Every year we hear news of some church leader who messed up and possibly in a way that apologizing and admitting that he or she is a sinner isn't enough. This phenomenon isn't new with the falls of Mark Driscoll, Bill Hybels and Ravi Zacharias, to name a few recent examples. Dallas Willard observed it in his day. Why did he think of it? What did he think was at the bottom of it?
§32 Would God Really Do It That Way? (Conspiracy Conversations)
When looked at from above the version of salvation taught to us in many parts of the church is strange. And not in a good way. In speaking of this bar-code faith, Dallas Willard, the philosopher, draws on the philosophy of occasionalism a now defunct theory of how our mind and body interact. Have we come to believe in a gospel of occasionalism? Join Michael Stewart Robb in another episode on The Divine Conspiracy.
Conversations ft. Bas van der Graaf // on “The Gospel on the Right” by Dallas Willard
Crack open The Divine Conspiracy 24 years after its publication and the section which feels more dated than any is in chapter two: "The Gospel on the Right." In this episode, Bas van der Graaf, a coach, spiritual director and pastor in the Netherlands helps us with that. Bas found Dallas Willard in 2006 shortly after arriving to pastor Jerusalemkerk in youthful but Jesus-distant Amsterdam. Having come out of a Dutch version of the gospel on the right, he explains what he found so attractive about Dallas's vision of the gospel and of Jesus. And why he thinks it matters for new generations of Jesus followers in Holland, Europe and everywhere.
§31 Bar-Code Faith (Conspiracy Commentaries)
In a day when someone might wish to see your vaccination status to let you in somewhere, one might appreciate Dallas Willard's metaphor for a type of Christianity which he's worried about. It is what he calls bar-code faith and he thinks that you have likely encountered it in your life and may even believe it. Join Michael Stewart Robb in another episode on The Divine Conspiracy.
§30 The Invitation Diminished (Conspiracy Commentaries)
Are you victim of a small version of the message of the Bible? Dallas Willard has the idea that the tagline of 20th century Christianity was written on a bumper sticker but also in big theology books and, sad to say, on many lives. Michael Stewart Robb begins chapter two of The Divine Conspiracy on gospels of sin management.
Conversations ft. Jörg Ahlbrecht // on “The Invitation Diminished” by Dallas Willard
Discipleship. Why is it the sort of thing that seems rare in European churches? Does it have anything to do with the theology which we have been taught? Jörg Ahlbrecht, author and speaker in Germany, and Michael Stewart Robb (Mike) open chapter two of Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy to discuss bar-code faith, gospels of sin management, the lack of discipleship and what you might do about it.
Conversations ft. Jane Willard // on “In the Midst of Other Kingdoms” by Dallas Willard
Jane Willard (Dallas Willard's wife) speaks with Michael Stewart Robb about the genesis of The Divine Conspiracy and praying for others (including for Dallas). Jane had quite a life helping to heal people from whom spiritual disciplines were not enough. And so she has a lot to say about how other kingdoms come under the kingdom of God (and lots of little insights about Dallas).
§29 Two Who Called (Conspiracy Commentaries)
In the season finale of Conspiracy Commentaries (last of the first chapter) Michael Stewart Robb sits on Theresienwiese (hence all the background noise) to illustrate the nearness of Jesus and the kingdom, which is what Dallas Willard in his stories about Gary Smith and David Yonggi Cho wants to communicate.
§28 Electricity Is ”at Hand” (Conspiracy Commentaries)
"A very different way of living." If you'd like that, it is what the kingdom of God should make possible for us. Dallas Willard compares it to his family's new access to electricity and how that changed rural life. But the kingdom ought to change life in more radical ways than any technological advance.
§27 But Other Kingdoms Remain (Conspiracy Commentaries)
Why doesn't the kingdom of God, if it is here, not seem to be all that pervasive? Dallas Willard's answer is that God has allowed other kingdoms to have a say in how the universe goes and of course the biggest opposition to God's kingdom is my kingdom. Michael Stewart Robb says this is where Teresa of Avila comes in who describes how we can walk with our initial connection to God into the other parts of our castle/kingdom. Not just our soul but the church can be a big opposition to God's kingdom.
§26 We Become Bearers of God‘s Rule ”at Hand” (Conspiracy Commentaries)
Spirituality, as unhelpful as the word is as a general category, does seem to offer power to people. Jesus' spirituality is no different. Dallas Willard says Jesus' power is even at work when people reject the good you are trying to give them.
Conversations ft. John Ortberg // on “Made to Rule” by Dallas Willard
Michael Stewart sits down (in his parents' basement) to talk with John Ortberg about an extremely important section of The Divine Conspiracy. They get into the nature of persons, having wills, having bodies, what's at the end of your rope, Frank Laubach, finding God's kingdom in life and in the Bible, eschatology and New Testament guilds and how to not be a Willard-ite. [Sorry, by the way, for the bad audio around 48 minutes in!]
§25 The Kingdom Is Now ”at Hand” (Conspiracy Commentaries)
Perhaps one of the most confusing things about Dallas Willard’s view of the kingdom of God is that Jesus didn’t start it and it wasn’t some eschatology before it’s time. The kingdom has been around as long as God has been around, says Willard. The kingdom is NOW. Welcome In!
§24 God‘s Kingdom (Conspiracy Commentaries)
Dallas Willard’s understanding of the kingdom didn’t fit with other theologians. In The Divine Conspiracy he contrasts his view with a few others that have been proposed. In this episode we discuss five.
§23 Our Kingdom Extended — into Eternity (Conspiracy Commentaries)
Anybody feel like what you are in charge of is astonishingly small? Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy teaches that God's intent is that our "kingdom" expand. God is the one very often who puts more in our hands. But even if our rule stays small in this life, he reminds us that this life is only the training ground for our rule in eternity.
§22 Redemption of Our Rule (Conspiracy Commentaries)
Frank Laubach is one of the 20th century's great people who you don't know. And nobody knew him when he lived on an island in the Philippines and started experimenting with prayer and co-working with God. Now that is what he is most known for. His experiments and life were very influential on Dallas Willard who write about him in The Divine Conspiracy.
§21 God's "Creation Covenant" with Human Beings (Conspiracy Commentaries)
Your human job description - what is it? You were put here to be in charge and to be creative with what you were given, to do it with others and to do it with God. Yet we are far from this says Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy.
§20 What a "Kingdom" Is (Conspiracy Commentaries)
Kingdoms as Dallas Willard philosophizes about them are everyday personal realities. You are aware of your kingdom every day of the week. And it's important to God's future for us that we have kingdoms or queendoms. C.S. Lewis got it right in Narnia.
Conversations ft. Seán Mullan // on “Word from a Different Reality ” by Dallas Willard
Michael Stewart Robb and Irish social entrepreneur and pastor-at-large Seán Mullan discuss Dallas Willard's presentation of Jesus in The Divine Conspiracy, how Jesus made a point of being in regular places, how he occupies a strange "religious" role in Europe but how he can still be found in everyday life, ready to co-operate with us. Seán shares his decades of wisdom, having lived with The Divine Conspiracy.
§19 God's Rule Extended Onward Through Us (Conspiracy Commentaries)
We don't talk much about power in church, though those of us in responsibility seem to need it. The basic human condition is one of weakness and wealth and reputation, even brute strength ("brains and brawn") won't accomplish the most important things in life. In this episode we talk about Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy and the gospel of God coming to work with us.