In Honor of Dallas Willard: Why Bother with Discipleship?

Early yesterday morning Dallas Willard, beloved teacher, philosophy professor, author and spiritual formation guide lost his battle with stage four cancer and entered into the full experience of transformation in Christ’s presence. There is no doubt that Dallas’ passing is a great loss for us and great gain for him.

Through the years when people asked me what I think about Dallas, the truest thing I could think to say was, “He is the real deal.” And that is exactly what I would say today—Dallas is the real deal, only now even more so!  

In honor of Dallas’ life and in celebration of what his transforming presence meant to so many of us, we offer this excerpt (slightly adapted) from one of his later works, The Great Omission.  It is Dallas at his best—insightful and penetrating, theologically and biblically deep, culturally savvy with a generous helping of his endearing, tongue-in-cheek humor.

Wherever you are today, perhaps you can take a few moments in quiet to read this piece and thank God for this man who submitted a brilliant mind, a beautiful heart, and a great spirit to the transforming presence of Christ in such a way that it brought forth such a unique ministry among us. If you are drawn to renew your commitment to be a student of Christ—one who is “possessed and permeated” with God’s character such that you can be trusted with Christ’s power to do God’s work in the world—what a worthy tribute that would be!    —Ruth Haley Barton

 



Why Bother with Discipleship?

by Dallas Willard

IF WE ARE CHRISTIANS simply by believing that Jesus died for our sins, and that is all it takes to have sins forgiven and go to heaven when we die, why, then, do some people keep insisting that something more than this is desirable? Lordship, discipleship, spiritual formation, and the like?

What more could one want than to be sure of one’s eternal destiny and to enjoy life among others who profess the same faith? Of course everyone wants to be a good person. But that does not require that you actually do what Jesus himself said and did. Haven’t you heard? “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”

Those who honestly find themselves concerned about such matters might find it helpful to consider four simple points.

Vampire Christianity
First, there is absolutely nothing in what Jesus himself or his early followers taught that suggests you can decide just to enjoy forgiveness at Jesus’s expense and have nothing more to do with him.

Some years ago A. W. Tozer expressed his “feeling that a notable heresy has come into being throughout evangelical Christian circles—the widely accepted concept that we humans can choose to accept Christ only because we need him as Savior and that we have the right to postpone our obedience to him as Lord as long as we want to!” He then goes on to state “that salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred scriptures.” (I Call it Heresy, Christian Publications, 1974, p. 5f)

This “heresy” has created the impression that it is quite reasonable to be a “vampire Christian.” One in effect says to Jesus, “I’d like a little of your blood, please. But I don’t care to be your student or have your character. In fact, won’t you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I’ll see you in heaven.” But can we really imagine that this is an approach that Jesus finds acceptable?

And when you stop to think about it, how could one actually trust him for forgiveness of sins while not trusting him for much more than that? You can’t trust him without believing that he was right about everything, and that he alone has the key to every aspect of our lives here on earth. But if you believe that, you will naturally want to stay just as close to him as you can, in every aspect of your life.

Locked in Moral Defeat
Second, if we do not become his apprentices in Kingdom living, we remain locked in defeat so far as our moral intentions are concerned. This is where most professing Christians find themselves today. Statistical studies prove it. People, generally, choose to sin. And they are filled with explanations as to why, everything considered, it is “necessary” to do so. But, even so, no one wants to be a sinner. It is amusing that people will admit to lying, for example, but stoutly deny that they are liars.

We want to be good, but we are prepared, ready, to do evil—should circumstances require it. And of course they do “require” it, with deadening regularity. As Jesus himself indicated, those who practice sin actually are slaves of it (John 8:34). Ordinary life confirms it. How consistently do you find people who routinely succeed in doing the good and avoiding the evil they intend?

In contrast, practicing Jesus’s words, as his apprentices, enables us to understand our lives and to see how we can interact with God’s redemptive resources, ever at hand. This in turn gives us an increasing freedom from failed intentions as we learn from him how to, simply, do what we know to be right. By a practiced abiding in his words, we come to know the truth, and the truth does, sure enough, make us free (John 8:36). We are able to do the good we intend.

Simplicity that is Really Transparency
Third, only avid discipleship to Christ through the Spirit brings the inward transformation of thought, feeling, and character that “cleans the inside of the cup” (Matthew 23:25) and “makes the tree good” (Matthew 12:33). As we study with Jesus we increasingly become on the inside—with the “Father who is in secret” (Matthew 6:6)—exactly what we are on the outside, where actions and moods and attitudes visibly play over our body, alive in its social context. An amazing simplicity will take over our lives—a simplicity that is really just transparency.

This requires a long and careful learning from Jesus to remove the duplicity that has become second nature to us—as is perhaps inevitable in a world where, to “manage” our relations to those about us, we must hide what we really think, feel, and would like to do, if only we could avoid observation. Thus, a part of Jesus’s teaching was to “avoid the leaven, or permeating spirit, of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1).

The Pharisees were in many respects the very best people of Jesus’s day. But they located goodness in behavior and tried to secure themselves by careful management at the behavioral level. However, that simply cannot be done. Behavior is driven by the hidden or secret dimension of human personality, from the depths of the soul and body, and what is present there will escape. Hence, the Pharisee always fails at some point to do what is right, and then must redefine, redescribe, or explain it away—or simply hide it.

In contrast, the fruit of the spirit, as described by Jesus, Paul, and other biblical writers, does not consist in actions, but in attitudes or settled personality traits that make up the substance of the “hidden” self, the “inner man.” “Love” captures this fruit in one word, but does so in such a concentrated form that it needs to be spelled out. Thus, the “fruit [singular] of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). Other such passages easily come to mind, such as 2 Peter 1:4–8, 1 Corinthians 13, and Romans 5:1–5.

