The name Dallas Willard is becoming commonplace in today’s Church leader vocabulary. Willard is one of the main thinkers and writers when it comes to Christ-like formation, spiritual formation, or spiritual disciplines.
Today’s church seems to be aware of the reality that the usual prescribed lifestyle for Christians is not doing well in helping people become more like Christ in their actions, intentions, and everything else (i.e., the essence of discipleship). Various faith traditions within the Christian community all prescribe their own take on what it looks like to live as a Christian today. Usually, the list, while never intended to be comprehensive or the last word on such things, consists of attending worship, reading a Bible, praying, giving, and serving when you can find the time to do so. Some traditions add words like “quiet time.” Others, like my Lutheran heritage, talk more about Sacraments and their role in the Christian lifestyle.
Willard’s question in his book is: are these typical prescriptions given to people in the churches helping them become like Christ in thought, words, and actions? Willard’s conclusion: nope. There’s something about the typical prescription for Christian behavior that misses the goal of Christlikeness. Instead, the goal seems to be to walk in line or tow with local or traditionally accepted behaviors and norms. Discipleship and Christlikeness don’t seem to hit the mind most of the time.
So what’s Willards’ solution? The Spirit of the Disciplines speaks about Christianity as a lifestyle, that being like Christ and becoming more like Christ is possible in this life (while doubtedly perfectable), and that salvation is not just fire insurance for the life to come but instead includes a lifestyle for today. These banners are major themes for Willard. But, how do we get there?
After accepting those banners as biblical reality, Willard strongly states that the way to become more like Christ is through training. 1 Tim. 4:7, “train yourself for godlines;” 2 Peter 3:18, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; “ and other sections of Scripture talk a great deal about training – they talk a great deal about our role in the transformation process.
I think Willard is on to something. He writes well about the distinction between earning salvation (which is a deception) and with personal effort, fueled by the power of God in and around us, striving toward Christlikeness. Becoming like Christ is the goal – it’s also a response to God’s love toward us because of Christ. But it’s not automatic. It’s also beyond how some theologians leave salvation at an imputed grace of God, which is true of course, but is not the Christlikeness in thought, words, and actions. It is what causes this — it’s what we live into. God sees us through Christ; we strive through the power and promptings of the Spirit to become more like what God sees — all of this is flooded by the grace of God. We are passive in the start and then impacted by grace to become active or alive in faith because of Christ.
Willard’s book, while not fully agreeable in my opinion, is heading in the right direction. I think our people in the Christian community are thirsting for new life, they’re looking for freedom. Many times they’ve been spoken to about the cause of new life and freedom in Christ but have not yet been encouraged, guided, or taught how to live this freedom and new life out. The spiritual disciplines are one of those tools – they are a tool God has used throughout both biblical and Christian history to create awareness, shape lives, and renovate souls. They are not a purchasing of salvation but a cultivation of the soil so that the salvation, with-God life might more fully flourish.
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