I began to notice the message that Jesus taught. Mark 1 communicates this beautifully. The message was, rethink what you think is true because by following me and doing what I prescribe, the kingdom is now and option. By doing so we are engulfed by the Trinitarian Community. We experience inner transformation, or Spiritually led process, so that we come to think and live as Jesus was able to do. Whatever message we are sharing, is it indeed good news? Is Lordship good news? Is trying to make being poor in spirit as something desirable good news? I've found people often quote Dr. WIllard, but rarely come to be able to communicate his thesis. That the kingdom is now and for anyone and everyone, that eternal living is possible now, that our being right with God is placing our well being on him as Abraham did, takes care of the sin issues, that heaven is as close as the air surrounding our bodies, that "you are with me", that the resurrection proved that everything Jesus said is true. For me, this is good news. As spokespeople for Jesus are we communicating what he said or what we were taught to say?
I'm thoroughly enjoying The Kingdom Among Us. I'm 316 pages into it now. What are your thoughts on Greg Ten Elshof's critique of Willard's take on the beatitudes?
I haven't read Ten Elshof's critique but he would join a host of others who don't think Willard got it right. Willard himself knows that he's in a very small camp. The point is probably moot because what Willard thinks Jesus is teaching through the Beatitudes, everybody agrees is essential to Jesus's teaching, namely that the kingdom is for everyone, no qualifications necessary. They just don't think he's teaching it in the Beatitudes.
Hello Mike, Do you know what Dallas Willard thought the Bible taught about God’s choice of humans over angels? God has made at least two types of creatures capable of choices that surpass the animals. It appears as if God chose the lesser to be made in the image of God and to have dominion over the remainder of creation. Why did God choose the less glorious creature to be the representative image of God?
There's some material on angels in the series The Soul's Eternal Anchor I believe. Angels don't have bodies, i.e. don't have kingdoms. Their ability to act must come through something which does have a kingdom, either through God or through humans. As for ranking, other theologians have tried that but Dallas didn't go in for it (the so-called heavenly hierarchy). In his account of creation, angels aren't better or worse than humans. Maybe just different. A question for you: what do you think it means to be the image of God? (No need to answer it on RU-vid)
I discovered Dr Willard in 2013. I was drawn to how he didn’t mind someone disagreeing. He taught like a teacher, which I prefer. I bought The Divine Conspiracy in 2014. While I didn’t think at the time it had an impact slowly I changed. I felt I was able to respect other’s experiences and thoughts. I’ve collected every Dallas Willard book. I’m looking forward to meeting him some day in the eternal.
A few observations: 1. Cool library/office! A great place to read, I'm sure. 2. I really appreciate this video and your perspective. A man of refreshing candor. Suggestion: get rid of your intro or make it less than 10 seconds. Imo, one-cut videos are more elegant! 3. I love the idea of reading vis-a-vis the "whimsical" approach. I think it is always good to ask "why." And also to use prudence when deciding what your time and your mind consume. You're definitely right to say that some books--I think the best books--combine pleasure and education, and this can take many forms. Works by Homer, for instance, teach moral lessons, character, and storytelling itself! 4. Along the lines of your point, I'm fond of keeping 3 books on rotation: 1 spiritual, 1 professional, and 1 fictional. The fictional book usually takes precedence, but I think it helps get the momentum going.
I have a little hack that serves me well. I have Amazon Prime and for many books in the Kindle version you can request a sample. They will send a sample to your Kindle. There it sits until I read it and decide if I want to buy it or borrow it. Cheers!
I'm almost done reading Pride and Prejudice and while it is not my cup of tea and I found the first 2/3 to be boring as hell, it is rewarding to get through a text I'm not thrilled with. I may even learn a thing or two by the time I'm done.
Nice. My wife just finished Middlemarch which I failed twice on and then gave to her. She had the same experience but then said the last 1/3 made it worth it.
Thanks, Mike! The encouragement to read slowly in small chunks really helps. The old standard, "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers always challenges me.
John Cassian is also one of my favs, both Conferences and Institutes. Maybe you could do some video about John Cassian and his wisdom? Your reflections encourage me because I've felt a long time that I can't read, for example, the Gospels fast. And I don't need to as you point out. They need time to digestested.
