imagining how the church can reorient around mission

Christian author and philosopher, Dallas Willard died yesterday. A sad and glorious passage. I think he was probably one of the most influential authors that I had read in my Christian life. I was recounting to a friend today that with Newbigin and Ladd, Willard informed my ideas about the Kingdom of God the most (if you haven’t read The Divine Conspiracy, you should – it’s in my top 10 books). He had a keen mind and a tender heart.

As a result of his passing, I’ve been thinking a great deal about death. I know, morbid, right? There seems to be a coinciding trend within the prevailing culture and the Christian church to both fear death and resisted it all cost. That makes a bit of sense. Naturally, we resist death. In fact, we resist pain of any sort. Several years ago when my
father passed away I witnessed his body straining toward life at all cost. Literally, his outer extremities shut down so that his vital organs could stay alive. It was a stunning realization that we are built to live. I must admit my own fear of pain and death. I am a bit of a baby when it comes to pain. When I am hurt or ill I want to be pampered and coddled. Pain and dying are not easy friends. read more