Pages

Sign up to be notified of new blog post.

If you are not getting notifications of the blog posts by e-mail and would like to, click here. Make sure that you give us at least your first name.


I promise we will never give or sell your info to others.


You might also want to visit Entrusting Truth to find out more about what we do. My book and workbook Your Walk, their walk are available there as well as at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Translate

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Salvation or Discipleship

I have read three books by Dallas Willard and started a fourth.  I started the fourth one first and just could not get through it, The Divine Conspiracy was the book.  It was the third book of a trilogy.  I have, since trying to read Divine Conspiracy, read the first two books of the trilogy, Hearing God and The Spirit of the Disciplines.  Last week I met with a friend who essentially invested last year reading through Divine Conspiracy.  That meeting challenged me to engage again.
Can a person be a Christian and not a disciple?  Thoughts or better questions at DTTB.
This time is different.  It may be that I have read three of his other books now.  But I am more in sync with what he is sharing than I was a few years ago.  All of his books require thought.  That is one of the things I appreciate about them.  This one is causing me to ask some hard questions.

Let me pose one to you.  If a person says that they are a Christian but are not a disciple of Christ, a follower of Him, His apprentice, are they truly a Christian?  Christ’s directive to us in Matthew 28:18 – 20 was to make disciples.  That is the imperative in the original, not go, make disciples.  If that is the charge, should that not be the focus of the community?  When is the last time you heard the notion of discipleship discussed or presented in your community?  Is it the central organizing principle of your community or something in which to engage after conversion?

Suppose we were to build our communities and our families around Christ’s command to make disciples, would that make a difference in how we function?  If so how?  If so why are we not doing that?

4 comments:

  1. I have also spent the last year immersing myself I'm Dallas' teaching. I am experiencing actual growth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sean,

      Good to hear from you. That is great. He is and amazing thinker. The book I have read of his and did not mention is Renovation of the Heart, great book.

      Delete
  2. Dallas Willard certanly of those thinkers, who challenge you to think. Reading him was not easy, requires effort for increase of understanding.
    Thanks for encouragement, J Michael. I will give a 4th try to the "Divine Conspiracy".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, there is not much fluff in his books. Each sentence is packed...

      Delete