One of the reasons I love this book so much is because it features two of my all time favorite authors (Dallas Willard and John Ortberg). Another reason I love it is because this book contains the last conference Willard shared at prior to his death in 2013. I highly recommend listening to the audio version because it is Willard and Ortberg’s messages along with some Q & A between the sessions.
Here is an overview via the Dallas Willard website:
Dallas teamed up with John Ortberg in February 2013 for the Dallas Willard Center’s inaugural conference in Santa Barbara, California. John and Dallas have been ministry partners for decades, which was quite evident as they taught together and shared insights into living more fully in the presence of Christ daily. The primary passion for the conference was to provide an overview of Dallas’s writings and ministry. His most impassioned ideas. The conference was built around the theme “Knowing Christ Today” and as a way to present the golden thread that runs through all of his primary writing: that it is possible to know the Trinity intimately and to step into their glorious kingdom.
Throughout the conference John and Dallas explored what it means to live well now in light of God’s kingdom. They reflected on the power of the Trinity in our lives, the meaning of knowledge, the state of the university, the importance of spiritual disciplines and much more. Dallas also offered poignant thoughts about what it will be like to transition into the very presence of Christ in heaven. At the end of each session John moderated a wonderful dialogue with Dallas, teasing out further insight and clarity about the topics at hand. Three of the sessions were taught by Dallas and three by John, followed by a final session with the theme of offering a blessing to one another and learning to receive blessing from others.
The talks at the conference by Dallas and John have been edited just a bit to make the transition to create this book, but they retain their conversational feel. At the start of each chapter is one of the prayers that was prayed during the conference. A Discussion Guide written by Gary Moon is included with the book.
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