The Power of the God Who Can’t
God Always Does Everything God Can Do
by Russ Dean
Foreword by Graham B. Walker Jr.
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
In a world that values power above all else, we need to rethink God. It's not just better athletes and bigger engines, but weapons of mass destruction, assault rifles, lethal drugs. Our obsession with stronger, faster, more and bigger everything is killing us--and at the top of this power pyramid an all-powerful God validates it all. For those who want a theology justifying the power game in all its forms, omnipotence is the perfect pretext, but for a growing segment of our modern, scientific world, the notion of an all-controlling deity sounds increasingly superstitious, tribalistic. People of faith must do better. Our world needs a God whose nature is love, not all-controlling power. That God, the God who can't, is even more powerful. The survival of the world--even the future of God--may depend on us learning to say, "God always does everything God can do."
Russ Dean serves as co-pastor of Park Road Baptist in Charlotte, along with his wife, Amy Jacks Dean. He is the author of Finding a New Way Home: The Unlikely Path of a Reluctant Baptist Renegade and a contributor to Taking on the Cross: Reimagining the Meaning of Jesus’ Life and Death. Russ enjoys slalom and barefoot water skiing, woodworking, camping, playing and writing music, and spending time with his sons Jackson (Madison) and Bennett.
“With this powerful, honest exploration, Russ Dean adds a crucial pastoral voice to the theological conversation about divine power. Dean speaks to his congregants, to his past self, and to Christians everywhere who struggle with a world where no one—not even God—seems to be in control. In these pages, we recognize the God who walks by our side through the valley of death and learn to repent of our longing for a divine autocrat.”
—Donna Bowman, professor, Honors College, University of Central Arkansas
“Russ Dean’s The Power of the God Who Can’t is a master class on how to talk and reason about God. The author speaks of ‘a theology of reality,’ but in view of so much childish theology, this could be called ‘grown-up theology.’ Dean’s book is a refreshing reminder that the last hopeful words have not been said in theology. It brings to mind Isaiah’s promise: ‘Behold, I am doing a new thing (Isa 43:19 ESV).’”
—Donald Wayne Viney, professor emeritus of philosophy, Pittsburg State University
“With a pastor’s compassion, Russ Dean tackles some of the thorniest problems of Christian faith that have kept many of us up at night, made us retreat into platitudes, or caused us to leave Christian faith entirely. Dean offers us a realistic, faithful, and practical way to be honest with ourselves and others about the God Who Does Everything God Can Do and at the same time to live a faith that embodies God’s love, goodness, and creativity.”
—Susan M. Shaw, professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies, Oregon State University
“The controlling God some believe in does everything: good and evil. You shouldn’t trust this God. The omnipotent God others espouse does far less than what this God could do to stop suffering and evil. That God makes for a lousy parent too: disengaged sometimes and controlling at others. Russ Dean envisions a right-sized God: one who loves 100 percent but never controls. This book presents a winsome vision of the God who does everything loving that God can do.”
—Thomas Jay Oord, professor of theology, Northwind Theological Seminary
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