Living Out Amipotence

By Vikki Randall

Our view of God influences every area of life and ministry

Greg Boyd tells us the greatest predictor of the quality of your life is the picture you have of God. If your picture of God is controlling and unyielding, that’s what you’ll take into the world—domination and authoritarianism. If your picture of God is detached from our human suffering, perhaps even thinks of humans as deserving of death for our wickedness, that influences how you’ll treat your neighbors.

But when our picture of God is framed by Jesus as the one who comes to us in love and compassion, to rescue us from fear and shame and death—that’s what we take into the world. When you see Jesus as a servant, coming with a very different notion of a non-coercive power, that shapes how we live and love our neighbors.

That radical shift: from controlling to uncontrolling, from detached to engaged, changes not only our theology but also our practice. As Christ-followers living in a world that is both broken and beautiful, we are called to follow Jesus in demonstrating this new understanding of power.

Authoritarian Relationships

Boyd’s warning can be seen in the rise of Calvinist theology in American evangelicalism. One of the most influential depictions of the Calvinist view of God is found in the Westminster Confession. It describes God as “without passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible… most sovereign dominion over (his creatures), to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth.” (PCUSA Book of Confessions, 6.011-12). “By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestined unto everlasting life and others fore-ordained to everlasting death” (6.016-7). Similarly, the Gospel Coalition includes in its confessional statement, “Immortal and eternal, he (God) perfectly and exhaustively knows the end from the beginning, sustains and sovereignly rules over all things.”

When one’s view of the omnipotent divine is so centered around controlling power, it’s inevitable that will be lived out in all sorts of human relationships, including authoritarian ecclesiastical structures. In many evangelical churches, a dominant pastor speaks with almost divine authority. Similarly, these same churches often reject egalitarian relationships, and instead favor complementarianism: the notion that only men should exert leadership in both church and home. The Gospel Coalition’s confession writes, “men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways. God ordains that they assume distinctive roles… the husband exercising headship in a way that displays the caring, sacrificial love of Christ, and the wife submitting to her husband in a way that models the love of the church for her Lord…The distinctive leadership role within the church given to qualified men is grounded in creation, fall, and redemption and must not be sidelined by appeals to cultural developments.”

Henri Nouwen writes: “What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life. Jesus asks, ‘Do you love me?’ We ask, ‘Can we sit at your right hand and left hand in your Kingdom?’”

In contrast, the uncontrolling, persuasive use of power modeled by the amipotent view of God is lived out in every area of life. Old Testament scholar Walter Bruggemann writes, “Being made in God’s image meant that humans were created to rule over creation in the way that God ruled over creation. Creatively using power to invite, evoke and permit was what made homo sapiens special and a reflection of God, because this is the way that God exercised power. God ruled as a servant king, not as a dictator tyrant: so should the species made in God’s image.”

Political Authoritarianism

Perhaps the most alarming fruit of Calvinist views of power is the rise in political authoritarianism and nationalism. This has been described in a number of recent books, including Tim Alberta’s The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory and David Gushee’s Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies. Similarly, in several books, Jim Wallis describes the seductive lure of power on American evangelicalism. Wallis points out how easy it is for what seems to be a holy or just cause to become subverted. There’s a pivot point in the process of gaining influence, when the goal shifts from power as a means to an end to power as an end in itself. Boyd writes:

The evangelical church in America has, to a large extent, been co-opted by an American, religious version of the kingdom of the world. We have come to trust the power of the sword more than the power of the cross. We have become intoxicated with the Constantinian, nationalistic, violent mindset of imperialistic Christendom.

…whenever Christians have gotten what so many American evangelicals today are trying to get—namely, the power to enforce their righteous will on others—it eventually harms the church as well as the culture. The lesson of history, a lesson the Devil has known all along, is this: The best way to defeat the kingdom of God is to empower the church to rule the kingdom of the world—for then it becomes the kingdom of the world! The best way to get people to lay down the cross is to hand them the sword! —Greg Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation

In contrast, Boyd suggests we reflect the image of God by rejecting coercive “power over” in favor of influential “power under.”

Amipotence changes pastoral care

One way in which amipotence shapes ministry is in pastoral care—the ways we respond to loss and suffering.

For many, their experiences of suffering might initially make Calvinism more attractive. There is a certainty that is appealing when the world seems chaotic and out of control. The moment when the loss or crisis is at hand is usually not the time to introduce a new mental paradigm. When the grief is raw, this is the time to draw near and just be present with the grieving person, a physical demonstration of God’s love.

In time, however, many will find the answers offered by Calvinism fall short. They may be troubled by the inconsistencies between the goodness of God and the domination by God that apparently allows great evil. Calvinism’s answers seem obscene in the face of tremendous global suffering.

It is at this point that we can speak into the pain. I have found tremendous relief when I break through all the dubious theology and platitudes to say the truth of God out loud in a way that aligns with our experience of the world.

