The whole concept of “Apprentice2Jesus” arose out of reading Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy. Actually, it took two readings of the book, plus preaching on it, before I began to get what he was saying. (I’m an incredibly slow learner.)

But as I began to get my head around what he was saying, I knew this was what my heart was longing for. After 9/11 I preached through the Sermon on the Mount using Willard’s work as a base. Now I am sensing the same type of shift happening in our culture once again, so I am drawn once again to his work. I will be working my way through The Divine Conspiracy again, along with the new Bonhoeffer biography. (I will probably dive into the newer edition of Discipleship as well.)

I need to hear these challenges in my life again.

A couple of quotes:

“… the most telling thing about the contemporary Christian is that he or she simply has no compelling sense that understanding of and conformity with the clear teachings of Christ is of any vital importance to his or her life, and certainly not that it is in any way essential.”

“More than any other single thing, in any case, the practical irrelevance of actual obedience to Christ accounts for the weakened effect of Christianity in the world today, with its increasing tendency to emphasize political and social action as the primary way to serve God. It also accounts for the practical irrelevance of Christian faith to individual character development and overall personal sanity and well-being.”