Thank you for your honest sharing. We are sorry to hear about the struggles and discouragement. (Although we’re sure this is part of the job description to some extent.) We are very interested in your book on calling for young people. Any way to see a manuscript? We are about to launch a spiritual formation group with young adults and would love to see this resource. Praying for your encouragement and for your persistence.
Thanks for your honest reflections. Congratulations on finishing a polished book manuscript! Blessings as you seek to be faithful to God's call in this season.
I've been blessed by the work you do and particularly by your friendship. Totally get the discouragement of not seeing what you want to see as a result to your effort. I'm praying that you will have 1 Samuel 30:6b experience.
You're in my prayers. You do seem very down and dispirited. The question is how do we know when we should persist and when we should let go and do something else?
So good! Thank You Mike! My mind went to the time I heard AW Tozer wrote Pursuit of God on a train ride from Texas to Chicago. Tozer had no formal education but definitely had knowledge of the Holy. When the Spirit moved so did his pen.
Yes, that's a powerful book. Sometimes books come out like that - usually not without a long preparation of the person in advance. Better books usually pass through a long process of rewriting. But sometimes a book resembles an improvised live performance.
Thanks for this. I'm curious about the personal example you used when it comes to becoming knowledgable before beginning to write. If you want to write a book on, I dunno, the history of pinball machines, it makes sense to me that you could read a certain amount and eventually get to the point of having a good enough handle on the subject that continuing to research would start to have diminishing returns. But with God as your subject, I guess it's pretty much impossible to get to that point? So how do you personally discern when it's time to begin writing? Is it a gut feeling? Or is there a set time table you're working with? Something else? Thanks again.
Good question. True, God as a subject matter is a bit trickier than pinball machines. There are some who would say God is too big or too lofty or too evasive to get to any level of comfortableness to write a book. That's an idea that must be argued for (it, perhaps you'll notice, contains an implicit view of God). A place to start, indeed my place, is with all the books that have been written on God already. I won't be the first to write on God so I start by asking what I can learn about the topic from others. The more one reads there (and the more one supplements such reading with one's own experience of God) the more confident one becomes. It is a big topic but over time it starts to seem more manageable. Like any science, it is a topic which no one book or no one thinker will exhaust. Thanks for asking.
This video reminds me of the time I first heard Dallas Willard say about having “something to say” which stood so drastically opposite to the mentality of ”publish or perish” that I absorbed in my undergrad and gradschool years. It taught me that a pure heart in pursuit of knowledge is not naivete but true power.
Just wanted to let you know that this morning God prompted me to pray for you and your family, that He would bless your efforts with success. Then I listened to this podcast and heard your request. ❤
Mike, thanks so much for the tip on the Amazon ebook for your book. I am loving your insights on Dallas! It’s a great read and your research brings out all the mentoring I can glean from this amazing Jesus-follower. God’s blessings on your work and ministry!
So glad you are making these videos again! I had a question about this statement that God has prepared an individualized eternal work for after death. Where did this idea come from? Do you know of the Scriptural references? I'm very open to this idea but I can't say I've heard of it before reading it in Ch 3. Thank you!
Dallas discusses this more in chapter 10 of Conspiracy, giving some of his references. It's also a theme for a lot of his talks. One of his best is Rev 22:5. But that text should be treated as a proof text.
Appreciate the generative style of Q&A! I only wish you guys can 'let loose' a bit more in what I hope is another conversation in the future. I know that may be like asking a cat to fetch a stick, but one can hope;). Thanks for this, Mike!
Sorry for the late reply. We've had a couple free screenings. To which you could have come. We're working on the next step. Signing up for the Sanctus newsletter sanctus.institute will keep you informed.
If you know John Mark, feel free to pass on that we'd like to explore that idea. Certainly plenty of young Europeans are interested in what he has to say.
@@SanctusInstitute I don't know him personally, but perhaps his organisation Practicing the Way has his contact information? Their channel on RU-vid is @practicingtheway
Thanks David. I think it goes in that direction as well. But does manifesting mean letting your life be an example? I think it often means supernatural events (a la John Wimber). Perhaps the meaning should be expanded.
