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Dallas Willard

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The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship Kindle Edition

by Dallas Willard (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.7 490 ratings

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The last command Jesus gave the church before he ascended to heaven was the Great Commission, the call for Christians to "make disciples of all the nations." But Christians have responded by making "Christians," not "disciples." This, according to brilliant scholar and renowned Christian thinker Dallas Willard, has been the church's Great Omission.

"The word disciple occurs 269 times in the New Testament," writes Willard. "Christian is found three times and was first introduced to refer precisely to disciples of Jesus. . . . The New Testament is a book about disciples, by disciples, and for disciples of Jesus Christ. But the point is not merely verbal. What is more important is that the kind of life we see in the earliest church is that of a special type of person. All of the assurances and benefits offered to humankind in the gospel evidently presuppose such a life and do not make realistic sense apart from it. The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy-duty model of the Christian -- especially padded, textured, streamlined, and empowered for the fast lane on the straight and narrow way. He or she stands on the pages of the New Testament as the first level of basic transportation in the Kingdom of God."

Willard boldly challenges the thought that we can be Christians without being disciples, or call ourselves Christians without applying this understanding of life in the Kingdom of God to every aspect of life on earth. He calls on believers to restore what should be the heart of Christianity -- being active disciples of Jesus Christ. Willard shows us that in the school of life, we are apprentices of the Teacher whose brilliance encourages us to rise above traditional church understanding and embrace the true meaning of discipleship -- an active, concrete, 24/7 life with Jesus.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is vintage Willard, and it must be read by all who hunger to grow as Jesus’s disciple.”

From the Back Cover

In his earlier books Dallas Willard has laid out the principal ideas for a revolutionary understanding of what the Christian life is really about. This volume collects articles, talks, and interviews where Willard explains the practical application of his ideas. He answers such questions as what does it mean to be Jesus’ disciple? How does God teach us? How do we know what God wants for us? How do we explain Jesus to others? And much more.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000JMKT00
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperOne; Reprint edition (October 13, 2009)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 13, 2009
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2427 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0062311751

Best Sellers Rank: #305,252 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #109 in Spiritual Gifts
- #234 in Christian Discipleship (Kindle Store)
- #669 in Christian Faith (Books)

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Dallas Willard

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DALLAS WILLARD (1935-2013) Dr. Willard has deeply affected many people through his writing and speaking. He displayed a scholarly acumen and a pastor's heart, seeking to integrate philosophy, theology, and ethics with practical discipleship and Christian day-to-day living.

Dr. Willard studied at William Jewell College, Tennessee Temple College, and Baylor University before earning a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin. He was a professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California from 1965 to 2012, working in the fields of logic, philosophy of mind, and epistemology. He loved teaching and considered it a noble profession responsible for the condition of the world in years and centuries to come. His teaching, writing and research continues to nurture young minds towards truth, reason and God, and his groundbreaking books have forever changed the way thousands of Christians experience their faith. Richard Foster, author of the book Celebration of Discipline, says of Dallas, “Rarely have I found an author so penetrating in his intellect combined with so generous a spirit.”

The life of Dallas Willard had a radically life-changing effect on those who came in contact with him, and many of his former students are now university professors committed to furthering the ideas they learned from him. His books will touch both your mind and your heart.

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Paul M. Dubuc

Rev. 3:2

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2006

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Dallas Willard's latest book is a collection of previous writings and lectures surrounding the importance of discipleship for Christians. This book is a great introduction to Willard's other books and a stirring exposition of his chief concern: That becoming a disciple of Christ is seen as optional in most churches today. It is enough that a person accept Christ as savior and affirm certain beliefs to be a Christian. While these things are absolutely essential, they are not enough and they only partially fulfill the teachings of scripture and the commands of Jesus.

When many people consider discipleship, or spiritual formation, they think of what it costs (a la Bonhoeffer). This is a valid perspective, but Willard asks us to take a look from the other side: The cost of nondiscipleship:

"Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith
that sees everything in the light of God's overriding governance for good, hopefulness
that stands firm in the most discouraging circumstances, power to do what is right
and withstand the forces of evil. In short, nondiscipleship costs you exactly the
abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring (John 10:10)."

Discipleship is essential for every Christian, not just for the "super Christians." There is nothing in the teaching of scripture that suggests that being forgiven and "saved" is all there is to being a Christian. To the contrary, Willard shows that Christians need to be undergoing a profound transformation in character becoming more like Christ from the heart. How does this happen? By the faithful acceptance of everyday problems, interaction with God's Spirit in and around us and spiritual disciplines. He recommends four spiritual disciplines as basic to discipleship: solitude, silence, fasting and scripture memorization. For those to whom spiritual disciplines sound like "works righteousness," Willard repeatedly emphasizes the difference: "Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action." The process of transformation isn't passive on our part. Its effectiveness is all due to God's grace. But our effort makes us receptive to this grace. God will not impose it upon us. Willard likens spiritual discipline to the physical discipline of an athlete (cp. 1 Cor. 9:24-27). The spiritual disciplines aren't meant to be burdens that we groan under. They are tools which we can help us make God's grace more effective in our lives. In fact, our bodies themselves are tools for spiritual growth.

