Flourishing people are strong and weak. Two common temptations lure us away from abundant living-withdrawing into safety or grasping for power. True flourishing, says Andy Crouch, travels down an unexpected path-being both strong and weak. We see this unlikely mixture in the best leaders-people who use their authority for the benefit of others, while also showing extraordinary willingness to face and embrace suffering. We see it in Jesus, who wielded tremendous power yet also exposed himself to hunger, ridicule, torture and death. Rather than being opposites, strength and weakness are actually meant to be combined in every human life and community. Only when they come together do we find the flourishing for which we were made. With the characteristic insight, memorable stories and hopeful realism he is known for, Andy Crouch shows us how to walk this path so that the image of God can shine through us. Not just for our own good, but for the sake of others. If you want to become the kind of person whose influence leads to healthy communities, someone with the strength to be compassionate and generous, this is the book for you. Regardless of your stage or role in life, whether or not you have a position of leadership, here is a way to love and risk so that we all, even the most vulnerable, can flourish.
"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
"Andy Crouch has done it again! Strong and Weak is an intellectually insightful, socially relevant and prophetically passionate book that shows us how to multiply our power to create a world where people from every tribe and nation can flourish and reach their full God-given potential. I love it!"
Brenda Salter McNeil, Seattle Pacific University, author of Roadmap to Reconciliation
"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, powercan be used to serve the kingdom of God. This is a worthwhile and needed encouragement for the church and its people."
