Read Any Good Books? Here's one for the Summer.

Dallas Willard is my hero! Apart from those who penned the Bible, he's done more to bring me closer to Jesus than any other author. Ask anyone I know, when it comes to recommending Christian books, I'll always slip in one from Willard, but there's just one catch--he's not an easy read.

In his day job, Dallas Willard is a professor of philosophy @ USC where he specializes in the works of Edmund Husserl and the philosophical discipline of phenomenology. Being a huge Willard fan I once attended one of his philosophy discussions. I think I understood two thoughts in about 45 minutes. Willard does not regularly operate on the same wavelength as the common mortals of the world.

Now before I scare you off completely, you don't need to reread your Intro to Philosophy textbook before you crack open one of Willard's Christian books. The main thing to remember is The Divine Conspiracy is not a beach read. Each sentence in this and most of his writing is loaded with meaning. You need to live with a Willard book for a while. This is a major drawback for most people. Because so many have struggled to read Willard, I've started to back off on recommending his books. That is until his latest offering, The Great Omission.

The Great Omission is an interesting project. It's a collection of articles on discipleship that were published over almost 30 years. Writing for popular magazines such as Christianity Today have made his thoughts more accessible to the ordinary reader.

What you'll find in the pages of The Great Omission is (printed on the provocatively on the back of the book) "What the church forgot to teach you." Instead of making disciples, the church has engaged in "making converts (to a particular 'faith and practice') and baptizing them into church membership." This prevents us from enrolling people as Christ's students and taking them through the training that will bring them to what Jesus directed.

After building a case for a return to the Great Commission of making disciples, Willard's articles focus to teaching us how to live as a student of Jesus. Chapter 4 introduces us to the "Golden Triangle" of spiritual transformation which are three different avenues (faithful acceptance of everyday problems, interaction with God's Spirit in and around us, and the spiritual disciplines) that God uses to form Christ in us. In chapter 5 Willard highlights 3 spiritual disciplines: solitude, silence, and fasting as keys to enter the door of spiritual formation.

Chapter 8 entitled, "The Spirit is Willing…" caught my attention. In it he describes how the body can be used as a tool for spiritual growth. I've not heard too much on this subject (probably because it involves the use of the word mortification). Willard makes the biblical imperative to "crucify the flesh" (Gal 5:24) practical through the spiritual disciplines. As we train our bodies with the simple exercises of fasting, silence, and service we find ourselves capable of accomplishing spiritual feats that were formerly impossible (like holding our tempers, reigning in our pride, and overcoming habitual sin). This makes our body the "power pack" for spiritual growth.

The truth found in these pages is never flashy. You won’t find a lot of buzz. What you will discover is the beauty of discipleship and the brilliance of the master teacher, Jesus Christ. As I put these biblically-based principles into practice, I find myself looking more and more like the One I'm attempting to follow. I highly recommend The Great Omission. To get a sample of a few of the articles found in it, check out Willard's website www.dwillard.org.