The Divine Conspiracy Continued: Fulfilling God’s Kingdom on Earth
Dallas Willard, the author of the bestselling spiritual classic, The Divine Conspiracy, now fulfills his revolutionary vision of how the kingdom of God is made real on earth in this sequel, the last book he was working on before his recent deathIn ‘The Divine Conspiracy’, revered Christian philosopher and scholar Dallas Willard critiqued the church’s obsession with ‘sin management’ and revolutionised our understanding of true Christian discipleship. Jesus is not a remote saviour, waiting to welcome us into heaven after we die, Willard argued. He is a dynamic living force, a leader and teacher to whom we apprentice ourselves to learn the sacred skills Godwants us to embrace, and to fulfil His son’s vision when Christ declared that the ‘kingdom of God has come.’In The Divine Conspiracy Continued, co-written with theologian Gary Black, Willard lays out the next stage in God’s plan as this generation of disciples, including ordained and lay leaders, step into positions of authority across our culture and begin to transform the world from the inside out. To fulfil the Christian calling is not to remove oneself from the outsideworld and take shelter from its shortcomings, Willard reminds us, but to step into the world to lead and serve as agents of change.
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William Collins
an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 77–85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2014
FIRST EDITION
Copyright © Dallas Willard and Gary Black Jr 2014
Cover design: Dwight Been
Cover image: © Getty Images/The Bridgeman Art Library
Dallas Willard and Gary Black Jr assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780007589937
Ebook Edition © May 2014 ISBN: 9780007589944 Version: 2014-06-02
Contents
Foreword: Remembering Dallas, by Gary Black Jr.
TWO Following the Good Shepherd
THREE Leaders Who Follow the Shepherd
EIGHT Illuminating the Good Life
THIRTEEN Physicians, Lawyers, and Pastors or Priests
Praise for The Divine Conspiracy Continued
“I know of no more important voice on spiritual truth in our day than that of Dallas Willard. To be able to receive fresh words from him along with Gary Black Jr. on the reality of the kingdom in our midst is a priceless gift to every follower of Jesus.”
—John Ortberg, author of Who Is This Man?
“I consider The Divine Conspiracy to be the most important book in the field of Christian spirituality written in my lifetime. So, I welcome the publication of The Divine Conspiracy Continued. Gary Black Jr., working on this project with Dallas Willard right up until Dallas’s death, helps to expand and enrich the themes that moved us so deeply, articulating the same grand vision as the original text and adds many penetrating insights into our life in the kingdom of God. May The Divine Conspiracy Continued find an eager audience ready to grow in the life that is Life indeed.”
—Richard J. Foster, author Celebration of Discipline and Sanctuary of the Soul
“The name Dallas Willard is one you hear a lot in our house. He’s somewhere between a family member and a saint to us, as we’ve been so deeply shaped by his words and ideas. What’s so deeply special about this book is that Gary Black Jr.’s respect and love for his friend and mentor shines through every page, but never stands in the way of Dallas’s extraordinary wisdom. I’m so thankful for this beautiful book.”
—Shauna Niequist, author of Bread & Wine
“The Divine Conspiracy Continued is a continuation of the divine conspiracy to implement kingdom principles in the professions and to influence the structure of our institutions for good and for God. In my search for evidence of kingdom practices in business, I have found them in the exemplary practices of many executives in the U.S. So I know this can be done just as Willard and Black describe. The question is, ‘how to proceed?’ I believe it must start in the church and much effort should be devoted to mentoring lay leaders in the kingdom principles as described in this book. I will return to its teachings again and again. May the kingdom come!”
—Joseph Maciariello, The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University
“The Divine Conspiracy is a Christian classic that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with Augustine’s Confessions and Brother Lawrence’s Practicing the Presence of God. For years, I have longed for a sequel. Unfortunately, Dallas—a genuine treasure to the body of Christ—passed away. However, unknown to me, Gary Black Jr., who did his doctoral dissertation on Willard’s thought and knows as much about Willard’s ideas as anyone living, and who spent considerable time with Dallas before his departure, gathered Dallas’s ideas, added his own, and has produced a truly coauthored book that satisfies the hunger of so many of us. The Divine Conspiracy Continued
