My most challenging book to date! I have read Dallas Willard previously and was looking forward to a more devotional read. This was not bagel and coffee reading. This was a 400-page think book.
The obvious first question… what is the divine conspiracy? It has everything to do with the fact that saving faith is about the here and not just the hereafter. Willard uses the whole of Scripture to remind us that it is less about “getting people saved” and more about “making disciples” of Christ.
The cornerstone of his argument is found in understanding the difficult (and sometimes misunderstood & misapplied) phrase – the Kingdom of Heaven. What is the nature of this kingdom? When does it begin? Who does it involve?
Through carefully exegesis we are reminded that we are indeed members of this kingdom if we have put our faith in Christ. And that leads to the second linchpin of the book… Christ. To understand the divine conspiracy – that God desires for each of us to rule and reign with Him – we must understand Jesus.
One of the masterful ways that Willard helps us to know Jesus is by taking us on a journey through the message in the book of Matthew that is often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. Because of his helpful treatment of The Beatitudes I have decided to teach through them this coming fall with our high school students.
Think Like Jesus 
I’d like to recommend Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, I didn’t choose this book because of it’s religious foundation as what drives the fiction, although I knew it was heavy. I chose it because the critics honored it with a Pulitzer Prize and this particular quote ” Serenly beautiful,and … so gravely measured and thoughtful, that one feels touched with grace just to read it.”
If secular critics applauad a work of fiction that deals largely with what I’d call a Christian’s (read spiritual) life- then it must be quite strong,
This book has affected my appreciation for this blessed life on , oh let’s say , every three to four pages. I read voraciously and this narrative, in 2-3 sentences stops me in my tracks- I have to step away and ponder the simply profound prose. I have been “working” on this book for some time- and do not take recs, lightly, but this one is worth it. And the fact that this male protagonist, parish, pastor has been so authentically rendered by a woman author gives me so much joy! If you want your faith on a human, or any other level restored, read this book,
Lorri