|
Dear Friends,
I have two things I want to share with you in
this pastoral letter, and they are closely related.
The first item concerns a book, and the second
item concerns an international conference. Presently
you will see how they are related.
A
Publishing Event. I am profoundly struck by
Dr. Dallas Willard's new book, The Divine Conspiracy:
Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. As I
say in its foreword, it is "the book I have been
searching for all my life." Why would I make such
a blanket statement? I place The Divine Conspiracy
alongside the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
and John Wesley, John Calvin and Martin Luther
and others. Why would I go so far out on a limb?
I state that Dallas' book is a masterpiece, a
wonder, a banquet. Why would I use those superlatives
to describe The Divine Conspiracy, something
I will likely never do again about any other book
. . . ever?
The reasons are almost too numerous to mention.
In the foreword to The Divine Conspiracy
I give four obvious ones why I value it, reasons
you can learn when you read it. But in this letter
I want to add some deeply pastoral reasons to
that list.
To start, The Divine Conspiracy
accurately diagnoses the human dilemma. We,
you understand, have been created to make a difference
for good, to rule under the guidance of God and
in the kingdom of God here and now. And the last
chapter of our Bible emphasizes that this rule
extends on into eternity: "The Lord will be their
light, and they shall reign for ever and ever"
(Rev. 22:5). But in the present, at the very time
we feel destined to make a difference, to do something
creative and good, we end up making a mess of
things. We sin. Sin destroys, and we are touched
at our deepest levels by the tangled web it weaves.
Willard describes our dilemma perfectly in the
opening lines of his book: "Recently a pilot was
practicing high-speed maneuvers in a jet fighter.
She turned the controls for what she thought was
a steep ascent—and flew straight into the ground.
She was unaware that she had been flying upside
down.
"This is a parable of human existence in our times—not
exactly that everyone is crashing, though there
is enough of that—but most of us as individuals,
and world society as a whole, live at high-speed,
and often with no clue to whether we are flying
upside down or right-side up. Indeed, we are haunted
by a strong suspicion that there may be no difference—or
at least that it is unknown or irrelevant" (pp.
1-2).
Unfortunately, our churches are not helping us
work through this dilemma because they, for the
most part, are taken over by what Willard calls
"gospels of sin management." The conservative
expression of sin management exclusively concerns
itself with the conditions necessary to get us
into heaven when we die but makes no real connection
to life now. The liberal expression of sin management
concerns itself with removing social or structural
evils now with little or no connection to heaven.
Neither
approach takes seriously the transformation of
human life and character nor the moment-to-moment
reality of living in God's kingdom of love. Therefore,
we are left rooted in bitterness and sorrow, distanced
from God and our fellow human beings.
This
leads me to the second reason I profoundly respect
this book, namely, it introduces Jesus to us
as a wholly competent teacher who can free us
from life's dilemma. Willard puts it this
way; "Jesus is not just nice, he is brilliant."
The Sermon on the Mount is at the center of Jesus'
teaching, and Willard's understanding of it is
unparalleled. Now, the moment I mention the Sermon
on the Mount, I have an uneasy feeling that you
will assume you already know what Willard writes.
I assure you, there are many wonderful and helpful
surprises in store in Chapters 4-7 of The Divine
Conspiracy. I have read many pieces—books,
magazine articles, commentaries—based on this
"Discourse on the Hill," but Willard's work surpasses
them all.
The manner in which Dallas uncovers the depth
of Jesus' teachings on "life on the Rock" is breathtaking.
His discussion of the "Beatitudes," for instance,
is simply stunning, upsetting many of our common
notions of this famous passage. The entire book
is well worth this discussion alone. But he gives
us more, much more—a feast for the mind and the
heart. This feast, this discussion never allows
issues to stay theoretical or removed from our
daily living. Always it pushes us to see our moment-to-moment
existence as a holy calling in "our God-bathed
world."
A third reason I want to commend this book to
you is the way The Divine Conspiracy
takes the mystery out of discipleship to Jesus.
Willard writes, "Who teaches you? Whose disciple
are you? Honestly.
"One thing is sure: You are somebody's disciple.
You learned how to live from somebody else. There
are no exceptions to this rule, for human beings
are just the kind of creatures that have to learn
and keep learning from others how to live" (p.
271).
"Being a disciple or apprentice of Jesus
is a definite and obvious kind of thing. To make
a mystery of it is to misunderstand it. There
is no good reason why people should ever be in
doubt as to whether they themselves are his students
or not" (p. 281).
"Now, people who are asked whether they are apprentices
of a leading politician, musician, lawyer or screenwriter
would not need to think a second to respond. Similarly
for those asked if they are studying Spanish or
bricklaying with someone unknown to the public.
It is hardly something that would escape one's
attention. The same is all the more true if asked
about discipleship to Jesus" (p. 282).
