Apprenticeship … a better picture of discipleship, being a Christian

Jason continues to offer tidbits from Dallas Willard and NT Wright. Undoubtedly, Willard is one of the most insightful writers I have read – period. Last year he spoke at the Emergent Convention in San Diego and is speaking again this year. My friend, Chris Monroe – a.k.a. Desert Pastor – is offering regular weblog updates at his site. He provided the following after listening to Dallas Willard in the first session titled, “The Great Omission from the Great Commission.”

::EC-San Diego:: Time with Dallas Willard

Well, I’m off to part 2 of my course with Dallas Willard: The Great Omission from the Great Commission. And as far how part 1 went yesterday, all I can say is “wow!”

My butt ached from sitting through the 5-hour session, and my brain ached from the depth of the material Dallas served up, but I was SO GLAD that I picked this CCC! I wouldn’t recommend it though, for people who like to sit back and be entertained. :O I gotta confess — I feel pretty inept in trying to summarize ALL that we heard and discussed. I just need more time to “process” it all.

One thing I found interesting, though, was how Dallas pointed out that many denominations commonly confuse (or better, “reduce”) true “Great Commission” work, with church-planting (whether locally or globally). Here’s what he said:

?This is NOT a call to start churches.
It?s the call to establish kingdom ‘beach-heads’ in the lives of others.?

This requires a breed of discipleship that is largely lacking in the Church today. Sad to say, it is now considered acceptable to distinguish between “Christians” and “disciples.” Further, under the influence of modernism, the church has commonly equated faith with “right belief” (e.g. fundamentalism), or “social action” (e.g. liberalism). It’s not that these, in-and-of-themselves, are wrong — but they demonstrate how the Church has tended to view faith as a matter of “thinking right” or “acting right” instead of being a matter of apprenticeship that flows from a relationship with Christ.

Well…I’ve gotta run. But I’m certainly looking forward to sharing more material and ideas from Dallas Willard. And before I close out this post, let me say that I am very impressed with Dallas, personally. It floored me how at each break (20 min.), he stayed up front and met with everyone who wanted to ask additional questions, meet him, or just talk. That meant he didn’t even get a minute’s break during the entire session. He has an amazing servant-heart.

About the Author
Husband to Patty. Daddy to Kimberly and Tommie. Grandpa Doc to Cohen, Max, Fox, and Marlee. Pastor to Snow Hill Baptist Church. Graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Reading. Photography. Golf. Colorado. Jeeping. Friend. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church I pastor.

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