By being patient, present, and loving in the midst of crisis, you create an open door. For some, the “why” questions will be prominent, while others cling to the comfort of old paradigms. A wise pastor or friend will listen carefully, reading the signals, to attend to what is most needed pastorally. By being gentle and supportive with those who grieve, we model the uncontrolling love of God.

Amipotence changes community engagement

The underlying principle of amipotence that God is uncontrolling lends itself well to a particular way of doing ministry from the bottom up.

A lot of my ministry has been with marginalized communities, including those with food insecurity or inadequate housing. Many of our suburban congregations care deeply about this suffering. But too often that compassion can become controlling. We come into a neighborhood with an agenda, a plan. We impose our solutions without listening.

Civil rights pioneer John Perkins developed strategies for asset-based community development—going into a community with a generous curiosity, allowing them to decide what they need, and how. To come not as a leader or manager but as a member of the community. We stop trying to control others and are open to diverse human experiences. This uncontrolling approach to community engagement reflects the amipotence of God.

Amipotence and congregational change

Bruggemann’s work on prophetic imagination pairs well with an amipotent approach to congregational change, including the introduction of amipotence and other concepts of Open and Relational theology.

Bruggemann notes people rarely make important changes and paradigm shifts in their understanding of the world abruptly. Coercive attempts to change our worldview only cause us to become increasingly defensive. Rather, there is an extended process where we “linger in wistfulness” as we become aware of the dissonance between our experience and old paradigms. I believe this is particularly true of our core ideas about God—ideas that are so deeply embedded in our culture.

The key to breaking through resistance is the careful and patient use of imagination, to allow individuals to visualize a different reality. The task of faith leaders is to provide a courageous vision of an alternative possibility. This, too, fits well with amipotence and the uncontrolling, non-coercive love of God.

Amipotence changes prayer

The meaning of prayer and why or how we pray is a matter of much debate among Open and Relational theologians. To be perfectly honest, I’m still sorting that out myself.

But one key principle of amipotence that has been helpful to me is the assumption that God always desires goodness, wholeness, and human flourishing. Amipotence gives us the freedom to assume that our perceptions of suffering as “ungood” are accurate. We do not need to second-guess ourselves or engage in mental gymnastics to make things that are obviously not good into something that God willed or desired for some unspecified “higher good.” With that awareness comes the assumption that God wants the same things we want for ourselves and those we love—health, wholeness, love. Goodness.

When we are praying for these things, we are no longer pleading like Oliver Twist asking for another bowl of gruel, “please sir, if it is your will… if it’s not too much trouble…” When we pray for peace, for healing, for reconciliation, we can assume God is on board. We know that there are other forces at play, other actors or spiritual forces that may come against that, so we are not shaken when things don’t turn out well. But we assume God desires wholeness and goodness every bit as much as we do. Our prayers are not pleading our case before a mean and miserly tyrant. Rather, we are joining with God in some mysterious way to work for good in the world.

What is the fruit of this worldview?

Adopting a framework like Calvinism or classical theism that is contrary to our lived experience distances us from God and, I believe, leads to spiritual complacency and hypocrisy. Calvinism requires us to hold two contrary views: believing in the goodness of God while also believing that everything that happens in the world—including great and terrible evil—must somehow be part of God’s plan. So we train ourselves to ignore cognitive dissonance. We train ourselves to look away. But when we do that our hearts become hardened. We separate our head from our heart.

But having a view of God that is consistent with your observations of the world—including both tremendous good and horrific evil—shapes you. Adopting a theological framework that is consistent with our lived experience enlivens our faith and opens our eyes and hearts to the movement of God’s Spirit. There is something about that—the congruency of living life so that your faith and belief system are aligned with your intuitive practice and observation of the world—that is inherently empowering and enlivening.

In my own life, this is when my faith became alive. This is when I could see God’s movement and activity in the world. My experience and my mental framework of the world were congruent. As a pastor, I’ve seen people become engaged, excited, and transformed when their faith makes sense.

Bio: Vikki Randall lives in Monrovia CA, and has 28 years of pastoral experience, serving large and small churches, mostly in PCUSA. She received a D.Min. in spiritual formation from Azusa Pacific Seminary and served there as adjunct faculty in undergrad theology for 20 years. She is passionate about transformation and experiencing God’s presence.

OORD’S DRABBLE* RESPONSE

Vikki Randall explores what it means to live out amipotence, focusing especially on the shift from control to uncontrolling love. Drawing from Gregory Boyd and others, she rightly highlights how belief in omnipotence can support authoritarian relational styles, which become particularly dangerous in political contexts. Vikki also shows how embracing amipotence transforms pastoral care, offering deeper compassion. I especially appreciate her reflections on prayer—how we partner with God to promote good rather than passively waiting for divine intervention. Through these insights, Vikki reveals how amipotence nurtures a vibrant, living faith. I join her in celebrating a dynamic relationship with God!

For more on Oord’s view on the Openness of God, see this article.

* A drabble is an essay exactly 100 words in length.