Not So With You

The spate of recent scandals of power abuse by leaders within the evangelical world suggests something is wrong in our churches. When a leader misuses power, they have misunderstood and misrepresented God and the gospel.

This volume addresses the key underlying issue of what a biblical and healthy use of power in the church actually looks like. Authors from a variety of Christian backgrounds and traditions help frame a biblical and theological understanding and practice of power use, describe what it looks like when things go wrong (and how to recognize the signs), and suggest how the contemporary church can and must do better in this area. This book is a rigorously grounded biblical challenge to much contemporary practice. It is a call to reformation.

“Grounded in the Trinity, Not So with You comes like a breath of fresh air into the current confusion surrounding leadership in the church. It is just the tonic for anyone wearied or burnt by evangelical activism or misuse of power, as it reminds us that the church is not foremost a means of accomplishing tasks on this earth. It is rather about Christ and his love for his bride—the church.”

—Jonny Dyer, vicar, Christ Church Fulwood


“The alarming number of high-profile ministry failures involving abuse of power continues to increase. While many helpful books have been written, we have needed a comprehensive multi-voice resource to guide us through the landmines. Not So With You is the book we have been hoping for that gives both deep biblical and theological insights and extremely helpful pastoral and practical applications The multiple voices are thoughtful, strong, balanced, biblical, gospel-centered, and focused on Christ.”

—Mark L. Dalbey, president emeritus, Covenant Seminary