In manuscript form I gave a copy of Chapter 9,
"A Curriculum for Christlikeness," to Bob Howey,
a businessman I meet with weekly in a Spiritual
Formation group. For several weeks Bob showed
me extensive notes he had taken—applying and extending
the teaching into his business life—which thrilled
me. By itself that chapter had taken the mystery
out of discipleship for Bob and had made it a
living reality for his daily experience. It can
do the same for you and me.
A fourth intently pastoral reason I urge you to
read this book is the way it connects this
life with the life to come. That is, it shows
us how our present lives in this world relate
to our future lives in heaven. This kind of teaching
is tremendously important, for if people consider
heaven at all today, they usually think of something
like "an everlasting church service," or worse.
Willard
writes, "Those who have apprenticed themselves
to Jesus learn an undying life with a future as
good and as large as God himself. The experiences
we have of this life . . . now fill us with anticipation
of a future so full of beauty and goodness we
can hardly imagine. . . . Our future can be incorporated
into our life now and our life now can be incorporated
into our future.
"I meet many faithful Christians who, in spite
of their faith, are deeply disappointed in how
their lives have turned out. . . . what they had
hoped to accomplish in life they did not. . .
. Much of the distress of these good people comes
from a failure to realize that their life lies
before them. That they are coming to the end of
their present life, life ‘in the flesh,' is of
little significance. What is of significance is
the kind of person they have become" (pp. 375-387).
"We
should expect that in due time we will be moved
into our eternal destiny of creative activity
with Jesus and his friends and associates in the
‘many mansions' of ‘his Father's house.' We
should think of our destiny as being absorbed
in a tremendously creative team effort, with unimaginable
splendid leadership, on an inconceivable vast
plane of activity, with ever more comprehensive
cycles of productivity and enjoyment. This
is the ‘eye hath not seen, neither ear heard'
that lies before us in the prophetic vision (Isaiah
64:4)" (p. 399).
Honestly, I could go on and on. You can tell that
I am hoping you will get this book. I do so out
of pastoral concern. I believe this book will
help you enormously. That is the reason I want
you to read it, and in a moment I will mention
a way that you can get it. But first I want to
discuss the other matter I promised to mention.
An
International Conference. Over the past year
key Christian leaders in Houston, Texas, have
been urging us to make it the site of a Renovaré
International Conference on Spiritual Renewal.
In January about 25 churches and para-church groups
(representing several denominations) extended
an official invitation to us, pledging prayer,
finances, promotion, and volunteer labor in support
of the Conference.
After following a deliberate discernment process—listening
carefully to what God was saying through this
gracious invitation and watching with eagerness
the signs of spiritual life occurring in Houston—we
have decided this is a right and good thing for
us to do. Hence, this gathering is scheduled for
June 30-July 3, 1999, at the George R. Brown
Convention Center in Houston, a facility that
can accommodate up to 7,000 precious people. I
believe it will be a wonder-filled time of learning,
worship, and fellowship across cultural, ethnic,
and denominational boundaries. We are expecting
folk from every state in the U.S.A. to come, and
we are going to advertise the Conference in several
countries so that key people from them can join
us. I hope you will make plans now to be part
of this international gathering. (Actual registration
information will be sent in the months ahead.)
The
Connection. So what is the connection between
Dallas Willard's new book and this conference?
Simple. "The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering
Our Hidden Life in God" will be the theme
for our gathering in Houston in 1999. All of the
general session talks will be building on themes
in the book—extending them, filling them out,
and making them accessible to everyone. All twenty-five
workshops will be based on some aspect of the
Sermon on the Mount and will use Willard's insights
into Jesus' teaching as their starting point.
Dallas Willard will be with us for the gathering
as will all of the members of our Renovaré Ministry
Team—twelve women and men full of joy and the
life of the Spirit. Each one brings a dimension
of ministry that is uniquely God-kissed, and I
am always encouraged and helped when with them.
This
is a huge commitment on our part as the facility
alone costs $25,000.00 to rent and the sound/audio
setup will cost approximately $70,000.00. Of course,
this is only the beginning—there will be plane
fares and hotel rooms and meals and printing and
magazine advertisements and postage. And much
more.
But we believe it is the right thing to do and
the right time to do it. The people in Houston
are working hard. We are working hard. And we
need your help . . . help in prayer and help in
financial support. We are entering the typically
lean summer months and have all of the normal
day-to-day needs. We are also launching out, convinced
that God is calling us to do the International
Conference. If ever we needed your generous financial
support, that time is now.
And we have a plan that will help us both. For
every gift to Renovaré of $50.00 or more, we will
send you a copy of The Divine Conspiracy.
You receive the book to further your spiritual
growth, and we receive the financial resources
needed to undergird our ongoing ministry. Thank
you for linking arms with us and becoming our
partners in this kingdom work.
Peace and joy,
Richard J. Foster
|
