch, almost with the force of a revelation.
As a Christian and as a leader, I try so hard to insulate myself,
my family, and those around me from risk, all the while enlarging
the scope of my effective action and theirs. Far from contributing
to my flourishing, however—or theirs—this effort makes it
impossible to grow spiritually or to minister effectively. To do
either, we must like Jesus descend from privilege into pain, for
only by accepting meaningful risk can we also develop capacity for
effective action. To borrow Paul's phrase, when we are weak, then
we are strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). And only then."
*George P. Wood, Influence, May 10, 2016*
"In his latest, Andy Crouch asks: What virtues of character will
guide most directly toward the sort of flourishing God desires for
us? He suggests the answer lies in the combination of two
paradoxical virtues: authority and vulnerability. The book nudges
us to reimagine the shape of our faithfulness."
*Relevant Magazine, March/April 2016*
"To flourish is to fulfill the identity God has called us to, not
just for our own good but for the sake of others. With meaningful
life stories and examples, Andy Crouch explains how Jesus himself
embodies the paradox of flourishing in both his power as the very
Son of God and his frailty as an infant who grows up and dies on
the cross."
*Linda Sladkey, Covenant Companion, July/August 2017*
"Strong and Weak is an excellent companion to Playing God because
it continues the discussion of power as a means to glorify
God."
*Andrew M. Whytock, Haddington House Journal 2017*
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