Dallas Willard forever altered the course of modern Christianity, and he did it brilliantly. His work and life have directly impacted thousands of people whose lives have been eternally changed for the better, many of whom have impacted still others. More than anyone else in recent centuries, he has pointed us back to what the modern church has lost – the real gospel of Jesus and the means to live with Jesus in the Kingdom of God.
With all of that, Dallas would be the first to say that yes, we also need to restore sensible emotional and relational development to Western culture. It too, has been lost. But given the Titanic shift that is needed in the evangelical world and the tremendous challenge of getting the church to listen, it was both good for all of us and deeply appropriate that Dallas focused heavily on the issue of spiritual formation and left the matter of relational maturity to others who wanted to pursue that dimension.
And the truth is that there has never been a conflict between these fundamental elements of human development, nor is there any need to prioritize one over the other. In the life of an actively growing Christian, these two areas are both important.
Within this broader context, there can be no doubt that our attachment with God and others is fundamental to who we are. And in our individualistic world, we need to be reminded of this over and over. But this truth is attested to and can be demonstrated conclusively through both Scripture and the lives of saints across the pages of history. None of this is new or revolutionary or news to Dallas, and certainly not dependent upon the findings of modern brain science (which may very well change again in the next 20 years). We can only say that both of these areas have been lost to Western Christianity for a long time and are now being recovered.
The manner in which Wilder attempts to build a case is faulty on many levels and truly fails to offer a workable vision or means. The extent to which he went to diminish and truncate the teachings of Dallas is truly astonishing. His general premise that Dallas’ approach was non-relational and rooted in the “slow track” is indefensible. One might hope that future attempts to bring together spiritual growth and relational maturity would be undertaken by someone who better understands the mind and heart of Dallas Willard on these matters.
It is good to be reminded often that we were designed to live with God in a deep abiding love bond. But we can do this in total harmony with spiritual disciplines and with the teachings of Dallas Willard, as they complement each other beautifully. The approach taken by Renovated was unnecessary and deeply flawed and divisive.
Those who have awakened to the vision Dallas presented in his writings and who have put into practice the things he taught, know from their own experience that spiritual formation can build a bond with God like nothing else. And that bond, in turn, transforms their character even more and draws them ever deeper into the practices of spiritual formation. This is the awesome wonder of life in the Kingdom that Dallas knew so well. While he did not often use the precise language of bonding and attachment, he did indeed restore to us the path that leads to that kind of deep relationship with God.
If you are looking for resources that focus specifically on bonding with God and harmonize beautifully with the teachings of Dallas, we would recommend the following, as these books truly hit it out of the park in regard to this important matter.
- Curt Thompson: Anatomy of the Soul
- David Benner: Surrender to Love
- James Bryan Smith: The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knew