“Spiritual formation” in the Christian tradition is a process of increasingly being possessed and permeated by such character traits as we walk in the easy yoke of discipleship with Jesus our teacher. From the inward character the deeds of love then naturally—but supernaturally—and transparently flow. Of course there will always be room for improvement, so we need not worry that we will become perfect—at least for a few weeks or months. Our aim is to be pervasively possessed by Jesus through constant companionship with him. Like our brother Paul, “This one thing I do:…I press on toward the goal!…That I may know Christ!” (Philippians 3:13–14, 8).

Those Jesus can Trust with His Power
Finally, for the one who makes sure to walk as close to Jesus as possible there comes the reliable exercise of a power that is beyond them in dealing with the problems and evils that afflict earthly existence. Jesus is actually looking for people he can trust with his power.

He knows that otherwise we remain largely helpless in the face of the organized and disorganized evils around us, and that we are unable—given his chosen strategy—to promote his will for good in this world with adequate power. He is the one who said, “I have been given say over all things in heaven and earth. So you go…” (Matthew 28:18). Of him it was said that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, and he went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” (Acts 10:38). It is also given to us, we are called, to do his work by his power and not our own.

However we may understand the details, there can be no doubt on the biblical picture of human life—that we were meant to be inhabited by God and to live by a power beyond ourselves. Human problems cannot be solved by human means. Human life can never flourish unless it pulses with the “immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19).

But only constant students of Jesus will be given adequate power to fulfill their calling to be God’s person for their time and their place in this world. They are the only ones who develop the character which makes it safe to have such power. But, someone will say, can I not be “saved”—that is, get into heaven when I die—without any of this? Perhaps you can. God’s goodness is so great, I am sure that He will let you in if He can find any basis at all to do so.

But you might wish to think about what your life amounts to before you die, about what kind of person you are becoming, and about whether you really would be comfortable for eternity in the presence of One whose company you have not found especially desirable for the few hours and days of your earthly existence. He is, after all, the One who says to you now, “Follow me!”


Adapted (subheads added) from Dallas Willard, The Great Omission (New York:  HarperOne, 2006) pp. 13-15.

TOP IMAGE: “WillardDallas_MCC_Sept08_007” by George Fox Evangelical Seminary is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (cropped)

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Dallas Willard

was a Professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California and renowned author of numerous books on the spiritual life including The Divine Conspiracy, The Spirit of the Disciplines, and Renovation of the Heart. Dallas was one of the most brilliant Christian thinkers of our time, calling us back to the true meaning of discipleship and Christian formation.
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At a time in my life when I was drowning in criticism, shame, and legalism in my church, I picked up “The Divine Conspiracy”. God used Dallas’ insights to rescue me from the whirlpool I was swirling around in and gave me a way of responding that brought my heart peace. And I’ve never been the same. The life in the Kingdom that Dallas described has changed me as a man, a husband, a father, and a pastor. Years later, I continue to disciple others in the transformative truths that I found in his insights on the sermon on the mount. I am truly saddened by his passing. But I thanks God for the gift he gave the Church in Dallas Willard

Amen to all! So glad for these testimonies of how God touched lives through the ministry of his faithful servant.

Dear Ruth,
I have read several of Dallas Willard’s books and have always been impressed by his knowledge and his heart to know God. I am currently reading “Radical” by David Platt and thus far I have felt quite challenged by the content. Have you read this and if so, do you have any comments?
Blessings and happy, happy Mother’s Day!
Lynda

I have truly enjoyed his writings and his DVD’S.As a matter,I am watching one currently.He truly is a great loss,it is only through his writings that I arrived at the Transforming Community!His profound wisdom will influence me for ever!

Yes, I echo everything that Ruth has said in her comments.
When I signed up to audit the first DMin seminar led by Dallas at Fuller I had not heard of him! My jaws fell open as I heard him speak from his heart (not from his notes), and I took in every word that I strained to hear, and I was determined to sign up for credit the next year. That was how I ended up doing the same seminar twice, and with his permission.
His life is an embodiment of his teaching, and I felt immensely blessed to have sat under his feet, heard him explain living in the Kingdom of God here and now, answer questions fom his own experience and challenge us to make Jesus’ teachings our own when we share it. Indeed, my loss and our loss, but he’s home with His beloved Lord.

Thank you for this. I am finishing up a couple of papers and and leaning heavily on Willard’s work. My wife, Mary Jo, and I had the opportunity to hear Dallas in person in San Francisco, November 2011. A true inspiration.

Wow! Ruth, thank you for sharing this about Dallas Willard and honoring him in this way. I really resonated with your article about him and the exerpt from his book. People like Dallas and yourself (I hold you in the same regard) are His choice servants he has raised up for “such a time as this” when the American church has lowered the bar hoping that more sheep will be able to hop IN inadvertently we have made it possible for more sheep hop OUT, passing through, with just enough exposure to become inoculated from catching the “real disease!”

Dallas Willard was an author and mentor that I have trusted completely…he was able to say what he meant in a way that even I could understand him….and mean what he said. As one of the contributors to the Divorce Care series that I participated in years ago, I found his words so wise….and memorable.

He challenged me to look further into my soul than I could have ever imagined, walk spiritual paths I would have never travelled, and helped me challenge myself to transform my very soul. Thank you Lord for his presence on this Earth and his gift for writing and speaking that helped me grow spiritually and led me to challenge others in my spiritual community! Thank you Dallas, Thank you for helping me plug into the Kingdom of Heaven here and now!

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