The heart of the book is chapter 9, "Living in the Vision of God." Here Willard distinguishes between the substance of devotion to God and its effects. When we become too attached to the latter we are in danger of losing the former. Here there is a very good analysis of how this happens and what can be done about it. We are commanded to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength in Mark 12:30 and Willard assures us that, "It is something we are to do, something we /can/ do. We /will/ learn learn how to do it if we /intend/ to do it. God will help us, and we will find a way." Amen! Let it be so.

The book ends with a few short chapters about various books on spiritual living that have been a tremendous help to Willard and which he commends for our use. I've added a few of them to my reading list.

Dallas Willard is a very wise, and practical teacher. He has deep and valuable insight into what it means, and what it takes, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ today. He is a trustworthy guide for the efforts of any Christian who wants to break an addiction to mediocrity in their relationship to God. This book will never be the classic that _The Divine Conspiracy_ is bound to become, but it provides a a much needed impetus for modern evangelical Christianity to reclaim the great omission for its life and mission. I hope it gains a wide reading.

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Tony Impellitteri

Good Commentary

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2024

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For those interested in a deeper understanding of Christ and His mission and teachings.

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Kevin Hrebik

Don't "Omit" This Book from Your Library!

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2011

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From the start, Dallas Willard pulls no punches in defining and staying on point with his subject, which in essence is that the church has not made discipleship an essential and critical part of Christianity, but they rather have made it an option for those so inclined or interested. Yet the heart of the Great Commission could not be more clear, to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19). In Willard's succinct words, "he told us as disciples to make disciples" (xii) and "The New Testament is a book about disciples, by disciples, and for disciples of Jesus Christ" (3)--which stands in great contrast to the church's big problem, which is that it is "filled with undiscipled disciples" (4). Rather than adhering to the Great Commission, the general state of the church, to its shame, has in effect translated it as the Great Omission. Such "easy Christianity" is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer more than half a century ago called "cheap grace," and it has extolled an individual and collective price: "Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace . . . [it] costs you exactly that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring" (9).

A gospel that offers easy forgiveness of sins with optional discipleship is not the gospel of the Bible. On this point, Willard quoted A. W. Tozer, "salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred scriptures" (14), and in fact Tozer described it as heresy and "vampire Christianity," which asks of Jesus, "I'd like a little of your blood, please" (ibid.). Willard makes the point that without discipleship the Spirit cannot conduct inward transformation of one's heart and character, drawing from Jesus' analogy of cleaning only the outside of the cup but not the inside (Matt. 23:25). This essay focuses on the critical aspect of the Spirit's inner transformation, which alone defines true Christian spirituality, and which only happens within the hearts of true disciples or apprentices of Christ. While the world spins endless pseudo-definitions of spirituality, and the church spins watered down versions, Willard's words seem impossible to misunderstand. After listing the fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5:22, he states, "`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" (16).

Inextricably connected with all phases of both discipleship and spiritual formation (which the student sees as synonymous) are the classic spiritual disciplines. Recently, I found out the hard way that not all Christians are "on board" with the spiritual disciplines, and in fact can be sharply and heatedly opposed. The fierce objections I encountered--which drove me to change churches--were vaguely defined as being too closely associated with "medieval mystics," which I took to mean as consisting of some kind of less than Christian spirituality or perhaps even being inspired by or containing elements of the occult. It was never fully explained, but what was abundantly clear was that Richard Foster's teachings on the spiritual disciplines in his world-renowned book Celebration of Discipline were soundly and unequivocally rejected--along with me for trying to bring such "heresy" to the church. I have since found a church that embraces the spiritual disciplines--in fact, it was my first question of my new pastor.

"As disciples (literally students) of Jesus," says Willard, "our goal is to learn to be like him" (24). Indeed, scripture could not be clearer on the subject: "therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children" (Eph. 5:1); "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 13:14); "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18), and many others. Believers also are to "walk in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25), from whom they will receive gifts and grow in fruit. Putting these together, Willard is insightful:
Both gifts and fruit are the result, not the reality, of the Spirit's presence in our lives. What brings about our transformation into Christ-likeness is our direct, personal interaction with Christ through the Spirit. The Spirit makes Christ present to us and draws us toward his likeness (28).

Willard captures the transformational process in a "golden triangle" with "faithful acceptance of everyday problems . . . interactions with God's spirit in and around us . . . [and engaging in] spiritual disciplines (26-28).

