Review of The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard - Reviewed by David Morris
University Of Southern California Philosophy Professor Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God is easily one of the most influential books of the last fifty years. Willard challenged an entire generation of readers to rethink the Great Commission and what it means to “make disciples.”
Willard argues that a couple of very important and negative shifts have happened in American Christianity. One of these is that Christians emphasize salvation but show very little Christlikeness. The other is that so many churches fail to see the Kingdom of God as a present reality and that every Christian should participate in the works of the Kingdom. Both of these shifts have hindered the work of Jesus in our present age.
Willard aims to remedy both of these ideas. Much of Christianity has been reduced to an abbreviated, truncated faith that talks primarily about sin management, faithful attendance, and going to heaven when we die. While those are all very important, Willard reminds the reader that becoming a disciple of Jesus also means a deep transforming of a person’s life and character to Christlikeness and active participation in the work of the Kingdom now.
Discipleship, according to Willard, is found in spending time with Jesus by reading the Gospels deeply and often, and then becoming more and more like him in the process. It does not mean making a decision to become a Christian, worshiping on the weekend, and then leaving the rest of our everyday lives the same. True discipleship means following Jesus around in every aspect of life, in every relationship, in every day of the week. While many people claim to have made a decision to follow Jesus, their lives show little evidence of this kind of transformation. Living as a disciple of Jesus means living like Jesus and becoming like Jesus (Rom 8:29). Willard focuses in on the Sermon on the Mount and the practice of spiritual disciplines. He argues that disciples of Jesus who have made a real difference in the world “all seriously engaged with a fairly standard list of disciplines for the spiritual life,” and “the power of solitude, silence, meditative study, prayer, sacrificial giving, service, and so forth as disciplines are simply beyond question.”
And, unlike the many religious groups that see the Kingdom as something that only exists when Christ returns, Willard challenges readers to see the Kingdom as accessible in the present, and we as Christ’s disciples represent the Kingdom right now. As disciples who represent Christ and his kingdom, we become co-conspirators with God to change the world. The very real power of Christ’s love flows through us to the lives of the people we help. In so doing, we “heartily join his cosmic conspiracy to overcome evil with good.”
If many of these concepts seem familiar, it may very well be because this book has been so influential in turning the tide back to true discipleship in many corners of Christianity. Willard reminds us about the more full and robust message of Jesus. This book is, in essence, a true restoration of the Kingdom, of faith, and of discipleship.
Why would this book be helpful to preachers or ministers? The answer is simple and profoundly important. This book is a helpful reminder of what true discipleship looks like and the results of engaging in the work of the Kingdom. As preachers, it is an important shift in our message to emphasize to the church that we are co-laborers with God engaging in a “divine conspiracy” with him to overcome evil with good right here and now in this world.