Throughout his extensive discussion on the disciplines, Willard continually reinforces the difference between Christian and worldly spiritualities, for example, "Zen spirituality is one form of idolatry of the human self . . . spirituality as now generally understood usually refers to a human dimension, not to the power of God" (49). In sharp contrast, "biblical spirituality has to do with obedience to Christ" (51). Those who preach only justification and not discipleship, thus engaging in the great omission, have created the situation today with too many Christians convinced that discipleship is optional, when in reality it is the only bridge from faith to transformation. In Willard's words, "you have faith over here and obedience and abundance over there, and no way to get from here to there because the necessary bridge is discipleship" (62). He uses three phrases to help define spiritual formation: "training in . . . spiritual activities [disciplines] . . . shaping of the inner life, the spirit . . . shaping by the . . . Holy Spirit" (70-71), which distantly resembles some key words of the Constitution, "of the people, by the people, for the people." Spiritual formation involves engagement with the human spirit by the Holy Spirit through the means of the spiritual disciplines (see also 106, "formation of the spirit . . . by the Spirit").

Since the Spirit always points toward Christ, it should come as no surprise to hear that "Spiritual formation is the process through which those who love and trust Jesus Christ effectively take on his character" (80). Unfortunately, the church as a whole has not found it necessary or popular to introduce self-discipline into their spiritual programming, as Willard describes, "the task of becoming Christ-like is rarely taken as a serious objective to be thoughtfully planned" (84). The problem with such an easy gospel is that it breeds not only a lack of interest in true spiritual maturity but it creates an indifference and even apathy toward it. The child who is undisciplined is well known to grow up spoiled and unable to properly cope with trials as an adult. So the spiritual child who is undisciplined grows up without the inner resources to properly face trials with faith as potential sources of strength and maturity. This leads directly to problems of every sort, as Willard expresses, "We are seeing that the human soul hungers for transformation, for wholeness and holiness, is sick and dying without it, and that it will seek it where it may--even if it destroys itself in the process" (110).

Throughout his masterful work, Willard does not mince words, and it would seem difficult to misunderstand him, for example, "The aim of spiritual formation is obedience to Christ from inner conformity to Christ" (113) or "The fruit of the Spirit . . . is the outcome of spiritual formation" (115). Breaking one's bad habits, says Willard, is not the impossible dream, because after all, they "are habits--not the law of gravity--and can be broken." Besides, he continues, "A new, grace-filled habit will replace the former one" (125). Drawing on the inherent definition of the word discipline, Willard leans hard on personal responsibility in one's own spiritual formation process, which deliberately cooperates with the Spirit and does not wait for a bolt of lightning from above: "I must learn and accept the responsibility of moving with God in the transformation of my own personality" (150). Indeed, he points out that nothing worthwhile or significant is accomplished without discipline, much less one's walk with Christ.

Not only are disciplines needed for growth and maturity, but they are the only answer for addressing human brokenness. My doctoral project is on emotional scars, and a major part of my premise will address overcoming such invisible but permanent disfigurations and limitations rather than trying to "heal" (a scar by definition is healed) and effectively erase them, which is a vain attempt to return to one's state prior to the injury. Willard addresses this matter at length:
people who are not totally shattered, and who have experienced the birth from above, can usually, with simple instruction and encouragement, begin to make real progress toward wholeness by gentle and persistent practices such as solitude and silence, fasting, scripture memorization, regular times of corporate and individual praise and worship, and so on. The various disciplines minister to different and complementary aspects of our wrungness and brokenness (153).

I would add only that the same Spirit-led transformational process that guides, directs, and accomplishes spiritual maturity through intentional engagement with the disciplines--thus creating a true disciple--is the same exact process for those who start with greater amounts of brokenness than others. This process "enables the individual to restructure or reprogram the wrung soul, along with the body, through spiritual disciplines" (157).

Because the church has "lost the concept of discipleship" (166), tragically both the very broken and sin-ravaged Christians as well as the basically healthy Christians end up together on the same treadmill that equates discipline with works, and thus never raises the elevation or increases the speed--with the end result of producing endless streams of undisciplined, unimpressive, and uninspiring Christians. Willard states, "everything that we develop from our lives that is of any value is the result of discipline" (171), thus it follows logically that those Christians without spiritual discipline necessarily develop little of significant value in and for the Kingdom. The ultimate problem with such a believer, other than all they miss out on personally, is the quality of their witness to the world.

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AGS

Bible based wisdom much needed in the modern church

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2023

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This is truly a transformational book. Willard gets to the core meaning of discipleship in this series of essays. He has a wisdom that needs to be heard in the modern church. We need to focus on God and His love and not be diverted onto ecclesiastical structures or transient spiritual experiences. Both are good but not sufficient in themselves. He emphasises the importance of personal spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, study, solitude. This is a powerful evocation of what it is to be a disciple.

V Walter Doroshuk

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on January 16, 2016

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Haven't completely read yet Grest resource

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2018

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Love anything by this author